R34: Reading versus Listening

[Ed]

The main way that listening to an audiobook is different from reading a book is the performance of the narrator. The narrator's performance inherently requires a basic level of interpretation of the text: the intonation of the characters who are speaking, how they're talking: fast, slow, sarcastic, deliberate, angry, happy, etc. When you read a book, you have to supply that interpretation yourself. When you listen to an audiobook, it's provided for you to some extent.

And that interpretation is subjective. You might read a page of text and come across with a very different interpretation of a character than someone else.

For example, a couple pages back in this thread, one of the posters wrote he wasn't sure if one of the other posters was being sarcastic or not. If this thread was part of an audiobook, he probably would have known exactly that from the narrator's performance.

This differs from screenreaders for the blind in that the computer process that's converting the text to speech isn't able to make a subjective interpretation of the text and adjust the speech intonation accordingly. Of course, screenreaders analyze each sentence to see whether it's a question or an exclamation and adjust the intonation to some extent, but they can't (yet?) make an emotional interpretation.

[David]

Phil wrote: "I'm going to have to try a fiction book out before I pass judgement, but I can't see how my visualisation of the characters, their situation, and their voices would be the same as reading....."

I can't recommend the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'brian and read by Patrick Tull highly enough. I don't know about Overdrive Australia, but my library's Overdrive has the series as "always available" mp3 audiobooks. Tull's reading made me feel that I was hearing it the way the the author heard it as he was writing.

[Noel]

Thanks for that recommendation. I have all the actual books on my shelves but I will re-read them in audio form. I did try some abridged versions read by Robert Hardy some years ago, they were all that was available at the time, but these new ones sound promising.

[David]

Yes, I have all the books on my shelves, too. And the music cd. And the companion books except the cookbook. I haven't open one of them since discovering the unabridged audiobook version. I can't help but think that these books were meant to be heard, not read - at least as narrated by the wonderful Patrick Tull.

[Aloha]

Another advantage for me is that audio enables me to quickly go through books with differing viewpoints and get a clearer picture of a certain topic. For example, I can get varying viewpoints on various theories of Physics from Michio Kaku, Brian Greene, and now Lawrence Krauss. Since there are more debates in this field than there are about audio vs. written, it's enlightening to hear viewpoints from particle physicists, cosmologists, the string theorists, and even the metaphysicists. I'm currently listening to A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing, which is a terrific update on the various arguments, and gives a clear explanation on the nature of dark matter, which baffled me. The audio is conversational and terrific for listening. I love it when a spokesperson for the field is able to talk to the layman as if they're having a casual discussion.

[AndrewP]

Just my 2 cents here, but I think it bears pointing out that most people who listen to audiobooks do not do so exclusively. Audiobooks are often consumed during, what would otherwise be lost or wasted time. Listening while commuting or other travel seem to be the most common.

I listen to audiobooks during the 1-2 hours I spend in my car everyday. Once I get home, I switch to a real book, kindle, iPad etc.

[Nels]

AndrewP wrote: "Just my 2 cents here, but I think it bears pointing out that most people who listen to audiobooks do not do so exclusively. Audiobooks are often consumed during, what would otherwise be lost or wasted time."

Agreed! I listen to audiobooks for 30 minutes a day during my commute and I find it's an excellent way to get through an extra book or two a month (though 1Q84 might take me through the end of 2012).

Probably should have gotten the audiobooks for GRRM's books since I borrowed a friends copy and it's going to be beaten to death since I carry it everywhere hoping to get a chance for a few more pages.

[Jeffrey]

Preliminary studies seem to show it's worse for your focus and comprehension:

Reading out loud was actually better:
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3026224/e...

[David Sven]

Jeffrey wrote: "Preliminary studies seem to show it's worse for your focus and comprehension:"


It's not a valid test. Any avid audiobook listener (had they bothered to include them) could have attested that listening while not actively engaged in some other activity causes loss of focus. It would have been far more useful to include avid audiobook listeners and test them on their normal listening habits - like when they are driving, or exercising, or doing housework or some other mindless task. I think the results would have been different with similar comprehension and retention to reading - I'm just guessing from my experience of being both a reader and a listener.

[AndrewP]

Jeffrey wrote: "Preliminary studies seem to show it's worse for your focus and comprehension:

Reading out loud was actually better:
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3026224/e......"

For me that's total nonsense. Reading out loud I am so focused on reading ahead and getting the phrasing correct that I comprehend almost zero of what I am reading.

[Pamela]

I read very fast when I'm reading silently to myself. I skim over some things. I read all the Vorkosigan books by Lois McMaster Bujold. Then because I enjoyed them so much, and I wanted my husband to enjoy them too, I got all the audiobooks. We listened to them together at lunchtime (we both work from home). I was surprised and delighted by all the additional richness from going through the material at a slower pace.

Also, because audiobooks slow me down, they can make a single book last much longer - better for my finances if I'm getting one book per week rather than one book per day.