# Audio books? (1 Viewer)



## Bruno Spatola (Sep 7, 2010)

I personally can't stand them and think they destroy the personal connection you get when reading within your mind. 

You don't have that contact with the actual book that I love as well, and simply turning the pages is a great feeling for me. Someone lent me the complete audio books of Harry Potter and it just wasn't the same. 

I think they are great for comedies, but I'm talking about novels specifically.

Actually, I remember Christopher Walken reading "The Raven" and it wasn't the same either, so I guess it fails for poetry too.

What are your thoughts on Audio books?


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## Foxee (Sep 7, 2010)

Personally, if I'm doing something mundane and I can't hold a book I like to listen to audio books sometimes. I didn't think that I would but I find it's just as easy to build the story in my mind as it goes. With some types of writing it's easier as audio...plus, less eyestrain.


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## garza (Sep 7, 2010)

In the '40s I loved radio drama, and when I first heard about 'talking books' I thought it was a great idea. But I've never listened to one I enjoyed. Somehow they just don't work. At least not for me.


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## Bruno Spatola (Sep 7, 2010)

I agree, they just don't work.

The War of the Worlds radio broadcast was quite good, but that was real-time wasn't it? It was more acted than read as well but still. It can work _sometimes_ I suppose, but usually it falls flat.


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## funnygirl (Sep 7, 2010)

I think they have their place, when working (I'm a cook) I'd rather listen to an audio book then half the rubbish on radio


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## Bruno Spatola (Sep 7, 2010)

So far females kind of like them and males, not so much. 

Interesting.


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## TWErvin2 (Sep 7, 2010)

Audiobooks work for me. Yes, it isn't the same as reading a novel, but it isn't meant to be. 

Some of the Roger Zelazny novels on audiobook are good, but then again, it's the author doing the reading--and he does a good job. It's hard to argue that he doesn't get the voice and pacing and other aspects right...right?


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## Bruno Spatola (Sep 7, 2010)

I don't know, but voice and pacing are vital. If they aren't right, it doesn't matter who's reading it. When I hear authors at book readings, it doesn't work either, for me. James Earl Jones is quite good at it, but I still think books are for the mind. Listening is just a longer route to take than reading in my opinion.

I wouldn't get rid of audio books, but I will never enjoy them.


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## caelum (Sep 7, 2010)

I myself have never, ever, even once listened to one, so I can't speak for me, but I know a guy who has a huge collection and is quite fond of them.  He's got his favourite narrator that he hunts down.


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## k3ng (Sep 8, 2010)

I find 2 great uses for audio books. Firstly they kill the hours on long road trips. Secondly, I can actually get through books that I never thought I'd read. Especially non-fiction. I listened to the audiobook Amazing Grace, about William Wilberforce and thoroughly enjoyed it. Not a book I'd pick up and read normally.


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## garza (Sep 8, 2010)

iDrew - You are an inspiration. Being both lazy and stupid, I'm now going to download some audio books and give them another chance. I already knew they are useful for the sight impaired, but I never realised they are also made for dumb people. Thanks for the tip.


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## RoundEye (Sep 9, 2010)

You might not be able stand them but they can serve a purpose. Because of MS and bouts of optical neuritis, sometimes the words shake so much I can’t focus on them. There may come a time (hopefully not) that the letters shake so badly all the time that the only way I can enjoy a novel is to hear one. I’m sure it opens up a new world to people that are blind too.



garza said:


> iDrew - You are an inspiration. Being both lazy and stupid, I'm now going to download some audio books and give them another chance. I already knew they are useful for the sight impaired, but I never realised they are also made for dumb people. Thanks for the tip.



Can I join the “too dumb to read” crew? The Dr. Seuss books that I read to my son have some really big words in them.


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## Bruno Spatola (Sep 9, 2010)

_I wouldn't get rid of audio books, but I will never enjoy them_.

That's specifically why I wouldn't get rid of them. I'm talking about people who are perfectly capable of reading the usual way, not people who literally cannot read. Audio books are immensely helpful to them, and I'm glad they exist for that purpose, but it wasn't what I was referring to.


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## Foxee (Sep 9, 2010)

If I've got a long dull job to do (my first 'real' job hunting down pictures in a database all day) or a long road trip audiobooks are great. My favorite so far was 'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'...unabridged and very entertaining.


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## caelum (Sep 9, 2010)

iDrew said:


> Then again it’s almost certainly a me thing.  Everything is you know.


 At least you're not abashed. 

Why can't the spoken and unspoken books simply coexist?  They each have their uses.  You're making it out to be a false dichotomy, like you have to pick one.


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## garza (Sep 9, 2010)

iDrew - Well, as I said earlier, I never liked the talking books until you said they are for the dumb and lazy, so now I have a small collection downloaded from gutenberg.org. I don't really like them, but if you say they are for people like me then I suppose I'll have to listen to at least some of them.


