Audiobooks discussion
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I'm a romance reader but I rarely listen to romance in audio. It just gives the giggles listening to someone else reading purple prose out loud. :)I'm cool with everything else though (and I read like a gazillion genres.) I specially like mysteries, thrillers and the like because a narrator can give it an extra dose of suspense.
I am finding that epic or detailed fantasy is hard for me to listen to. I miss things too easily.Some romance are good in audio DG - -like Suzanne Btrockmann and Lisa Kleypas.
I enjoy historical fiction on audio because you get the accents and correct pronounciations. I listen to all genres on audio but that would be my favorite.
I agree with Regina about the epic or detailed fantasy. I have started several audibooks in that genre and abandoned them because I couldn't keep track of characters and locations. This genre tends to have a large cast of characters. Names for both characters and locations are often unfamiliar. The printed version often have maps and lists of characters.The genre I prefer to listen to is mysteries.
I wear tri focals and have converted to audio because it is so much easier on my eyes and I can multi task.
Grumpus wrote: "...Are there genres you tend to read in print vs. listen to on audio book? Conversely, are there genres that are better as audio books? "I tend to read academic books in print, mostly because they don't come in an audio format. These days almost all of my fictional consumption is in audio format, so that I can listen on my commute, or while doing other mundane tasks in preference to music.
I agree 100% with Shameless Hussy about romances in audio. I don't like em in audio at all. I like to read em sometimes, though, and just gloss over the general silliness/bad writing and so on.Also, books that are fact-heavy can be boring in audio. That doesn't mean all non-fiction, because some non-fiction can be quite exciting -- but if it's gonna get pedantic on me, it's better to read so I can adjust my reading speed to fit.
Not a genre, but I *love* to listen to audiobooks with lots of accent work. That pleases my ears. :)
I listen to many genres in audio but especially mystery, fantasy, historical fiction, and paranormal romance. I find audio ideal for the Russian authors like Tolstoy because the names give me fits trying to pronounce and remember them. Any book written about a place where there is an accent is wonderful in audio--provided the narrator does good accents. I also find classics like Austen or Dickens come to life and seem far more accessible when read by a good narrator. In truth, more than genre it is the narrator who makes certain books better in audio. A good narrator makes romance listenable--Phil Gigante in the Highlander series--whereas a bad one makes it insufferable--whoever read the first few books in Feehan's Dark series.
Jim Dale made the Harry Potter series even more enchanting with his character voices and Nathaniel Parker brings Artemis Fowl to life. Luke Daniels also enters the pantheon of Voices in his Iron Druid Chronicles reading. But even Simon Vance can't make "English Society in the Eighteenth Century" come to life in that non-fiction snoozer.
Totally agree on the classics and books with accents...they are just marvelous in audio if the narrator does a good job. My first audiobook was Pride and Prejudice which was also the first time I ever read the book. Back then my English wasn't as good as it is now so I don't know that I would have been able to follow along if I hadn't been listening.
At the risk of being repetitive I have to add that I also am drawn to books with narrators doing accents well. The Thomas Lynley series (England), James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux (Louisiana), Louise Penny (French Canada), Greg Iles' Penn Cage series (Mississippi), I could go on.I also prefer to listen to nonfiction. I don't read a lot of nonfiction, but when I do the hardcover invariably puts me to sleep. With audio it just keeps flowing. I listened to John Adams and it was riveting. I have The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration on request and can't wait to get it.
In general, I absolutely agree with Jeanie that "more than genre it is the narrator who makes certain books better in audio."That said, I think that academic reading is better done in print so that you can take notes and write accurate citations.
Sometimes books have character lists, family trees, maps or other charts that we miss and it would be nice if the audio book started with "this book includes maps that are available on the publishers website at www.blahblah." So if you really have to have this material and can't easily find substitutes, then you have to go with the print.
Getting good pronunciations of foreign names is one of the upsides to audio (Russian lit, Swedish mysteries etc), though as we all know, we've heard plenty of narrators butcher place names that are right down the street, so there's no guarantee they're accuarate.
