People like to read in many different ways, but to sophomore Anthony Seck, traditional books will always be best.
“It feels like you have a deeper connection [with the book] when you’re looking at physical paper, rather than just a screen,” Seck said.
While he doesn’t think that one form of reading has specific advantages over another, he does believe that physical books are the most enjoyable.
“[I would say that the worst form is] audio,” Seck said. “It’s much slower than the others.”
On the contrary, junior Michael Muller prefers ebooks over other types of reading,
“It’s really nice,” Muller said. “They can save a lot of space, you can read them anywhere, they don’t waste as much paper as regular books, and it saves money.”
Much of Muller’s preference for ebooks comes from their practicality over physical or audio books.
“I really like that you can read it at night, and you don’t need a reading light,” Muller said. “And I think it’s just easier to hold in your hand, [it’s] more convenient.”
Despite his fondness for ebooks, Muller still reads “a lot of physical books, [he] just likes the convenience of ebooks better.”
Muller believes that audiobooks are at the bottom of the list.
“I don’t like listening to the speaker talk at me,” Muller said. “I want to read the book myself, it helps me process the words better.”
While many might consider audiobooks the least promising form of reading, junior Maddie Pruet likes them the most.
“It feels like someone’s reading to me,” Pruet said. “I can be doing other things, and I can still be listening to the audiobook.”
Pruet believes that audiobooks are advantageous to readers because they allow the reader to multitask.
“To sit down and get myself indulged in a paper book or an ebook, I have to sit down, focus on it, and I really have to picture it,” Pruet said. “But with audiobooks, it’s like someone can read it to me, and [I] get more of it done quicker.”
While she likes audiobooks the best, Pruet doesn’t “think there’s a bad form,” of reading.
However, ebooks are her least favorite.
“It sucks the fun out of it a little bit,” Pruet said. “You can have all your books in one place, but you don’t [get to] look at the covers or have that fun experience at a bookstore.”
