The Sword and Laser discussion
Audio Books, what makes them good?
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If you listen to audio books from Audible on a iPad, iPhone, or Android Phone/Tablet then you should be able to speed up the narration through a menu option. I always listen to my audio books at 2x the normal narration speed.
Nick wrote: "If you listen to audio books from Audible on a iPad, iPhone, or Android Phone/Tablet then you should be able to speed up the narration on through a menu option. I always listen to my audio books a..."Oh heh I never thought of that, I have only listend to them on CD
The only audio book I was able to get through was one of the Harry Potter books, and I only did so becuase I had already read the book.Same here, and I only made myself go through that one because I bought the Spanish audio book to improve my understanding of spoken Spanish. It was a very good idea and I generally recommend to people who're learning a foreign language to try listening to a book they know quite well in the language they are learning.
Other than that, audio books just don't hold my attention very well. Whenever I try reading one, I hold out for maybe half an hour at which point I realize I haven't actually heard anything of the last 10 minutes and I have no idea what's going on. I just zone out, I guess.
I love podcasts and radio plays, though.
Audible books are definitely more challenging to keep up with depending on the material and who the narrator is. I try to carefully pick my books so they don't have concepts that are too crazy and therefor easier to follow. Also there is a button on the mobiles apps to let you back up 30 secs. I find when my mind wanders while I'm listening I'll have to hit that button about ten times to get back to where I was still with the story. Another thing I find helps me keep up is to find a list of book characters online. Seeing the names in print can sometimes reinforce in my mind who is speaking while listening (odd I know but works for me).Sometimes the narrator is just not good at changing voices for different people to help you know when someone different is speaking. I tend to try to keep with some of the veteran narrators like Scott Brick. One of the newer narrators that is pretty good in my opinion is Wil Wheaton.
Nick said: "Seeing the names in print can sometimes reinforce in my mind who is speaking while listening (odd I know but works for me)."That sounds like a good idea, actually. I'll have to try that, like familiarizing myself with the material a bit when I decide to give audio books another shot. Thanks for the tip!
I'm such a seasoned audiobook listener that I'm at the point where I comprehend better in audio than in reading. When I read, I end up getting distracted by the type and text, and keep on rereading the same words over and over again. It becomes a tedious process. When I listen to an audio, the words only support the story, instead of becoming a distraction. This applies even when it's a text to speech in the computer's voice.
Also I forgot to say that Audio books are really great to listen to if you have a day where you have to say clean your apartment or house. I used to turn the TV on for background noise but I'm more entertained while working and less distracted when listening to audio books.
Nick wrote: "Also I forgot to say that Audio books are really great to listen to if you have a day where you have to say clean your apartment or house. I used to turn the TV on for background noise but I'm mor..."Heh I know I laugh out loud and get strange looks when I read so I am sure the same would happen in the audio books. Are there any readers you suggest I should try and listen too... I like british accents
I've enjoyed the books I've heard Scott Brick read.Paul Boehmer did a great job on Assassin's Apprentice.
James Marsters did a great job reading all the Dresden file books ( he didn't read the most recent one). Marsters was the actor that played Spike on the Buffy TV show.
Ralph Cosham did a great job on "Watership Down".
Jefferson Mays was also good reading "Leviathan Wakes" (think he was nominated for Audi award for it)
Wil Wheaton always does a great job reading and has also been nominated recently for a Audi.
Nick wrote: "I've enjoyed the books I've heard Scott Brick read."great reader. I have picked up books i wasn't otherwise interested in just because he read them.
@Zac- I also have a long commute and read audio books as well as listen to podcasts. For me it is all about which stories I pick and who reads them. I started out reading only Non-Fiction on audio. I had tried fiction and had the same problems as you. But with Non-fiction I found that it was almost like a lecture and I could follow everything very closely.
After doing this for awhile I ran out of Non-fiction at my local library and had to give fiction another try. But this time I found that I somehow had attuned my listening better and could follow the story now. It was weird for me. But now I am devouring books this way. Both fiction and non-fiction.
I agree with Aloha. Im to the point now where I cant read a book because I feel like it takes too long. I always listen to books and podcasts in at least 2x speed. I also like Paul Boehmer and Simon Vance as narrators. Its always a little jarring when I start a new book because Im not used to the narrator, or when Im familiar with the narrator but its a new series, sometimes I find myself thinking about other characters from previous books.
