Paper for the Win
Book that have an element you’ll miss out on if you read as an audiobook, whether it’s fun formatting or illustrations
created by C.Margarita
last updated April, 2026
Comments
The first book that came to mind when I saw this concept was the Ersatz Elevator 💀
Hahaha I forgot about Lemony Snicket! Is there anything in particular about that one that made you think of it? (I never made it this far in the series)
There’s a page or two that is completely black to emphasize the darkness of the elevator shaft!
shut up!!! that’s so cool
It was the coolest thing to me as an eleven year old 😂
You should add don’t let the forest in :)
Thanks bestie, I will!
Oooo! What did I miss out on by listening to the audiobook?
There are some really beautiful illustrations in the physical book of Thomas’s monsters!
oh coool thank you so much for letting me know checking that out asap
Oh this is brilliant! I’m a huge audiobooks person but I don’t want to miss out on fun extra bits!
I made this list because I listened to Dead of Summer & didn’t realize until I say Ryan post something on Instagram that there was a LOT I missed by listening & it made me sad!
oh what a cool concept! same as thistle_bitch, I read majority through audiobooks so it's nice to know this for future books! :) if you are taking suggestions:
I have read: Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff (fiction) has amazing illustrations that are very impactful in the storytelling. Poets Square by Courtney Gustafson (memoir) cute lil cat illustrations before each chapter 🥹
I haven't read these but I own them/high on my tbr: Bite by Bite by Aimee Nezhukumatathil (nonfiction) The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl (nonfiction)
Thank you! I am always taking suggestions! I will add these!
I’m glad you like the concept, I think it’s a really useful list. I’m contemplating breaking out the books with just footnotes into a separate list.
I didn't know Poet's Square had cute illustrations! I did miss out 😩
I didn't know until I bought the book!! They are small, but just lil cute additions to the book ☺️
Is EOTV illustrations vital to the story more than being illustrations? Is there a way you can explain without spoilers? Gonna read soon but I don’t tend to care about missing out on illustrations. Wondering if ebook is sufficient, and or if I can not miss out on much with audiobook. Planning to read soon…
Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom has very cool character illustrations included if you are taking recommendations. 😊
Ooh yes! I’ve been looking for more recs this is great! Thank you
Definitely gonna have to look this up! I listened to it earlier this year and really enjoyed it but I feel like the illustrations would make it a more complete experience!
They might be available on his website! They are very cool.
omg this is awesome!! im a physical book purist so now i gotta read all of these
I mostly prefer reading on physical, I have only recently gotten into audiobooks & have ideas on books you should ONLY read on audio too but not enough for a list
Nooo I just got Of Monsters and Mainframes as an audiobook the other day :(( what will I be missing out on?
Not much! What you’re gaining rather is having to listen to them read out long sections of binary
Oh nooo hahhaa - thanks for the heads up though, I shall be referring to the translations frequently 🙂↕️
Some kind soul also put the translations into the PB forum!
Wow I love pb sm 🥹 thanks both for the tips!
The funny thing is that book is also on lists for excellent audio books! So I think either medium will be a good experience!
Oh hahaha! That’s funny! I read someone say they found the binary reading to be intolerable & I think it would have bothered me too so I added it here
Oh interesting!! Well it will make for an unusual experience either way haha, so a good investment of 2£ in the sale 😅
It’s incredible! I gave it 5 ⭐️! Definitely worth the sale, I hope you love it!!
Ooh exciting :)) also, I just saw The Everlasting on my feed and someone in the forum said it has gorgeous art and typesetting so could also be a good fit for this list!
Ooh perfect! Thank you!
I couldn't find a genre the books on this list should be from. So what I immediately thought of when seeing this list is "S - Ship of Theseus" by J. J. Abrams. I don't even know how you could make an audiobook version because there aren't only lose objects completing the story, but a rather huge part of the story happens via pseudo-handwritten comments in the margins.
