I decided to try an audio book and i hate it

[alanHd]

Today i finally took the plung and tried an audio book on my kindle and i hate it.

The whole experience left me disconected from the book.

Normally i can get in a charactors head and feel what they feel, i just couldnt get this with the audio book.

Is it only me who feels this way?

[soulfuldog]

No, it's not just you, I can't get into audio books at all. I liked hearing stories when I was a kid, and I still like listening to talk radio shows like Radio 5 Live, but while I can get lost in a book and caught up in the characters, the feeling of being totally disconnected from it all is exactly how I feel trying to listen to an audio book.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by alanHd

Today i finally took the plung and tried an audio book on my kindle and i hate it.

The whole experience left me disconected from the book.

Normally i can get in a charactors head and feel what they feel, i just couldnt get this with the audio book.

Is it only me who feels this way?

My good man: I would suggest you try an OTR (Old Time Radio) show. They're short (30-60 minutes).

Give it a try. They're almost ALL free, and there are hundreds-of-thousands to choose from.

I recommend you try 'SUSPENSE.'

Here you go, just for you:

http://archive.org/details/OTRR_Suspense_Singles

Scroll down, choose one, and give it a try.




Don

[alanHd]

Thanks Dr. Crib

I've just tried a sample and that a lot easier to listen to than someone just reading a book.

I will definately be downloading some to listen to when my eyes are too tired.

Thats got me thinking, i wonder if i can find an original broadcast of "The War of the worlds"

Edit

I would have given you some Karma but it seams i have to spread the love some more before i can give you any more.

[HansTWN]

I have tried Audiobooks and really like them for non-fiction. There are still many times when I sit in a car going over bad roads, or even in the back of a motorcycle. Ideal for Audiobooks. But fiction? Listen to one narrator doing all the voices, male, female, and from children to old people at the same time? I can't get into it when a woman tries to do a man's voice or a man reads in a fake woman's voice.

[bevdeforges]

Originally Posted by alanHd

Thats got me thinking, i wonder if i can find an original broadcast of "The War of the worlds"

I have a CD of "Old Time Radio Programs" that has 18 episodes from Orson Welles Mercury Theater - including the original War of the World broadcast. Picked it up at a ham radio fair, where they lots of recording like this. But I'm sure you can probably find it online.

I also found the script for the radio play of WoW online.

[alanHd]

Thanks i managed to find it on the same site Dr. Crib suggested.

Just shows you the treasures available if we only think to look for them.

Link to war of the worlds in case anyone else wants it.
http://archive.org/details/OrsonWellesMrBruns

[PG4003]

I think there's a learning curve to listening to audio books. I sew a lot, and I always listen to an audio book while sewing. At first I had a problem really getting into a book on audio, but now I love it and I think I actually retain more from listening than from actual reading. But I've been listening to audio books for about 2 years now.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

My good man: I would suggest you try an OTR (Old Time Radio) show. They're short (30-60 minutes).

Give it a try. They're almost ALL free, and there are hundreds-of-thousands to choose from.

I recommend you try 'SUSPENSE.'

Here you go, just for you:

http://archive.org/details/OTRR_Suspense_Singles

Scroll down, choose one, and give it a try.




Don

I love these and get a lot of them as podcasts. I especially like the Old Time Detectives like Nero Wolfe.
Apache

[JoHunt]

I agree about audiobooks. When I read, I devote 100% concentration to the words. With AB's though, I get no enjoyment from just sitting staring at the walls while listening. If I do something else at the same time, I waste too much time on the rewind button because I think I may have missed something.

I just love OTR and archive.org is a real treasure. My current favorite is "You Bet Your Life" with Groucho Marx. The episodes are around 20 minutes long and they never fail to give me a good laugh.

I also highly recommend "Lux Radio Theater" - first class (mainly) dramas by the major stars of the day.

[BeccaPrice]

So much depends on the reader of an audiobook. There are those who just read them, but then there are truly excellent narrators who act he book, practically. The Harr Potter books are very well done, and I understand that the Briish version is even better. The full-cast version o Dune is spectacular, and has won awards. He James Marsters reading of the Dresdrn Files are also wonderful.

A poor narrator can ruin a good book, and an excellent narrator can make a not-so-good book be worth listening to.

[Ripplinger]

Try "Three Skeleton Key" from the OTR Suspense series with Vincent Price, I've gotten a lot of people hooked on OTR from that one.

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

A poor narrator can ruin a good book, and an excellent narrator can make a not-so-good book be worth listening to.

This.. I'm currently listening to The Last Argument of Kings, the third volume in Joe Abercrombie's The First Law series. The narrator/reader is amazing with different voices for each of the characters. He's not reading, he's performing.

[Shack70]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

This.. I'm currently listening to The Last Argument of Kings, the third volume in Joe Abercrombie's The First Law series. The narrator/reader is amazing with different voices for each of the characters. He's not reading, he's performing.

That's what it really comes down to is the narrator. The first law series is a great example of fantastic audiobooks. I would almost rank them higher than the print versions. Another good series to listen to is Stephen King's Dark Tower series.

[Xanthe]

I love audiobooks, but I just can't sit on chair in my living room listening to one, or try to do the housework while listening. In both instances, my mind doesn't stay focused on the narration.

However, I've found that listening to audiobooks is extremely interesting when I am driving because my focus is restricted to the road so I'm able to concentrate on what I am hearing. I've done 6-hour drives listening to audiobooks all the way. It also works well at night when I'm in bed - because it's dark and my eyes are closed so there are no distractions. Ditto when I'm lying in the sun on the beach.

I don't have any problem with women doing men's voices and vice-versa. I actually prefer when the narrator does attempt to give the characters some individuality, other than a straight reading. It does sound odd to the ear for the first book or two, but after that - especially if the reader is a good one - I have to stop and remember that it is a person of the opposite gender doing the voice. I've got some Georgette Heyer novels on audio that are narrated by men who do dowager voices to perfection.

I think the best way to get used to an audiobook is to listen to one that's of a book that's already familiar and a favorite. You know the main story already, but having someone else read it places different emphases on actions and comments within the story which can result in a slightly different experience of it. Also, by listening you are constrained to hearing all of the words the author wrote - descriptive sentences and paragraphs that you might have skimmed over without realizing it when you actually read the book, which again gives you a fuller experience of the story.