I like audio books so much now that I find myself making excuses to listen to them. I listen when Im driving by myself, and when Im walking to class, and when Im at home doing chores. There's almost no chore too boring anymore as long as I have a good book to listen to.
Also, I can't forget to leave out Kate Reading and Michael Kramer and Roy Dotrice as narrators. They are probably my all time favorites. I have actually listened to a few books only because they were reading it.
I agree that, if you can, to pair the eBook or book with the audio. What I do is listen to an audio, then when I have a break, I go to the written text to look at the structure. I prefer eBook when I do this, since I like to quickly search to go back to relevant texts. The iBook on my iPad allows me to connect to the web to do a search on the highlighted text. This is really useful when I'm reading a book that has a lot of symbolism, obscure meaning, or historical references. If it wasn't for audio, I might have given up on reading when life got too complicated.
So I was just listening to today's podcast on my lunch break and though it very funny that they were promoting audio book and that the next book for may is available free for download on audiblepodcast.com/sword for free.
I grew up listening to people tell stories and read stories so I don't really understand the impatience with speed.Something you might consider trying is listening to some radio shows as you might initially find them more engaging. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is one of my personal favorites. I believe a lot of old radio shows are in public domain now and might be available as free downloads. Radio shows as still going strong in the UK. If you enjoy British SF and comedy, check out BBC radio.
Narrators can also make or break and audio book and I can understand some people being turned off if they've only experienced a bad one. I agree with Nick, Wil Wheaton has impressed me as an audio book narrator. While I wasn't fond of the Dresden Files book themselves, James Marsters did an excellent job as narrator. If you like Terry Pratchett, Stephen Briggs is just amazing.
And, as Alex said, spoken stories are as old as man. Do you really want to speed up that experience?
I guess it goes into an old rant of mine about our modern society. We are too rushed, too hurried. Speed isn't important. There is no competition on who can devour this stuff faster than others. The world won't end if it takes an extra few hours. Learn to slow down, relax and enjoy.
Alex wrote: "Imagine sitting at a campfire listening to a fascinating tale. Would you want to speed that up? "Simply in some cases, yes. Some authors read so slowly that its almost maddening. There have been cases where I've reduced the speed when the author is reading at a relatively fast rate normally but that tends to be the exception and not the rule. As far as distorting the voice, that doesn't really happen. I might be wrong on this count but I believe that the Audible app passes the sped up narration through a audio filter in real time to keep it from getting distorted. This I've notice jumps the processor usage on my phone up a bit.
And, as Alex said, spoken stories are as old as man. Do you really want to speed up that experience?Yah the problem with the speed is that I read seem to read faster than the story is being told, which then makes me leave the spoken story in the dust. I used to listen to my mother read at night before bed and she would have to hide the book so I wouldn't read ahead.
Audiobooks help me to enjoy the lengthy, abstract and detailed postmodernist books. They're sometimes written with the assumption that the reader should be sophisticated enough to "get" the format. The way the narrator emphasizes passages helps to clarify some things.
I think the narrator has to be a professional storyteller like Stefan Rudnicki (I'm not really sure what that means but he seems to).
I love when the narrator voices are deep, whether man or woman. I find that when it's not the sound just annoy me to no end. A deep voice is very southing and helps be transported in the story. I really don't like when they take someone who does a fake tough and rough voice, it's sound so phony and annoying. But it's also a question of good timing and rhythm.
Narrator narrator narrator. The person who reads it to you is key, their voice has to make you melt. I also listen to a sample and if if I don't love it ill get the ebook. For example Scott Brick is really good narrator, he has done hundreds and many scifi/fantasy. Also I started getting into audio books by listening to one of favorite books/series, to give a new dimension to your favorite work, and then by listening to shorter length books to get into it. Also they are great in the car/train or out walking.
I think audio books are best in addition to print/ebook for all the times you are not home in a chair.
I think most of us have lives that involves too much sitting down. In my spare time, I'd rather be moving around. Audios enable me to be outdoors walking around, enjoy my photography hobby, and get some reading done at the same time. Can't beat that.I can't stand listening to non-pausing blabbers in real life, and I don't like narrators who sound like s/he's blabbing.
