The article is devoted to the comparison of audio, electronic and paper books, which makes it possible to finally decide on the choice of media.
We live in an era of high technologies when usual paper books are replaced by audio and electronic counterparts. In this connection, the question arises as to what to give preference. Any of the options has a right to exist. It all depends on how people are easier and more customary to perceive information. Let’s try to understand the choice of a person.
Sounds against Sight
Audiobook represents a quite original and convenient thing for everyone, from kid to a busy businessman. Before you, there is a CD with a record of a classic novel or a children’s fairy tale. The text of any composition is voiced by professional readers, which makes this method even more attractive. You are where the voices of your heroes are heard.
True, an audio text is linear, printed one doesn’t. It’s not for nothing that an audiobook is broken into five-ten-minute pieces to make it easier to find the right place. Reading a traditional title, you are free to perceive the text at the pace you want. You are able to stop, think, mark and return to what has already been read. With an audiobook, such tricks do not pass, so both awareness and memorization of data are significantly weakened. Moreover, not all texts are equally conveniently perceived by the ear. The convenience of an audiobook is that it can be listened to anywhere, for example, in a car on the way to a job or to a country. In our epoch of frantic speeds, when every minute counts, there simply is not enough time to refresh the classics in memory or, conversely, get acquainted with literary novelties. But in the case of a paper version, we create images ourselves, our mind is playing, not someone else’s imagination. And we get “still unrefined product”.
In addition, audiobooks are ideal for blind and visually impaired persons who do not have an opportunity to read books but want to re-immerse them in the magical and fascinating world of literature or continue their education. If you respect yourself, then waste your time with good. Audiobooks are easy to download. In a simple way, literally one year you can even finish a remote business course.
If you spend most of the time on the road, you have a chance to brighten it with audio reading. After all, traditional books are quite inconvenient to review in transport. Thus, by sticking headphones into your ears, you simultaneously protect your vision and expand own literary horizons. Audiobooks are also useful for any monotonous mechanical work such as home cooking or cleaning. In the above circumstances, you are able to get acquainted, first of all, with those compositions to which your hands do not reach.
Do Gadgets Lose Paper?
Until recently, e-book fans predicted complete disappearance of conservative sources of inspiration. But a few years have passed, and the latter does not cease to be popular. Let’s consider advantages and disadvantages of an electronic analog.
Pros:
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Compactness. It involves an ability to store large amounts of information on small media. Besides, it allows you to take a few books on your journey.
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Ecological compatibility. For the production of paper, trees are destroyed while one electronic book contains an immense number of pages, saving the whole forest from cutting down. Furthermore, there is no need for lighting and it has great opportunities for working with text.
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The skill to change a font and size of letters allows people with poor eyesight to read without glasses.
Minuses:
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Inconvenience in reading. There are a lot of individuals who are tired of eyes from constantly peering at the screen, which is not observed when reading a paper format.
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Finesse. The text on paper is perceived much brighter and more compelling to empathize with the heroes and narrated events. That’s why you should not expect that use of readers will instill a child’s love of reading. Stories read from electronic media are much harder to get his/her attention.
The reason lies in the mechanism of memorizing a word, which is associated with the creation of a so-called mental map of a composition. To find the right information in our head, memory uses a series of clues. For instance, we must remember place or circumstances, where it was received. In the role of such recognition, tags-hints serve as tactile sensations from contact with a book, the texture of the page, the cover and the design. All this forms a unique “architecture” of the read. An electronic book is devoid of any kind of additional identification marks. Such facelessness leads to it is stored in memory in a chaotic, disorderly manner.
Of course, paper books are much harder. Today, many people have time only to review in subway or train, and on the road, you will not always take a weighty volume. They take up a lot of space, so their number in the house is limited while electronic one can be collected by tens of thousands.
Naturally, you have to buy a paper book. Concerning e-book, you may just download it for free. If a friend asks you to read your sample, it can go away irrevocably. An electronic version could be copied.
Thus, literacy and erudition do not cease to be popular and become public. The choice of carrier depends on your purposes and needs. It is better to take an audiobook or an electronic medium on the way. The paper volume is suitable for the end of winter evenings with a cup of coffee. So no matter what you prefer. The main thing is not stopping reading.
Bio
My name is Erica Fleming, I am a blogger and work as an editor. I have a Master’s Degree in literature and love both reading and writing about books and literary topics. I also help students with their literary assignments – articles, essays and summmaries of books. Me works you can see at freebooksummary.com