A recent study found that e-books aren't the favored medium of the younger generation — at least not yet. 62 percent said they preferred paper books, for all the reasons you might expect.
Voxburner's research, conducted on 16-24-year-olds in the U.K., indicated that despite the highly digital habits of so-called "Millennials," reading books and magazines on their various devices hasn't taken over.
In addition to the nearly two-thirds who preferred paper books, 47 percent preferred paper versions of magazines and newspapers. Those are pretty considerable amounts, considering iPhones, blogs, Twitter, and other pervasive forms of digital media have existed for such a large proportion of this age group's lives.
Another thing this generation has grown up with is rampant piracy and the emergence of alternative pricing schemes for music and movies. This has led them to almost unanimously decry the price of e-books, which perhaps in turn has led them to adopt the same dog-eared paperbacks as their parents and grandparents.
Previous studies have suggested that e-readers themselves are in peril, having peaked just before tablets like the iPad and Kindle Fire became truly popular. On the other hand, a good book may last centuries, while an optical disc, hard drive, or flash storage may only last a few years.
Whatever side of the book/e-book divide you're on, you can be sure this battle is one that will last for quite a few years to come — if not forever.
Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.
