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LESSON 3 OF 9 · MAKING TIME TO READ

Mixing print, ebooks and audiobooks in one week

Paper at home, a phone on the bus, an audiobook on a walk. Mixing formats is a good way to read more, if you keep track of where you are.

Short answer

Give each format the moment it suits: print at home, ebooks in queues, audiobooks when your hands and eyes are busy. The hard part is your place when you switch, so note the page or phrase each time. On the pages we read, several apps describe audiobook support and several describe print and ebook support; the reader guide lists them with sources.

By The Shelf Desk · Published 2026-10-01 · 2 min read

Why mix formats at all?

Each format fits a different part of the day. A paper book is pleasant at home and needs no battery. An ebook lives on a phone you already carry. An audiobook works while you walk, cook or drive. Readers who use more than one format often find more reading time without finding more free time.

Which moments suit which format?

  • Print: a chair, a bed, a quiet table. No notifications.
  • Ebook: queues, waiting rooms, short trips, anywhere your phone already is.
  • Audiobook: walking, commuting by car, chores, exercise.

What goes wrong when you switch?

Your place. Moving from page 212 in a paperback to an audiobook means finding the same sentence in a recording, and moving back means finding the page that matches what you heard. Small mismatches add up to skipped scenes or repeated chapters.

How do you keep your place across formats?

  1. When you stop in print, note the page and the first few words of the next sentence.
  2. When you stop listening, note the chapter and the last phrase you heard.
  3. When you switch, search for that phrase or skim for those words rather than guessing from the chapter number.

Some apps help. Magic Bookmark is built for this: it finds your exact place from a photo of a page or from the last phrase you heard in an audiobook, for supported titles, and it lists print, ebooks, audiobooks and library loans as supported. It does not log your books or keep stats, so it sits alongside a tracker rather than replacing one.

Which trackers describe more than one format?

On the pages we read, Bookly tracks books, e-books and audiobooks, Basmo tracks books in any format, and Literal offers public-domain ebooks and audiobooks inside the app. The reader guide lists every app by format, with sources.

What should you try this week?

Pick one book you own in two formats, or borrow the second from a library. Read in one, listen in the other, and use the page-and-phrase notes above every time you switch.

Sources