Purpose:This paper attempts to examine perceived benefits,barriers,and students’ reactions towards e-textbooks.Design/methodology/approach:This study is based on a survey of 105 undergraduate students in Califia.Undergraduate students were selected as the subjects of this study,because they are heavy users of textbooks for their course work.Findings:E-textbooks will complement our existing choices rather than substitute printed textbooks.While e-textbooks offer a number of benefits,they also produce many unanticipated challenges.A number of critical hurdles need to be solved before wider acceptance.Research limitations:This study attempts to explore students’ reactions to e-textbooks by targeting undergraduate students in Califia.Future studies can focus on the long-term effects on leing.Practical implications:Considerable attention should be paid to designing features to ensure e-textbooks augment leing rather than detract from it.Originality/value:This paper also looks at the extent to which e-reader users and none e-reader users differ in their preferences for traditional textbooks and e-textbooks.