Print edition, audio or eBook?
I find all the furor over eBooks very interesting and for the most part entertaining. My question is this: Does it really matter whether readers choose print edition, audio books, eBooks or some combination of all three as long as we’re reading (or listening)? Reading is reading (well listening but you still get the story) no matter the format we choose.
Posted in Reading Journal
15 Responses to “Print edition, audio or eBook?”
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I agree – the format makes no difference.
There’s something out there for everyone. I find all the controversy amusing.
I agree. Why should we choose? I love my Kindle, but it hasn’t “forced” me to give up going to the library or browsing in Borders or Barnes and Noble. And let’s face it, I can’t afford to pay for every book I read. I’m glad to have different options to read a book.
As readers we should always have options. Whatever gets a person reading or reading more is great for everyone. Because I can’t check out library books with my Kindle, my Nook will give me the opportunity to make better use of my library by getting bestsellers into my hands quicker. Wait lists for print editions can be horrendously long at my small library system.
It’s all books. I only read paper format (so far) but when I read reviews that came from someone’s experience with an audiobook or electronic format, I never even notice the different until they mention something like the narrator’s voice. I’m still going to jot the title down if it sounds interesting, and look for a paper copy. So why all the fuss? Reading is reading (even if you’re listening to it). You’re still experiencing the author’s way of telling you something.
I’ll admit I’ve never listened to audio book simply because my mind tends to wander off track and I think I’d have a difficult time keeping track of the story line. But the reviewer should be telling us why they did or didn’t enjoy the story itself. If the reviewer enjoyed the story or didn’t then I use that to make my wish list additions. Not whether they listened to an audio book or read it on an ereader.
it’s really the source that’s important, I think. A novel or a short story isn’t written as a poem, not as a song lyric, not as a screenplay. It doesn’t matter how the consumer, uh, consumes the product. The words are all that count.
I agree. The story, the lyric, the poem – each is about the words and not how we choose consume those words.
I waited for the longest time until I realized that if I picked up an ereader, I didn’t have to worry about CHANGING the way I read. I still buy books, I still go to the library, but my Nook ENHANCES the way I read.
Some books, I definitely want on my physical shelf, but other books I am okay with not having there.
Whatever format provides the most enjoyable experience for the reader is what counts. I’d never thought I’d move away from print editions and now I don’t see myself going back. I love my Kindle and hopefully will my Nook once Santa lets me have it. And being able to make better use of my library with my new Nook is strictly a bonus both for me and them. I’m even willing to pay a fee for checking out eBooks as I live outside the lending area simply because it enhances my reading opportunities to do so.
I like both ereader and paper!!
I prefer my ereaders and then print as long as its hardback or trade sized, MM paperbacks are just hard to hold and the type is way too tiny.
It’s all books. I only read paper format (so far) but when I read reviews that came from someone’s experience with an audiobook or electronic format, I never even notice the different until they mention something like the narrator’s voice. I’m still going to jot the title down if it sounds interesting, and look for a paper copy. So why all the fuss? Reading is reading (even if you’re listening to it). You’re still experiencing the author’s way of telling you something.
I prefer my ereaders and then print as long as its hardback or trade sized, MM paperbacks are just hard to hold and the type is way too tiny.
Me too. My ereaders come first then hardback or trade sized. I don’t even give MM paperbacks a glance anymore.