To audio or not? That is the question.

[Becky]

I was a definite "Book > Audiobook" person. I couldn't imagine audiobooks being able to compare to the greatness that is a REAL book.

I have never been one to enjoy being read to. Even when I was a little girl I wanted to read on my own, and that's one of the reasons I learned to read so early in life.

And then there is the 'Interpretation Factor'. I like to give readers their own voices, characteristics, accents, tone, etc in my head. When someone else is reading the story, I can no longer do that.

I am also a visual person, so I prefer to see something in order to absorb it.

Then there is the fact that I can't just sit and listen to an audiobook like I can just sit and read. I feel like I should be doing other things while listening (unless I'm in the car), so I pick up the house, or clean the kitchen, but I get so focused on what I'm DOING that I forget what I'm LISTENING to.

But recently, I think that I've been converted (at least partially) to audiobooks. I struggled with listening to Labyrinth by Kate Mosse several times before trying it for the Official Spring Challenge. (Apparently, when faced with a challenge I will put all of my reservations away and just do the thing.)

Anyway, I listened to Labyrinth entirely in the car, and about 1/2 way through, I found myself completely engrossed in the story, regardless of the fact that I didn't like how the reader was reading it. I was just listening to the story.

Then, I listened to Max Brooks' World War Z An Oral History of the Zombie War, which was AWESOME! It was abridged and dramatized (another two things I normally stay away from) but this one was really, really good. The individual character voices made the story come to life in a way that I think one single reader could not have accomplished.

I think I will definitely be listening to more audio in the future, but books are still King in my world. :)

[Terri]

I also think there is something comforting about being read-to. Like bringing us back to childhood. I think audio books have their place, but overall I will always prefer books.

[Jen B]

I've recently gotten into audiobooks. I definitely prefer an actual book, but I've come to enjoy listening to a book on my commute every day. I've made my way through several of David Sedaris' books this way, and now I'm moving onto Carl Hiaasen. I think for me to enjoy them (and not completely zone out), the story has to be light (and funny really helps). And the books I pick are ones that I'm semi-interested in and probably wouldn't have gotten around to actually picking up and reading for awhile - so it's nice to be able to listen and cross them off the list.

I totally agree that they are VERY expensive, though. My dad is a member of Audible, so most of the ones I've listened to are ones that I've copied from his collection. I'll check them out from the library, too...but I'd never buy one. You could buy TWO real books for the prices of some of them!

[Meghan]

I have only listened to one complete one - which I loved - The Glass Castle A Memoir. I started a second, Blood Brothers by Nora Roberts, and it is horrible. I think I hate this one because the narrator tries to do all of these female voices, with different accents, and he does NOT pull it off.

[Nicole]

I've never been an audio book person, but recently started them in my car, and now am never without one, though this is about the only place I listen. I'm in total agreement that the narrator can make or break the book, but I've also found I'm more willing to finish a book on audio that I'm not thrilled with. If I'm actually reading it, it feels like a waste of time when there are so many other amazing books out there, but in my car I have to be there anyway, so I'll stick through. Rebecca was an example that was so slow at the beginning and I was bored out of my mind, but I'm glad I stuck through to the end.

[Natalie]

The best part about road trips for me are listening to a book in the car. I LOVE it. I find it takes me a good 30 minutes to really get lost in hearing a book though, so I haven't really tried it during my everyday activities. And my commute to work is 10 minutes.

I find that I tend to pick out books for audio that I wouldn't read otherwise. Dare I use the term "fluff" books? Anyway, I agree with all who have said the narrator makes or breaks. Home to Big Stone Gap was ruined by the author reading it....she can't do accents to save her life and I found it quite distracting. It turned me off to her other books until I picked one up on a whim, only to realize her writing is quite good!

[[deleted user]]

Jackie wrote: "...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..."

I'm having that problem now. I'm forcing myself to listen to one chapter a morning while I do some housework, but I can't get into it. Library here (Rome, Italy) doesn't have any, but I'm trying to see if bookcrossing can help.

[Sherrie]

I love to listen to audiobooks. I always have one book going in the car (which is really the only place I listen), along with one book I'm reading in print. It is a great way to pass the time on my commute and also a way to take my TBR pile down more quickly, as I may not always have time to sit down and read at home. I also agree with the comments here that a bad narrator can ruin a book. I've had a couple that I stopped listening to so as to not to ruin the story itself.

