Here's a hot topic - what's the best way to read? Some people prefer audiobooks, some prefer an e-book, and some like a good old-fashioned physical book. Let's go through some of the pros and cons of each one.
E-Books
An e-book can be anything from a PDF on your phone to something on a device like a Kindle or e-reader. These have a lot of pros, but there's some drawbacks as well.
Pros
- Environmentally friendly: over time, using an e-reader or other electronic reading method has less of a carbon footprint than physical books, according to this study.
- Lightweight and travel friendly: If you're a chaotic reader like me, you probably have 4 or more books on the go at once, and that's not exactly easy to transport. If you're going on a long vacation and want to take more than, say, 2 books, an e-reader will be a better choice.
- Save on cost per book: The Kindle version of most books is significantly cheaper than the physical copy. Usually an e-book will cost you maybe $10 or less, whereas even a cheap paperback will run you at least $12. Some universities, like Princeton, are actually starting to offer textbooks in Kindle format to save on both paper and money. However, this NYTimes article points out that universities don't always make it clear that this is an option - because when you buy textbooks, they make money too.
- Accessible: If your local bookshop doesn't have the book you want in stock, never fear - Kindle probably does.
Cons
- Cost Prohibitive: the start up cost for an e-reader can be high. An Amazon Kindle ranges in price from $120 to $360, depending on how much storage you want in it. That's a lot of books to buy. Besides, then you may also have to purchase accessories to extend the life of your device such as a screen protector or case.
- Hard on your eyes: According to a 2013 study, reading on a device with an LCD screen (such as your phone or tablet) can be damaging to your eyesight, just like sitting too close to the TV (if our mothers are to be believed about that one). However, a device like a Kindle can come with an e-ink screen, which is less damaging to the eyes.
- Small screens: This is what I find most annoying about reading on a device - the screen is too small. I have to squint to read the words, or else zoom in so far that I can't see the whole page, or if the app has a text-adjustment capability, there's only like 6 words on the page (OK, I might be exaggerating there.) The point is, if you want a bigger screen, you have to pay bigger money.
- Tech doesn't always work: As an educator, I see this all the time. "Miss, I can't do silent reading today because my book is an ebook on my phone and my phone is dead." "Miss, I can't read today because my book is on the internet and this school has deplorable internet capability." "Oh crap, I can't read because my Kindle broke down and won't work now." The Amazon Kindle has a lifespan of about 3 years, depending on how much you use it; the battery isn't fail-proof.
- You can't lend e-books to your friends: I love lending books to my friends. It's like handing them a little piece of my soul, by giving them something I enjoyed so much I just had to share it. E-books don't have that capability; if you recommend something to a friend, they'll just have to find it on their own.
- Book Pirates: Though this sounds like a career I might want to persue, it's actually a problem, according to a 2019 Forbes article. Publishers and authors alike lose money on a regular basis when someone unauthorized "publishes" their book on an e-platform without observing copyright law. You might be reading a pirate book with absolutely no pirates in it, which isn't fair to anyone.
- You can't write in an e-book: I know not everyone likes to annotate their books, but I do, and the fact that I can't leave snarky comments in the pages of my e-book annoys me. It also makes it a bit more difficult to write my book reviews because if I find quotes I like I either have to take a screenshot or write them all down separately.
Audiobooks
Thanks to the popularity of apps like Audible, audiobooks are becoming a real trend these days, and for good reason. Audiobooks have many advantages, and can be great entertainment as well as supplemental to education.
Pros
- You don't have to use your eyes or your hands: while this might seem like a silly thing to point out, it actually opens up your literature-consuming possibilities. Need to get chores done? No problem! Listen to an audiobook. Going for a long, boring walk? Listen to an audiobook! Long drive? Listen to an audiobook! See how many problems this solves? You can consume books like nobody's business when you use audiobooks. I've listened to entire books in just 2 days while simultaneously driving, cleaning, colouring, crocheting, or otherwise doing things that would normally prevent me from reading. You can also listen in the dark, so the need for booklights is eliminated.
- Helps your imagination: I have a fairly active imagination, but sometimes the words on the page don't translate into a good visual in your head. I find that audiobooks really help with that, if the narrator is good. They can give you better visuals of the characters by giving them distinct voices, and it also can help you follow along when they do that. In my personal experience, books that are written in a drier style (*cough* Tolkien *cough*) are a lot easier to get through in audiobook format rather than reading the traditional book.
