Reading Strategies

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

I know a few of us have mentioned this in passing, but I thought it's own thread might be nice.

Some have mentioned (*cough*) that something about the form of the prose has made them fall asleep. Others struggle with the repetition, and all the names.

What strategies are you using to work through the text?

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

For me, one thing that definitely helps is listening to the audio. I'm challenging myself to read the print first, but the reward is listening to the same section afterward. The way Claire Danes reads the Emily Wilson translation is helpful; it's pretty straightforward, I don't notice many of the rhymes (but occasionally I do.) And I feel more of the arc of the storyline this way somehow.

But hey, it makes sense, as The Odyssey was oral tradition for so long first.

(This is how I got through Ulysses too. I would miss so much in my own reading that I picked up more in the audio and companion reads.)

And happily the Audible contents have the actual names of sections, making it easier to skip the intro.

[Nadine in California]

I just subscribed to the Audible 30 day, 2 book free trial and downloaded the Odyssey. The audible books are so expensive though! Anybody out there have a subscription? How do you like it?

[Jeff]

Nadine wrote: "I just subscribed to the Audible 30 day, 2 book free trial and downloaded the Odyssey. The audible books are so expensive though! Anybody out there have a subscription? How do you like it?" I’m a subscriber and I love it. I’m on the $14.95 / month for one credit plan, which isn’t cheap for one book but they occasionally have sales and discount certain titles, and sometimes I buy extra credits which are discounted. I commute to work and like to car travel so I’m always using it. I especially like it for long books and for autobiographies where the authors read their own.

[Nadine in California]

Jeff wrote: "I’m a subscriber and I love it. I’m on the $14.95 / month for one credit plan, which isn’t cheap for one book but they occasionally have sales and discount certain titles, and sometimes I buy extra credits which are discounted.."

I suppose $15 is a decent price for one audio book a month, but I still haven't quite gotten over my sticker shock at the member price of most books. Sounds like strategic levering is the way to go with Audible memberships :)

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

You can also put the Audible one on hold or on an every other month system. I've found I get more offers for member sales like BOGO if I get up to three credits. But Hoopla doesn't have everything and sometimes I want the immediacy of a new book. But pro tip- often books on sale are also newly available in hoopla so double check.