The World of Books Braces for a Newly Ominous Future

[graycyn]

Originally Posted by issybird

Anathema seems overly strong, but obviously mileage varies. My top reason for liking audiobooks is that I get through more content and they serve as entertainment when I’m otherwise occupied. Win/win. I can’t read and drive, more’s the pity.

I find the exact opposite. It's hard to pay attention to an audiobook while actually accomplishing anything else. If I just lay about and listen, well, I read faster than audiobooks get read, so I get through much LESS content with audio. NOT a win at my age!

And it's less fun. I'm big on not just story lines, but HOW authors use the English language. Audio means I have to reverse to listen to something over again, which I find cumbersome, where reading, I can quickly re-savor a great sentence.

So, although I've tried a couple audio books and can enjoy listening to someone read, I vastly prefer a regular ebook. I feel more involved. The audiobook is pretty close to anathema for me. It is LAST RESORT.


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[DNSB]

Originally Posted by issybird

Anathema seems overly strong, but obviously mileage varies. My top reason for liking audiobooks is that I get through more content and they serve as entertainment when I’m otherwise occupied. Win/win. I can’t read and drive, more’s the pity.

I'm going to have to disagree. I can read much faster than the ebook can be spoken. And I prefer the voices in my head especially for the majority of audiobooks where there is only one voice.

As for driving and audiobooks? The way I can get caught up in a story would make listening and driving a bit hazardous—probably more for the other drivers. Not as bad as a woman breast-feeding her baby while driving on the highway at 110 kmh (my passenger actually stopped texting to take a photo and we still had trouble believing it though Google showed quite a few examples).

In Canada, distracted driving is statistically responsible for more accidents and fatalities than DUI (both alcohol and marijuana). Listening to music/audiobooks/eating/looking at your passenger in the back seat are not quite up to texting as a distraction but they are unnecessary distractions.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I'm going to have to disagree. I can read much faster than the ebook can be spoken.

I listened to a podcast interview with a blind woman a while back. She manages to listen to audiobooks at 5x, and process the information. She's not ingesting it as a "performance", but as a visual-text replacement. I was mightily impressed at that level of audio processing skill.

[graycyn]

Originally Posted by meeera

I listened to a podcast interview with a blind woman a while back. She manages to listen to audiobooks at 5x, and process the information. She's not ingesting it as a "performance", but as a visual-text replacement. I was mightily impressed at that level of audio processing skill.

I'd be impressed too! But I'm a visual person, I couldn't do it.

The other thing with audiobooks, is anytime there is some kind of noise (say my uphill neighbor is having his tree trimmed or the downhill neighbor's kids are making a racket), it's going to make it harder to listen and hear the spoken word. I don't do well at all hearing with other noise around, never have. Whereas noise doesn't impede my visual reading much. Though I have to admit, during wildfire season, I might go through a lot more eye-drops....


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[meeera]

Originally Posted by graycyn

The other thing with audiobooks, is anytime there is some kind of noise (say my uphill neighbor is having his tree trimmed or the downhill neighbor's kids are making a racket), it's going to make it harder to listen and hear the spoken word. I don't do well at all hearing with other noise around, never have.

Noise-cancelling headphones?

[issybird]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I'm going to have to disagree. I can read much faster than the ebook can be spoken.

When you’re swimming? I bow to your superior abilities!

I read by preference when I can, but when I can’t, audiobooks are wonderful. They help beguile activities that are tedious in essence or have tedious aspects. I’ll add that some books are more suited to audio than others and that the narrator makes a huge difference. The right book and the right narrator make for excellent entertainment. And as far as driving goes, much less distracting than the news - which was the reason I started to listen in the first place. The news had become much too jangling during my commute.

[4691mls]

I have a tendency to mentally tune out of speech after a while, whether it's a classroom lecture (taking notes helped me focus), talk program on the radio, etc. I expect with an audiobook I'd eventually zone out and then have a hard time finding my place again.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

I have a tendency to mentally tune out of speech after a while, whether it's a classroom lecture (taking notes helped me focus), talk program on the radio, etc. I expect with an audiobook I'd eventually zone out and then have a hard time finding my place again.

It was a learned skill for me; I had to make the effort to focus and recall my mind to the book. It’s helpful to start with something light or that you’ve read before.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by issybird

When you’re swimming? I bow to your superior abilities!

I read by preference when I can, but when I can’t, audiobooks are wonderful. They help beguile activities that are tedious in essence or have tedious aspects. I’ll add that some books are more suited to audio than others and that the narrator makes a huge difference. The right book and the right narrator make for excellent entertainment. And as far as driving goes, much less distracting than the news - which was the reason I started to listen in the first place. The news had become much too jangling during my commute.

I currently don't have a waterproof set of earbuds or headphones to use while swimming. I did try a Sony set but I was not comfortable with using them in the pool since I like swimming along the bottom of the pool which exceeds their maximum 2M depth rating and most definitely not in the ocean. At this point, the ocean is currently my only option since pools are closed and somehow, I suspect that diving in salt water would void the warranty on any current audio player.

I admit listening to the radio while driving but it's an all traffic station. All accidents, all the time.

[Luffy]

I can't multitask with audiobooks on. Currently I've been listening to Anna Karenina, but though there's the novelty of the audio, I can't seem to grasp everything being narrated.

[graycyn]

Originally Posted by meeera

Noise-cancelling headphones?

Headphones are always uncomfortable for me. I haven't yet found any I can stand very long.

Unless my vision gets to the point I can't read, I have no desire to do audiobooks. I did two, that was a great plenty. The second one I never finished, just kept tuning it out.


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