- Helps those who dislike reading: Audiobooks can also open up literature possibilities to people who, for one reason or another, dislike reading. It may be because you have dyslexia, or just can't sit still long enough to read more than a page, or you have visual processing problems; audiobooks provide a different way to consume the literature that you may have been barred from otherwise. It is also massively helpful to kids who struggle with reading in school to follow along with the audiobook; I have taught classes of students who have confirmed this to be true. It confirms their understanding, and because the information is being presented to them in multiple ways, it's more likely to stick.
- Lightweight and Portable: similar to e-books, audiobooks are perfectly portable because all you need is your device.
- You can consume literature above your level: Audiobooks remove the need to decode written language, says this article. Decoding is the process of seeing a word, understanding the letters, turning that into a sound, and then knowing what word those sounds mean. It seems simple, but when you break it all down, it's really an amazing thing that we can do. For people (I'm talking specifically about teens and young readers here, but it can apply to anyone) who have trouble with decoding, audiobooks can remove that barrier. You don't need to make the translation from page to brain; you just need to listen.
- You avoid screen fatigue: Unlike e-books, you don't need to be looking at a screen to enjoy your audiobook, so your eyes will be happy with you.
Cons
- Some people think audiobooks don't count: The book vs. audiobook debate has been raging since audiobooks started to come to prevalence, and there are those who will tell you that audiobooks don't "count" as reading. However, this con is purely image-based and the people who tell you that are wrong, according to several articles and studies like this one and this one and this one and...well you get the idea. Lots of them. I literally couldn't find on that says audiobooks are cheating, but some people still think that way.
- You might be influenced by the narrator: Everyone perceives a book differently. If the book is read to you, you might be influenced into a perspective that is more that of the narrator than the author or yourself. If the books says, "Ayden said sarcastically," and the narrator reads it as angry, you might get an impression different from what the author intended.
- Not all audiobooks have good readers: There are some audiobooks that are really quite terrible. Sometimes the quality of the narrator actually detracts from the experience of the book. This is especially true for me when they don't give voices to the characters or are inconsistent with them. I've also stopped listening to books because they give the characters really annoying voices that are not consistent with their personality.
- You might get distracted: If you're listening to an audiobook while doing something else, as I often do, your mind might wander and you will tune the book out, coming back a few minutes later to think, "wait, when did that happen?" This could be frustrating for you, especially if you are easily distracted.
Books
Some people may say that old fashioned paper books are headed the way of the dinosaur, but I think they're around to stay.
Pros
- Easy on the eyes: I mean this in more than one way. As I mentioned with e-books, reading on an electronic device can be a strain on your eyes. This is not really an issue with printed books, unless you read in low light, which is really just silly. Never try to read in the dark, kids! They also look very pretty on a bookshelf, and make great home decor and talking points when you have company. You learn a lot about a person by what books catch their eye on your shelf.
- They smell nice: I don't know about y'all but I just love the way books smell, new or old.
- It feels nice in your hands: The feel of holding an actual book rather than a little tablet is just so much better. Do I have any empirical evidence of this? No. It just does.
- No distractions: If you're reading on your phone or tablet, you might get distracted by notifications or other apps or emails or whatever. Trust me, it will happen. If you have a Kindle or similar e-reading device, this might not be as much of a problem.
- Shareable: Easy to share with your friends. Like I said before, I love sharing books. I like lending them, except that sometimes they don't return. But still, I love sharing that piece of my heart that now lives in that book.
- A physical book is a keepsake: When I look at my bookshelf I see old friends come to greet me. I see a book that I loved and I think about it, have a nice little memory moment. It's a keepsake of a journey, just like you'd get when travelling - only with books, you can travel without leaving your chair.
- No electricity or connectivity required: Book don't need to connect to the internet or be charged. Their battery never dies.
- Lower initial cost: While the cost per book for e-books is lower, the start up cost is much higher than a printed book.
Cons
- Heavy and cumbersome: Can I shove a book in my purse? Yes. Can I shove three books in my purse? No. Will I try? Yes.
- Not so eco-friendly: The amount of paper needed to produce a book is INSANE and I apologize to the rainforest every time I buy a new book.
- Higher cost per book: A physical book will usually cost more than an e-book.
- No fancy features: some e-books have features that allow you to change the background colour and text colour, or to change the size of the font, which can help with accessibility for people with poor eyesight or challenges with reading.
- Storage space: Books take up a lot of space. While I love to look at all my books, my bookshelves beg to differ.
Conclusions
Well my friends, you have my opinions. I honestly prefer to read a physical book OR listen to an audiobook - I don't love e-books, though I read them from time to time when a book I really want isn't available in physical format (I get them from the library). What do you prefer? From my extensive sample size of precisely three people, e-books are the least popular option with books and audiobooks being at the top. Let me know in the comments what you think!!!