Carol/Bonadie wrote: "The Thomas Lynley series (England), James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux (Louisiana), Louise Penny (French Canada), Greg Iles' Penn Cage series (Mississippi), I could go on."I absolutely agree that the Burke audios are great, even though neither narrator is Louisianan. And I'm very happy to see you mention the Penny books as good examples -- I'm actually reading that series right now, and I love it so much that I've been thinking of going back and listening to them. But I was worried about the English/Canadian and French/Canadian accent work that would be needed. It's good to hear a favorable review!
Classics (Dickens, etc.) and mystery I strongly prefer in audio.
Regan wrote: "Sometimes books have character lists, family trees, maps or other charts that we miss and it would be nice if the audio book started with "this book includes maps that are available on the publishers website at www.blahblah." So if you really have to have this material and can't easily find substitutes, then you have to go with the print..."Excellent suggestion, totally agree. Further, it drives me nuts when I discover stuff missing from the audiobook that was in the print version - like footnotes, or an author's note in a historical novel saying what was made up and what was true.
I most often listen to mysteries, historical fiction, and some more literary fiction, although most of that I read in print version. Science fiction, with just a few exceptions, works better for me in print, as does nonfiction.
Contrarius wrote: "And I'm very happy to see you mention the Penny books as good examples -- I'm actually reading that series right now, and I love it so much that I've been thinking of going back and listening to them. But I was worried about the English/Canadian and French/Canadian accent work that would be needed. It's good to hear a favorable review! ..."Contrarius, do go back and listen, I don't think you will be disappointed. I can't vouch for authenticity, but the French Canadian accents are music to my ears, and contribute to the spell Penny weaves with this series and these characters. Except when I get a free copy of the hardcover, I now hold out for the audio version when the next book comes out.
Darkpool wrote: "Excellent suggestion, totally agree. Further, it drives me nuts when I discover stuff missing from the audiobook that was in the print version - like footnotes, or an author's note in a historical novel saying what was made up and what was true.
..."
I am a volunteer with an organization called Learning Ally, formerly Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, that uses volunteers to record textbooks, nonfiction and the occasional fiction bestsellers for subscribers and schools. We are trained how to read the footnotes, and even how to describes figures, maps and so forth, or at least to note their presence. I'm surprised this isn't done by the professional producers of nonfiction audio; I wonder why?
Regan wrote: "Sometimes books have character lists, family trees, maps or other charts that we miss and it would be nice if the audio book started with "this book includes maps that are available on the publishers website at www.blahblah." So if you really have to have this material and can't easily find substitutes, then you have to go with the print."This is such a good idea, Regan. I really wish somebody would pay attention to this.
I listen to a fair amount of nonfiction, and have run across several books with the footnotes included. What good would it go to have references made to figures and maps that you, the (sighted) listener can't see? I recall one book that had "as outlined in figure 2.4" and such within the text, so the narrator couldn't really avoid it, which I'd have preferred he have left out! I have seen library download audios that have had a chart, or other supplementary item, as a separate ebook download (both counting as one "charge out toward limit" together).
As for Louise Penny's work, yep, get the audio... I actually listened to the seven available books back to back three times before forcing myself to move on--"Tricked" of the Iron Druid Chronicles came out so... Sometimes Audible does have PDF files that are downloadable with the book, or in addition to it rather. I'm listening to "What Every Body Is Saying" and there are frequent references to the PDF. A few fantasy books I've read also have PDF files of maps and other illustrations, though not all do this. I haven't checked lately but I don't think the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series includes the illustrations on Audible, but it should.
Shirley wrote: "I wear tri focals and have converted to audio because it is so much easier on my eyes and I can multi task."The spring chicken agrees! Anything to rest aging eyes. Additionally, our brain/memory is challenged in a different way when we listen.
I listen to a wide variety of genres, but I will say I am more likely to listen to nonfiction. I love to read fiction. With that said, I am the mother of two year-old twins and a 8 month old and in the last two years my personal trend has been to listen more than I read.
