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Audio books: Your thoughts?


Oh sure. My Pap who is a photojournalist just kind of laughs at all of it.

On my end though, I always tended to laugh when you get into those conversations with novel readers who look down on your for enjoying a TV or film representation. I always said, "I read non-fiction. I have limited time for make believe stories. "

It kind of shut them up.
 
There's elitism in almost any endeavor. I can't count the number of actors I've read about who were upset that they would never be remembered for all their hard work in live theater, but gained fame on a tv sitcom.
 

I used to be the same way when it came to e-books, I wouldn't touch 'em but now, that's all I read because it's easier and it doesn't take up the space that physical books do.
 
Audio-books are great for anyone with a "busy" lifestyle or workweek - I generally go through one every 10 days. I think people who commute in a car, travel often in airports and work over 50 hours a week (while balancing these demands off having a family, exercising or just having a social component of life) will find much use for them. About the only thing I cannot incorporate audio-books into are a serious cardio workout or weightlifting - instead, I'll often take a brisk 1.5 mile walk to the gym and get in about 30 minutes of listening each way.

I have found that, at a 1.25x speed, the average 350 page book takes about 11 hours to finish. I simply do not have the spare time in life to read a physical book that often, and have read nearly 40 audiobooks in the past year alone in addition to many texts books.

There is a great Iphone app called "overdrive" that lets you download free audiobooks from your local library. While the catalog will number in the thousands, it is not infinite, and can force you to read some books you normally would not purchase if for nothing else than availability. This has been a great thing - the "forced variety" angle.
 
Years ago when I worked at a Chevy dealer. The new Colorado pickups had a problem with their 5 cylinder engines that required valvetrain components to be replaced before they could be sold. I was the engine specialist, so I was doing two of them a day. It was tedious and repetitive work. Over the course of that winter I listened to the entire Gunslinger series from Stephen King while I worked.
 

Wow! I thought Roy Dotrice was dead! (He's 92) His daughter Michele was Frank Spencer's wife in the 70's sitcom Some Mothers Do 'Ave Em.
 
I was able to relate to this when I first read it, and now that I have received my audio book and have listened to the first couple chapters it is being driven home to me.

One, I like being able to easily reference back to what I previously read, too. I feel like I can't do that here. If something does stick out at me, something that I think I might want to look into a little deeper, I have no reference point to refer back to like I might with a paper book and a sticky-note.

Two, I think I may have made a poor choice in which type of book I chose to start out with. I chose a political/social issue book, which would normally be right up my alley, but even before the first chapter ended I felt overwhelmed with all the different people being cited that I was losing track. Seemed like every point/quote was made by a different person. Reading the different citations and hearing them are not the same experience.

The subject matter is interesting, but I also find myself having thoughts triggered by one thing they say, then my mind wanders relating to that, and next thing I know I miss the next 2-3 minutes of the next stuff they said.

Maybe I should have started with a novel, or something. :shrug:
 

I pick up audio books that aren't very deep or complicated - light, fun. Merely a way to enjoy a long trek cross country. If it's too serious or intense I have to focus on the narration to a point where it's unsafe or I miss the story. If it's light hearted and fun to listen to than if I miss something it won't matter as much to the overall experience.

So I have only a few audiobooks - but I've read the stories quite a few times, I know the plot and everything, and I really just like listening to the story again and again.
 
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