The list doesn’t have any one genre, so this is a great suggestion!! That sounds really cool
This is such a thoughtful list!! I missed reading Serviceberry in paper🥹
Awww thank you!! I started it because I read Ryan La Sala’s The Dead of Summer on audio and found out after the fact that it had a ton of visual content! I was so disappointed! So I wanted to try to save other people from that feeling
This is a beneficial list! As a migraine sufferer it’s nice to see if I’ve missed something. I do recommend Open Throat by Henry Hoke the entire book is the POV of a mountain lion. I did audio, which was fine! But I discovered after that the formatting in the physical book enhanced the story.
I also suffer from migraines, so I feel your pain! What was the formatting like on that one?
If I recall correctly there is no punctuation, or proper grammar. It is just a stream of consciousness. It’s been a bit since I’ve seen it!
That’s so interesting! Obviously a mountain lion wouldn’t understand grammar
This is curious! I don’t remeber completely but it totally felt like normal ass grammar and sentence for the most part in the audio — I never would have guessed 🤔
I discovered it immediately after finishing audio. I saw it mentioned in a review. I was then able to get my hands on a copy, it just helped me understand the flow better. Because I felt like there were points that things flowed strangely. Understanding how it was written might’ve cleared that up. It’s been over a year since I read it, so I can’t recall exactly what or why now. I just know in my review I said- the structure of the book lends insight.
Noooooooooooo. I am utterly and constantly destroyed to learn more books apply to this list I have read in audiobook 🫠
That’s exactly how I felt when I saw the this list. I didn’t even want to look! I think Open Throat is still good on audio! Just seeing how it was written, or even knowing beforehand (I found out after) helps you sink into the mind of the mountain lion better.
That’s why I always try to ask for the reasoning when people suggest stuff for the list. I want you to be able to know what you’re missing bc tbh to me, I get why this might be cool on physical but I’d be okay with this on audio. I wish PB let me annotate the list!
Thank you for doing so 🙏🏻 I will be looking at every answer. Hopefully no accidental spoilers.
Yeah that’s why I have a seperate list where I put books that are ergodic! Althogh I may have ones to double check on there too. My first list so I make sure I see it!! But I keep missing them all. Especially since I don’t always care if it’s just illustrations, and I care deeply if it’s formatting!
I recommend adding Katabasis by R.F. Kuang, she has quite a few diagrams in her book! Also Babel for the footnotes (which I believe are sometimes hidden in ebooks due to formatting)
I totally forgot about the footnotes in Babel! Katabasis is a great suggestion, thank you!
Shatter Me might fit this? They try to accomplish the strikethroughs with a sound effect but I had no idea what it was so I had to look it up.
This is a great recommendation! Thank you so much!!
The Serviceberry has illustrations as well! Though for anyone thinking of reading the audiobook, it is narrated by the author, who does a wonderful job of it! Also, the whole Stormlight Archive series by Brandon Sanderson has illustrations throughout the books, as well as the illustration under the chapter titles doing some cool things in the last book!
Ooh good to know! I’ll add those!
Ah love this list idea!!! I would add House of Leaves!
Thanks for the suggestion & support!!
If you are looking for recommendations, I'm reading Burning my Roti and the book has some incredible illustrations in it.
Thanks you Lizzy! I’m always taking suggestions
I loveeeee maps. Can I recommend The Hobbit and LOTR?
Yes! I couldn’t remember if they had them & forgot to check my editions
Actually sorry I thought this was a reply to my other list, I have a separate maps list called You’ll Never Get Lost!
I looked at both lists and must’ve posted in the wrong one. My bad!
No worries! They’re both on the other list for sure!! 😊
Cool list!! I read the little thieves series so long ago, and I can’t remember any reason why it’s in this list tho. Can someone tell me?? I have a bad memory lol😅
Thank you! The author did incredible linocut prints to act as title cards for each of the fairytale stories. They’re really gorgeous pieces of art
That’s cool! I’m gonna have to look up what they look like because I just sold my copies this weekend 😅 (I wasn’t a huge fan of the series)
If you look on her Instagram she has videos of the process of making some of them too!
