Which is your preferred means of indulging your inner bookworm? Which I suppose is going to become an obselete statement if we continue down the path of ebooks and audio books...or just even more nerdy because only the real bookworms will have physical books.
I like to read ebooks as well as physical books, and I don't really have a preference between the two. I hardly ever listen to audio books because I rarely have time to sit down and listen for extended periods of time and I easily get distracted when I'm just listening to something. Plus, I'm a visual learner, so I can focus and absorb more of the information that is being presented. I mean I wish I could sit down and listen to someone read a book to me, but I also fear falling asleep and losing my place.
I am not a fan of eBooks just because I get distracted by other functions on electronic devices. I never actually read on them. But then again, I am an individual and majority of our world utilize the eBook market. Additionally, technology reigns these days. I suppose the eBook market will take over soon but to answer your question, I love audio books. I enjoy listening to the voices enact the passages as I listen to the entire story.
Definitely normal books. I just don't know what to do while listening to an audio book that doesn't bore me to death but also doesn't distract me enough to make me unaware. It's just way more convenient just reading a book and listening to the sounds of a nearby river or something like that.
I prefer audio for a good deal of my reading, however I do like e-books for specific purposes and indulge in a good book as a paperback or even a hardcover. I've heard a lot of discussion about how fast e-books are travelling and can share some figures that you might find a bit surprising. The trend currently is that e-books are leveling out in sales as a percentage of the market for publishers. Growth for the previous three years was anywhere from 45% last year to 300% three years ago, but this year they are looking at a 13% increase, approximately. These figures come from conferences I have attended in the publishing industry.
I listened to an audio book once and never tried it again. The narrator was not good at his stuff though he tried his best. Having heard him try to raise the pitch of his voice to speak the dialog lines of female characters, I realized that for an audio book to be really good, they'd need lots of people to read all the different dialog lines and thoughts of different characters but since that would be too expensive, I doubt we'll be seeing any great audio books any time soon. That's why I prefer reading books.
I prefer reading books, but occasionally I like to listen to an audio book when I feel tired and just want someone to "tell me a story". I also like to listen to foreign language audio books since they keep my language skills up to date when I don't get the chance to practice in any other way.
I will listen to audio books occasionally. I find that I prefer to listen to non-fiction books like self-help books or books on subjects like finance. I seem to grasp the concepts better. I also like to listen to the classics because I prefer to listen to old style language rather than read it.
It depends on the book. If it's the type that I'd want my imagination to take hold of such as a fantasy or a fictional story, then I'd prefer to read it so as to have as as much control of the visuals in my head as possible. If the book was more for education, however, such as biographical or lecture books, then I don't mind just hearing them since I appreciate that I can even listen to them while I do other things life driving or working.
Books for me. I have yet to finish an entire audio book. I always end up getting so bored. It's also really annoying when the voice acting isn't great. And reading a book is also what I do to help me sleep. I'm still willing to give audio books a try, especially if I am able to find a good one.
Each has different use for me. When I am travelling or when I am commuting, I prefer to be listening on the audiobook than reading a book because it gets me less hassle. I tried reading a book while I am making my way to school, while I am walking and commuting, it didn't work. It was mentally and physically taxing. Good thing that there's audiobook these days.
I would have to say that books win hands-down over audio-books. I feel more comfortable seeing words than just hearing them. My attention span is rather short so audio books aren't so entertaining to me unlike when I was a little kid. Right now, my auditory senses need to be accompanied by a visual aid for maximum impact.
It depends on the genre I've been an avid reader since I was young and back then there were no options like these so I have my biases leaning towards hardcopy books. I do like listening to audiobooks for some genres like comedy particularly books by David Sedaris. I also like listening to poetry readings done by British actors, but that's a completely different discussion. For fiction, though, I'd still prefer reading hardcopy books and sometimes ebooks (mostly just for practicality like for when I'm commuting, etc). I enjoy having the ultimate freedom bringing the pages to life in my imagination without the nuances of the reader in an audiobook. Just a different inflection or stress in a sentence or word can affect the meaning as well as the subtext so there's that.
I love reading and grew up knowing nothing of e-books and kindles. I still don't. I can see the practicality of one and at some point. If I have a bit of money to waste I may get one. But nothing will replace a real book for me. Besides I love a bookshop and if we all have e-books there will be no use for them. Plus what will we do with the bookshelf.
Audio books have not worked out well for me, they tend to turn into white noise for me and I don't remember what I was listening to. I like to take the time to sit down and enjoy a book rather than be on the go with something just playing in my ears. Books should be relaxing, I associate it with rest, so I want to be at rest when I read.
I prefer reading books rather than listening to audiobooks. I like the convenience of listening, but the inability to simply reread a sentence if it doesn't make sense the first time is very troubling for me. When listening to an eBook I need to be so focused that I find it a nuisance, if I were reading a book it would be easier to stop for a minute to see something or think about something else.
I prefer small paperback books to audio books simply because they are what I have been used to for so many years. I have books in my car in case I have to wait, in my desk in case the computer goes down, I trade them with my friends and the used paperback book store too. It is my favorite hobby. There has to be at least 3 books with me in my luggage when I travel or I may have to buy a book during my trip. I occasionally listen to audiobooks when I am driving during a trip. I rent them from the library. Its hard to understand the accents sometimes. When driving long distances, its not hard to loose focus on driving and get hypnotized when concentrating really hard on the suspense in the audiobook.
Yep I agree with this too. While I occasionally will use audio books to pass time in long car trips, it's incredibly frustrating when I miss something in the book or don't really understand it and have to rewind it to figure out what's going on. So for that reason alone, I greatly prefer reading books than listening to audio books. But there is a time and place where an audio book is needed and much better.
I don't feel that's true at all, honestly. I don't know many people who would prefer ebooks to real books. Most of them read ebooks only because actual books cost a lot and they can't afford to buy 6-10 books per month... but still buy real books of things they really want to read and look forward to. And that's even people who definitely aren't bookworms or nerds.