[Miranda]

I love them, I think there's something very soothing about being read to, probably because my parents were both very big on reading to us when we were little.
I totally agree that it depends on the narrator - I've heard some shockers. I hate it when men put on a falsetto voice to do a woman talking (unless said woman actually requires a quavery and ridiculous-sounding voice) or even WORSE when women put on a deep growly voice to do men - it ALWAYS sounds stupid. Just use your normal voice, for goodness' sake! Much less distracting. Or just use male actors for the male voices and female actors for the female ones.
Anyway. I love audiobooks because they make things like housework, commuting, long trips etc much more bearable. I do prefer reading to listening but sometimes it isn't possible (like if you're driving or need your hands for something else). I also like listening while doing things like painting, sewing and knitting - I don't find I have any trouble concentrating because those things all require a different part of my brain.

[Natalie]

Sherrie, I'm curious...what ones have you stopped listening to? (So I know who to avoid!)

[Melinda]

I am a fan of books, printed or audio. The printed page is very much preferred. However, the audio books make housework, long trips, etc less mundane.

[Sherrie]

Natalie wrote: "Sherrie, I'm curious...what ones have you stopped listening to? (So I know who to avoid!)"

There has probably only been a few. The one that sticks out in my mind is

Gone for Good - that guy was horrible!

[Michael (Mai)]

I like audiobooks, I listen to them on my ipod while I walk around town. I can only listen to the ones that you pay for not the free ones that are done by volunteers (of books that are already past their copyright date).

It's also really nice to have audiobooks because I live in Japan and I can't get any English books without going to the biggest city on my island. I read and listen to books pretty fast so it's easier just to buy them online.

[Sandra]

In response to #3 I agree do not ever read an audio read by the author. Only exception I know of is Elizabeth Berg. A great narrator, and there are many, can save a mediocre book. A poor narrator can destroy a great one. I have to use audio ( CDs mostly) because of serious chemical sensitivity to printer's ink. It took a while to get used to "reading" at someone else's pace and not being able to turn back or ship ahead.

[Suchin]

Chemical sensitivity to printers ink! I see an out for students stuck with boring homework.

A poor narrator can destroy a great one.
What GR members think of narrators

[Jamie (The Perpetual Page-Turner)]

I listened to my first audiobook last week on my commute back and forth from work. I had previously been so set on my preconceived notion that I had about audiobooks and how I would hate them..but I found one lying around the house and figured I would try it. I am now a fan! I still prefer reading a book but it is an excellent way to spend my commute to work sometimes.

[[deleted user]]

Am listening now to Jeremy Irons read Lolita. I would never have picked up the book, but as a bookcrossing buddy sent it to me, I decided I'd give it a try.

Jeremy Irons is so fantastic. The book is seriously creepy - I am so glad I don't have a daughter, although nowadays you have to worry about a son just as much - but listening to Irons is just so fabulous.

[El]

I saw an audio discussion going on a separate thread here so I thought I would help reign it in by bringing my point up on the audio book thread and avoid Lori's fury... :)

I find audio books slow me down as I read faster than someone can read to me, so the pace bothers me more than anything, even if I'm doing chores or anything else. Then my mind starts wandering and I realize I haven't done anything well (listening or working).

Something else I've noticed is that a lot of books really don't lend themselves well to being an audio book. The most recent example I can come up with right now is Cormac McCarthy's The Road. I read the book and read the reviews on Goodreads and came across a couple people who had tried listening to the book on CD. I think listening to that particular book would be horribly frustrating as no narrator could provide the right effect - the story is sparse (as is the landscape), and that's important to the story. Someone merely reading the story, without allowing for paragraph breaks, would not be able to accomplish I think what the author was going for. I do not know who narrates the audio but I found the people who tried listening to the audio were more disappointed than those who read the book. Maybe it's just coincidence but I found it interesting nonetheless.

