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To audio or not? That is the question.
I had never listened to an audio book until I joined GR and thought why not? I listened to The Memory Room by Christopher Koch and now am listening to The 13th Tale by Dianne Setterfield. I listen to and from my drive to work and am loving them. It seems to make the drive go quicker and it is a way for me to get through my TBR list even quicker. So I say they are great and dont knock them until you've tried them.
It depends, but I definitely think it is a great way to pass time in a car. Or when you are required to read a dull book. Also great when multi-tasking
It's true, Jeane they do! I only get mine from the library.
I've tried downloading them for free from different websites, but I just don't have the patience to listen. I've tried on several different occassions, but for some reason I have the attention span of a 5 year old. After about 10 minutes I don't retain anything of what was said.
Can be great for insomnia tho! (Really, I've been doing this for months. Falling back to sleep w/a book. Its like a lullaby. I mean, you don't want Harlan Cohen or someone like that, but ... it works!)
LOL...funny you mentioned Twilight Heather. I had tried listening to the preview from iTunes last night and I had a hard time with just that snippet.
For me it was the narrator's voice. She just didn't sound good. They probably should have gotten someone younger, since Bella is supposed to be a teenager. I noticed the writing wasn't that good when I was reading it, but you're right when you're listening to the book it's more pronounced.
I want to start walking so I thought that I would give an audio book a try to make the "chore" seem like fun. I got the Christmas Shoes on audio from the library today. I have seen the movie but never read the book so I thought I would try. I'm not sure if I will enjoy someone reading to me, but anything to make the walk a little better.
I am a big fan of audio books. I use them when teaching Shakespeare to teenagers as they make it much easier to follow. I also love to listen when driving to work, they make the trip much quicker. You get used to most narrators after a while. The only problem is that I take my 13 year old with me and most adult books contain quite a bit of adult content:)Currently listening to Across the Nightingale Floor. It's pretty good.
I am also a big fan of audio books. While working on graphics on my laptop or in the office, time just fly by. I feel that I'm getting paid to listen to books. But what I don't get is how some people I read of can work on several books at the same time?
Never have really used audio books ever. The only time I can really see myself using them is while I am driving or something, and even then I'm not sure I would be able to concentrate.
I use my MP3 player all the time. It is a great way for me to walk the track at the Y and disconnect from the tedium of going round and round and never getting anywhere else. I am currently listening to Audition - Barbara Walters - and the reader is sooooooooooo good, I almost forget she is not Barbara. Not to mention that I have really enjoyed the book itself. BTW, all my downloads are free from our local library system and I figure I have saved close to $400 by downloading. Also, if one selection disappoints, it's a quick "delete" and on to the next. Don't have to run anywhere to return the book.
Jeane wrote: "I noticed that they cost so much!"Jeane, I always checked audiobooks out of the library because I couldn't see paying the high prices for them. However, I had forgotten about the book exchange store here. I went in there a couple of weeks ago, and to my delight, saw that they carry book CDs. Even better, I had been wanting to buy an audio version of Stephen King's The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (library never had it). I love the book, and my sister-in-law kept telling me how great the audio version was. Well, the book exchange had it, and I bought it at a bargain price, around $12-14. I, also, found Amy Tan's Saving Fish From Drowning, which I had listened to from the library copy and loved, so I bought it, too. I couldn't believe that I found the two book CDs that I most wanted. A good day.
Downloads from the library are the best! I've recently discovered this and have been HOOKED beyond belief (even more than I ever was on audios)!
I noticed they have them in the library ehre and also saw they had something that gives you already a thing to lsiten to the book. so you don't need an mp3 player or cd player. Will ask information once and maybe try it out. But probably just to have tried it once. I wouldn't want to change it for reading the book myself. I like reading books to other people but not the contrary. I want to give myself the feeling of what I read and when somebody reads a book to someone (so also audio I think) some feeling is in the voice. want to decide myself how a sentence makes me feel.
maybe marketing Fiona...Harry Potter is probably commercially more known.....just na idea.
I checked some at a bookshop mayby a week ago and checked different ones to see if there are some that cost less but nope. So or I am never going to try it or i am going to try it from the library.
