Yes, I use all of those platforms. I don’t have a preference and if you asked me to give one up, I’d really struggle to choose which one. I enjoy reading a physical book, I see the benefits of having everything on my Kindle and I don’t know how I’d live without audiobooks.
Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any of the products via these links, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my opinion of any of the products.
When people ask me what I use to read books, I tell them all of these and they often ask me why I don’t try and stick to one or which one I prefer the most. Well, I’ll be honest, there is one that I’m not sure I could live without over the others but I also feel like they’re all essential to my enjoyment of reading.
Therefore, I thought I would write about why I love all three formats and use all three formats. There are pros to all of them and definitely some cons too which is why I use all three.
So here it is: why I use eBooks, Audiobooks and physical books:
Physical books
Reading is just an engrained tangible thing for human beings. Holding a book, smelling a book and the sheer pleasure of owning a book is such an enormous factor of being a book-lover.
Around a year ago, I properly started my physical book collection as I realised I wanted something physical to be able to show people. I wanted people to come round and see a bookshelf of books that they can borrow. I can recommend a book and give them something rather than saying I read it digitally and so they’ll have to get their own copy.
Not only does reading a physical book feel better than any other form, but it works better for my social networks too If I have the colourful physical book then it makes for a better post than the greyscale of the Kindle or the small Audible view from the audiobook.
If you’re looking for your next book read, why not check out my brand new A-Z of book reviews with over 100 reviews to browse?
eBooks
Right, so I’ve just spent three paragraphs explaining why physical books are the best way to go. Well, now I’m about to explain why the exact opposite – digital books – are the best way to go for me sometimes too.
The one massive thing for me when it comes to Kindle versions of books is the fact that I can pick them up absolutely anywhere. If I forget a book, I can pick up the book from the Kindle app on my phone. Alternatively, if I’m going somewhere and I can only pack light and can’t pack two books (not sure what extreme example this may be) then I can bring my Kindle and have hundreds of books. This would also make sense if I was about to finish a book and wasn’t sure what to read next – why not bring a device that literally stores hundreds of books?
The other huge advantage of Kindle versions of books is the ridiculous deals! Because Amazon isn’t selling you a physical product that has to be tangibly created or posted, they can sell them at ridiculously low prices. The number of 99p Kindle books I’ve picked is downright shameful. In fact, the amount of books I’ve read that I never would have read if they weren’t available as a 99p Kindle deal is probably incredibly large too.
If you’re looking to browse some amazing kindle book deals, you can find them here.
Audiobooks
Audiobooks are absolutely essential to me. You see, I love chilling in the evening and I also love playing video games. This means that anytime I get where I have nothing to do, I’ll likely sit and watch tele with my partner or play a video game rather than sit down and pick up a book. I prefer to read a book before I go to bed or when the sun is out. This means I don’t often sit down and actually read. So I need to read books at other times.
Audiobooks are brilliant for this. I listen whilst walking to work, I listen whilst driving to and from work, I listen in the morning whilst I sort the house and get my breakfast ready and then get ready for work, I listen whilst I cook dinner and so much more. Any minute I can get in where I don’t need to be engaging my ears, I’ll often stick in some headphones and listen to an Audiobook. I used to listen to them before I went to bed too but found that this wasn’t getting me anywhere as with my sleep mask with headphones that I use, I was falling asleep far too quickly.
I’m often asked how I get through so many books and in all honesty, it is 100% to do with the fact that I listen to audiobooks in my spare time. If I ever just pick up the paperback or Kindle version of a book, you won’t see me finish it for quite some time as I just don’t read tangible books at the same rate I listen to audiobooks.
Why not try Audible free for 30 days and see how much quicker you get through books?
So there you have it…
There’s my reasoning on why I read basically all three of the platforms you can consume books – they all have their huge positives and they all have their cons which make me use the others.
If I really had to lose one, I would say it would be physical books. I was quite happily reading Kindle copies of books and listening to their companion audiobooks for a long time – it’s only over the past year since I’ve began my collection have I decided I want to really get into physical paperbacks. Though I must add I don’t do hardbacks as my bookshelf is all paperbacks so far and I don’t want it to be all mixed.
Let me know what your favourite way of reading is below or via my social media channels. Do you prefer to collect physical books, have the convenience of the digital copy or only have time for audiobooks? Altentiavely are any of these methods taboo for you, one that you wouldn’t consider even properly reading? I’d love to hear!
