[Anonymous]

So I’m at the point where I need to buy new auditing review materials because of all that new stuff that was added to the exam and was considering buying my first eBook reader, and potentially getting all of the auditing texts on eBook (Amazon Kindle Paperwhite?) The materials are available in regular or eBooks versions and actually slightly cheaper on the e-reader (ignoring the cost of me actually buying my e-reader right now.)

So the real question is: is there any reason NOT to do this? IE have any of you found any meaningful difference between real books vs eBooks when it comes to studying, learning, retention or usefulness (strictly for an education purpose )

I’ve had great success with my study plans for Regulation and BEC but literally never used eBooks before, is making the switch right now a terrible idea or should it be real simple? I’ve also never been able to successfully study away from my home desk.

I’m hoping to just allow it to make it easy for me to carry around my AUD books and study on the go – and potentially use eBooks going forward for continuing education, replacing textbooks for classes, and god willing, eventually entertainment but I’m a long way from those days.

I can just picture myself trying to go home and sit down at my desk and crank away at MCQ’s on my laptop and then coming across a bit of material I need to review and whipping out the eBook and struggling to find it. Old School method of using the index worked fine lol

[Anonymous]

I found this article particularly troubling on the matter and decided to really give this some thought before I drop the money on review materials that may or may not be difficult to use.

Do E-Books Make It Harder to Remember What You Just Read?

Anyone really convinced that article is total BS?

[Kimboroni]

I really prefer a hardcopy book, personally. I feel like the physical copy helps my brain index the information better, and I can picture the page and facing page in my mind when recalling information. It just doesn't do that very well for electronic copies of the same thing.

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[Anonymous]

I think I agree with you Kimboroni, and I'm also pretty skeptical about the e-reader having relatively small screens when compared to hard-copy books. Paperwhite Kindle has like a 6″ screen. How are big mnemonics or problems going to look on there?

[ridiqls]

I always like ebooks, the search feature is irreplaceable.

[MUCPA]

I personally have always learned and remember better with a physical book. I absolutely need to be able to underline, circle and make notes in the margins. Those haptic inputs play a huge role in my learning process.

If you are even remotely like me – the benefit of portability will be far outweighed by the difficulty in remembering electronic text. If it were me, I'd find myself writing physical paper notes and referencing specific pages of the ebook, haha.

- 2.5 years experience in Public Accounting (Audit)
- 2.0 years experience in corporate accounting
- All 4 CPA Exam sections passed first time
- Currently CPA & Controller at a small manufacturing company

[Skynet]

I am currently using Gleim right now. With Gleim, they send you books, but you can also download them as pdf files and view them on any computer or device. The only downside with the pdf files is that it does not include multiple choice question at the end like they do in the books, but that is what the test bank is for.

AUD - 90
BEC - 78
FAR - 84
REG - 87

World Domination Plan

Phase I : Pass CPA Exams - Complete
Phase II : Megan Fox - In Progress
Phase III : Megan Fox & Scarlett Johansson Lingerie Pillow Fight
Phase IV : Form the new Charlie's Angels with Megan Fox, Scarlett Johansson, & Gal Gadot
Phase V : TBD

BEC : 78
REG : 87
FAR : 84
AUD : 90

World Domination Plan

Phase I : Pass CPA Exams - Complete
Phase II : Megan Fox - Initiated
Phase III : Bring back 8-Tracks
Phase IV : Megan Fox & Scarlett Johansson Lingerie Pillow Fight
Phase V : TBA

[Anonymous]

That does sound pretty cool with Gliem. I also like that they give lecture mp3's which are a great way to study on the go. I was considering Wiley which only gives either e-books or real books but I really don't see why companies don't automatically give you access to the e-book if you purchase the hard copy one

[Anonymous]

@ridiqls or anyone with ebook experience, how does the search feature work. I'm sure indexed keyword searches on ebooks are hugely helpful and efficient. Think it would be great for textbooks.

What ebook reader's are you guys using? anyone have problems with one being too small to be functionally useful? I find the kindle paperwhite to be a very attractive model because I like the e-ink and battery life but I'm concerned it just may have a screen thats too small. I am young and have good eyes so i can handle small font if necessary but in our texts we have big examples and charts sometimes, ever have any big problems there?

I'm thinking on long bus/train or car trips an ebook will be awesome for studying. combine that with perhaps a tablet for viewing lecture videos or just my phone for mp3 lectures and i can have a very tiny and effective portable study kit for when i'm on the go

[Anonymous]

I've successfully used eBooks for the three exams I've passed so far; however, prefer a hard copy book because the pages are larger. The larger tables and F/S examples (esp. in FAR) are easier to read and comprehend in a hard copy text.

The upside to eBooks is you can discreetly study at work if you need (or want) to. The kindle app resembles Acrobat at a distance.

[Author]

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