Audio, Traditional, or E-books: What's your Style?

These images have all been used with permission from (in order from left to right) Jeshoots, Fabiola-Penalba, and Perfecto Capucine

I’m a traditionalist, there’s no way around that. But as I am preparing for my girls’ trip to Paris in a couple of weeks, I’m beginning to see the downside of my values. There just isn’t enough room in my backpack to fit all the books I’m capable of reading on my two 16 hour flights and numerous train rides.

So, after my post on my first audiobook experience and a conversation with one of our readers (shout out to Shannon in Ocean City, MD), I decided to break down the differences between e-books, audiobooks, and physical books. Still, no matter how practical or affordable audiobooks and e-books may be, I still can’t manage to trade the feeling of cracking open a new book and the smell accompanying that sensation for another screen.

While I was thinking about this topic and talking to a few people about their personal preferences, I remembered a conversation from my Literary Criticism class about the differences the technological age has made to art as a whole, and specifically, books.

Walter Benjamin, a German Jewish literary critic, philosopher, and essayist living during the first half of the 20th century, is best known for three major essays, one of which is titled, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” In his essay, Benjamin claims the aura of a work of art is devalued due to mass production of said work. He discusses the concept of authenticity and reviews the development of mass production of art.

Think about it this way; why is an original painting worth millions of dollars where a copy, even a counterfeit that may have taken just as long to paint, is worthless? Why are first editions cherished--in the right hands--and highly sought after? “In even the most perfect reproduction, one thing is lacking: the here and now of the work of art--its unique existence in a particular place. It is this unique existence--and nothing else--that bears the mark of the history to which the work has been subject.” Benjamin’s answer supports the authenticity attached to the original, but also explains my desire to hold a book rather than sacrifice the unique experience for the practical solution of another screen.

Image used with permission from Unsplash

E-books

The idea that a library fits in your pocket is truly magical. Just 50 years ago e-books didn’t exist. It was the Project Gutenberg in 1971 that launched the creation of e-books and the digitalizing of them that we know today. But it wasn’t until 1998 that the first e-reader emerged and 2007 with the breakthrough of Amazon’s Kindle.

So, aside from the convenience and portability of e-books, what’s the big deal? According to CBS News, for the majority of people, choosing an e-book or a physical books simply comes down to individual preference.Those who grew up in the age of technology are more likely to prefer e-books over traditional books simply because an e-reader has more in common with the electronic devices this generation uses in their daily lives.

Studies show that reading on paper may boost retention and focus when compared to an e-reader. According to an article on pickmyreader.com, David Richardson cites a Norwegian study that had two groups of people read a story, one group on e-readers and the other on paper. When tested on plot points later, those who read the story on paper scored better on the quiz.

There is also a feeling when reading books that fires a different set of synapses in our brains that may not come as easily with an e-book. Another downside e-books have is the artificial light projected from a tablet or e-reader. Readers who suffer from sleep problems or eye strain often opt for traditional books over e-books. Even for those who don’t have trouble with artificial light, it has been proven in a 2014 study in the journal PNAS, that reading an e-book before bed reduces the amount of hormones that prep the body for sleep.

Now, does this mean that those who read e-books are less likely to remember the story or aren’t getting the same enjoyment or experience as those reading traditional books? No, it’s completely up to individual preference, but I do think that due to the nature of social media, when reading anything on a device, it is easy to resort to skimming rather than the intent and attentiveness that comes with traditional reading.

As someone who has read several e-books I can attest to the benefits of both options, but I am partial to traditional books. Maybe it’s because I am a book-lover and crave the value and tactile sensation of a bound paper book, or maybe I enjoy the sense of accomplishment that comes with the pile of pages growing on the left and shrinking on the right; either way, my desire to have my own personal library one day eliminates the benefits of e-books.

Image used with permission from Pixabay

Audiobooks

Show of hands, who thinks audiobooks are cheating? I know I always have.

