Week Ten Prompt: Ebooks and Audiobooks

Most people complain that ebooks take away the best parts of reading such as holding a physical book, turning the pages, seeing how many pages are left, and, most importantly, smelling that new or old book smell. Well, as a book lover who is allergic to dust and mold, ebooks are an amazing invention!

In additon to their benefits for allergy-sufferers, ebooks offer accessibility, versatility, and several fun features which encourage literacy among all ages. While I still read print books occasionally, I have primarily been reading ebooks for years. I use the Libby app through my local library and enjoy having access to thousands of books right on my phone. My favorite thing about ebooks is the versatility. I can take multiple books (in ebook and eaudiobook formats) with me wherever I go. I can read an ebook while waiting in line at the post office or listen to an eaudiobook while I’m driving to work. Having this app on my phone makes it easy to read whenever and wherever without having to carry books around with me.

Some of my favorite ebook features on the Libby app are the ability to customize the appearance of font, text size, and lighting. I enjoy reading in dark mode as I find it easier on the eyes. Ebooks are also easier for me to read while in bed. My phone is more compact than most books and I no longer need to turn on a lamp or use a booklight to read. Other features I really love about ebooks are the ability to highlight and search for words or phrases in the book. When I read books for school, I almost prefer ebook format because typing in a keyword or phrase is easier than flipping through pages to find what I need.

During the pandemic last year, I did not have the option of working from home, but I still found myself with more time on my hands since I wasn’t able to go out with friends. I spent some of this extra time reading books I wouldn’t normally read, including audiobooks! The first audiobook I read was Stephen King’s Pet Sematary which was narrated by actor Michael C. Hall. I was spoiled with this one because Hall does a great job of narrating and even changes his voice to match different characters such as eight-year-old Ellie and Jud Crandall, the elderly neighbor with a heavy Maine accent.

I soon learned the importance of narration for audiobooks when I tried listening to different ones and would give up after a few minutes because the narrator’s voice was monotone, boring, and put me to sleep. Since then, I have been picky about which audiobooks I read and, for many books, reading the text is my preference. For me, audiobooks have been a great way to read some of the novels for my Readers’ Advisory and Materials for Youth classes. I am working full-time, taking three classes, and I commute a total of two hours to and from work each day, so it’s not easy to find the time to sit down with a book. Two hours in the car is a good chunk of time and I usually spend it listening to an eaudiobook. Audiobooks are great for pleasure reading, but I have found that they’re not ideal when you’re reading for a class. It’s not easy to remember words or phrases from an audiobook, and it’s difficult to find certain passages when you need to reference them later. With the growing popularity of podcasts, I think that more people will opt for eaudiobooks as another form of entertainment.

After graduating college with an English degree, I surprisingly did not read much for a few years, but ebooks and eaudiobooks have changed that for me. The advent of these digital media formats has made reading accessible to a new generation and inspired many people to rediscover reading and find a place for it in our tech-dominated lives.