My favorite genre is mystery. But I listen to as much as I can download from my libraries. And I find the accents and pronunciations very helpful. I recently listened to Game of Thrones--it went much faster than the hard cover. However, I got a little lost in the cast of characters and needed a map. So, I went online, printed the info and was able to enjoy the book even more. There are a few authors that I like to read read and always have one on my nightstand. One of these authors is Louise Penny. I've both read and listened to her books and enjoy them immensely but find that the pleasure lasts longer if it's a read and not a listen. Same with CJ Box.
There has to be a big market for audio books. I live in the Washington DC area and my daily commute is approximately three hours. Audio books have been a God send. The enjoyment of a good suspense thriller, or a Texas Ranger saving the day, the challenges of growing up in the south during the depression, the endless list of wonderful stories.Places such as Los Angeles, Seattle, NYC, and other cities where there are long commute times, the audo book market has a huge potential.
I get all of my audio books via my library and "OneClick" digital. Especially now that they have come out with there iPhone/iPad app. Very clean and smooth downloading capability.
When I can not find the book I want in "OneClick" then I turn to either Kindle or iBook for the e-book version. I just finished "I Robot" and am now reading "We". Downside here, is that usually only have time on the weekends to read the e-book version. The price for these books has been nominal ($2.00 - $5.00 American). It takes me serveral weeks to get through one of these books. But I have to admit that they are very enjoyable, time permitting.
When I am reading a serious tome, there is nothing like holding, feeling, smelling, a real book. Re-reading a sentence or paragraph to fully digest the meaning, turning back to previous chapters or pages to fully digest the authors meaning. I love reading theological works from the 15th and 16th centuries. A whole lot of deep thought going on here. Really need to have it in hand to asorb the full meaning. I just can not imagine them working out for me in audio version and driving. I wouldn't be able to flip back the pages or repeat a paticular paragraph or sentence. I think I would cause too many accidents trying.
In summary, audio books on my iPad any way that I can get them are a great and wonderful blessing. Make then affordable. Next to audio books, the e-book version is next. For serious and deep reading, nothing replaces having a real book in hand.
Kyle wrote: "There has to be a big market for audio books. I live in the Washington DC area and my daily commute is approximately three hours. Audio books have been a God send. The enjoyment of a good suspen..."Great response...I particularly liked your description of holding a real live book in your hands. You are lucky to be able to have access to such a wide variety of audio books from your library. I have to use audible.com for almost all of my audio listening, which I love, but it can get expensive on a teacher budget!
Cynthia ☮ ❤ ❀ wrote: "Kyle wrote: "There has to be a big market for audio books. I live in the Washington DC area and my daily commute is approximately three hours. Audio books have been a God send. The enjoyment of ..."Being able to download audio books from my library is a great pluse "OneClick". The downside, the selection is not current. It is really great for readig the classics and others. Fellow audio listeners have recommend Steve Berry and Steve Hockensmith, neither of which are available via "OneClick" digital.
A great book is a prize, a treat, something to be cherised and enjoyed time and time again. Having the time to read a real book is a wonderful experince. Sad that it seems so few take the time to enjoy such an experince.
I will give almost any genre a try in audiobook form. Action/adventure/spy thrillers are usually better on audiobook, as is a lot of historical fiction and literary fiction. I've found I like memoirs better when read by the author - their personality comes through even more.
I do better with audiobooks for really long books, the time required to read that much disheartens me, but I can listen to books at work, so it's a lot easier when I know I have chunks of time available.
I enjoy mysteries on audiobook, but cozies in print. There are older series that I have the voices in my head, and I can't listen to those books if the narration is too different. Like some others I generally don't care for romance on audio.
The most important factor is the narrator. A good narrator can make any audiobook a pleasure. And a bad one sends me to the library stacks.
Jaxnsmom - I find i'm the opposite. I love 'short' audiobooks, I find that I can listen for approx 30 mis - 1 and a half hours before my attentions begins to seriously wander. And I know you can break them up into different sessions but even then anything over 2 hours of reading and I find that, unless it's an exceptional story, I'm tired by the last third.When reading a 'long' book, the last third is when I should be most engaged, as we rush towards a climax eagerly aniticipated.