I really like to read a book but the audio books do come in handy when traveling (I can't read in a moving car) or exercising. You know the old saying - Too many books, not enough time.Sometimes the audio version can actually add to the experience. I listened to The Silver Swan by Benjamin Black, read by Timothy Dalton, on a long trip on a rainy night(I was not driving) and I felt I was in Dublin, in the 50s, in the rain, with Timothy Dalton personally telling me the story! Wonderful.
I just started reading audiobooks this week. I've been listening to M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman (narrated by Neil Gaiman) and Casino Royale by Ian Fleming (narrated by some crazy ass British guy). I've enjoyed them both. The narrator of Casino Royale is decidely British, but does a French and American accent as different characters. His French is impeccable, but his American accent is ridiculous. But I think that since I was so happy with these two, I'll be doing more audio-reading in the future.
I just finished listening to Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson and At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks. I enjoyed listening to them since I would probably never sit down and read them. Since I am in my car a good part of the day it's nice to have someone read a story to me. However, with Sunday's at Tiffany's I kept having to turn it off when my daughter was in the car because there was a lot of swearing, most of which I didn't think was really all that neccessary, but an amusing tale non the less. I try to just get audio books that really don't require a whole lot of thinking or concentration.
I agree with those who say that they are great for when you're too tired to physically read.My best friend and I love snuggling up on the sofa and listening to audiobooks, because you can close your eyes (unlike a DVD) and just listen (and imagine.) It's also a great way of sharing books together.
Your mind never starts thinking about something else? O mean you don't have to do anything else than lsitening, you can close your eyes and just listen....there is a good chance that I would start thinking about other things!
I've heard that the people who read the books get paid virtually nothing - even the very famous like the guy who read the Potter series to such acclaim.Wife of GR author: Michael J. Sullivan | The Crown Conspiracy (10/08) | Avempartha (04/09)
Me too, Jeane. Or I might just doze off....
Jeane - Once you focus on the story, you don't think of other stuff. If you've really got stuff on your mind and can't focus on the book, then you end up going off to do something else.Petra X wrote: "Me too, Jeane. Or I might just doze off...."
It has been known to happen !
My husband and I have been listening to one together - sometimes we play it when we go to sleep at night too. It's kinda funny too, so we've really been enjoying it. I love audiobooks, they are so much a part of my life now - kinda like TNBBC - can't imagine life w/out them.
I like to listen to audio books on my Zune. Usually while I am cleaning the house or driving any distance. It makes me feel like I'm using the 'dead air' time for something good. :)
I think I would be like that Darla if I commuted but the island is only 13 miles long so apart from traffic in the mornings its just not long enough. Also I don't do housework unless I can't avoid it and then I bitch out loud non-stop. Come to think of it I wonder if listening to an audio book might help with that (and would I want it to?)
I, like many, listen to audio books during my commute. I am currently making my way through the Harry Potter series, and Jim Dale (the reader) is without a doubt the best reader I have ever come across. It's to the point where I don't think I could actually read the books myself, because his reading of them really adds something to the stories!
I enjoy listening to books on cd in my car. I have a decent commute to work each day, and the radio gets really old. But I agree that you should pick a book you're only mildly interested in, and pick one NOT read by the author. I've had really horrible audio books read by the author and the authors voice ruined it for me. I always pick something that I know is mindless so if my mind does wander during my drive, it's not to hard to pick up where I am in the story when I'm actually listening. I also find it relaxing. But it's never the same as reading a book. I prefer reading a book over listening to one anyday.
Fiona, you can't download for free from your library in the UK?
Fiona wrote: "Then why does it cost so bloody much!"LOL - Because there are many people taking a piece of the pie. I think readers would be shocked to find out how little authors really from the sale of a book. Depending on where it is sold (i.e. what the distribution channel is) My husband will get .60 to .80 per book. So when he goes to a signing and stands around for 3 hours meeting people etc, we don't even receive enough to get a sandwhich and coffee afterwards. For a new author a bookstore will usually buy 25 copies for a signing - do the math that is $15 - $20 for thee hours of work. But as I've mentioned elsewhere - Most writers don't do it for the cash -- thank god because there is no cash for any except the very successful - lol. They do it because "they must" and their reward is not monitary but the pleasure of hearing someone say "I really enjoyed what you wrote".
