The change from printed book to ebook or audiobook does imply some shift in appeal factors; an ebook is no longer subject to possible restrictions on length because of the heaviness of the book (or portability, whether or not it will fit into a purse), and an audiobook may be limited in its appeal to readers because of the style of the narrator.
This change affects our knowledge of the genre because we can no longer make snap judgments based on the publishing company’s dustjackets, blurbs, or the physical attributes of the book (font, paper type, cover material, etc.) and does not allow for browsing a shelf as easily as has been done in the past. We must learn to browse electronically and make connections through online networks (GoodReads, YouTube, various bloggers, NoveList—just for a few examples!).
The fact that readers are able to change font, line spacing, color, etc. of an ebook could have an effect on the reader’s appeal but I think individual readers must decide for themselves what changes they are most comfortable with. At least being able to change these small things may make a book more acceptable to a readers because they may have been thrown off or distracted by the original print edition. I always thought of font and brightness etc. changes from an accessibility standpoint—my grandmother had Parkinson’s and could neither lift a heavy book or turn fiddly pages (or read tiny print!) but on her iPad she could prop it up and use one finger to control everything from brightness to font size; flipping pages was not even an issue. The proliferation of quality audiobooks means I will no longer be spending as much time reading books for my blind friend who used to find audiobooks less easy to come by—and she will have more freedom to find what she likes without my influence or feeling like she is asking me to go above and beyond.
In an audiobook, the narrator’s voice can certainly get in the way or just alter the author’s so that the message comes across in a different way. In some cases it might elevate the material. I had immense trouble empathizing with Percy Shelley until a particular reader made his work come alive for me. I find the appeal of audiobooks to be very much in the way of convenience; I listen to them in the car and while I’m doing housework; my hands may be full and my eyes may be on other things but at least my brain is busy.
My a-ha moment about ebooks, though—and I’m not really all that fond of reading off of a screen, to be honest—was once when I had finished the first book in a series very late at night, and I realized all the book shops and libraries were closed but! I could get a downloadable copy instantly… the freedom! The ineffable joy of being able to continue reading! It seems like a small thing when you talk about it now, but back in the day we were made to wait in painful torturous impatience until the library opened. Dark days.
Rivkah,
ReplyDeleteYou are so right about the freedom of the ebook format! I have, more than a few times, downloaded a new book in the middle of the night. It's like magic, honestly. One of the best inventions of modern times! Why sleep when the library is open 24/7? :)
It is magic! And I know that to librarians it seems difficult to imagine having a library open 24/7 but to me the patrons' ready expectation of the library being open later and later hours (and subsequent real disappointment) is proof that the world has not entirely gone to hell in a hand-basket. Yes, patron X. The library should be open later. Fund us, and there will be more books...
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ReplyDeleteI am glad you mentioned the need to learn to browse electronically. I spend less time choosing an ebook than a physical book. If I'm using my phone (which is the usual device), I get tired of navigating the app and zooming in to read title information. There is something indulgent now about taking the time to browse bookshelves. It's like a mini vacation! That doesn't mean that I don't appreciate (and use) these media options. Certain tangible elements that may affect book choice may be missing in electronic versions, but we can now enhance the visual and auditory elements to make reading much more accessible to everyone.
I often find that my electronic browsing habits are different from my physical-setting habits; instead of looking for books around what I am already reading, I often take the jumping off point of looking for authors I like or librarians whose opinions I respect and check out what they're saying on Twitter. I do prefer IRL browsing but I think the electronic browsing function could be improved. Given Apple's latest announcement, I'm thinking they might be trying to do just that.
DeleteI enjoy browsing for ebooks using the Overdrive app. My library does a great job of curating lists of similar books. They have a huge list of thrillers and suspense novels that will keep a fan busy for years! They also do read alikes for popular novels that might have long hold lists and they do staff favorites. All of these modifications make the online browsing a lot easier
ReplyDeleteI love wish lists and curated lists and staff favorites! I mostly use Hoopla, though, because of their arrangement with Naxos, and my wish list is way too long. I love it. And they keep adding new things, which is exciting and also infuriating. I would love an option to save a search. I expect that will be added in time, though! I love being here at the cusp of all this stuff.
DeleteYou make a great point about ebooks opening up new potentials for portability for people who may have trouble handling large, unwieldy books. I agree that this makes our job harder as readers' advisory librarians because you can learn a significant amount about a book just by picking it up and looking at its covers. You can see at a glance the page count and font size and tell how dense the book will be. It's easy to identify the publisher, a blurb on the back cover, a brief author bio, and other things that make the normal readers' advisory process easier with print books.
ReplyDeleteMy sister loves huge series and she does a lot of traveling and a lot of conference-going; instead of lugging paperbacks she just downloads everything on her kindle. She says she also puts her conference PDFs on there but who knows if she's reading or studying on that thing? Another example of her brilliance.
DeleteI do prefer browsing in a physical setting, just for the shorthand of picking up all that information without having to read it in a list form, but the ability to download so many samples is difficult to weigh against the time it takes to go through physical copies.
Where is this Percy Shelly audiobook? I'd raise him from the dead to fight him. Empathize with him?? Never.
ReplyDeleteI love the wishlist feature on Overdrive! Like you, I'll finish something when I'm not at work and it's a Sunday or late at night, but I just want something now. I'll just check my wishlist to see what I can get at that moment. It's helping my to-read list immensely.
KATIE!!! This actually happened I was not lying! I hated Shelley for years! But here's the thing, I really have been trying to go back and revisit things I was introduced to in my undergraduate years and in high school just because I've been working so hard at being less judgmental (THIS IS VERY DIFFICULT FOR ME, I am naturally a nosy old maiden aunt caricature about everything), and I find actors who are really engaged in their craft to be very helpful (hang on while I get out my powerpoints about Harriet Walter).
DeleteSo this one is a Naxos recording, abridged selections (also a thing I don't normally do but I made an exception bc I was not about to read a boatload of Shelley) read by Bertie Carvel (specializes in making likable people unlikable and vice versa). This is some of Carvel's early work, before he did much onscreen work. I listened to it while clearing my parents' fence line and stacking firewood, but the performance was weirdly... believable? I still disagree with Shelley but now I only feel pity for him. Michael Kitchen's reading of 'Wuthering Heights' makes Cathy sound less awful, too, if you have trouble with that story. Michael Kitchen is a great narrator, too! Ugh. Ugh there's so much awesome stuff out there. Lucy Scott's reading of 'Jane Eyre'? Boggles the mind.
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/697534155
If you listen to it and I was dead wrong and this was just something that happened inside my brain, I want to know about it. It's on hoopla. Get back to me!!
I love your closing point, there is such a freedom about having that available immediately at your fingertips! Well written and full of great points. Full points!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
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