Worrying about the environmental impact of books is misguided. You use far more paper products in the course of your everyday life: paper bags, cardboard packaging, paper towels, etc. etc. Even for an avid reader, the impact is negligible.
With paper books I'm more concerned with having to have space to put it when I'm done. But, I find it more enjoyable to read a physical book, and am more likely to re-read it.
Another nice thing about paper books is that you can lend them out to your friends when you're finished reading them. This saves a bit of space, plus your friends can just pick them up and read them without worrying about a bunch of BS like whether it's compatible with their e-reader, if the DRM will work, if the publisher will revoke the rights for some reason, etc.
Or give them away, or leave them in a little free library for someone else to enjoy. In my old neighborhood somebody else had similar taste in scifi and (as far as I could tell) we traded Asimov books back and forth through the book box in the park!
I'd love to keep them all forever but (a) I think my house is about maxed out on shelves and (b) a book's potential is wasted on the shelf.
That has always been a pain point for me. I read a lot, so having physical copies can turn into a storage problem, especially since I keep a good backlog of books. I may not need a new book now, but I found one at the store that looks really good, so I buy it, place it on the shelf and it enters the queue. Although I did get myself used to using a kindle. Especially when I was in the Navy and needed enough to read for a 7 month deployment.
My current strategy is this. If its a book I know that will have re-read value that I really enjoy. I get a physical copy (such as LOTR). If its an interesting book that I want to read, but I don't see it as having high re-read value, I buy it on my kindle. May not be logical, but its a system that works for me so far.
Get the ebook for archival purpose and ditch the paper book when you’re done with your first read through.
If you later find out you want the paper book as home ornament, then spend a little extra to decorate your home.
The two major mistakes we make about books is:
1) we think we have to finish it. No, drop it if it’s boring.
2) we think we have to keep it around. No. Take a picture and write a few notes for your personal blog if you need to keep track. You don’t need it in your room or house.
