Writing Lessons & Advice: E-books and Audiobooks
A few lessons ago, I waxed philosophic on the modern accessibility of books. I feel like paperback books did a lot to set the stage for what we have today, but they’re only one junction along that journey. E-books and audiobooks obviously helped chart that course in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
But would you be intrigued to know that the ideas and development of these formats either coincide with or predate the humble paperback? Some believe the concept of the e-book began around nineteen-thirty, deriving inspiration from the then-new-fangled “talkie” films--or films that incorporated sound for the first time. Forty to sixty years later, business and technology caught up to make such a thing a reality. Meanwhile, Thomas Edison of course made spoken word recordings possible in eighteen seventy-seven with his invention of the phonograph and even envisioned “phonographic book” recordings so the visually impaired could enjoy some form of reading. However, phonograph cylinders of the time--the precursors to records as they’re known today-- could only support several minutes of audio until the nineteen-thirties. Around the same time, the American Foundation for the Blind and the Library of Congress established a “talking-books program” that catered literature to WWI veterans and other visually impaired individuals who couldn’t read print. Much like how the e-book gained momentum, business and technology in the following years would give audiobooks a strong push as well.
These technical advancements for literacy and literature are appreciated at length a few times a year. The first week in March, if not the whole month, is dedicated to reading an e-book. The holiday recognition was advocated in 2004 by an author named Rita Toews. At the time, e-books were still new, but not popular and the traditional publishing routes were not giving new authors enough recognition. In short, establishing the holiday helped bridge those gaps and changed the perceptions towards e-books. Then June is Audiobook Appreciation month, founded by the Audio Publishers Association in 1998 to increase awareness and engagement with the format. Finally, another day for e-books was established on September 18th, 2014, by digital media distributor, OverDrive.
Advantages and benefits of these formats
Perhaps one of the most considerable qualities e-books and audiobooks offers is a high potential of accessibility. As per Edison’s vision, they give those with visual impairments ways to still partake in reading stories. Those with e-book devices can often adjust settings to manipulate fonts or screen lighting or listen to a text-to-speech feature according to their needs or preferences. Many e-books also have audio pairings that either correspond with the title or stand alone as an exclusively audible format. Even if accessibility features aren’t that necessary, titles in e-book or audiobook formats tend to be less costly than physical copies, maybe even free or cheap in some cases.
From a developmental standpoint, The Audio Publishers Association notes that audiobooks offer young or struggling readers “the same opportunities to explore language that a physical book can provide... [as they] can help build and enhance vital skills in literacy, reading, and listening.” The influenced skills include fluency, vocabulary, language acquisition, pronunciation, phonemic awareness, critical thinking, coding, and comprehension--many of which often boost reading scores.
Audiobooks and e-books also have unique portability and flexibility. Audiobooks specifically allow people to read without being tied down if they can’t or don’t want to be, which can even be a plus for time management and multitasking. The libro.fm blog notes that one of the greatest benefits of audiobooks is “being able to read while driving, doing household chores, or exercising... [and that] great times for audiobooks include commuting, relaxing, or when your hands are busy.”
More still, certain set-ups--with either audiobooks or e-books--can sync between devices or collections, allowing them to pick up where they left off when switching gadgets. And e-books can be pooled between readers in a group system like family or cloud sharing. Even many libraries have partnered with services (like Libby from OverDrive) that allow patrons to check out material in digital formats.
While a couple humble paperbacks are easy to tote around at most given times, tech that supports e-books or audiobooks puts any number of titles at one’s fingertips. And the fact that digitized books minimize bulky physical ones has not been lost on the academic realm as reports reflect a high percentage in trends favoring educational material that are either both in print and digital or exclusively digital.
Physical or Digital--is one better than the other?
Deciding which format is superior to the other is a bit of a subjective, pick-your-poison deal. Most avid readers will have their own preference often based on the pros and cons they want to deal with. For instance, maybe one’s lifestyle or needs make one format more practical than the other to them. While e-books and audiobooks as their own products are less expensive, the specific devices, apps, and/or services that support them could be pricey up front. On top of that are efforts to maintain the functionality of the device or program(s), like regular charging, managing software updates, or cleaning and safeguarding the hardware. Wi-fi or data might be needed too. All the while, physical books are typically fairly durable and immediately ready for use of course. Conversely, digital devices make many books easier to carry or access on demand, but statistics favor physical books for better learning experiences. Physical books entail more production but have more resale potential. Sometimes audiobook narrations/recordings are not as great as they could be either.
Ultimately though, no one format is necessarily right or wrong; they’re just different approaches to reading. Experimenting or switching between them is fine too if you aren’t hard-pressed to one or the other. I certainly have and do. Luck smiled on me in college when I won my first Kindle device at a social event and I found some of my required reading for literature classes available for under a dollar on the Kindle store! Even now, I’ve often focused better while reading along with an audio narration. Plus, for me, doing this harkens back to growing up with storybooks on tape. The reading benefits are similar--if not better--by mixing and matching formats.
An author in the nineteen thirties wanted “a simple reading machine which I can carry or move around, attach to any old electric light plug and read hundred-thousand-word novels in 10 minutes if I want to...” An inventor’s short form recording invention of his century would become a giant in the next. To imagine that our realities of e-books and audiobooks were only dreams just one or two centuries ago! To think that our realities satisfy and exceed what the dreamers wanted out of such contrivances. But more than that, anyone today can engage with the skills and pleasures of reading thanks to the journey of the book in digital format!
Hope you’re inspired to some new respect for the digital format and even encouraged to consider it for your own reading habits!
What is your preference between physical and digital books? What e-books are you reading or what audiobooks are you listening to? Which devices or programs for digital books do you use? Feel free to share about these or other topics you want covered in the comments, chat feature, or socials!
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