I don’t know what it is; maybe this goes back to Benjamin’s claim that mass reproduction of work, in this case, an entire reformatting of the work, eliminates the aura or authenticity of the work, which is something we’ve established is quite important to me.

Nevertheless, I wanted to share with you what other people, those far more qualified than me, have to say on this topic.

In a blog post from BookRiot, “Audiobooks vs. Reading: The Rules are, There are No Rules,” Dana Lee examines several different components that accompany reading and/or listening to a book. She talks about the differences in six different categories: comprehension, emotional response, multitasking, privacy, voice, and sharing.

Many of her points I subconsciously understood about the differences between the two reading styles, but the refresher was welcome. Lee sites an NPR segment where two professors at the University of Texas, Austin, share why both reading styles are beneficial and neither one should be considered a “short cut.” On reading, they describe my favorite part of reading--filling in the blanks. As a reader, you get to hear the voices of the characters, the scene, and you get to go back and reread sections to analyze the deeper meaning. For audiobooks, listening is great for kids because that’s how they start reading anyway, with their parents. In my own experience, though I may lack the typical diligence that comes with rereading, audiobooks help me follow the plot arc better and get a bigger picture view of the story.

As far as the emotional response, it is easier to pick up on sarcasm when listening to the reader speak, but again, I find reading to be extremely personal and as the professors mention in Lee’s article, “physically reading a book can be a more personal experience because your inner voice is responsible for creating everything that’s not on the page from only the words.” And for multitasking, there really isn’t a discussion to be had. As someone who can read in the car without getting sick (knock on wood), if I’m not driving, I’m usually reading. But I’m not about to stick a book on my dashboard, holding the pages open with my phone just to continue the story when I’m behind the wheel; I will opt for the audiobook, please.

The first audiobook I read actually wasn’t Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic. Writing this post, I remembered in high school reading Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and for the life of me, I couldn’t understand a thing Jim was saying when simply reading the book. I found an audiobook version on YouTube and read along with the narrator; let me tell you, best idea ever. I got a 100% on our reading quiz the next day. As someone who bashfully admits to misreading Sean as (SEEN) instead of (SHAW-N) for an entire book, when it comes to pronunciation, audiobooks win, hands down.

At the beginning of her post, Lee states, “Reading a physical book and listening to the audiobook are two different paths that lead to the same destination. Each creates differing experiences and memories, but neither is better or worse than the other.” I think this is important to remember before judging people on their reading preferences: audiobook, e-book, or traditional reading.

Last thing I want to say about audiobooks; in an online article from New York Magazine, Melissa Dahl answers my biggest concern in regards to the “cheating” question. Daniel Willingham, a psychologist at the University of Virginia argues “if you take the question from the perspective of cognitive psychology, there is no real difference between listening to a book and reading it: So, no, audiobooks are not cheating.”

Dahl goes on to explain Willingham’s reasoning. Why do we assume that listening is cheating? The typical argument is that listening doesn’t take as much effort as reading and thus, implies that the listener is missing out on something. Willingham states, “to your brain, listening is less ‘work’ than reading...but it stops being true somewhere around the fifth grade.”

Through several studies mentioned in Dahl’s article, she comes to this main conclusion: those who read well will also listen well.The decoding work that the brain does when reading, which is assumed to be additional work, becomes second nature after elementary school. And as far as drifting off while listening to an audiobook, our brains do the same thing when skimming a book in between the juicy parts.

My thoughts are simple; however you read, just keep doing it. Don’t be ashamed of listening to audiobooks, because it is NOT cheating; if you are more practical than me and don’t want to lug five books around Paris, grab an e-reader. For those of you who are like me and value the irreplaceable and incomparable experience of holding a physical book and reading bold black letters on an off-white page and collect books, then do it. In an age where the written word is being replaced by TV shows, movies, social media, and video games, reading, in whatever form, is a unique and priceless experience in and of itself.

So tell me, out of your experiences what method do you prefer? What pros and cons matter to you?

As always, happy reading,

~M