I decided to try an audio book and i hate it - Page 6

applesauce · 04-06-2013, 06:35 AM

Heavens what have I created. I have nagged the male of the species for months to read the Game If Thrones books, he has got nowhere. No time at all, so I found a sample of the audio books, now he is hooked. In 2 days he is a third through the first book listening to it while working.

applesauce

BearMountainBooks · 04-06-2013, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caleb72

Soooo - I tried again with the audio books. I have the Audible App on my Android and a bunch of classics I got for free. So when I went to pick up my crochet project, I kicked off Jane Eyre.

I left the speed at 1x because I wanted to hear the natural speed of the speaker. The experience was quite good. In fact, this book would be great to read. Don't know if there are any Jane Eyre fans out there, but my mother told me that although she enjoyed many period works (like Austen for example), Jane Eyre was a book that she could re-read many times. That's why I picked the book. I don't really have time to read it at the moment, but I can listen to it at the times I can't read. I definitely couldn't read and crochet - that would be a disaster.

Jane Eyre is one of the few classics that I enjoyed. I wouldn't say I wanted to read it again, but I'm not a re-reader for the most part. Huck Fin was another one I liked.

NickyWithNook · 04-06-2013, 09:37 AM

I can't keep my attention on an audio book. My mind wanders and time passes and that doesn't work with audio books. If my mind wanders as I'm reading, I of course stop reading and pick up where I left off.

pidgeon92 · 04-06-2013, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NickyWithNook

I can't keep my attention on an audio book. My mind wanders and time passes and that doesn't work with audio books. If my mind wanders as I'm reading, I of course stop reading and pick up where I left off.

This was a problem for me as well when I first tried to listen to audiobooks many years ago. A few years back I started listening to podcasts, and I think that trained my mind to pay closer attention to the spoken word. Alternately, it could be that I just got older and my mind is wandering less. Now I listen to audiobooks for a few hours each day.

ApK · 04-06-2013, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NickyWithNook

I can't keep my attention on an audio book. My mind wanders and time passes and that doesn't work with audio books. If my mind wanders as I'm reading, I of course stop reading and pick up where I left off.

If my mind ever wanders when I listen to an audio book, I go back and listen again.

kyteflyer · 04-08-2013, 05:52 AM

I love audiobooks. Stephen Fry reading the Harry Potter series is amazing. Phillip Pullman (and a cast of dozens) reading The GOlden Compass, equally so.

There are readers who just don't do it for me. I don't know who the fellow is who reads Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld series, but I just didnt like his voice that much.

As others have said... its the narrator/reader who makes the difference. The advantage for me in audiobooks is that I sometimes read the text too quickly and skim over important things which go unnoticed. With an audiobook, I get to have it all.

BeccaPrice · 04-08-2013, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyteflyer

As others have said... its the narrator/reader who makes the difference. The advantage for me in audiobooks is that I sometimes read the text too quickly and skim over important things which go unnoticed. With an audiobook, I get to have it all.

I will frequently read a favorite book, and then listen to it, because when I read I may put emphasis on some parts of the book (or skim because I'm reading too fast, as noted above), and a narrator may put an entirely different emphasis on plot elements (or reveal that the author put a different emphasis than I pick up when I'm reading) so that the two versions give me a more synergistic appreciation of the whole book.

(I regularly listen to Paladin of Souls and Bujold's Sharing Knife books, just because I love the reading so much.)

DianNC · 04-08-2013, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyteflyer

As others have said... its the narrator/reader who makes the difference.

Indeed. Some are better than others but there's only one that makes me want to throw my iPod across the room and then stomp on it.

It's my own fault, as I didn't bother to listen to a 'sample' before purchasing. I've surely learned my lesson there.

taosaur · 04-08-2013, 04:04 PM

My number one use of audiobooks is bedtime, and I mostly stick to not-too-complex fantasy novels and series that I probably wouldn't read at all in text. Most science fiction can be a little hard to follow on audio, and anything literary with complex prose is going to be tough. What works best for me are stories with lots of dialogue and action and not a lot of analysis, exposition or contemplation.

My current listen is a bit of a departure: C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner series. As audio only it might be hard to follow, just due to all the alien names and words and the narrator's constant mulling over alien politics. I imagine A Song of Ice and Fire would be difficult on audio for the same reasons. Alternating between audio and text, however, both become easier to follow and I find my experience of the story doesn't change much between the two media--I find no difference between passages I've read versus passages I've listened to.

kyteflyer · 04-08-2013, 04:21 PM

For me, its when driving. Sadly, I fall asleep rather too readily, in normal circumstances. Sitting in a comfy chair listening to a book would send me off in an instant (well, it does. I've tried quite recently to listen to Ender's Game and cannot remain awake. Pretty sure its not the reader, or the book itself, which I have read twice and loved)

pidgeon92 · 04-08-2013, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyteflyer

Sadly, I fall asleep rather too readily, in normal circumstances. Sitting in a comfy chair listening to a book would send me off in an instant

... which is what makes audiobooks great for those of us that struggle with some insomnia. I often wake up in the middle of the night, with my mind racing over multiple topics. I put on my headphones, crank up my audiobook, set the sleep timer, and more often than not, I can fall asleep within 10-30 minutes.

