As a kid, I don't think I could have imagined that I'd be one day asking readers what format they prefer for reading. But I recently did and a few of you commented that you really prefer the audiobooks! I was a skeptic about audio books until I decided just to try one to see what the hype was about, and now, readers - I am a convert. For almost everything- for me the audio book is the winner.
As I was growing up- the format was pretty much.
Book
While there were books on tape (yes cassette tapes, or even reel to reel) and some records of books, those were touted for people with visual problems, not for just anyone. And they were really just a person reading the book - no one "did the voices" and a full cast type of narration wasn't even imagined. I don't remember anyone reading audiobooks until fairly recently. I do recall as a child having one LP where a narrator did read some children's stories, in such a monotone that we just laughed and laughed at it.
Being a bit curious, I did a little research - it seems audio books really gained steam in around 2015-2016 though they had long been popular, and they have continued to take off, sometimes outpacing sales of physical or ebooks. In 2017 NPR did an excellent short piece of the rise of the audiobook. It seems audible released a device specifically designed for audio book listening. I searched on line and the only photo associated with this early device was within the NPR article:
those antenna...
No one was really texting, sending fun memes or enjoying "social media" back in those days. We had a device for everything, pagers, a walkman for music, the weird audible thing? (If you had one, please let me know about it), and a phone for talking. So even though Audible was touting the new listener, it seems that...it still took some time for the audio books to really take off.
As children are using audiobooks as tools, they are more likely, I think to continue using them as they grow older. For people like me, they were a bit of a novelty, but for "kids these day" it's just another format.
We have great phone apps, with excellent sound quality on our phones, and we can augment the experiences with portable speakers, headphones, use of home speakers/listening devices (like alexa) or for some folks, we can still check out CD's from the library.
But- is the audio book going to replace print?
For me, personally NEVER.
While audio is my preferred method of reading most books, I still love having copies of the print version, especially is the cover is something to talk about. if a book is particularly meaningful, I like to take notes in the margins, tab my books and otherwise "make them mine" Books don't require any electricity (unless you need a lamp) or to be charged to run, and if you want to lend to a friend, well- it's a lot easier to lend a book than an audio book.
In the end, I'm so glad that I have all the options available, though I have to say the Ebook is my least favorite, it is super economical, but no covers, no full cast narration, and it kind of leaves me wondering why? I will also be honest, my geriatric e-reader was bought as a refurbished item and I find it glitchy, I can't easily go back and find something I didn't highlight and even looking for the e-highlights takes a lot longer than flipping through a tag or a dog ear in a physical book. And as NPR points out, E-readers may not be as sustainable/economical as we immediately assume.
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