Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish meme where participants discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts. Originally created and hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books, it’s now hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits.
This week’s topic is:
What’s your favorite reading format? Hardback, paperback, audiobook, ebook?
(submitted by Mikaela @ Mikaela Reads)
Prompts: What’s your favorite reading format? Hardback? Paperback? Audiobook? Ebook? What makes you prefer one over the other? Which do you read the most? What are the pros and cons of these different formats?
Must I choose?
As a reader, I’ve found myself pondering this question many times: What is my favorite reading format? For me, it definitely comes down to paperbacks and ebooks, but I’ve never been able to pick just one. There’s nothing like holding a physical book in my hands—the smell of the paper, the texture of the pages. I also like having the physical copy to display on my shelf. Buuut, I also love the convenience of my Kindle. I will read hardbacks, but they’re not my first choice because they can be bulky and hard to hold at times. I do think they look nice on the shelf, though.
If you take a look at my reading format for last year and what I’ve read so far this year, clearly, I read more ebooks. But that’s also because I read a lot of ARCs (advanced reader copies), and I rarely have a choice in format when it comes to those. But which do I prefer?? I think I prefer them equally.
Pros and cons
One thing I definitely prefer about paperbacks and hardbacks over ebooks is the ease of flipping back to sections I’ve already read. If it’s been a few days since I picked up the book, or there are a lot of characters and plot lines, I’ll often need to refresh my memory. It’s not impossible to do that on ebooks. I can usually just search for a certain word in the search bar and find what I need, but sometimes it takes longer. I find myself worried about spoilers when I use that method, too.
Nothing quite beats the convenience of the e-reader, though. I love that I can use it in bright sunlight and the dark of night. That it’s water-proof, perfect for the pool or bath. That I can quickly look up any unknown words or places, highlight things I want to remember. That I can hold hundreds of books in my hands at once!
Audiobooks
When I decided last year to give audiobooks a try, I picked up Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid because so many readers said it was the audiobook for people who struggle with audiobooks. But I didn’t love it. After sharing my thoughts in my post Should I Give Up on Audiobooks?, I came to the conclusion that it was more about the text than the format, though.
I love the idea of audiobooks, but they are not what I gravitate towards. My mind tends to wander too easily. I do like the convenience of listening to a book when I need to finish it more quickly but I don’t have time to sit and read. My daughter recently showed me how to activate ‘Spoken Content’ under ‘Accessibility’ on my iPhone so a voice will read my ebooks for me. Logically, I knew phones would do that, but I never had that lightbulb moment that it would work for ebooks. The voice doesn’t have much inflection, but you can play around with different options and find ones that feel most natural. It’s nice in a pinch!
I’ll typically find myself reaching for audiobooks when I have a classic to read, which are more readily available. I like to switch between the physical and/or ebook and the audiobook if I’m struggling with the text. I did try out the audio version of a Kindle Unlimited book recently, and found myself giggling when the male narrator used a higher pitched voice when the female spoke. I couldn’t do it and had to switch back. But, I’ll keep trying!
Let’s Discuss!
Do you have a favorite book format? Let me know in the comments!
I read very few physical books anymore. If I can’t get a book in ebook or audiobook, then I will read a physical one, or if I have the book as a gift or one I had purchased. I have bookshelves full of books that I do read off, but not like I used to. I like the convenience of books on the go and audiobooks allow me to listen while doing boring, everyday tasks. I probably listen to more audiobooks than anything these days, but that is only in the last year or two, prior to that I couldn’t attend to them. So, as time changes, so do my preferences.
I’m hoping I’ll become more and more comfortable with audiobooks, too! It would definitely be more convenient. 🙂
I’m all about the ebooks. They’re just easier – easier to purchase, easier on my eyes, easier on my body. I do miss the beauty of having a physical book sometimes.
I hear ya! I just can’t seem to stop buying physical books. Haha! And I do still enjoy the feel of turning physical pages.
I get that. It just makes my arms, neck, and back hurt more.
It’s really hard to pick. There’s a part of me that remembers the early days of ebooks with the “why did x book disappear from my Kindle” issues, and that part is 100% in favor of having a physical copy which can’t vanish if the rights change. But I love being able to highlight passages and quotes on my e-reader. And some books are perfect in audio format (memoirs especially work for me as audiobooks). I’m pretty sure I read more ebooks than anything else recently, but do I prefer them? No, not really. I prefer having the choice. (I know. Not actually answering the question…)
Haha! I agree 100%. I want the choice. I’ve never had a book disappear on my Kindle, but it’s definitely a worry. I’ve heard stories of Amazon freezing someone’s account and they lose all their books. I don’t know if those stories are true, but the paranoia is real. 😃 Memoirs and comedic books read by the author are books I prefer to listen to on audiobook, but they’re not a genre I visit very often. I do own Storyteller by Dave Grohl. My husband and I are saving it for our next long road trip. 😉
I’ve never had anything pulled from my e-reader either, but I’m also paranoid. I guess that’s why I tend to buy physical copies of my “keeper” books, whether or not I have ebooks or audiobooks of them already.
Yes! Same here.
I read e-books the most, and prefer e-books to any other format. I like that they are light, and I can make the print larger for my old eyes. Next is audiobooks, I do enjoy them very much. I just don’t like print books anymore. I even bought and audio version of a book my sister gave me, because I found it to hard to read the itty bitty print!
Yeah… my eyes feel like they have worsened overnight. I blame the stress of the pandemic. Haha! But I recently ordered progressive glasses and contacts. I’m waiting on them to come in and crossing my fingers that they work for me. Ebooks definitely help with that!
I never tried that with an audiobook on my phone, but I always keep my audiobooks separate from my reading books. I don’t pick genres that are super detailed for audiobooks. I found mysteries and SFF books can be tough for me, but contemporaries work great.
So far memoirs and comedic books are all I seem to enjoy on audiobooks, but I’ll keep trying! I just can’t get over the silliness of hearing romance. I find myself giggling when I’m not supposed to. Ha!
OMG, yes. Sometimes I laugh when they read the sex scenes.
I think eBooks are definitely top of the pile for me right now just because, as you said, nothing beats the convenience of it. I tend to travel a fair bit and so it’s awesome knowing that I can have as many books as I want on me without worry. I also feel you about audiobooks. I wish I could get more into them because I feel like I could read so much more and do other things at the same time if I could 😂 I’ve still yet to try a romance via audiobook because I think it’d probably send me giggling too. 🙈 Great post, Dedra!
Yes! Love the convenience of ebooks. And the giggles are real with romance on audiobook. I can’t seem to do it either. 😂
Audiobooks are truly the only way I read books nowadays lol
I’m very envious of you. 😂