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## Foxee (Sep 9, 2010)

I like stories whether they're on radio, movie screen, in print, on audio, told verbally, backside of my eyelids, whatever.


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## Bruno Spatola (Sep 9, 2010)

Foxee said:


> I like stories whether they're on radio, movie screen, in print, on audio, told verbally, backside of my eyelids, whatever.



Yep. 

I don't like being _read to_. I think my own internal voice adds a lot more depth, but I love a good story in all forms. My level of enjoyment depends on how I receive them though. It tends to vary wildly from medium to medium.

Game, set, and the match. Garza!


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## Bruno Spatola (Sep 9, 2010)

...It's going to kick off :twisted:


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## Foxee (Sep 9, 2010)

Bruno Spatola said:


> I don't like being _read to_. I think my own internal voice adds a lot more depth,


 While I agree that my own internal voice adds more depth, I do like being read to. Maybe it feels nostalgic, like when my grandmother read to me as a kid.

I'm perfectly happy with either format, depending what I'm doing. I can't see where audio books would put the bite on printed books because, as has been pointed out several times, they're generally used under different circumstances. I've sometimes read the print version of an audio book I enjoyed simply because I liked it or vice versa.

Another instance I like audio books for is if I'm trying to really learn the contents. Sometimes listening helps me learn better than reading alone. Perhaps this puts me in with the stupid lazy people...make room, I'm coming in!


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## Bruno Spatola (Sep 9, 2010)

Yeah...very true Foxee, best answer so far I think. 

They do have a lot of benefits which I have acknowledged. The podcast is sort of an audio book isn't it? I love those so, it depends. 

I suppose it's like music sometimes. Annoying reading it, annoying writing it, brilliant listening to it. Depends.


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## Baron (Sep 9, 2010)

iDrew said:


> I'm mouthy.
> 
> 
> xDrew


 'nuff said.


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## ppsage (Sep 9, 2010)

I listen to audio books usually one or two a week. Almost exclusively in my studio while I'm working with my hands. I never listen only. Two or three to one over music, which I also listen to, sometimes in tearing jags. I also read a couple books per week, mostly in bed at night. I am often reading three or four books at once. Many times I have both read and listened to a book, often multiple times. Usually I find listening a more immediate experience, like going to a play or movie. It's a much deeper but completely temporary emersion. Often I notice things listening which I've spaced out reading but if I want to remember or learn something for keeps I need to see it written down. I listen/read fiction/nonfiction about 50/50. I listen to a lot of college lecture series, several good ones are published. If nothing else it about doubles the amout of written material I'm able to hear/read. I occasionally listen to poetry which I almost never read. I would say that listening to books is the second most entertaining thing I do, after reading. And I'm not celibate. But I do have a duration problem. Today I'm listening to _The State of Jones, _a history of the Mississippi county which rebelled against the Confederacy. As Civil War history it's a bit light but interestingly topical. I would probably never read it, because much technically better material is available in print, but it's fairly unique in its topic so I'm glad it's available to hear in my 'off' hours. The reader is just okay, nothing special. Perhaps the best audio book I've ever heard is a six volume set of e. e. cummings reading his work from Caedmon. Originally on vinyl. It's pretty scratchy but I don't think I ever understood him before I heard that. The Donal Donnelly and Miriam Healy-Louie reading of _Ulysses_ is one I've listened to a half dozen times, like I might a favorite opera, if I were Inspector Morse. pp


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## MJ Preston (Sep 9, 2010)

I used to drive 12000 miles a month. During long drives audiobooks were an alternative to going completely insane and killing everyone on the road.


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## caelum (Sep 9, 2010)

iDrew said:


> Garza my dear, you really shouldn’t believe everything I say.  It’s because I’m a princess I’m allowed to make things up.


 
But Drew, princesses are supposed to sit there, be demure, look pretty, and only say the appropriate things that are in the bounds.  They don't go around with all these. . . revolutionary ideas!



Foxee said:


> I can't see where audio books would put the bite on  printed books because, as has been pointed out several times, they're  generally used under different circumstances.


 I do side with Foxee.  I think the printed word is in no danger.  Besides, books are great shelf-fillers and look impressive.  People aren't about to part with them.


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## garza (Sep 9, 2010)

iDrew - Sooner or later you will have to face the fact that the day of the printed book is fast drawing to a close. Books will continue to be printed but in rapidly decreasing numbers. I'm 70 years old, I'll not live to see the total end, but I do expect to live long enough to get a glimpse of the end.

It's not the talking book that will kill printing, it's the ebook. Whether freebie downloads of public domain books such as are on offer at gutenberg.org, or commercial releases by the next generation of best-selling authors, the ebook, in some form or fashion, will be standard before too many years have passed. We have writers here on WF who are published and selling books that are either print-on-demand, thus cutting out the traditional publisher, or pure ebooks. 