[Jim]

I almost exclusively listen to audiobooks unless they're technical or involve art, astronomy or any topic that involves visuals to understand the material.

the readers are amazing in how they sound different for different characters

whether listening saves wear and tear on the eyes, I would think it would and that's another reason to listen
also when traveling I like to listen and also allows two or more listeners to share same reading experience at the same time

[El]

Fiona wrote: "Maybe it is because it is the first time I've really spent listening to one (since I was a small kid anyway) and so not used to it."

This made me remember listening to a lot of Disney and Star Wars books on tape when I was little, but part of the fun there was reading along in the little booklet that was included and seeing the pictures. It helped us learn to read when we were younger, but since the time I was able to read on my own I haven't been able to put books down. My parents also read to me and my brothers regularly, but even so I haven't been able to get into audio books now - maybe because it will help me fall asleep, much like when our parents read to us. :)

[Irene]

my sister does audio books, I don't
it's a personal decision
but yes, I think it counts as "read"
I have in the past "read" some good stuff. These days I prefer to use eyes instead of ears. Also, a lot of books are abbreviated. I don't like that. It's like getting the Reader's Digest condensed version.

I think it counts because the words are the same and generally just read rather than acted out.

[Irene]

S.G wrote: "Beware of audiobooks!

How do you know when you are an audiobook junkie

"

Emma,
thank you so much for the links

[Mel]

Hayes wrote: "Am listening now to Jeremy Irons read Lolita. I would never have picked up the book, but as a bookcrossing buddy sent it to me, I decided I'd give it a try.

Jeremy Irons is so fantastic. The bo..."

I can't find the words how much I second this opinion. The only other audiobooks I have listened to previously have been excerpts from the Vinyl Cafe which were written and narrated by Stuart McLean for a radio series anyway so well suited. I have always loved the actual act of reading but there are so many books on my list and I have a two hour drive each way when I go up north on weekends that I thought I should give it a try to maximize my reading time. Serendipitously this was my first choice and his narration of the book is mesmerizing (not literally for those driving with me on the highway :0). I have had to force myself not to listen to it during shorter trips so that I can stretch it out for those drives where it really matters.

I do think that this is one of those books that lends itself extremely well to audio. The language is rich and sonorous, almost poetic and Jeremy Irons is extremely skilfull in bringing the beauty of the sentences out. It makes me think that some of the latin and spanish writers might be well suited to this as well as I often find their writing a very sensual experience - of course this would probably be better if my Spanish was up to listening in the original language.

I am busily writing down the names of recommended audios here for my next book. As I am not going up north for a while probably won't finish Lolita until end of June and will be ready for something else.

[Suchin]

Switching from a dedicated player for my audio books I realize now that a whole new way of dealing with this medium is suddenly upon me. My BB Storm is full of books that I listen too and phone messages that I have not.

[Pavel]

I choose audio books for the car and ONLY non-fiction, because narrator in their case is not THAT important, facts and analysis matters. I tried several fiction audio books, perhaps bad luck but narrator work ruined them for me.

[Rachel Lee]

I really enjoy listening to audiobook. I work on the computer all day and they make the day go by much faster. It is ALL dependent on the narrator though.

My library has 2 different programs where you can "check-out" the books online and download them to your computer or mp3 player. The best thing about these players is that you can speed up the narration. I find that listening to the books at 1.4x the normal speed makes the books keep my attention much better. I usually find that audiobook narrators are too slow when reading the book and that makes my mind drift.

[Darcia]

I will occasionally listen to an audio book on my iPod. The narrator makes a huge difference in whether or not I enjoy an audio book. I have listened to about ten minutes of a few and found my mind wandering because the narration was so bad. Narrators definitely make or break an audio book. As Rachel said, nonfiction is more forgiving in this case.

Overall, I prefer to the old-fashioned method. Something about the feel of the book and actually reading the words - I get really get lost in the book if it's written well. When I read, I feel more like I'm in the characters' world, as opposed to listening to the book, which makes me feel more like I'm being told a story.

[PDXReader]

LOVE audio books. Most of my listening takes place during my lunch hour. The audio books encourage me to get out and walk at lunch - often the only exercise I get. So - it's a win-win situation.

I most often choose lighter fiction. The Amelia Peabody books read by Barbara Rosenblat are great, as are the Discworld books narrated by Nigel Planer.

[Bhumi]

I'm not an auditory learner, at all. So audiobooks just don't work for me...