Last week I listened to the Terry Pratchett audiobook Snuff; having immensely enjoyed the first 3 discs, the 4th (which features some battle sequences, a ride down a flooding river, arrests and some other amazing stuff) sort of passed me by. Although I loved the story by the 4th disc I was bored of it.
I rarely find that happens in print...
Thomas -- if a book is much more than 8 hours total, I need to switch to other stuff entirely, and finish that book later.
I think what I use to decide if I want to read vs listen is determined by whether there were lots of photos or illustrations in the print copy that are integral to the text, the narrator, and whether it is fiction or non-fiction. Also if I liked the first book in a series as an audiobook . . . I usually want to continue the series in that format.And if I really like it . . . length means nothing . . . I will continue listening until it's finished. Where with a print book . . . I very rarely do that.
Generally I find it better to read non-fiction in print because I need to remember the points made or information. Even though that is hard on my eyes and must be taken in 15 minute sessions. For fiction I LOVE audiobooks. Earphones are for waiting in dentist or doctor offices. My 1998 car has a cassette/ipod converter tape which plays through the car speakers. At home I have small Logitech dock speakers in the 4 most used rooms.
Back when I first subscribed to audible, back in the year 2000 I think, I only chose books that were fast paced such as thrillers/mysteries since I used the books mostly for entertainment while jogging. Now I'll listen to anything in audio book format, but I still tend to go for thriller/mystery books in audio format and not so much in print/ebook.
I love J.D. Robb's In Death series on audio and other mysteries. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency is fantastic on audio because of the wonderful narrator who handles the dialect so well.I find the more complicated fantasy stories can be hard to listen to but I do like ones I have already read in print for a second go round on audio. The Fionavar Trilogy by Guy Gavriel Kay is the most recent one I listened to.
jaxnsmom wrote: "I will give almost any genre a try in audiobook form. Action/adventure/spy thrillers are usually better on audiobook, as is a lot of historical fiction and literary fiction. I've found I like me..."
I have found that to be true on some audiobooks. I listened to Atlas Shrugged and was exhausted by the time that was done. That book is so dry in places, though, that audio is the only way I could get through it, especially with the faster speed setting. Listening to The Woman in White done by Librovox, however, was wonderful right up to the end and I enjoyed every sentence without feeling the need to rush through. In a faster-moving book, such as A Storm of Swords or a mystery, etc, I often end up reading the last few chapters on paper because I can read it much faster and I just want to know what happens. As for the maps, etc, I get nearly all of my audio from the library and usually I will check out an audio and paper version at the same time, because I'm visual and I like to see that bookmark moving through the pages to track my progress. When there are maps or lists of names, etc, it's helpful to have the print in front of me. With the Earth's Children series, especially The Clan of the Cave Bear, the names are so foreign that usually in the first couple of chapters when new characters are introduced, I need to see them visually to see how they are spelled and work out the pronunciation, then I am fine for the rest of the book.
I read a lot of classics and nonfiction and for the most part I like them on audio unless there are just too many facts and dates. I tried to listen to Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever read by Bill O'Reilly, but I just couldn't follow it after awhile, partly because of dates and descriptions and partly because I just couldn't separate his voice from the story. Once I read it on paper it flowed smoothly and was very enjoyable. Someone mentioned liking memoirs read by their authors, and this I do like, because you feel you are really connecting with the actual person.
I can't imagine listening to a textbook; I would have to see it and mark in it.
I listen to everything on audio. I can listen for hours and not miss anything. I usually listen in the car, and when I'm doing needlework or art, so that may be the reason.
I'm another who needs a lighter plot in audio format. My favourite audiobooks are ones where the author and narrator put you in the character's head, feeling as if you're right there thinking and experiencing it all with them. When I've disliked 1st person or present tense use in books, I've loved it in audiobooks which have a really strong character voice.In terms of genres, I prefer to stick to lighter genre fiction like urban/contemporary fantasy. For sci-fi or epic fantasies, I end up having to read print or I can't take in all the details of the hundreds of characters, the political system and various factions, geography or technology, etc.