DianNC · 04-08-2013, 05:03 PM

^^^

Better than a sleeping pill!

BeccaPrice · 04-08-2013, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

... which is what makes audiobooks great for those of us that struggle with some insomnia. I often wake up in the middle of the night, with my mind racing over multiple topics. I put on my headphones, crank up my audiobook, set the sleep timer, and more often than not, I can fall asleep within 10-30 minutes.

This. many times, this.

taosaur · 04-08-2013, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

... which is what makes audiobooks great for those of us that struggle with some insomnia. I often wake up in the middle of the night, with my mind racing over multiple topics. I put on my headphones, crank up my audiobook, set the sleep timer, and more often than not, I can fall asleep within 10-30 minutes.

Another reason not to go audio with books that are too stimulating

kyteflyer · 04-08-2013, 06:15 PM

OOH!! I'm just about to jump in the car to go to the doc for a number of things, and I was, for the first time in my life (I'm over 60) going to ask for something to help me sleep. I have a few audiobooks that bore me witless (well not the books, so much, but the readers who DRONE!!).. perhaps I should try that first

Still have to go to the doc but I'll give that a try, I have been sleeping very badly since Christmas and am beginning to wear out.

Thanks!!!

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04-06-2013, 06:35 AM	#76
applesauce Addict Posts: 385 Karma: 3553492 Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Perth Western Australia Device: kindle oasis	Heavens what have I created. I have nagged the male of the species for months to read the Game If Thrones books, he has got nowhere. No time at all, so I found a sample of the audio books, now he is hooked. In 2 days he is a third through the first book listening to it while working. applesauce

04-06-2013, 09:37 AM	#78
NickyWithNook Guru Posts: 748 Karma: 3942770 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Michigan, USA Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite (Don't use Nook anymore)	I can't keep my attention on an audio book. My mind wanders and time passes and that doesn't work with audio books. If my mind wanders as I'm reading, I of course stop reading and pick up where I left off.

04-08-2013, 05:52 AM	#81
kyteflyer Wizard Posts: 1,841 Karma: 9547754 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Newcastle, Australia Device: iPhone SE2020	I love audiobooks. Stephen Fry reading the Harry Potter series is amazing. Phillip Pullman (and a cast of dozens) reading The GOlden Compass, equally so. There are readers who just don't do it for me. I don't know who the fellow is who reads Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld series, but I just didnt like his voice that much. As others have said... its the narrator/reader who makes the difference. The advantage for me in audiobooks is that I sometimes read the text too quickly and skim over important things which go unnoticed. With an audiobook, I get to have it all.

04-08-2013, 04:04 PM	#84
taosaur intelligent posterior Posts: 1,562 Karma: 21295618 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Ohiopolis Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2, Samsung S8, Lenovo Tab 3 Pro	My number one use of audiobooks is bedtime, and I mostly stick to not-too-complex fantasy novels and series that I probably wouldn't read at all in text. Most science fiction can be a little hard to follow on audio, and anything literary with complex prose is going to be tough. What works best for me are stories with lots of dialogue and action and not a lot of analysis, exposition or contemplation. My current listen is a bit of a departure: C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner series. As audio only it might be hard to follow, just due to all the alien names and words and the narrator's constant mulling over alien politics. I imagine A Song of Ice and Fire would be difficult on audio for the same reasons. Alternating between audio and text, however, both become easier to follow and I find my experience of the story doesn't change much between the two media--I find no difference between passages I've read versus passages I've listened to.

04-08-2013, 04:21 PM	#85
kyteflyer Wizard Posts: 1,841 Karma: 9547754 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Newcastle, Australia Device: iPhone SE2020	For me, its when driving. Sadly, I fall asleep rather too readily, in normal circumstances. Sitting in a comfy chair listening to a book would send me off in an instant (well, it does. I've tried quite recently to listen to Ender's Game and cannot remain awake. Pretty sure its not the reader, or the book itself, which I have read twice and loved)

04-08-2013, 05:03 PM	#87
DianNC Banned Posts: 1,431 Karma: 5222495 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: Nook Color, Entourage Pocket Edge, iPod Touch 5th Gen	^^^ Better than a sleeping pill!

04-08-2013, 06:15 PM	#90
kyteflyer Wizard Posts: 1,841 Karma: 9547754 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Newcastle, Australia Device: iPhone SE2020	OOH!! I'm just about to jump in the car to go to the doc for a number of things, and I was, for the first time in my life (I'm over 60) going to ask for something to help me sleep. I have a few audiobooks that bore me witless (well not the books, so much, but the readers who DRONE!!).. perhaps I should try that first Still have to go to the doc but I'll give that a try, I have been sleeping very badly since Christmas and am beginning to wear out. Thanks!!!