by Lília
As an avid reader, I’m always looking for different ways to enjoy books besides the usual physical book, especially since I have to travel by train quite often to get from home to work and home again.
E-books
E-books are everywhere, on your phone, your e-reader or your tablet, making it even easier to consume books this way. Most companies have an app you can install in any of those devices if you’d rather not have a separate e-reader. I, for one, prefer an e-reader to reading from a tablet or phone—the first is too big to hold for too long, and the second has too small a screen. I avoid the light those screens produce, which gives me headaches. So if I’m reading digitally, I do prefer an e-reader with e-ink. It’s not as restful as a paper book, but it’s less stressful for the eyes.
Nowadays most publishing houses give away digital ARCs (advanced reader’s copies) instead of the printed ones to cut costs, and we actually have access to many more titles than we used to have before the advent of e-books. So being able to read e-books gives us a wider range of discovering new titles and new authors, even though not everybody uses this medium. But I’m also happy to say that some publishers still send us printed ARCs—always a treat.
Audiobooks
A few years back I discovered that I also enjoy listening to audiobooks. It’s a different experience than reading, but it’s pleasurable in its own way. I enjoy the single reader that simply reads the text, the single reader with many different voices and performances, the duo readers, but I simply LOVE the ones that are actually almost “a movie in your mind,” as Graphic Audio describe their performances. With those, you realize what you hear is not exactly what has been written, but the spirit of it, and after having read the original and afterwards listened to one of those adaptations, I can guarantee that most of those adaptations are well-made and deserve a try as well.
The only “problem” is when you encounter a narrator who does not click with you. It has happened a couple of times with me, and fortunately it only made me more enthusiastic to (re)read the written word instead of listening to the audiobook.
E-book, audiobook, or printed book?
Although I’ve been an early adopter of e-readers and e-books exactly because of my long commute, the physical book has always attracted me more. When I’m home, I do have a physical book in hand. It’s soothing and relaxing, asking for a sit on the sofa with a nice hot tea and silence in the house. And in my experience, I absorb a lot more when reading from a paper book than when reading digitally, or even listening to an audiobook.
That all being said, the most important thing for me is that I can consume a book in different ways, be that from a printed book, an e-book or an audiobook. This way I can “read” stories even when I can’t carry a big hardcover on the train, while I’m doing some handwork like embroidery or cooking, or do not have the mind space to read words from a page.
What’s your experience with other ways of reading?
