First, a brief history of the printed book is required to understand how exactly we got to where we are today.

In 1440, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, and in 1455, the Gutenberg Bible was the first ever book to be mass produced by a printing press.

Worth mentioning is that, in 1464, Arnold Pannartz and Konrad Sweinheim were the first to use a Roman printing type in their printing. Roman printing type is a simplified version of traditional writing styles at the time, designed specifically to be more easily used with the printing press (Bainbridge, 2015).

After a few centuries, the rotary press (1843) and offset printing (1875) were invented to make high-volume and low-cost printing for commercial book production. This is when book printing really decided to explode in popularity and become more efficient, more popular, and more accessible to all.

In 1972, a new kind of microfilm was utilized by two scientists (Adnan Waly, George J Yevick) which could store up to 625 pages of text per sheet, all on a portable device powered by electricity (Greene 2015). If this sounds familiar, don’t be alarmed; this is simply the first noted iteration of a modern day e-reader, or electronic reader for short. Unfortunately, this early invention was overshadowed by personal computers and fell into obscurity.

That is, until the year 2007.

In November of 2007, Amazon released the first ever Kindle e-reader. Conceptualized and released at a more opportune time, the sleek device that emulated the style of an Apple product was so appealing that the Kindle sold out in just five and a half hours (Patel 2007). After its launch, the e-book industry only continued to grow year after year. Due to the widespread convenience of having so many books available in one device, particularly in english, the e-reader continues to primarily be a popular choice in the United States and United Kingdom (Maxim et al. 2012).

Also worth mentioning is the TikTok community known as BookTok. Booktok is one of the largest communities on Tiktok, dedicated to discussion, critique, and recommendation of books. This community is primarily made up of women, and, while widely criticized, was the reason one in thirteen print books in the U.S. were sold at all, according to Selen Ozturk’s scathing article about BookTok. Ozturk also states she has,”... passed enough ‘As Seen on TikTok’ tables at otherwise cozily untrendy bookstores that I can no longer picture a solvent mass publishing industry without this app.”

In his 1930 manifesto The Readies, Bob Brown described a simple idea: “a simple reading machine which I can carry or move around, attach to any old electric light plug and read hundred-thousand-word novels in 10 minutes”. Though in the distant future at the time, present-day readers can find this very idea in the form of ebooks and ereaders; a machine you may carry or move around and, while you may be unable to read hundred-thousand word novels in ten minutes, you may very well be able to access them in seconds if you so desire.

The convenience of the ebook is overwhelmingly clear. Especially for women, this accessible format is far more preferable to the printed books; In an April 2026 report from the Pew Research Center, 78% of women reported reading a book in the last year (7% more than their male counterparts). Out of those 78%, 33% reported the reading was done via e-reader or another electronic device, and 27% through audiobook.

Printed books are mass produced. They are physical, tangible, and cheaper. Not only this, but they are widely available at public libraries, and if there are no libraries, there are often community events and thrift stores where you may purchase books for cheap. It’s clear that this is the most affordable option for women in low income households, but there are downsides to print as well. Print books are bulky and can be quite heavy, especially in large quantities. They may also take up space. Women in abusive relationships or cultures that don’t allow books (or restrict women from using technology) may find it difficult to hide these if they need to.

On the other hand, e-readers are more convenient, you can get more than one book to a device, and they are very lightweight. Women who work, are busy, or have children may find an e-reader preferable. They are easy to hide, and even easier to download new books onto. However, e-readers are often expensive, and if you are getting a Kindle, they may require a subscription service or wifi to access. Women in low income households or places with no internet/electricity would not be able to conveniently use these.

What, then, is the conclusion? Books, whether printed or digital, are valuable to different women for different reasons. E-readers can help fill the gaps for women who would benefit from them most, and as printed books only become more accessible, we can see the gap between women’s access to books compared to men growing smaller and smaller.