eBooks and Audio Books Prompt Response

With new mediums available reader's have more to consider than just genre or titles, they must consider eBook or audiobook formats on top of the traditional print formats. For the most part eBooks do not change the overall experience of the book. E-books have little affect on a book although audiobooks can affect how the reader experiences the book. An eBook allows for manipulation of the text size. One of my patrons at the library commented eBooks are nice because they can be large print or regular size print by adjusting the font size. They are no different than a large print edition the pacing or tone is the same as the regular print. Some eBooks have pictures or videos within the book and most E-readers have a glossary available and allow for bookmarking. So eBooks have a small extra incentive.

Audiobooks are completely different than an eBook because there are more factors to consider. The biggest factor with audiobooks is the narrator. Some narrators are better than others. For instance some books the narrator changes their voice for different characters. In the audio edition of Goldfinch by Donna Tartt the narrator made the book more enjoyable. There is a Russian character that was my favorite because I loved the accent and you could hear the character's not so perfect English. If you do not enjoy the narrator you may not want to continue the book. Another factor to consider is in an audio book you cannot speed up the length of the novel. If you read it you can read it at your own pace. Audiobooks I have found take more time to listen to than to read. It is nice that some audiobooks have short track lengths for easy listening but I do not feel is really affects the pacing or tone of the book from my experience.

As far as appeal factor, I think ebooks the appeal factor is not affected by the medium necessarily. However, the users ability to use the E-reader may affect the reader's experience, specially if they find it difficult to use. In the case of audiobooks the appeal factor is definately affected. The narrator can make or break a book. A good narrator can help a reader appreciate a book more or dislike the book entirely. 

The knowledge of the genre, I do not feel can be affected by the physical format of a novel. E-books do make it easier for novels to be categorized in more than one genre. This may lead to readers going outside their normal reading habits. Audiobooks I cannot forsee any reason the knowledge of the genre is affected. 

Personally I enjoy listening to audiobooks in the car because they help the time pass. I typically try not to listen to anything that is too heavy. Light books are typically what I choose to listen to in the car because if you get distracted it is not a big deal. It has been suggested to me that novels such as "The Help" are great to listen to because the slang is easier to listen too than to read. As far as ebooks I do enjoy reading them. Mostly I read print books because they are more readily available but I read them about equally the same when both editions are available.