Tradition has maintained that reading means doing so from books, whether paperbacks or hardcovers. I've never strayed from this physical entity.
Though audio books are available in the market, they cost more than real books. Their attraction is the bringing to life of the writer/ narrator's thoughts which had been done so in word form. Reading becomes a whole new experience. At the same time, Siva Choy brought up a very valid point. The spelling of students will suffer due to the fact that they are unable to read the words and see them on pages. Listening to the words being read aloud will improve merely their oral pronunciation of words.
With the advent of Internet technology, e-books have been created. Words appear on a screen instead of on a page. This effects the probability of causing one's eyesight to deteriorate, as he strains his eyes to read the e-book. Moreover, it requires more effort to use, as the reader has to scroll down to the bottom of the screen in order to read a page. In addition, it is in greater danger of being stolen due to its high monetary value. Lastly, an e-book disallows literature students from making notes next to, or highlighting certain parts of, the text for simultaneous reference and study purposes.
Both audio books and e-books present the opportunity to read on the go but in my personal opinion, they dilute the traditional and real experience of reading from books in the physical sense.
