Let’s Talk Bookish – What’s Your Favourite Reading Format?

Aria @ Book Nook Bits will be the new host for Let’s Talk Bookish! If you aren’t following her yet, good check out her blog and give her a follow!

July 15: What’s your favorite reading format? Hardback, paperback, audiobook, ebook? (Mikaela @ Mikaela Reads)

Prompts:  What’s your favorite reading format? Hardback? Paperback? Audiobook? Ebook? What makes you prefer one over the other? Which do you read the most? What are the pros and cons of these different formats?

Welcome back to another week of LTB here at DTRH, everyone! Today’s topic is all about book formats, and I think there was a recent similar discussion but nevertheless I’d love to hear what you all prefer. For me, I think there’s a time and place for everything, and I’ve never been a diehard fan of just any one format.

Hardcovers are the most beautiful on the shelf, and to be honest, just visually. It is almost always stunning, and with the added layer of protection (practicality!) there’s nothing I would usually ever complain about hardcovers. My only knock on them is that I actually personally don’t find the experience of reading hardcovers the best. It’s a little bit difficult to pry the book open, and it also feels even worse if I’m bending or cracking the spine. This is just my personal little thing though, can anyone else relate?

Paperbacks (softcovers), on the other hand, are like my pride and joy when it comes to reading. The way it just slightly bends (though I try not to bend it too much), and its lighter weight in comparison makes it just my overall preferred version of a book. The biggest drawback is that it is extremely fragile and susceptible to damage. The corners getting slightly bent, the spine starts wrinkling, pages get warped, the whole book doesn’t lay flat anymore when closed…the list goes on after only one reading of the book! That being said, I still enjoy the reading experience the most.

Audiobooks take up your listening sensory. Sometimes this may not be preferable, although if your other tasks are visual, it may make sense to multitask using two different senses. Some drawbacks of audiobooks is that going back and forth (“flipping pages”) may be more difficult, and sometimes you don’t realize how names are spelled, or other visual cues that might be present in the book are lost on you. On the other hand, I have heard that it helps readers get through more books, and I think that is always a plus.

Ahhh, e-books. I am a huge fan, and especially when my shelves get ever fuller and my wallet tighter, it just makes sense to have e-books. I enjoy reading on my Kindle as it is super portable and easy to read, but also quite safe from regular wear and tear. It is still fragile as a device though, so there is that drawback. But being able to bring many books all on one device to have at your fingertips during a trip or a longer commute is just a blessing of technology. I admit it’s not quite as enjoyable as reading a paperback book but for all the pros that it offers it’s great!

What are your favourite medias and what do you think the pros and cons are? Let me know in the comments below!

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