Week Eleven Prompt: E-Books and Audio Books

E-BOOKS

Ebooks are growing in popularity. In 2011 E-book sales increased 117.3% (Copeland).  However, a report in the New York Times from 2015 states “E-book sales fell by 10 percent in the first five months of this year, according to the Association of American Publishers (AAP), which collects data from nearly 1,200 publishers” (Alter, 2015).  So, does this mean that E-books have reached its peak and we will all go back to reading hard copies of the stories we love? Hardly.  According to a report from Fortune magazine the reason for the decline is that the AAP has tried for years to allow them to set process on E-books from vendors such as Apple and Amazon.  This has finally occurred and the higher prices has surprised consumers and resulted in less sales.  The article goes on to explain that independent E-book publisher sales continue to increase, because they did not participate with the AAP in price setting (Ingram, 2015).

Price is an important factor of E-book usage for students.  A college student can save a lot of money when they rent the book instead of buying it new or even used.  Modern software allows them to highlight passages and write notes.  However, this learning style does not work for everyone.  Some students find it easier to learn by making tabs and highlighting passages with notes in a physical book.  I like using a combination of E-books and physical books when doing my graduate work.  I sometimes get flustered with bouncing though several open tabs on my web browser and would rather use post-it notes as page indicators in hard copy books.  On the other hand I find it much easier with locating phrases, subjects, and terms in an E-book by doing a simple search. 

The other advantage of E-books is space.  I have a library at my house.  Roughly just over ½ of the books are mine with the rest being my wife’s books.  When she told me the other day that she was going to donated her James Patterson and Janet Evanovich books to the charity organization PAWS I offered to box up the books and take it to the store for her.  Is it because I am a good husband? Yes, and well…I want more space in our library for my books.  I love hard copy books.  I love the feel of the paper and seeing the left side of the book increase in size as I read.  It is like a self-accomplishment that I do not get from Ebooks.  I have several copies of Charles Dickens’ story A Christmas Carol.  However, my worn out copy is still my go-to copy. On the right is a picture of my book.  It just feels right and I have so many memories reading from this particular copy.  The other reason I love hard copy books is the type of books I read.  In my library about ¾ of my books are art books.  I find that the images of the books look better in hard copy form than in electronic form.  Also, art books that I have used in the art studio as guides or examples are covered in paint and other art materials.  I feel that an art book with paint on it is a loved art book.  While I can zoom in on e-images online I still print up a copy to use in the art studio.  Then again, as I stated earlier the search functions on E-books makes locating artist or art work so much easier.

I also have about 13 full short boxes of comic books.  I much prefer reading graphic novels in hard copy form.  It is easier.  I do not like having to zoom in to read the text or move around the images to see all the pages in detail.  For me, this seriously takes away from the graphic novel experience.  However, big and little comic book publishers have been working on ways to bring the hard copy graphic novel feel to E-readers.  This does not mean that I do not read comics online.  Some comics are created to be read on line and are more sensitive to the E-reader format.  Comic Rocket is a free website that currently has over 40,000 different independent comics in a large amount of genres and sub genres for all different ages.  A majority of these books cannot be purchased in hard copy.  Currently, I am reading a funny series on their website called Menage a 3.  A quick summary of the story is having traits similar to a modern day version of the television  series Three’s Company, but with more adult content and nerd culture jokes.  Here is the URL for Comic Rocket https://www.comic-rocket.com/explore/ .

As for novels I like my E-reader over hard copies.  I have found that the ability to enlarge text, change font, back lit display, and how many books my Kindle holds to be a major advantage.  Caring multi-volumes of book in E-book form is so much easier and lighter in by backpack.  I also like to try free E-books from Amazon.

So, in the end I do believe that the physical aspects can affect how someone feels about reading hard copy versus E-version.  Beyond the physical advantages and disadvantages of each it seems more psychological to have likes and dislikes of the appeals based on the reading device.  The six elements of appeals found in books: pacing, storyline, characterization, frame/setting, tone/mood, and language/style should have the same affect on the reader, because the words have not changed.  However the psychology of experience, comfort, and familiarity does make a difference.  As stated earlier have several different copies of a Christmas Carol and have read them along with an online copy from Project Gutenberg.  However, my ragged old copy of the book just seems better, because of the memories and familiarity I have with it.             

Audio Books

I have on average a 45 minutes to 1 hour drive in one direction to work.  So, I love listening to audio books.  They are a great way to pass the time and catch up on some good reading (listening).  Also, with places like LibriVox, https://librivox.org/, and many Old Time Radio show (OTR) websites have free downloads of stories for free.

An advantage of audio books is that a person can listen to them on the go.  They are available in CD, audio cassette, and digital downloads.  However some people do not like this audio book format.  An example is my wife.  She has tried many times, but has a hard time concentrating on the stories when they are read to her.  She would much rather read the stories herself. 

There are different types of audio books when considering likes and dislikes.  The first are abridged versus unabridged audio books.  Some people like the story read word for word while others like a shorter condensed version that gets right to the heart of the story.  Another way top look at it is that some people like stories with a lot of descriptive language while others do not.

The next kind of audio book attribute to consider is who reads it.  A bad narrator can ruin a wonderful story.  However, what one person considers a bad reader may sound great to someone else.  The voice of the narrator is a personal preference.  When an author reads their book it can bring insights into the story that another narrator cannot.  The author has an intimate relationship with the story.  Their changes in tone of voice can add another layer to the audio book.

Another kind of audio books is one that has some sound effects and a few different readers.  These audio books can have music and a few sound effects to enhance the story.  It could have the same reader changes his voice to sound like two or more different people when reading the story.  Another option is to have more than one person reading different parts of the books.  Some people like this format and other people find it distracting to listen too.

My favorite form of audio book takes the story and re-writes it into a play.  These are often called full cast dramatizations.  I am a HUGE fan of Old Time Radio shows (OTR) from the late 1930 to the present day.  The golden age of radio shows is the 1940s to mid 1950s.  I have collected and researched OTR for several years.  I also have over a thousand OTR episodes on cassette tape and CD format.  It was common during the golden age of radio dramas to take popular books in the genres of mystery, science fiction, horror, comedy, drama, westerns etc. and turn them into radio programs.  These shows have full sound effects, music, and actors.  The advantage of these shows is that they are very elaborate.  However, the plays are only interpretations of the story and are often edited for time and to fit into the play format.  So, if someone likes their audio books immersive then this format is for them.  However, for someone who wants to listen to the story read to them then this format will not be what they are looking for.

The good news about OTR shows is that a majority of them are no longer in copyright and can be found Free online.  They still make new radio dramas today using modern technology for sound effects and editing.  Some of these are also available or free online.  On a side note, I have written and directed several live radio plays in the style of the OTR years.    

Cited  Sources

Alter, A. (2015). The plot twist: E-book sales slip, and print is far from dead.  New York Times.  Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/23/business/media/the-plot-twist-e-book-sales-slip-and-print-is-far-from-dead.html?referrer=&_r=1

Ingram, M. (2015). No, e-book sales are not falling, despite what publishers say.  Time Inc. Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2015/09/24/ebook-sales/