Books. A collection of words that can weave a tale for our imagination, record our understanding of the world, or record the history of civilizations. Books have been part of our growth as a society for thousands of years, ever since the Epic of Gilgamesh was first carved into stone tablets.
Books have evolved over the years, adapting to the innovations of humanity and becoming far more widespread with the invention of products like paper and technology like the printing press. Just as books have adapted over the ages from stone to gold, then from metal to paper, books have once again evolved from their original medium and now can spread across the world with the internet. Now, you can have a library of thousands of books in your pocket, merely seconds away.
Books have become considerably more accessible to the average person with the invention of the Internet. With a swipe of your finger, you can turn the pages of a book on your phone without the hassle of holding a heavy book or holding down the pages when a mild wind blows. Accessibility and convenience have been the driving forces behind the success of books, and with the invention of the audiobook, books have become more accessible than ever before.
Audiobooks, audio recordings of a book being read by a narrator, have made books more accessible to both the average person and to those who suffer from visual disabilities. With an audiobook, you can listen to a book while you go about your day, work on an assignment for your class, or do chores around the house.
Both mediums of storytelling have their benefits and detriments. Classic books have a much wider catalog of available stories than audiobooks, not to mention you don’t have to worry about a battery running out with a physical book. Audiobooks, however, can be listened to while you are performing other activities, making audiobooks accessible to busy people with no time to sit down and read a novel.
At the end of the story, it is a matter of personal preference whether you prefer reading the book yourself or listening to a recording of the book being read to you. As an avid book reader myself, I just choose to read both!
