オーディオブックを聞いていれば、紙の本は買わなくていい？

Have you ever tried audio books? 

Starting from "audible", amazon-based service, there are a lot of audio book platforms available to readers. I personally listen to audio books time to time; my local library has audio book service, and it is free! They have their own app, and it is incredibly useful and insightful.

Yet, that does not mean I do not purchase any paper books. I need them mainly for my lessons as it is one of my biggest jobs to teach how to read and mark as my students read. Meanwhile, it is also true that paper books may not be necessary for other people, especially when we think about why we still need books in paper in 2023, such a digital era.

Obviously, audio books have a large number of convenience. It barely requires any physical space, saves much time to read as we no longer have to read, and could be even helpful for English learning if Japanese people listen to audio books in English. With all these possible benefits, why don't you try it?

However, that does not mean audio books are perfect. As we all know, paper books are loved for a variety of reasons. For example, we can take notes and highlight. It is also easier to visualise how much we read a book. Plus, it is quite satisfying to see all the books nicely stored on the bookshelf!

Now, it gets us think that if we really can replace paper books by audio books. Please focus on our recent life - we are all busy. In our commute, trains and buses are packed, leaving little space to open a book. Our time is also limited. More and more people watch short videos rather than long ones, making SNS services that focus on such a short videos like TikTok widely popular. 

When we consider this background, some people may argue that listening to audio books is more effective and suitable than reading paper books today. Do you agree or disagree with this opinion? Please take your stance and support it with two reasons.

The key to this debate topic is probably about how you define "effectively" and "suitable" in the topic. Effective for what? Suitable for who and how? You will be successful if you give a deep thought in your definitions.

If you have any questions, please let me know.