Today’s post will be something a little different. Instead of reading my words, you now get to listen to them. Is there a difference between this and if I had written it all out? Do you have a preference? An opinion on which form is better?
Well that’s what this podcast is going to be about. The three different forms of a book that you can “read”: Audiobooks, E-books and the good old regular physical books.
With me are two fun and knowledgeable students studying English at university, Shamra and Jo-yen. Together we discuss our views, opinions and personal experiences with these forms; debating the pros and cons, telling funny anecdotes, fangirling, book-name dropping, and enjoying the opportunity to talk about something we dearly love.
Jo-yen, myself, & Shamra
At the end of my podcast, I hope you found some enjoyment and gained some new insight on how books can affect, and are affected by our daily lives.
“We will speak for the books.” … “Like the Lorax?” “The Lorax speaks for the trees,” I remind her. “Books are made out of paper. Paper is made out of trees.” “What about e-books?” “We can speak for them too.” “Audiobooks?” “Audiobooks speak for themselves.” She grins. “Get it?” ― Paul Acampora, I Kill the Mockingbird
When you walk into a bookstore, odds are the first thing you’d do is go straight to a specific shelf. For me, that self used to be in the Young Adult section. Now, it’s the Fantasy section. This is because my favourite genre is, without a doubt, fantasy. So I tend to gravitate toward those books, because in the end, I know I’d get the most enjoyment out of it. But is this a problem?
Most people have a favourite genre. This can fall under some of the great umbrella terms of Romance, Fantasy, Thriller, Contemporary or YA. This could also mean that you have a genre that you actively avoid. For me this is the Thriller genre. I can’t really say why, half of the time it’s because I find thrillers to be printed in thick, dense fonts that gave me a headache. The other half is because I can see the twists coming from a mile away, but I’m generalizing here.
Undoubtedly we have tried reading different books in the beginning, but at some point it can get narrowed down as we discover what’s best for our tastes. But I’m here to tell you to try again. You never know, you may have been missing out on discovering a part of you that loves the technicalities of police procedural crime novels.
For those who tend to stick to the same genre and want to venture out a bit, try exploring the sub-genres of your favourite genres first.
Genres can be very fluid and contain elements from other genres. So, if you like that time-travel aspect in your science fiction, give historical time travel a try, who knows? You may just discover that Arthurian fiction is your jam, and you can become a history buff.
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Here is a chart created by Pop Chart Labs that can help you expand you wander out of your reading comfort zone and find your next good read.
“Good writing is good writing. In many ways, it’s the audience and their expectations that define a genre. A reader of literary fiction expects the writing to illuminate the human condition, some aspect of our world and our role in it. A reader of genre fiction likes that, too, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of the story.”
If you’re anything like me, your bookshelf is full-to-bursting from books; beloved, hated, and yet unread. As I (guiltily) ignore my own growing pile of to-be-read books, I’ve compiled a list of reasons why re-reading books is something you should be doing:-
1. You save money
Okay, so this is pretty obvious, but let’s be honest, the older you get, the less justifiable it is to spend money on extra pleasures like books when you can spend it on necessary pleasures like food. Besides, you paid for it, so you might as well get as much bang-for-buck as possible. So until you reach the point where money is a non-issue, re-read again that book you love, but may have forgotten the details of because it’s been a while. Which brings me to my next point-
2. You “reignite” the good feels that you got from reading it before
As much as we may wish, we can never get back that magical first time of reading a book and having it impact you to your very core, but rereading a book can serve to “reignite” the feelings you had before, especially if it hearkens back to a happy period when you first read it. A study has been carried out that suggests that “repeated hedonic experiences” (of which I believe reading is one) leads to a “renewed appreciation” of the experience and even provides mental health benefits.
3. You refresh your memory for the inevitable prequels/sequels
Even when I think I’ve found the perfect standalone, the author announces another book in that universe, and the completionist in me needs to read that too. And sometimes it comes out several years later, like Vengeful. Another case is the Shadowhunter Chronicles. I started the original Mortal Instruments trilogy when I was 15. As of now, a decade later, there are 12 books, not counting all the short story anthologies. And the author has announced at least another 6 novels to come. This trend is coertainly continuing on today in other series. It’ll take a lot of re-reading to keep up.
4. You gain new perspectives
If there’s anything that I’ve gained from growing up with Harry Potter, it all comes from re-reading the entire series right before the next book came out. When I was a little kid, I only ever really paid attention to what’s happening to the main trio, and as i grew older i became more able to relate to the other characters and understand their motivations, opening up a whole new world, making every re-read a fresh take. The same goes for the Little Women series, I never really enjoyed the later books much and I despised Amy. But now, I love them more than I had thought possible. So give those old books you didn’t like a re-read as well, they might just get promoted to your favourites list.
“When you re-read a classic you do not see in the book more than you did before. You see more in you than there was before.”
Sometimes you just want to escape reality and forget all of your own real-world problems and slip into someone else’s skin. Because why deal with your problems when you can read about other people dealing with their problems in faraway lands and virtual worlds? At least then you have the guarantee of a resolution at some point between the pages.
If you find yourself doing this, congratulations! You have partaken in escapism 🎉 Honestly, everyone does it, whether through books, TV shows, music or even games. I do too, especially since my favorite genre to read is fantasy, which is great for daydream fuel.
Escapist fiction, usually referring to fantasy and science fiction, is generally looked down upon and compared to literary fiction as it seen to be more for pure entertainment.
I disagree, as it is not only good for distracting yourself from the real world, the escape itself also gives the readers access to different perspectives on life and is a gateway to bring that light and knowledge back to be applied to your own reality.
Author Neil Gaiman did a wonderful lecture, chronicled in this article, that postulates why we as readers need to enjoy our fiction, and reading escapist fiction is nothing to be looked down on, as it gives you
“Skills and tools and knowledge you can use to escape for real.”
Indeed, it is up to us as the readers to make use of what we take away from what we read for our own betterment.
With that being said, other than the well-known Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones series, here are some escapist fiction recommendations for you to consider the next time you want to get away:
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The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss (for fantastical highjinks and a one-way-ticket into a multitude of theory-crafting forums)
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (for not only one but three strong female protagonists and nostalgic fairytale-esque writing)
Vicious by V.E. Schwab (for an intense rivalry, superpowers and villiany)
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Of course, like with all things, be sure to escape read in moderation, lest it then becomes avoidance, which can severely impair your daily life. If you ever find this happening to you, Patrick Allan has some good advice, over at lifehacker.
So think of reading as a tool for self-care. It’s “me-time” that is necessary for refueling your energy to go back and tackle reality.
“Reading is sometimes thought of as a form of escapism, and it’s a common turn of phrase to speak of getting lost in a book. But a book can also be where one finds oneself; and when a reader is grasped and held by a book, reading does not feel like an escape from life so much as it feels like an urgent, crucial dimension of life itself.”
The Reader And The Read 