Book or ebook version for business reference book?

[TPMB12]

I've talked about ereaders and ebooks before. I see benefits with both formats. I'm just not sure which to buy for a book that will be referenced a lot this year. Probably at different sites.

I like a paper book you can easily highlight, annotate and tag with a post-office style bookmark. You own it outright and it looks good on a bookcase with other books.  It's just bulky, heavy and easily damaged.

Ebooks are highly portable. You can read it on ereaders, phones, tablets, laptops and desktops. You are often tied to one platform (amazon kindle, Google play books, etc.). It's not as easy to highlight, annotate and bookmark. You can't create a copy of key pages that you refer to most. You don't own anything. You can't lend a copy to a work colleague.

However both versions are the same price.

So what do you think? Book or ebook?

[TPMB12]

I should add that this is for a work project that I'll probably work on from home and from workplace. Also I commute by car and bike equally.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Depending on the publisher, these days if you buy the dead tree version it is common to be given access to an ebook version. Check

[Kim]

eBook with the DRM removed.  While paper has advantages for reference material, there's no point in lugging dead trees around on your bike.

(And what mrcharly-YHT said.  Best of both worlds.)

[PeteB99]

My rule of thumb is if the book relies on Maps, diagrams or photographs then paper version. If what you're looking for is text then kindle for space reasons. Half the rooms in my house are lined with bookshelves.

[Ashaman42]

A book is very handy when looking at a diagram/chart on one page with explanatory text on another. Much easier to flick back and forth between the two.