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Just curious. Can any of you follow an audio book?
I'm not quite sure what the deal is with me, but I am not able to listen to, and follow, an audio book. My husband loves them, and keeps them in the car. I will have the best of intentions, but somewhere along the line, my mind wanders so until I miss much of the story, and then become frustrated.
I have bought a lot of works read by the author(s) just because I wanted the experience of hearing his/her voice. And, I do seem to have better luck following a shorter work in audio format, like Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory.
I listen to them when no one is around talking or when I might have to read something. So that means I listen to them while I do housework (on my ipod), or out in the studio. I have listened while on a long car trip, but I miss stuff when I am trying to concentrate on finding rest stops & routing changes.
Just curious. Can any of you follow an audio book?
I'm not quite sure what the deal is with me, but I am not able to listen to, and follow, an audio book. My husband loves them, and keeps them in the car. I will have the best of intentions, but somewhere along the line, my mind wanders so until I miss much of the story, and then become frustrated.
I have bought a lot of works read by the author(s) just because I wanted the experience of hearing his/her voice. And, I do seem to have better luck following a shorter work in audio format, like Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory.
Is there a trick to listening to a book?
Yes and no. Primarily it's a matter of adjusting to the slowness of the reader compared to reading it for yourself. A book that you might zip through in a couple hours will take 7 or 8 or 9 hours, listening.
Second, avoid at all costs books read by the writers. Writers are good writers, NOT good readers! Check who the readers are before getting one from a library or buying it. Barbara Rosenblatt is wonderful, she does the Amelia Peabody stories for Elizabeth Peters. There are some others that are equally good - the man who reads the Gabriel duPre mysteries is excellent, too, and C.J. Crit, who does some of Janet Evanovich's books.
And it also helps if you sort of pretend you're listening to a movie on TV that you aren't actually watching. I find it gives me a lot of extra time to clean, do hand work [got lots of afghans done that way], more time to brush the dog, lots of time to clean - oops, I already said that, but with a dog that's a mud magnet, there's a lot of cleaning - and time right now to pack boxes. Lots of boxes.
The one major advantage to audio books is that quite a few of them include an interview with the writer at the end, so you can still listen to his/her voice.
I think it vastly depends on the Narrator. For example I have found Audio-Books read by the Author are much better, maybe because it flows more naturally...
Also some readers are more adept at portraying scenes and doing different voices without an artificiality to it.
I particularly enjoyed "The Happy Isles of Oceania" written and read by Paul Theroux and all the Gervase Phinn books read by him.
I also found Stephen Fry the perfect voice for the Harry Potter stories.
I tend to only be able to concentrate on audio-books in the car on long journeys though. It seems I just get distracted by the slightest noise at home for some reason.
And I seem to be just the opposite, Mooseketeer. I can make myself listen if I am at home -- but it doesn't work because inevitably I think I should be doing something (laundry, kitchen prep, vacuuming) and then the guilt sets in, so I turn the system off. For some odd reason, I don't have that problem actually reading. Perhaps, because I am actually reading.
In the car, I just can't listen at all. My mind seems to wander all over the place. But, I am thinking maybe next time I'll try just a little harder. My husband listens and drives.
I'm able to download audio books from Net Library for free, and I do this occasionally, if I have nothing else to read and don't want to drive to the local library. I really prefer reading a book to listening to one, though. I do sometimes find audio books hard to follow, and if you miss something you can't just flip back a few pages to catch up on the plot. I read in bed at night and if I nod off while reading a book, it's no problem to find my place later. If I fall asleep while listening to a book, the MP3 player just keeps playing so I lose my place.
I've also noticed that audible.com charges more for audio books than Amazon charges for print books, which makes no sense to me.
I drive a lot, so I borrow audio books from the library often. I love it! Keeps me from getting bored in the car. Plus it allows me to catch up on some "reading" I never seem to have time for at home. My hubby tried it, and he doesn't like it. He says it's too distracting.
Except for technical, informational, or instructional works, I can't remember the last time I read a book. However I listen to them all the time.
I find listening to a story a much richer experience than actually reading it. By being totally passive, instead of involved in the mechanics of the process, my mind is free to create imagery on a deeper level. I can "see" the story directly in my imagination without first having to read the words. The reading, or decoding process, not only requires attention, it uses "mind power" which I would rather allocate to my imagination.
This preference could very well be a result of "literary burn-out" from my days in college and graduate school, but I think it is most likely due to having books read to me by my mother and grandmother when I was little. I can still see scenes that my mind conjured up as they read to me from popular books of the time such as Black Beauty, Lassie Come Home, The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, and of course the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. This was in the pre-TV era, and I also spent a lot of time listening to the radio.
Well, I am in the same boat as RDSLOTS...I tried the audio book but couldn't follow. When I read a book, I usually have the "movie" in the my head, which to me, makes the book more enjoyable. However, when I tried listening to the audio book, I couldn't follow. I know as kid we sit and listen to a person reading a book out loud, like at the library or in class..and I could do this but now that I am an adult...nope! Weird thing is my husband is a slow reader but enjoys audio books. I am a fast reader with the opposite problem...too funny.
...I can make myself listen if I am at home -- but it doesn't work because inevitably I think I should be doing something...and then the guilt sets in...
Does this guilt also set in when you put in a DVD to watch a movie?
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