Week 11 Prompt - eBooks and audiobooks

When you compare printed books to audiobooks I think there are many appeal factors that can change. Because you are depending on another voice reading a story to you, you depend on that voice to really bring the story to life. The tone, mood, and characters can all be altered depending on how a narrator reads a story. I have recently reread a series that I loved when I was in high school and I did that by listening to the audiobooks on my way to work. The narrators of that book really made it difficult for me to enjoy the story. The male narrator spoke so quietly I could barely hear what he was saying over the noise of my car. I had to turn the volume up really high and then try to remember to turn it back down before the girl started reading. Then the girl wouldn’t change her tone of voice very much when she began dialogue or switched characters so it was really hard to keep up with who was talking or when it was just thoughts in someone’s head. All of this to say, a narrator really gives life to the story so how they read it can affect how the listener perceives the tone of the book or the mood a character is in. I am currently listening to the first Crescent City graphic audio book (also a reread for me) and it is AWESOME. I’m only a few hours into the book but I find myself getting into the story so much more than when I tried reading it in print. The music and sound effects added to the great narrations really make you aware when the tone or mood in the story shifts. Audiobooks in general are great for any readers who have trouble reading printed books. I think adding graphic audio books as an option can really open reading up to more people. With this format though, you are really depending on the narrators to hit all of the common appeal factors for a genre instead of just the author’s writing. 

I read a ton of eBooks and I haven’t really noticed too many of the appeal factors change for me. One thing that really does change for me though is how fast I can get through a book. For many books, I tend to finish them faster whenever I have them in eBook form. The main reason for that might be because I have them on my phone and it is much easier to get my phone out and read wherever I am compared to carrying around a physical book so I have something to read. Also, I really like when my kindle tells me how much longer I have in a book. If I see that I only have 2 hours left on a book then I’m more likely to just sit there and finish it. The only other thing that can affect the story for me is the device that I’m reading on. I have a lot of trouble with my eyes and if I’m reading on anything with a bright screen (phone or computer) then it really does take a toll on my eyes. Luckily, my kindle doesn’t bother me at all as long as I have a black background and if I change the color of my background on my phone along with turning the brightness down then I can usually read for a good bit before that starts to bother me. One thing that may deter readers from eBooks is having to purchase a kindle. I know that many of my patrons (usually older folks) have mentioned that they also have trouble looking at a screen for long periods of time so they aren’t interested in reading on a phone, iPad, or computer. On the other hand, one thing that could really draw in more readers is the fact that you can increase the size of your text and even change the font. This could really help readers with poor vision or dyslexia.

I think by switching from a printed book to an eBook or audiobook, you can possibly change the type of knowledge that you gain. If you are reading print books or eBooks you are able to increase your vocabulary but with eBooks, it is so easy to look up words that you don’t know the meaning of. So instead of relying on context clues or having to stop your story to go look up a word, you’re able to instantly know what a word means. With audiobooks, you’re able to learn more about how a word is pronounced. I will admit that since I am mainly a printed book/eBook reader, I find myself having a lot of trouble pronouncing words. I can recognize words really easily but sometimes I don’t know the proper way to say them. I think all of these formats can be educational though, and I have really grown to enjoy all three formats!