Personally, I love the feeling of having a book in hand for
reasons I just cannot explain. There’s
just something about the weight of it, the smell, the turning of the
pages. But because I’m having some
vision issues, I’ve found myself gravitating more to reading on my kindle
because I am able to change the size of the font and text to see better. I think this feature of ebooks is very
important, especially for those like me with visual impairments. Whatever method of reading is used, ebook or
traditional book, I don’t believe it affects the knowledge of the genre, pacing
or tone. It is the same story, just a
different, more modern way of viewing it.
I must admit, I never listened to an audiobook. I’m a much more visually oriented person, so
I am not sure if I would comprehend the material as well, but I do intend to
try it in the very near future. Have also
thought that I might find it a bit boring because I am not performing any
action like turning pages. I I
definitely believe that track length and the narrator’s voice would affect how
much I would enjoy listening. If the
narrator reads too fast or slow or is too monotone I am not going to enjoy the
experience, but I’m sure these are taken into account when choosing a
reader. I believe the greatest appeal
factors for audiobooks would be the ability to listen to a story while
travelling, and it also allows a method of reading for the visually impaired.
Melanie,
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with you on several of your points. But the thing that really gets me is if the narrator of an audio book is reading too slowly. I just recently found out that with services such as audible you can slow up or down the narration, which helps tremendously, but I still prefer those print books. My fear with audio books is that if I am not doing anything, I am going to fall asleep listening or let my mind wander and I won't comprehend.
Melanie,
ReplyDeleteI tend to prefer audiobooks if I'm out getting my steps in, or if I'm working on a project that requires my eyes, but not too many of my thoughts. I'm part of that multi-tasking generation that can't be doing only one thing at a time. Even if I'm reading (an ebook or a physical one) I'll have a tv show on in the background for noise.
I can't remember where I saw it (for this class or somewhere else), but I recall reading something which said that some listeners prefer a particular gender and accent. For example, they can't listen to a female who speaks with a British accent, since the words were harder for them to understand. However, a male with the same accent was perfect. It's interesting, how some people focus in on accents, just as much as on pacing and tone.
Melanie,
ReplyDeleteI agree that I prefer print books but I find myself more and more reading ebooks or listening to audio books. I like the ebooks because like you said you can increase the print size to make it easier to read. I also like my ereader because I can read at night without needing a light so I disturb my husband less when I am reading late in the night. I like audio book when I am driving and exercising. I agree though that the reader makes all the difference in the world. I do like that on hoopla and overdrive app that you can speed up the reader when they are too slow. I wish I could do that when I am listening to a cd in my truck but unfortunately I can't, some reader just put way to long of pauses when reading the book.
Audiobooks can be kind of a disorienting experience, so even though I love them, I can easily understand why people wouldn't want to venture into that territory. I have listened to hundreds of audiobooks in my life, and while I think for the most part I have gotten the full experience, I know that there are certain things that I missed out on that only actually seeing the print can provide. This is especially relevant when the font or organization of the prose or poem is essential to the experience. In fact, I do avoid poetry that needs to be seen as well as heard. Even one of my favorite audiobooks, Lincoln in the Bardo, was kind of a disorienting experience at the beginning because there was this string of quotes from different books, and it took me a while to figure out what was happening. I also totally get peoples' allegiance to physical books. There really is nothing that will ever replace that :-)
ReplyDeleteYou know, Melanie, my eyes are going bad, too! And it never occurred to me that reading an e-book would be so beneficial to me because of the font size aspect! I really must consider that. However, one thing that gets to me is that Overdrive, which is where I get my e-books and audiobooks from my library, has so many holds on each book that it takes MONTHS to get the book in my possession. By that time, I've already read the paper version or lost interest. Here's hoping that the vendors and publishers get something worked out so that these materials can be better available in the future!
ReplyDeleteYou bring up some really good points although I wished you would have referenced a reading or two to really drive your points home. Audiobooks can be intimidating at first, but they grow on you!
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