I like it because I work at very physical and repetitive job that uses absolutely zero brain power. Between podcast and audiobooks I'm able to distract myself from the fact of the mind numbing banalities of my work.
So, I love to listen to audiobooks because they leave my hand free to knit and drive, and I end up listening up to 3 books per week.Here is my humble thoughts
Book aspects
Narrative mode:
I prefer first person, because It sounds like a friend is telling you a story, making it harder for my attention to wander.
Fewer characters:
It seems to me that in audio form keping track of names is harder. And you can't keep going back all the time to listen "who was that guy again?".
Sadly, in fantasy and Sci-fi frequently there are so many made-up names and places... And I end up having to find guides or at least the spellings online.
Genre:
Fantasy, not too epic
Sci-Fi, not too hard
And also Paranormal books make great audiobooks.
Tecnical aspects
Narrator:
I prefer when the person reading act on the emotions of the text, that is what make me love James Marsters and Will Wheaton, both actors, reading.
Voice modulation:
Making different voices and entonations are a must to understand better the dialogues(and to not make the book sound monotonous), or else it sounds like the same guy is doing all the talking and that is confusing.
But be carefull with
Sound effects:
(booom!)
Some are nice, too much are distracting. New agey music in the background is annoying.
Weird Stuff:
Guys making girls voices and vice versa. You need to change up a bit the voices, but some folks make some crazy cartoony voices that distract the reader sometimes.
Same here. The only audiobook that I've listened to was of a book that I've already read multiple times and still enjoy. To experience it in another way was interesting, but I tend to think that to do so with a new read won't be as enjoyable for me. With that in mind, and my recent attempts to get into audiobooks solely because of this book club, I've gotten a few books that I've read in the past and loved in audio format. Going to start with those and see if 'listening' to a book is something I can get use to. PS- Most of the audiobooks I got were sci-fi, Asimov mostly. And the Chronicles of Narnia, which has an amazing roster of narrators for each book, for instance, Patrick Stewart narrates The Last Battle. I have yet started listening to any of them, though.
Like someone else mentioned, I use audiobooks in any place or time where I can't read -- and I find myself making up reasons to listen.Some books work better as audiobooks. The Silmarillion seems to be structured as spoken word history, and it shows. Reading it from the page is boring, listening to it is thrilling. Rule 34 and Halting State, with the Scottish accents baked into the prose, and the second person narrative works so well as an audiobook that I don't know why anyone would ever dead tree it.
It's all in the narrator. The book must be good, too, but a bad narrator will utterly spoil a good book. My favorites are Simon Prebble, the late Patrick Tull (sniff, he was wonderful and his voice carried me through spectacularly difficult times), Juliet Stevenson, Frederick Davidson (but only for PG Wodehouse), Kate Reading, Timothy West and Wil Wheaton. Many like Roy Dotrice's performances of the George RR Martin books, but I am not among them.
Alex wrote: "Do you guys have any preference for stand-alone books vs series? "My only concern is that narrators stay consistent for a series. Its not a deal breaker if they don't, but I do find it preferable.
MeiLin wrote: "Many like Roy Dotrice's performances of the George RR Martin books, but I am not among them. "I've been meaning to read GoT and I would like to do so in audio, but the sample I have of the book makes me hesitant. Granted its only the first few minutes of the book, but somehow it just seems wrong.
I tried, but I never warmed up to Dotrice's interpretation and I'm an audiobook fiend. That doesn't make the 90-some-odd-percent who like it wrong or anything, just not my cuppa.
I'm much more a visual than auditory, so I don't have as much patience for audiobooks. If I'm listening to a book, it has to either be exciting (I listened to a bunch of Brandon Sanderson's book and bits and pieces of the Vorkosigan Saga) or I have to be really intent on finishing it (Brave New World and The Magicians). I quit GoT partway through because I wasn't interested in about half the characters' storylines. Also, the narrator's asthmatic wheezing made my throat burn in sympathy.
Has anyone listened to May's S&L pick? (Hyperion) What did you think? My library has neither the physical nor ebook copies available, but does offer the audiobook.
Holy crippety! I have Hyperion in audiobook and forgot all about it! When I finish this Trollope, I'll have at that. Taking a quick listen: Multiple narrators, semi-produced--some sound effects, characters voiced by different actors than the narrator. Not bad, but not my favorite style. This way, though, I'll get it read. I like to listen while I do my chores. It's how I've gotten through a huge chunk of Trollope, and all 20 Aubrey/Maturin books.
