The debate has long been rambling on about which is best, the Audio Book versus the Physical Book versus the e Book. I have read many debates, and over time I have come to appreciate that they all have a place in our lives depending on what we are doing or where we are. For this blog I wanted to share with you some of the debates to enable you all to make up your own mind
Physical books have long been in our lives before such things as eReaders and audible books and at times went out of fashion for some of us. But I think and hope they are here to stay. I for one love the feel and smell of a book. You can go a library, a book shop or even shop on line to acquire physical books with relative ease. I think they are fairly self explanatory in nature. Most books come in either a hardcover or paperback format, and they range in sizes in terms of the size of the pages to the number of pages.
EBooks are also everywhere, and a large percentage of books are in eBook format. Whether a book is available in digital format depends on its popularity, age, and whether the author or publishing company actively worked to make a book available as an eBook. Generally speaking, the more popular and newer a work is, the more likely it is to be in an eBook format. Depending on the type of Reader that you use, you may either experience a book with images in black and white or in colour which may differ from the physical counterpart. It should be noted that some works are only ever published in a digital format which means that there are a group of books that don’t have a physical counterpart.
Audiobooks do not seem as readily available for each and every book published, this maybe down to the cost as they require more involvement to make. Because of this, the books that have an audio format tend to be books that are more popular. With that said, you can use text to speech software with an eBook if you are fine with a less human sounding voice and mispronunciations. Depending on how well produced an audiobook is, you may also have music and sound effects included.
Sensory Stimulation: Sight, Hearing, Tactile
With physical books, you have access to sight and physical touch. I believe that the tactile element of a physical book is the main advantage that they have over other formats, notwithstanding the love of seeing them on your bookshelf in all of their glory. The disadvantage is the only way you can read with low light conditions is by using a book light. I also find physical books difficult to read outside in the sun.
With eBooks, you have access via sight with the option to increase the font size, change the font type, the colour of the pages, and you can use it in low light conditions due to devices. With that said, you can also have tactile and audio feedback depending on the device and the settings you use. For sensory feedback, you’ll most likely be interacting with a glass screen that does not offer much feedback, but you may have the option to have haptic feedback when you turn a page or highlight a word. Similarly, you have the option of playing a sound when you carry out specific actions. Depending on the device or app that you use, you may even be able to have it closely imitate the properties of a physical book.
With audiobooks, the process is completely sound based. This means that you will be listening to a person’s voice. In some cases, it may be the voice of multiple people for different characters. For audiobooks that have a higher budget, you may have music and sound effects included as well for a more enriching feel. While the focus on audio alone may seem like a disadvantage when compared to the other formats, the way in which the information from the book is delivered has a few advantages.
Eye Strain vs. Ear Strain
With bad lighting or very small font, you can get eye strain when reading a physical book.
With an eBook, you can adjust the size of the text or use text to speech to circumvent any problems with the readability of a text. In addition to this, most devices come with a backlight which means that it should be easier to read when compared with a physical document.
The advantage of an audiobook is you cannot get eye strain like the other formats. Ear strain may be a possibility, but that would most likely only happen in the case of high volume.
For me the only format that has an advantage of being able to multitask while in the process of reading is the audiobook. It is very easy to listen to an audiobook while doing other things and if you enjoy doing mundane tasks around the home then this one is for you.
With that said, splitting your attention between multiple tasks may result in less attention and focus provided to each individual task. This may diminish your enjoyment of an audiobook as well as your retention of its contents. Conversely, by listening to an audiobook while doing something else, you may save yourself a lot of time.
With the visual formats like physical books and eBooks, I love to let my imagination take over the story due to the freedom the format provides in terms of how to interpret a story. With an audiobook, the characters of a book are anchored to the voices of the individuals providing the reading which means I am more likely to think that words are pronounced a certain way and characters sound a certain way which I think reduces the flexibility in my interpretation of a story. Simply put, depending on how you want to enjoy a story, one format may serve your needs better than another.
Physical Space and Weight
Physical books take up space, and they have weight.
eBooks and audiobooks do not take up space or weight beyond that of the device in which they are used. The advantage here is that you don’t need a plethora of bookshelves, and if like me, you take a book everywhere with you, you don’t need to carry around a backbreaking number of books when you travel. What this means is that you can have a library’s worth of content at your fingertips wherever you go, without the worry that you will run out of something to read.
Now I am not an annotations type of girl, but I know that many of you are, so I thought I would add this in here. With physical books and eBooks, you can highlight and annotate your text to your hearts content. With an audiobook, this is not an option unless you use specialised software. In the case of physical books, undoing annotations is a bit more of a challenge unless you use a pencil, whereas with eBooks, undoing or deleting annotations is as easy as making them in the first place. It should also be noted that with physical books, the number of annotations you can make are limited by the size of the pages and requires a highlighter, pen, or pencil. None of these restrictions are found with eBooks.
“Audiobooks are Cheating”
Contentious I know. I have heard this many times, before, but I am not convinced. We all know that when you have an audiobook switched on you are listening to a book rather than reading it. But for me to read a book is to ingest the information, the story and to comprehend it. So, if we can do that via a physical book an eBook or an audiobook then I am on the fence of audiobooks are not classed as cheating. Let me know what you think.
For those with visual disorders or impairments, audiobooks offer an accessible alternative that the other formats do not. Similarly, mental strain and tiredness usually affects visual acuity first, which means that audiobooks may be a good alternative when you are tired later in the day, I know a lot of people that listen to an audiobook in bed before sleep.
The Processing of Information: What is Better for Comprehension?
With regards to retention, generally, the more formats you are using, the better your retention will be generally speaking. I find that using different formats at different times aides my retention. For instance, when I am in bed the best format for my retention is an audiobook, I find if I am reading a physical book that I find myself reading the same paragraph over and over again as I have a habit of falling asleep much quickly when I am reading rather than listening.
My opinion on the matter is entirely mine and my own experiences. I think each format offers its own unique advantages and disadvantages. I for one love all three formats and I hope all three formats are here to stay. My view is that as long as you are consuming a book and understanding the contents, then any of the formats are fine.
Let me know what your view or experience is.
