A Bookish Opinion: Formats of Publishing

    Hi! If you saw last week's post, then you've already figured out that this month is my blog's first anniversary, which I'm celebrating through a new blog series called Bookish Opinions. This Friday's topic is another fun, much-discussed one: the different formats we use to invite stories into our lives. 

Listening and Looking

    The means a story is told are often overlooked by other writing choices that make a tale what it is. Genre. Mood. Tone. Characterization. Plot. But, at its core, the way you choose to read a book is often just as important. Whether we realize it or not, listening to a story versus reading words on a page has a direct impact on how we view the book, how we interact with it, and how we remember it.

    Like before, I've divided up the main formats of published books into three sections: print, audio, and electronic. While there are certainly numerous other ways to tell a story, these are the ones I see used the most often. 

Print Books

    Most people are pretty familiar with printed books. Whether hardcover or paperback, each one is produced and distributed either through a publishing house or an indie author's budget. To many this is the most familiar way to read, and I am no exception!

    Again, this type of format is usually what people think of when they hear the word "book", and because of that I'd say print books are the most popular method of enjoying a story. Print books are nice in that you can get off a screen. As most of us have and use screens in our everyday lives, it's refreshing to be able to have a hobby that's doesn't necessarily involve picking up a phone or computer. There is a centuries-old pleasure in curling up by a warm fireplace, in a cozy corner of your bedroom, or a comfortable couch and getting lost in a world of adventures. And, this may sound a little weird, but I love discovering for myself how new and old books smell, sound, and look! 

    The only downside of reading print books is the fact that paper is very much a part of any of them. Papercuts, stains (water and otherwise), and scribbled on or torn pages is always a risk whenever you open a printed book. 

Audiobooks

    Audiobooks are often as in-demand as printed copies. Audiobooks are simply that: someone paid to read aloud an unabridged version of your latest pick. These are most often produced and distributed by publishing houses or audiobook publishing companies, as it takes a lot more money, time, and technical options to produce one for an indie novel.

    There are several perks to relying on audiobooks: as each story is recorded for you to listen to, you can get through books faster, and even multitask while you're listening! People who find it hard to read due to factors like learning disabilities or blindness would also be able to enjoy a story without worrying about slogging through a printed copy. There's also no opportunity to speed read...audiobook readers can and often do take their time reading every sentence, cradling every syllable.

    That's not to say audiobooks are without faults: sometimes the person reading can be difficult to understand, and often you can't find an audiobook for everything. It also may be harder to concentrate on other responsibilities if you're also trying to listen to how so-and-so fought a certain enemy. Those reasons are mainly why I don't turn to audiobooks myself. 

E-Books

    With Amazon's release of the first Kindle in 2007, and a gradually growing market who appreciated and demanded digital copies of their favorite stories, the e-book format was born. This has revolutionized the literary world as we know it, and it's safe to say we're not likely to be heading back soon.

    If you asked me about my opinion on e-books last year, I would have waved them off, saying that they weren't "real books". After all, what was so great about reading words on a screen for hours at a time? Then COVID-19 hit, and desperate for new stories, I turned to e-books and my long-abandoned Kindle. There, I discovered that e-books had features and opportunities I never knew existed, such as the ability to highlight, the removed temptation to "skip to the end", and being able to share your annotations on Goodreads. When my library reopened, I immediately started reserving print books again, but I'd say that my view on virtual ones will continue to remain changed.

    E-books are unique in that they are portable, are a great way to encourage videogame/Internet lovers to try reading, and relatively inexpensive. A downside to e-books, like I mentioned earlier, would be the constant staring at a screen. There is also the danger of buying too many e-books, which take up all of your storage space on your device. 

In Short...

    

    Print books, audiobooks, and e-books, if nothing else, impact the way you interact with and view a story. Print books are great to get the whole reading experience, audiobooks allow a different way to savor a story, and e-books are affordable and practical. All three formats have their own strengths and weaknesses in terms of use and how they affect your reading habits.

    My preferred format would be a tie between print and e-book. While print copies will always have a special place in my heart, I've discovered the advantages of using e-books too. Both offer me different ways to experience and remember all sorts of adventures, quotes, and ideas that have influenced or inspired me. 

    That, thankfully, doesn't change, whether you're flipping a page, popping in some earbuds, or swiping your finger across a screen.

    Thanks for checking out my latest Bookish Opinion! It was so much fun getting to write this post, and I hope you enjoyed reading through it. Don't hesitate to leave a message in the comments if you have more questions or thoughts.

    My blogiversary giveaway is going on all throughout this month, which means you can still enter! Scroll below to see how YOU can have a chance to win free signed copies of Kara Swanson's Dust and Kaley and Rhonda Rhea's Off-Script and Over-Caffeinated!

1. Sign up for a Goodreads account (if you don't have one already!)
2. Follow me (JadeSky: Stepping Stones Book Reviews), Kaley Rhea, AND Kara Swanson on Goodreads.
3. Post a comment below this blog post telling me you entered.
4. Wait for the winner! (Announced June 4, 2021) 

    If you want more information about the details of winning, head over to my previous post and scroll down until you see the banner. 

    The blog-celebrating fun continues next Friday, where I'll be sharing a Bookish Opinion that is very personal to me and my own way of telling stories.

(Note: The photos used were taken by Holly Mandarich, Matias North, NeONBRAND, and Edgar Castro of Unsplash.)