Fiona wrote: "Oh I understand that - but this is Harry Potter. Other audiobooks are cheaper... well not all but they aren't all £50."Here in the UK we can take out audio books for free from our local libraries. I still prefer a book, but often for a long car journey I will borrow an audio cd.
It always make me laugh when people say they like audiobooks during a car trip. Are you driving then? Hope not because otherwise I don't really find it a good idea.
I don't travel by car much now - but when I used to I would listen to audio - it was a much better way to keep "awake" then listening to music. Why would listening to a book be any more of a distraction then having someone in the car with you talking?
I think I would want to concentrate to much on the story and anyway the person driving for me should concentrate on the traffic. radio can't be very loud and it is different. A song you can have on withour concentrating that much like you do for a story I think.
I am a big audio book fan. I think my love comes from sitting in the car waiting for one of the old radio programs to end before we could go into the house. I also tend to do things while the TV is on so listening to a book while doing something else comes in handy.I purchased an external hard drive just to store my downloads on. Now I don't need to build an extra room on to the house just to house my books. LOL
At last count I have over 500 audio books between my downloads and CDs.
I am so glad that I had them when I was sitting up all night with my dad during his last days with Alzheimer's. I could listen to my book while I was making sure he would not climb out of bed.(I fondly call this reading in the dark)
Here is some ideas for anyone doing audio books:How to Log and Measure Your Audio Book Listening Habit
I love...LOVE audio books. Some are better than others. I loved the dark tower series on audio and the Harry Potter series. Thirteenth Tal, Elizabeth Dalhousie series, Ireland, and Terry Pratchett serie. I listen to books at work, it ends up I do more audio books than reading books because I spend so much tme on the computer! I have recently started downloading books from the library and am totally addicted! I am actually about to start the coldest winter on disc today!(so many exclamation marks...not the sign of a sain mind)
I rent them from www.simplyaudiobooks.com or get then from the library.Jeane wrote: "I noticed that they cost so much!"
I will say that a bad narrator can really ruin a book.
I'm excited because my libary added a new feature to their website. You can now download audiobooks for free to your MP3 player or PC. I'm not sure why I'm excited as I don't listen to audiobooks, but I guess having the option to do so is nice. I've tried it in the past, but I've only listened to the free ones where people volunteer to read, like Gutenberg project. Some of the narrators are not captivating enough for me to sit and listen.
Terri wrote: "I will say that a bad narrator can really ruin a book."I have to agree with you, Terri. The author narrated "Marley Me" - he should stick to writing! Right now I'm listening to "Songs for the Missing" by O'Nan; the reader's little girl voice is a put off ...
I just finished Haunted by Chuck Pauhlinauk (?) and started Amber Warning by Robert Ludlum
I started listening to audiobooks in the last 6 months and have enjoyed the change of pace. Of course I still love to read actual books on paper, but audiobooks allow me to "read" while running, driving, cooking - it opens up so many possibilities. I'm finishing Inkheart currently and have really enjoyed the narrator. The narration in the Peter and the Starcatchers series is excellent as well, the same narrator as Harry Potter and the Pushing Daises TV show, from what I read.
If you get the right narrator an audio book can be a joy. I especially like the classics in audio book format. Currently I'm listening to "Silas Marner" by George Elliot and the narrator is a wonderful British personality who is perfect for it. I just listened to Summer by Edith Wharton and Agnes Gray by Anne Bronte, both were narrated by wonderful women with lots of emphasis. I find that the Libervox audio books suck, the narrators are not good (most of them) they are volunteers (bless their souls) but they don't have the 'thing' they need to keep you engaged.
I like Audio Books for the car, its a good way to pass the time. Otherwise, I prefer reading, just because it is faster.
A good narrator makes it great, but many can annoy me so much (mostly with either mispronounciations or bad accents) that it takes away from the story
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Also, I love it when I drive 2 1/2 hours home and then 2 1/2 back. Also, when I can make it to the gym, riding my bike or taking the bus to class. I hardly listen to them in my room, I tend to fall asleep, but if it's really good I will.