I also really like comedies in audiobook format, and autobiographies narrated by the author.
I enjoy chick lit in audio - but really don't care to read it hard copy.Conversely - I like to read romance, but don't like to listen to it (like many others here!).
I find I do much better with one-off books instead of series.
I like both but audio is convenient for work and driving and i read when im at home mostly.
I have almost completely different tastes for audio and print books. I'm an omnivorous reader (I read all kinds of genres all the time), but I tend to read a lot more literary fiction, big serious novels, and non-fiction about social issues in print. For audio, I prefer light reads (humour, chick lit, murder mysteries) and biographies and social histories that are written in a lively way (dense historical non-fiction is too hard to read).I think part of this is sentence and thought structure - many literary authors have complex ideas conveyed in formal sentences, whereas light reads tend more towards informal, short sentences and easy-to-digest ideas. The short sentences lend themselves better to an oral format. That's why Virginia Woolf is basically impossible to listen to, but J.K. Rowling is better to listen to than read. Although I can listen to a dense book if I've read it in print before.
Like other people in this thread, I also like listening to books with lots of accents in them. If I'm reading a print book with a lot of different accents, I'll sometimes lament that it's not on audio.
I find humorous books are way better on audio, if the narrator is good, as the timing and accent of a line are so important. Same thing with mysteries, if the narrator makes the characters relatable, I am more engaged than just reading it. For The Number One Ladies Detective Agency, or the Brother Cadfael series, or the Holmes and Russell series, I've read some in print, some in audio and the audio ones stuck with me much more. Some people said they lose interest in long books, for me short books don't seem worth the time, unless it's a fabulous narrator. I rarely get a book from Audible under 8 hours unless it's a deal for 1.99 or so. I get bored with most nonfiction on audio, unless it's a dramatic story, like Seabiscuit or The Devil in the White City. There's not much scope for a narrator in nonfiction. And I often skim in nonfiction, reading the sections that interest me, rather than every word, but that's impossible on audio.
Interesting you mentioned Virginia Wolff, I listened to Orlando, I think read by Barbara Rosenblatt many years ago. And as I was listening, I thought "there is no way I would have got through this in print".
Briar Rose, I agree with the accents. In the beginning I only listened to audio books when I had a long trip by myself or I could get it quicker at library than the print book. Ever since listening to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Angela's Ashes, I listen to books with accents or books that were written with "intentional" poor grammar or slang. It is much more enjoyable. I am listening to The Goldfinchnow and it is a perfect book to enjoy on audio.
I absolutely love urban fantasy books in audio since there is more action and bad ass fighting scenes that keep one on their toes, as long as the reader is excellent at conveying those moods. I prefer to read non-fiction by print since they are slower reads for me and I tend to skim at parts. If I listen to non-fiction audio I unconsciously tune out and miss quite a bit of the book.
Genre does not influence my preference. I prefer traditional print books, except when taking one of my many spontaneous road trips, when I usually listen to an audio book while driving.
I find I'm more likely to try a new or unfamiliar author and genre with audio books, with a good narrator the most mundane book can come alive. I've never read Terry Pratchett but love listening to his books(I'm not insinuating that his books are dull but they are very anecdotal and I find that the actual plot doesn't hold me), Nigel Planer and Stephen Briggs are excellent narrators and make the charters come alive. I can however listen to almost anything but prefer horror (not my favourite genre) in text form as if I get a bit freaked out I can just skip the page....
Audiobooks
Books mentioned in this topic
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (other topics)Angela’s Ashes (other topics)
The Goldfinch (other topics)
The Woman in White (other topics)
Atlas Shrugged (other topics)
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Otis is "listening" / reading your responses so let him know how you feel about the following question:
Are there genres you tend to read in print vs. listen to on audio book? Conversely, are there genres that are better as audio books?