I decided to try an audio book and i hate it

[SeaBookGuy]

Faith: I could never read classics as print books, but (most) are great as audiobooks!

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by faithbw

Normally, I hate audiobooks but I decided to do a free trial with Audible. So I downloaded Sense and Sensibility this weekend and I have to say that I love it! I listen to it while driving or doing a chore. The narrator, Susannah Harker, is so good. She really makes each character sound different plus her reading is so lively without being over the top. I guess the advice here about having the right narrator was right on the money!

Now that you're an Audible member, be sure to take advantage of this promo:

BUY 4, GET $10

Buy four audiobooks between April 1 and April 30, 2013, and you'll earn a $10 Listening Reward coupon.*

*You must purchase 4 or more audiobooks by April 30, 2013, at 11:59 PM ET (US). Audiobooks must have a regular price of $14.95 or more to be eligible for the 4 audiobook purchase minimum. Only Audible members are eligible for Listening Rewards. Limit one reward per customer. Your coupon will be placed in your account at the end of the promotional window, and no later than May 5, 2013. You will be notified by email when the coupon is available in your account. The coupon is good for audio content only and will expire on May 31, 2013.

You can easily reach that goal with free or very low cost classic Whispersync book pairs.

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

You can easily reach that goal with free or very low cost classic Whispersync book pairs.

Hmm???

Audiobooks must have a regular price of $14.95 or more to be eligible for the 4 audiobook purchase minimum.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

Hmm???

Many of those free and low cost Whispersync audiobooks have regular prices of $14.95 and up, and therefore qualify for this promo.

Remember; it's not based on what you pay, but rather what the regular price is.

[SeaBookGuy]

Exactly, Tubemonkey! I used a couple of those, and a couple of low-priced non-Whispersync items to keep my average cost below $5.00 for the $10 credit.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by SeaBookGuy

Exactly, Tubemonkey! I used a couple of those, and a couple of low-priced non-Whispersync items to keep my average cost below $5.00 for the $10 credit.

I bought four $0.99 Whispersync classics to get my $10 credit. As soon as I get it, I'm buying 10 more of them; netting me 14 audiobooks for $4.

[SeaBookGuy]

I didn't want to buy stuff that I wasn't really interested in just because it was 99 cents -- maybe I'm just too picky, but I'd prefer to pay slightly more for stuff I know I'd like.
My $10 credit is intended for a book on my wishlist that's just too short (under 5 hours) to justify a credit or the full member price, but at $3 or so would be fine.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by SeaBookGuy

I didn't want to buy stuff that I wasn't really interested in just because it was 99 cents -- maybe I'm just too picky, but I'd prefer to pay slightly more for stuff I know I'd like.
My $10 credit is intended for a book on my wishlist that's just too short (under 5 hours) to justify a credit or the full member price, but at $3 or so would be fine.

Classics are precisely what I'm interested in, so this is a great offer for me

[Cdesja5]

Originally Posted by Teknikal

Can't stand audio books myself they go so slow compared to the speed I read at, I get very bored very quickly in fact I don't think I've ever got through the first chapter with one.

Exactly my sentiment! I can read a book in 4-5 hours that it takes 11-12 hours to listen to... I get very impatient with audio books. That said, I've listened to quite a few on return car trips from Toronto to Montréal as the 5-6 hour one way (10-12 hour return) trip is usually long enough for me to get to the end of the book. I find that I just cannot listen to audio books other than while driving. If it's not finished by the end of a trip, it's sheer agony to finish listening to it at home!

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by Cdesja5

Exactly my sentiment! I can read a book in 4-5 hours that it takes 11-12 hours to listen to... I get very impatient with audio books. That said, I've listened to quite a few on return car trips from Toronto to Montréal as the 5-6 hour one way (10-12 hour return) trip is usually long enough for me to get to the end of the book. I find that I just cannot listen to audio books other than while driving. If it's not finished by the end of a trip, it's sheer agony to finish listening to it at home!

I continue to be a bit baffled by this sort of comment. The audiobook lets you read when you otherwise couldn't be reading, so even if it's slower than "real" reading, so what? The time invested is "found" time that is otherwise devoted to something else.

With an audiobook, I'm making supper, I can be reading. I'm cleaning the toilet, I can be reading. I'm at the supermarket, I can be reading. I'm watching a baseball game, I can be reading. I'm exercising, I can be reading.

I never thought I'd like audiobooks, but now I've become a big fan. It's fun to have someone reading to me.

[Prestidigitweeze]

This might also be an issue of control. Your comment made me realize that, while I like reading and performing for others, I'm not so keen on sitting passively and listening (unless someone's onstage). I think of that as a failing and not a virtue on my part, but perhaps it has something to do with my frustration with audio books. Visual books leave all inner senses to the reader's discretion.

Have you ever known people who couldn't read the novel Perfume because they couldn't bear to smell that which was being described? ("I don't like living in my nostrils," an irked reader explained.) Perhaps audio books create similar issues for some of us.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

This might also be an issue of control. Your comment made me realize that, while I like reading and performing for others, I'm not so keen on sitting passively and listening (unless someone's onstage). I think of that as a failing and not a virtue on my part, but perhaps it has something to do with my frustration with audio books. Visual books leave all inner senses to the reader's discretion.

Yes, this is a legitimate issue, and part of me feels like I'm cheating when listening to an audiobook. It really isn't reading. I wouldn't rely on an audiobook for anything I needed to truly absorb and understand; I retain information much better when I see the words. But for my choice of material--old favorites revisited, familiar classics, mystery and suspense--listening while doing something else works just fine.

[SeaBookGuy]

Originally Posted by Cdesja5

If it's not finished by the end of a trip, it's sheer agony to finish listening to it at home!

I can't (usually) just sit and listen, but have to be doing something else, like cleaning.

[discopig]

I've given audiobooks a few trials and it really is not for me. I've tried them in various situations (sitting around during lunch at work, home, while cleaning, while doing stuff, etc), but in all cases i couldn't focus or retain much of the story/information.

[taosaur]

I do use audiobooks mostly for 'low priority' reads that don't require a lot of focus: plot-driven fantasy series, mainly. It gives me a chance to enjoy stuff I might never pick up in text form, like all the Harry Dresden books and Brandon Sanderson's work.