Maybe I am just more of a new age, techie guy, but I don't have an issue with e-books and audiobooks. I especially don't feel that they greatly impact the appeals of the particular genre they fall into. I will admit that I prefer to read actual books, but have read many e-books and find them just as enjoyable. The reason for this is that the genre of a book is contained within the story itself, not the format. It is for this reason that I think the appeals of a genre are minimally impacted when read in e-book format.
Granted, the ability to change font size (an awesome feature if you ask me) can affect the pacing of the a story in the sense that it may take you longer to read the book or the "pages" may break at odd times, but the events in the story still occur in the same order and that is what really affects pacing. In fact, I have been able to convince some of our more technologically resistant (and elderly) patrons to give e-books a try for this very reason. Sometimes we don't have a title they want in large print, but we do in e-book. The ability to change font size has led them to try a new format and enjoy it.
Overall, e-books actually enhance the appeals of their respective genres because they help the genre reach audiences that it wouldn't have before. I know of people that can't stand to read an actual book (shocking, I know), but really enjoy reading on a iPad or Kindle. As more and more books are released in e-format, these people are broadening their reading horizons. Which, in this librarian's opinion, is a great thing, indeed.
On to audiobooks. Now, I admit that I have limited experience with audiobooks, but I do think that they have more of a chance of negatively affecting the appeals of a story. When a book is read in book or e-book format, the reader imagines the voices of the characters and the emotion with which dialogue is delivered. Audiobook narrators take this aspect of imagination away from the listener. Sometimes this is good and sometimes this is bad. A great narrator can pull a listener in to the point that they feel they are a part of the story. Just the same, a bad narrator can ruin a great story. Also, audiobooks don't seem to lend themselves to be consumed in a single sitting, the way some books can be. This may ruin the appeal for some people. I just recently discovered that I enjoy listening to audiobooks in the car. However, I have to be careful I don't get too sucked in and stop paying attention to the road.
All in all, I think that e-books and audiobooks (especially those digitally downloaded) are future of public libraries and we need to leverage their growing popularity. We have the ability to market e-books and audiobooks in such a way that the appeals are not diminished. If we can accomplish that, then we will continue to be successful.
P.S. For those wondering, I don't think that e-books/audiobooks will ever "kill" physical books. I think it will develop into more of a TV/radio relationship.
I like your comparison of various book mediums to TV/radio, and one could even include movie theaters. When television came along, many expected it to mark the death of radio and cinema. Instead, the various venues became more specialized to accommodate the programming that they were best suited to -- episodic programming to TV, music to radio, big budget feature films to movie theaters.
ReplyDeletePerhaps a similar adaptation will take place with book mediums over time. Some genres or authors do seem to lend themselves better to some formats than others. Personally, I've already noticed patterns in my own preferences. I devoured the fast-paced Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series on my Kindle, prefer the classics in print form, and love to linger over the lush descriptions and slower pacing of historical fiction and literary fiction in audiobook form. I hadn't really thought about this before, but it would be interesting to see if other readers have specific preferences for genres in a specific medium.
I agree with you! Although I am a fan of print books as well as new formats, besides a narrator affecting the reading experience, I don't see how the format of the book can greatly affect the appeal factors. I mean, a fast-paced book will be fast-paced no matter how fast a narrator reads it. I do really enjoy listening to Richard Dawkins via audiobook because a lot of times he narrates himself, which makes the experience more personal.
ReplyDeleteYou wrote: "All in all, I think that e-books and audiobooks (especially those digitally downloaded) are future of public libraries and we need to leverage their growing popularity. We have the ability to market e-books and audiobooks in such a way that the appeals are not diminished. If we can accomplish that, then we will continue to be successful."
ReplyDeleteI agree. This winter our library was closed 6 days (not in a row) for bad weather. During this time we promoted our e-books and audios on our Facebook page, letting people know that they could check out ebooks and audiobooks.
It's funny you apparently run the risk of not paying attention while you're driving because you're so sucked into the story! I have the opposite problem. Regarding the few audiobooks I have listened to, I've found that I can't be doing anything else while I listen. If I'm in a car, I would pay more attention driving than listening. Same with chores: I'll end up paying more attention to the chore. An audiobook has to have very strong appeals (like a good narrator) for me to be able to get through one.
ReplyDeleteIf you pick a audiobook that has a good narrator, which is sometimes the author of the book, you will love the audiobook. My mind tends to wander, so having an interesting person read the story helps a lot. I am afraid that it will distract me on the road too.
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