That was many moons ago, but I recall enjoying the audios of both Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion. The main thing, I think, is that you pair up the first two books or else you'll find that the first book is lacking something.Jess wrote: "Has anyone listened to May's S&L pick? (Hyperion) What did you think? My library has neither the physical nor ebook copies available, but does offer the audiobook."
I prefer stand alone books because I hate repetition, but I can become addicted to a series. The problem with a series is that they often repeat from one book to the next in order to remind the readers of what had happened in the previous books. Another problem is that if you enjoy the way the previous books were, the characterization, events, etc., you may be disappointed if a drastic change occurred.Alex wrote: "I just starting listening to an audiobook I had left over from my previous Audible subscription and I love it! It's not hard to keep up with that and the paper book I'm reading. One for home, and o..."
Wow I'm surprised I didn't jump into this thread earlier. It looks like all my key points are hit. For me, the narrator can make or break a book. A good book can be bad if the narration sucks, and a mediocre book can be "better" with a good narrator.I think it comes down to personal preference on what kind of book you can listen to...for me, I do better with some genres than others. Non-fiction is (generally speaking) harder for me to listen to, unless the narrator is great.
I also find I have to be in the right mindset. The book and narration can be spot-on, but if my mind's not there, I can't listen. I do quite well listening while driving or while at the gym or while out walking. I can usually listen while watching sports with the TV on mute. I can't listen to books if I'm surfing the web--even if it's mindless surfing. I've also found that I need to have at least 20 minutes or so to invest, an hour is even better. If I don't have that much time, I find myself forgetting what I listened to the next time I start up. This is why I (almost) wish I had a longer commute--5 miles door to door doesn't provide much listening time. :\ Luckily I spend a lot of time driving to and from doctor's appointments. Sadly, when I'm at those appointments, I'm usually pre-occupied with what the doc will say and get distracted from audio tasks easily, trying to make sure I don't miss them calling my name...when I'm actually in the doctor's office (either in the waiting room or in the room waiting for the doc to come in), I usually read print books (usually Kindle/Kindle iPhone app). That way, I can drown out other patients and not be paranoid that I'm going to miss the nurse calling my name. Pre-surgery (I've had quite a few), so long as the nurses leave me alone, I can listen to books again...
Jess wrote: "Has anyone listened to May's S&L pick? (Hyperion) What did you think? My library has neither the physical nor ebook copies available, but does offer the audiobook."I listened to it and for me, it was definitely one of those books that I wouldn't have finished if I was reading it. The voice actors made it listenable, but I still didnt care for the characters in the same way I do in a really good book.
Sorry to be the dude resurecting an old thread but this one really seems to speak to me.For me audiobooks opened up the world of books. I rarely like to read simply because of the massive time sinc. The ability to read while driving or gaming or working out was huge. I used to turn on the tv and watch the same old crap or listen to music but i find that I like audiobooks much better.
For anyone who thinks audiobooks go too slowly I recommend multitasking. I listen while gaming and that can be hard for some people so try Minesweeper or something that occupies your hands it really helps the feeling of not doing anything while you listen.
I was surprised nobody gave graphic audio a mention. From all I have heard its a love it or hate it. Pretty much play acting sound effects their opening line says it all a movie in your mind. I found it great for multitasking. I play do a decent amount of online gamming and anyone who has ever played EQ or WoW knows how tedious certain parts can be and this is awesome for that.
I posted this in reading for July, but audiobook aficionados might be interested in this book if you have $100 to spare.Audiobooks, Literature, and Sound Studies
http://www.amazon.com/Audiobooks-Lite...
Narrator Jonathan Davis (Snow Crash, Windup Girl, Book of the New Sun), was just on the Sffaudio podcast:http://www.sffaudio.com/?p=41096
Audio books definitely help in multitasking (in fact, I don't think I'd listen to a podcast without doing something else) and SFF Audio tends to be a great resource.
The Sword and Laser
Books mentioned in this topic
Audiobooks, Literature, and Sound Studies (other topics)Hyperion (other topics)
PS: Pod casts and youtube shows are wonderful but I like to listen to them while I am at home so I can look up what they are talking about sometimes.