I would always prefer paper books over audio books. I believe it is because of my love for printed matter, but there could be more to it. To me audio is to listen to music and stuff, not to sit concentrated listening to a tape, afraid if you are going to miss an important word or sentence.

Here when I say a book, I mean paper book.

The charm of a well bound book is something that any audio just cannot even imagine to match. All serious readers, in my opinion, would love to have a print of their favourite book, not a tape. Books do have that eternal appeal, which I think the internet or electronic media cannot just take away. I do not share the same view about newspapers since I find most of them cheap, writing stupid things, most about stupid people (read politicians). I guess we could get away without newspapers, but not books. Does that sound contradictory? :)

Then there is the issue of the environmentalists, who may gather to shoot me out of earth. Yes, books do cause trees to be cut, but newspapers may cause more trees to be cut.

Probably it is because of conditioning or whatever, I cannot related to audio books at all. I have tried listening to tapes of Osho, Sri Chariji of Ramchandra Mission et al, but anytime books win over me, not tapes.

One big trouble with tapes is you need the equipment with you, apart from the source material. If you forget the tape, say during a travel, you can do next to nothing with the tape, unless of course you are very rich to buy another walkman or so. :) Besides there is this issue of tapes getting corrupt more often than books! Storage of tapes is an issue.

Books are bulky, attracts book-eating insects, but to me it is still worth it. :)

Psychology says there is more to this debate. There are certain kind of people who are auditory - the ear plays a very important part in their sensory perception. Such people ought to choose audio. People who are more visual in nature would definitely prefer books. I believe I am in the second category. Just for information, there is another category of people who ’’touch and feel’’.

Among other things, I have found certain sites giving conditional access to their tapes for a fee for a period of time. For books, once you buy it is there with you, till you friend borrows it and misplaces it! But the tapes are much cheaper during that period of subscription because you have practically unlimited access to all the tapes for the limited time.

And there is the trouble of friends quoting their own wisdom in the books borrowed from you. Thats something they are unlikely to do with a audio book! :)

Of course, there are pluses and minuses for both, but my personal choice is paper books.