Reading fiction with an e-book or in print

Abstract

Empirical research on the differences between digital and print reading has recently increased, mainly concentrating on informational texts while disregarding literary texts. Concerning narrative fiction, the existing quantitative studies have found no or very few differences between reading printed books and e-books. In our focus group study, we amplify the perspective on digital and print book reading through a largely explorative approach. The results gained by interviewing 34 habitual readers of e-books in six groups show that e-books complement rather than replace printed books. Crucial differences can be found in the dimensions of the reading situation, genre selection, purpose of reading, as well as literary quality and status of the text. Furthermore, our results shed new light on the importance of the printed book as an individual material object, with its own specific iconicity and with notable consequences for intellectual possession, memory, and remembrance of read books and lived reading experiences.

Book readers in the digital age: Reading practices and media technologies

“…Nevertheless, for multi-format users, print is still the preferred reading medium for most genres. However, we were not able to replicate our focus group findings which stated that crime novels, thrillers, and other light fiction were preferably read digitally (Kosch et al, 2021). The survey showed that there is no preference for a reading medium when reading romance and entertainment novels or crime, thriller, and horror.…”

“…Furthermore, the questionnaire consisted of questions probing how many books participants read on average per year and how many minutes they read on average per week. Based on a focus group study (Kosch et al, 2021), we used a self-developed scale with nine items with a 4-point Likert scale exploring reading motivation. To create the subfactors of the reading motivation scale, we conducted an exploratory maximum likelihood factor analysis with varimax rotation, creating three distinct subfactors: escapism (Cronbach's α = .66), education (Cronbach's α = .72), and culture (Cronbach's α = .65).…”

“…We investigate these issues of reading practices based on a large-scale survey conducted among habitual book readers, which was conceptualized in extension of prior focus group-based research (Kosch et al, 2021). This research suggests that e-books complement rather than replace printed books, and that book readers tend to diversify their reading in terms of purchase, genre selection, quantity, locations, and circumstances.…”

“…Crime novels, thrillers, fantasy, and other light fiction are preferably consumed as e-books. In contrast, literary classics, in addition to personal favorite books, are purchased in printed form (Kosch et al, 2021). Thus, it can be assumed that different genres are read on different media.…”

“…The digitization of texts, which allows the retrieval of many texts on a single reading device, has naturally opened up new possibilities for reading in different locations and circumstances (Balling et al, 2019; Hupfeld et al, 2013). A large number of digital texts are thus bundled on one reading medium and can be accessed quickly and instantly, even at locations and in short reading times where and when the printed book would not have been taken (Kosch et al, 2021).…”