I opted to listen to the audiobook, even though I do also have a paper copy of the novel. Having the story in Cecil's voice -- although, unlike the podcast, not in his point of view -- felt right. Unfortunately, Cecil's soothing voice meant that I fell asleep more than a few times, and had to skip back to find my place. 
 I liked that the story focused on two previously minor female characters, struggling with real and surreal life problems. While Cecil and Carlos and several other major characters are present in the narrative, they are not directly involved in the plot in any major way. 
 I imagine it must have been a challenge to write a coherent and sustained story of 400 pages (rather than short, interrelated, episodic stories) set in a world where the laws of reality are flexible and don't always apply, and where linear time doesn't affect all the characters in the same way. I think Fink and Cranor did a good job of putting together a story that made sense in the context of the Night Vale world, and was engaging. I'm not sure how much appeal it will have for people who are not regular listeners of the podcast, but for those who are already fans, there is a lot of world-expanding, and in-depth character development of a kind that the podcast doesn't usually have time for.