I recently discovered the benefits of audiobooks. I just put them on my mp3 and I can get literate while walking the dogs or shopping.
But I still think that the classic book format is here to stay. It's the most comfortable to me, and I can listen to music while reading. I don't think you can listen to music while listening to an audiobook, can you?
What I can't stand are ebooks, they may be the future, but the idea of standing in front of the computer to read large portions is torturing. That's why I always print them on paper.

So which format do you prefer? And which one has more advantages from you angle?

I do not like ebooks or audio books.

My problem with Audio Books:

Trying to listening to someone else read bugs me. I do not like to hear myself read, so i certainly do not want to hear someone else do it...i just cannot get into it or lose myself and i have a very difficult time keeping up with the plot...and then comes the matter of the voice. It is either a relzexing voice that makes me want to sleep or an anoying voice that maked me want to sew their month closed...I have rarely found many in-betweens.

Besides for the type of books i like to read- i would rathr not have hear it spoken aloud. It is better enjoyed silently.

Ebooks

After a few hours the LSD screen just hurts my eyes. That is wh yi spend so much money on printer in and paper because all of my textbooks are online, and after a while- it really hurts my eyes to the extremes.

I like regular books because I can hold them, feel the pages, and yes, even smell it (I love a new book smell!). I like to see the cover art and be about to hold it everywhere i want. The pages are bendable and it is not likely to 'break' unless my children rip out my pages. Call me old-fashioned, but i would not want to read any other way that with a regular book.

I have to say, while I don't own an eBook reader, I can totally understand the appeal of them. I've had to deal with trying to pack reading material for travel enough to really appreciate the space-saving aspects. And if I could get something like that for all the RPG books that I have to tote to friends' houses when I'm running games there? That would be sooooo nice.

If they ever came out with a nice, full-color system where you could manage comic book subscriptions on your reader, organize the subscriptions and the issues themsevles anyway you want to, and have all your weekly comics delivered automatically and wirelessly to a slender little hand-held device every Wednesday, I would have a bit of a moral delimma. On the one hand, I really like to support my local comics/games store, but on the other hand... a set up like that would really kick ass.

I don't have an opinion one way or another of audiobooks, although I suppose maybe I should pick some up just to counter that shut-in tendency I have of using words I'm familiar with only through their written form and then pronouncing them wrong.

I really dislike the idea of reading a book online. I had the entire Tank Girl comic saved onto my computer at one point, but I still payed the 17 dollars for one of the books, because I like having a physical copy to hold in my hand. It's easier to take with you and read and it doesn't require charging.

And Audio books drive me insane. I really like quiet when I read.

I tend to tune out audiobooks. I like the hardcore history series but have to relax and concentrate or else it just goes in one ear and out the next. I much prefer to read and review at my own pace, something so civilized about relaxing with a good book.

-LS

Aaaaaaand I've just found out that Marvel, at least, already publishes to iPad.

Since I'm a DC girl, I'm saved from my moral dilemma.

Come to the Darkside....we have cooler powers.


Henry, maybe you can see if they have The Bell Jar or The Yellow Wallpaper for download.

ETA~ I quite enjoy reading things on my phone, personally. I just wish it had better battery life.

After seeing their presentations I think I will, thank you for the suggestion! hugs

I prefer the Darkseid.

They are excellent stories! I hope you like them! *hugz*

Paper books you cant lose your self on ebooks. I like old books there smell there feel you cant beat it in my mind.the drawback of books is that there fragile and ezey to lose when you move pros for books is they sometimes give you more information But a con is it takes a lot more time to find out the information that you want to find out you have to read the books to find it, On the internet all you have to do type in what you want.

I'm an old fashoined kind of gal. Paper and parchment are my perfered methods of intake. Digital stuff is nice with the availability, but I' would rather have a hard copy than anything else.

I love my "Real Actual Books (tm)" because the feel and smell of a book is just nostalgic to me.

Audio books and eBooks do have a place imo. Audio books are great for road trips if you can find someone who can do it justice. I discovered that Tim Curry is wonderful at reading the Lemony Snickett books, and that the audio book of "TAle of the Body Thief" is very good as well.

As for eBooks, I think if I were still in college I would be all over having my curriculum on a Kindle or something rather than lugging around a giant schoolbook (or several of them) to and from class every day. Especially engineering books! As for reading one for pleasure, however, I don't think that will ever happen for me.

I was always a one to bemoan the idea of any type of book that wasn’t made out of paper. But when I had a job driving around the UK I found that audio books were a welcome difference to just listening to music all day long.

Especially good was a Doctor Who book that was read by David Tenant where he did really good voices for all the different characters. Also good was a CD of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy where several different actors did all the different characters.

As far as eBooks are concerned I don’t think I would ever want to read a whole novel from a computer screen. But I find that I use my iPhone to read news websites in the same way that I used to read a newspaper and my phone has now become my main form of getting the news.

Also my phone is a very good medium to read poetry from because it’s short enough to read when I find a brief period to myself during the day like waiting in line at the supermarket or whenever I’m not doing something else. I’ve also got it with me at all times so I can dip in when I’ve got time. I’ve got the complete works of Edgar Allan Poe, the complete works of Shakespeare, Homers Iliad and Homers Odyssey and they were all free apps on the iPhone.

So although I don’t think that real paper books will ever be totally replaced, or at least I hope not, I do think that these new mediums have there place.

I like normal books the best, as they dont need charging or any type of power source. Nice and portable for the handbag too. Tried e-books on my phone but just didnt feel the same.

However I also love audio books as I really enjoy the spoken word and they are great for my commutes round the M25 to work in the terrible traffic. I do find though if I have them on at home I tend to fall asleep and then have to try and remember the last bit I heard to continue the story