Audio or Printed Books: What do you prefer?
Nowadays, people, especially the youth, rarely pick up a book and read it. Rare are those who read books voluntarily, without being required to do so for school. The most common excuse is: “I don’t have time to read so many books” or “I hate reading”.
Through this article, I want to introduce you to an almost new but very useful and innovative way of “reading” – that is, listening to a book online – AUDIO BOOK.
What is an audiobook?
Audiobooks are voice recordings of the text of a book that you listen to, rather than read.
Audiobooks can be exact word-for-word versions of books or abbreviated versions. You can listen to audiobooks on a portable music player, mobile phone, computer, tablet, home speaker system, or in cars that support audio streaming.
Before digital audiobooks became available, talking books, as they were often called, were sold in physical form on analog cassette tapes and vinyl records. However, with the invention of the internet, a vast selection of audiobooks are available online from many different sources.
Audio vs. Printed Book
Audiobooks are great for people who don’t want to get tired of reading and can easily multitask (while listening to the book, they can do something around the house, drive, or write at the same time) and don’t lose concentration as easily.
On the other hand, printed books are more practical for relaxed people who specifically set aside some of their time and dedicate themselves entirely to reading a book, in order to relax, unwind, or simply fill their free time.
There are different sources, many online sites support audiobooks. It is very important that the book we are listening to is read to us by someone with an alluring, melodic voice, who will give us peace and comfort while listening, who knows how to read and express themselves beautifully and emphatically, who knows how to convey the content to us with emotion, all in order for us to capture it beautifully, and to feel as if we had read it ourselves. While with printed books, it is very important to fully concentrate when reading, especially if it is a book with more complicated content, which must be paid closer attention to be accurately and completely understood.
However, there is a big difference between an audio and a printed book, the feeling is different, the content is experienced differently, we imagine the characters and events differently. Whether you choose the printed book or its audio version depends on the type of person you are.
Personally, I am one of the few who truly have a desire to read books, but only if the content attracts me and looks interesting, otherwise I am not interested enough to pay close attention and concentration while reading it. I have only listened to an audio book once for school, when I did not have enough time to read the entire reading with over 300 pages in two days. The experience wasn’t bad, but the woman I was listening to didn’t make me enjoy listening to her.
That’s why I prefer printed books. It’s very different when I read the book myself, I get immersed in the content, in the story, I imagine the characters in my own way and create my own idea in its entirety. Audiobooks don’t have that pleasure of reading, turning pages and taking notes in between, they don’t allow me to fully immerse myself in the action.
This is just my opinion, and how audiobooks (don’t) work for me, but I know many friends who understand the same books much easier if they listen to their audio version.
I’m really interested in your opinion on this topic, so I’ll ask a question to all of you reading this article..
What do you prefer: Audio or Printed book? And why?
I’m waiting for your answers!!
