Digitalizing classic literature has sparked popularity in eBooks and audio books. While convenient for new generations, digital formats change the reading experience and may impact how authors write. Physical books provide sensory experiences lost in digital formats, but eBooks offer accessibility and features like adjustability. Both formats appeal to different readers, and classic literature adapts as reading habits evolve with technology.

1. Digitalizing Classic
Literature
By Lily Eves
Karolina from Kaboompics

2. 15-20%
of all U.S. trade book sales
are now digital (Jabr)
Viktor Hanacek from Picjumbo

3. A New Kind of Reading
For newer generations, the term reading has
changed.
eBooks and audio books have sparked in popularity
over the past few years, with many households
being very familiar with these new ways to read.
Books are being created strictly for these new
mediums and older books are being adapted into
them.
Karolina from Kaboompics

4. Reading Through
Screens
eBooks have become immensely
popular, especially among the younger
generation.
They allow for a large library right at
your disposal, which prevents the need
to travel to a library or bookstore.
They offer a variety of features
including zooming in, hyperlinks and
integrated media.
Viktor Hanacek from Picjumbo

5. A large
selection of
eBook sites and
apps have been
launching from
different
companies as
the popularity
of these
mediums
increase.
Viktor Hanacek from Picjumbo

6. Audio Books
Another new, literary
trend is audio books,
which allow you to listen
to books as conveniently
and as quickly as you
want.
This medium is efficient for
those who claim they
don’t have enough time to
pick up a book.
Viktor Hanacek from Picjumbo

7. “So far, Audible, which is owned by
Amazon, has paired some 26,000 ebooks
with professional narrations. The
company is adding more than 1,000
titles a month and aims to eventually
bring the number to close to 100,000”
(Alter)
Viktor Hanacek from Picjumbo

8. Audible, by Amazon, is the
clear leading brand of audio
books
At the same time, however,
other companies have
jumped on the trend
producing audio books to fit
their users’ busy lifestyle
Karolina from Kaboompics

9. “Yes, experts assert, there's no disputing
the impact of digitised text on the whole
culture of the codex; fewer paper books
are being sold, newspapers fold,
bookshops continue to close, libraries as
well” (Self).
Karolina from Kaboompics

10. Where Has The Paper Gone?
With all the advantages of eBooks and audio books, paper
copies of popular novels can face a huge decline in the future.
With the new, digital texts having so many features and a
library right at your fingertips, why would you want to drive to
the store to pick up a new paperback novel?
Viktor Hanacek from Picjumbo

11. Reviving The Classics
Classic literature from
throughout history is being
republished as digital texts to
reach the new audience of
readers.
While the idea of making
these works more portable and
accessible is great in theory,
there are many elements from
the physical book form that
are lost.
Karolina from Kaboompics

12. Losing The Text in
Sound
In audio books particularly, the
role of punctuation is sometimes
lost
With the ability to speed up the
reading process by adjusting the
speed or even shortening the
pauses, the text can take on new
meaning.
Speed-Listening “removes the
silence that can, in context, be
meaningful in and of itself” (Garber).
Karolina from Kaboompics

13. Learning Through Paper
Certain studies involving texts and quizzes show that reading
on paper rather than a screen has a higher chance of
retention (Kraft).
This could be do to subconscious thought of reading on
paper being a more serious activity, as well as the easier
navigation from page to page (Jabr).
Karolina from Kaboompics

14. Learning Through Screens
According to Jabr, screens drain more mental
resources, whereas screens are “more physically and
mentally taxing”.
Others have pointed out issues regarding image
polarity, size and font of the text on screen as also
being distracting or overall make the text difficult to
read (Dillon).
Viktor Hanacek from Picjumbo

15. Tactile Feelings
eBooks take away the feeling
in your hand, the smell of
the paper and the distinct
sound of turning pages.
Sensory experiences of
reading matter to many
people, with a physical novel
being more satisfying to the
reader (Jabr).
Pippalou from MorgueFile

16. The Eye
eBooks give users the
ability to zoom in on
text and adapt it to their
own vision.
Paper books, however,
are less straining to the
eye, especially for the
individual who reads to
help insomnia (Kraft).
Viktor Hanacek from Picjumbo

17. The New Way to Write Novels
With the changing way that people read texts, writers
need to adapt.
With audio books, shorter works have the advantage of
retention.
Amazon has taken advantage of this, now paying writers
for the amount of pages read by users (Wayner).
Karolina from Kaboompics

18. “For the many authors who publish directly
through Amazon, the new model could warp
the priorities of writing: A system with per-page
payouts is a system that rewards cliffhangers
and mysteries across all genres. It rewards
anything that keeps people hooked, even if
that means putting less of an emphasis on
nuance and complexity” (Wayner).
Karolina from Kaboompics

19. Classics in the New Medium
With the new way of reading books, classic novels can’t keep up.
Longer works can’t maintain attention from the readers with their
often complex and extended ideas.
Clarita from MorgueFile

20. Book or eBook?
eBook’s are convenient for the
new digital generation, but
classic literature loses the
tactile and visual experience
when placed in virtual form.
For the greatest experience for
the book lover, a traditional,
physical book is favoured.
Karolina from Kaboompics

21. Works Cited
Alter, Alexandra. “The New Explosion in Audio Books; How They Re-emerged as a Rare Bright Spot in the Publishing
Business”. Wall Street Journal, 1 Aug 2013.
Dillon, Andrew. “Reading From Paper Versus Screens: A Critical Review of the Empirical Literature”. Ergonomics, vol. 35, no.
10, 1992, pp. 1297-1326.
Garber, Megan. “The Rise of ‘Speed-Listening’”. The Atlantic, 24 June 2014.
Jabr, Ferris. “The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens”. Scientific American, 11 April 2013.
Kraft, Amy. “Books vs. e-books: The Science Behind the Best Way to Read”. CBS News, 14 Dec. 2015.
Self, Will. “The Novel is Dead (This Time for Real)”. The Guardian, 2 May 2014.
Wayner, Peter. “What If Authors Were Paid Every Time Someone Turned a Page?”. The Atlantic, 20 June 2015.