Quote:
Originally Posted by weedfreak
I fully agree, I cannot understand the purpose of audio books really. Well OK if your blind I suppose, but for anyone who can read surely reading is the way to 'consume' a book.
Of course it could just be another sign of dumbing down of the human race, most people seem to be forgetting how to write correctly and the demand seems to be 'entertain me' instead of how can I entertain myself.
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1. I listen to audio books while walking the dog. Tough to read any kind of pbook or ebook while walking the dog, particularly in the winter.
2. I listen to audiobooks while commuting on the subway. Usually it's standing room only on the subway. Hard to keep my balance & read.
3. I listen to audiobooks sometimes on the bus going home at night. My eyes are often tired at that point in the day. Plus, depending on the driver, there's a motion sickness issue.
4. I listen to audiobooks while driving. Short stories for around town, novels etc. for longer trips.
5. Some books are simply better on audio. I find Harry Potter books to be mediocre reads, but read out loud by Jim Dale, they are transformed. Frank McCourt's readings, especially of Angela's Ashes, are marvelous. Stanley Lombardo's readings of his own translations of the Odyssey and the Iliad are wonderful, much better than the written page. And Terry Pratchett's books, on audio, are a delight over and above the already delightful print version. I think that most, if not all, poetry is better read aloud than in print, even if I have to do it myself.
So it boils down to this: audiobooks provide a "reading" experience in situations where it is not easy to read a book, and in some instances, the experience of the audiobook is qualitatively better than that of merely reading the book.