It's the content that counts, not whether it's printed on a page, displayed on a screen, or spoken into a microphone. 

The traditional publishing houses are doomed because they have not moved quickly enough to adapt to the changes, and now I believe it's too late. 

But don't blame the audio books.


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## Foxee (Sep 9, 2010)

iDrew said:


> Because they are there and especially where being used for convenience, are they a healthy option for writers


 Yes, if those writers are driving 400 miles on a road trip. Much healthier than driving and reading the print version.


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## Like a Fox (Sep 9, 2010)

I assosciate audiobooks with my childhood. 

Each Summer the six of us, my four siblings and my parents, would take two cars down the coast - about five hours. 
In each car would be a different audiobook. Mum would listen to Maeve Binchy's Light a Penny Candle. And Dad would listen to Kill all the Lawyers.

My siblings and I would pick a car based on our book of choice. I've heard both of those a number of times. 

When I first read through the Harry Potter series, my Dad had our copy of the third book so he told me to listen to the audiobook.
I spent 12 hours in my room, tearing up little scraps of fabric, which helped me concentrate.

I've looked at buying audiobooks recently and find they're hideously overpriced. I'd like to listen to stories while driving. I waste way too much time in my car thinking about nothing.


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## Bruno Spatola (Sep 9, 2010)

I got an Audible coupon for a free audio book, but in general they are overpriced and I haven't downloaded one since. I think I would enjoy them on a long road trip as well.

_I spent 12 hours in my room, tearing up little scraps of fabric, which helped me concentrate._ That's a little odd I gotta say Fox


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## Like a Fox (Sep 9, 2010)

Ha, well it makes sense to me. I always doodle when I'm on the phone to someone. Helps me listen. And I used to like doing the same in high school, would draw little pictures or colour something in, if I really had to pay attention.

I put on Harry Potter disc one and within five minutes my mind was wandering. If I looked at things, I started thinking about other stuff, if I closed my eyes, same deal.
I had these stupid fabric vines made of cheap lining material. They'd been a prop in a school play I was in that year. 
It was easy to pull each thread out and diminish the leaves to piles of thread. Good mundane activity to keep my brain focused.


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## Bruno Spatola (Sep 9, 2010)

I don't even stay on the phone long enough to doodle. I don't even say hello, I just pick it up and wait for them to speak lol. If it's someone I don't like, I just put the phone down. My mind definitely wanders when I listen to audio books, but it's the same for average books too. A lot of writers have poor concentration actually...

I rip paper up, not vines from school plays but, same action. The mind is actually quite childish. Ooh look Bruno, fat baby! Ooh look, old man eating a Twix!


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## Deleted member 33527 (Sep 9, 2010)

I think audio books are fun to listen to for dialogue. I know how hard it is sometimes when you can't get a character's tone to sound right on paper, so it's easier to just say it out loud.


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## caelum (Sep 9, 2010)

My mind darts all over the place horrendously.  I like hobbies that occupy the entire brain and keep that from happening, like writing, having an intense round of starcraft, or music—things that really strain the concentration.


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## Deleted member 33527 (Sep 9, 2010)

This is going to sound really bad but I never pay attention when I'm on the phone, or if someone is talking about something totally uninteresting for long periods of time. Sometimes my best friend will start talking about makeup or clothes or something and I'll just stare at the carpet and go, "Yes, mhmhm, yep, oh yeah totally, for sure man, yeah I'm still listening..." and then I'll ask her a question and she'll get mad and be like, "I just TOLD you, blah, blah, blah..." and then I feel bad and force myself to pay attention. It's a lot easier in person, though.


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## caelum (Sep 9, 2010)

That reminds me of when I talk with my one auntie.  We don't so much talk as I just agree with her for an extended period of time.  Mmmm hmm, yup, okay, yeah.  Except that's in real life =\.


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## Deleted member 33527 (Sep 9, 2010)

Haha, sounds like my dad when he wants my mom to stop nagging.


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## Bruno Spatola (Sep 9, 2010)

I just keep saying "Don't care" and they still talk. I recorded my grandma talking for 2 hours on a dictaphone. I love egging them on, it's brilliant. "Oh my lord, then what happened?"

Mind games!


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## Deleted member 33527 (Sep 9, 2010)

My brother is like that. He'll be like, "Hey, come here I want to show you something," and I'll say, "Whatever it is I don't care," but then he'll drag me into the room and point to the t.v and be like, "Is that chick hot?" and I'll say, "Now I REALLY don't care," but he'll just keep nagging at me until I answer the question.


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## Bruno Spatola (Sep 9, 2010)

Oh my god, the best audio book of all time is on the cards here. All the conversations with people who don't shut the hell up from different homes around the world, all on one mp3 download.

Episode one: Guess who I saw the other day?


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## Deleted member 33527 (Sep 10, 2010)

Whenever my mom starts a sentence with "Guess who..." I usually block her out.


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