As an aspiring author, you might be thinking about which one of these is superior: the physical book or an e-book. Of course, we all have our opinions – today – let us explore some cold, hard facts about both choices.
The thing is that the human brain processes differently when it reads books on a digital device as it does when it reads on a piece of paper. You might as well wonder how a digital book is different from reading a physical book.
These aspects are important to consider as to why some prefer one over the other.
Table of Contents
Understanding the Difference
According to science, humans use different parts of their brains when they read from a piece of paper as compared to reading on a screen. When we read on a screen, our eyes dart around the open site while trying to piece together the right information.
This aspect indicates that we aren’t deeply reading but simply skimming. If you have been brought up around digital devices, your ability to jump around the page and piece together information quickly is heightened.
So, when it comes to reading deeply and reading educational content in particular – this skill isn’t useful. However, depending on your target audience, you might want to go ahead with an e-book. For instance, if you are a CEO and you have a follower base who are staying updated on the latest blogs, you have the option to hire a ghostwriter for an e-book as this will save you time, and your readers will be able to read your book from their tech devices – just like your blogs.
How Does it Feel to Read a Book from a Screen?
When it comes to reading a book from a screen, the light produced by the screen can cause adverse eye strain. This kind of strain over time can make reading from a screen a lot more stressful than reading from a book.
It might even cause the reader to read more slowly while missing things that they might not have missed if they were reading from printed text. Studies have shown that the glare and flicker from screens tags the brain more than when reading from paper.
This is specifically true if the text is longer.
How Does it Feel to Read from Paper?
Modern e-readers now have certain types of screens that look more like paper, which can feel like it is canceling out the bad effect on the eyes.
Nonetheless, when you grab a book – the feel of the pages on your hands isn’t just nostalgia – it is essentially a rich source of information that tells the reader of their position in the text. This sense of position is deemed important, which is why print readers are more likely to accurately recall the story’s chronological order because of it.
In fact, research suggests that the brain processes information more quickly when we use various parts of the brain. This aspect means that seeing the words, holding the book in your hands, and maybe even sniffing the pages – all these aspects might have more of an effect than we realize.
Compare these aspects to an e-book, and you will realize that e-books don’t have these aspects. The thing is that it is very difficult to position yourself in an e-book when you don’t have the pages in your hand.
Of course, e-books have progress bars and percentages – but – these are purely visual rather than tactile. So, when you are reading an ebook, you might usually lose track of how far you are through the book. If somebody asks you to find a specific vocation for something that happened in the book – you might have to struggle a lot.
If you are reading nonfiction, it might be a good idea to take notes so you can refer to them later.
The Verdict
Preference plays a huge role in how effective readers think they will be at reading an e-book or a paper book. That said, if you prefer paper books and feel like you read better than reading a paper book, then you will read better reading a paper book.
On the other hand, if you believe that you are better at reading an ebook, then you are all right, as you might not experience much of a difference between an e-book and a paper book. Older studies have found that there is a difference in comprehension and understanding between print and digital books.
However, modern studies have found very few differences at all. So, it is safe to state that the matter is a personal one based on preferences. If your readers or you prefer one over the other, you will do just fine, and your paper book might sell as well as your ebook.
What About Audiobooks?
If you look at things from the reader’s perspective as you might have listened to audiobooks yourself, you might have wondered about whether you are getting the same thing as if you were actually holding a physical copy and turning the pages rather than just listening to someone else read it to you.
This is an important question because now the number of people who listen to audiobooks has doubled. According to research, reading seems like it can lead to better retention and comprehension. But – the findings are pretty mixed. The thing is that reading and listening are trainable skills that you can get better at.
People say that listening is more convenient. Let us face it – we live in a world full of distractions where most people would find it hard to actually sit down with a book and read it. The easy way out is actually listening to audiobooks while you are commuting to work, working out, or running errands.
It saves you time and you still get to “read” your favorite books without actually reading them. So, as an aspiring author, you might want to keep in mind recording your audiobook and getting your book out in this medium, too.
