# Reading a book vs listening to an audio book



## Sleepwriter (Nov 23, 2014)

Do you feel like you get the same absorption of the story, if you listen to someone reading it to you as you would if you read it?


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## Deleted member 56686 (Nov 23, 2014)

I downloaded some audio books and listened to them. the idea being that I would do whatever and still immerse myself into the book. It didn't work for me. I think you get much more by reading the words rather than listening to a narrator.


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## Bruno Spatola (Nov 23, 2014)

No, because I so often re-read pages, or sentences, or passages. I even add accents to different characters in my head, whereas someone reading it to me may choose to read it with no flavour. 

 For me, reading isn't a constant process that goes in a straight line. I backtrack, and stop to give myself time to ponder the events that have just occurred. I shout at the author, or obsess over a particularly beautiful turn of phrase. For me, audio books have none of that intimacy. It's like watching a movie for the first time with someone else sitting next to you. I just don't enjoy it as much.


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## Plasticweld (Nov 23, 2014)

I listen to audio books a lot, I grew up listening to radio stories every night.  Radio Mystery Theater put me to sleep for years as kid, it was part of WRKO all news all the time format.  Once the  my show was over I listened to the news all  night long.  I have been a audio story fan since I was 5 or 6 and also a news junkie.  50 years of listening to stories never gets old.


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## dale (Nov 23, 2014)

listening to an audiobook is kind of like phone sex. you can get to the end, but it really isn't very satisfying, compared to the real thing.


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## Plasticweld (Nov 23, 2014)

dale said:


> listening to an audiobook is kind of like phone sex. you can get to the end, but it really isn't very satisfying, compared to the real thing.




I will have to take your word for that, having only tried the audiobook


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## shadowwalker (Nov 23, 2014)

There are just too many distractions for me to sit and listen. I mean, I can't close my eyes and sit back to listen - I fall asleep. I can't keep my eyes glued on some blank piece of paper or try not to think about what I'm seeing outside the window. God forbid I concentrate on listening to the story instead of driving! And considering how some supposedly professional announcers on the news and advertisements slaughter the sentence (emphasis on the wrong word or missing it entirely, ignoring commas, rising inflections, etc), I can see having the story ruined depending on how closely the author supervised the recording.


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## InstituteMan (Nov 23, 2014)

I prefer reading to listening to an audiobook, but sometimes I am driving or otherwise not able to read. In those instances, I have really enjoyed audiobooks. It's a different experience, though. FWIW, I have found that I prefer to listen to non-fiction (especially history) and read fiction, but that is probably just me.


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## Pluralized (Nov 23, 2014)

I agree. Listening is great while driving or doing the dishes or assembly work in my garage, but I find the narrator's accent and cadence tend to influence my enjoyment of the work. Scott Brick is my favorite narrator, and I've listened to The Bourne Legacy a hundred times since buying it on a road trip a decade ago. Not the best writing, not something I would typically read for pleasure, but a great action-packed audiobook.


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## ppsage (Nov 23, 2014)

If you're in it only for the story, audio can be frustrating. If you're in it for the language as well, audio can be illuminating. I listen to (voice) audio of some sort every day that I work in my jewelry studio and consider it one of my treasures. Knowing how to listen to something besides thumpa-thumpa-boom-boom is an important skill in my book and something of a lost art.


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## LeeC (Nov 23, 2014)

Actually there can be real benefit in both. To come away with the layers in good writing, reading is not a strictly linear exercise. On the other hand listening may add an accentuation to something read, or make a dull read more interesting, depending on the reader.


Three examples of where an audio version is beneficial are 1) Willem Lange reading his short stories, 2) Baxter Black reciting his poetry and reading his stories, and 3) Garrison Keillor telling his stories.


"Life is rather like opening a tin of sardines:
We're all of us looking for the key."
 ~ Beyond the Fringe


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## Plasticweld (Nov 23, 2014)

InstituteMan said:


> I prefer reading to listening to an audiobook, but sometimes I am driving or otherwise not able to read. In those instances, I have really enjoyed audiobooks. It's a different experience, though. FWIW, I have found that I prefer to listen to non-fiction (especially history) and read fiction, but that is probably just me.



I am big on history to, this week I finished Unbroken http://laurahillenbrandbooks.com/  currently listening to Lies my Teacher told me.      http://www.amazon.com/dp/0743296281/?tag=writingforu06-20


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## Morkonan (Nov 23, 2014)

Sleepwriter said:


> Do you feel like you get the same absorption of the story, if you listen to someone reading it to you as you would if you read it?



No. I find a story more vibrant, alive, and immediately "present" if I am reading it instead of just listening to it. I have listened to several audiobooks, but only when I'm driving long distances and unable to divert my attention to read a "real book."


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## Nemesis (Nov 23, 2014)

I actually have a hard time with audiobooks, it makes it hard to focus on what's going on in the story or play the scenes out in my head. 

Plus I'm a fast reader and the pace set in audiobooks feels agonizingly slow in comparison XD


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## tabasco5 (Nov 25, 2014)

I drive a lot and thus listen to 5-10 audiobooks a month.  I love them, but realize there are limitations.  You will probably miss things, forget things, etc.  It is a different experience than reading the written word.  They are great for books or subjects you want or need to read but might have a hard time with.


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## Sleepwriter (Nov 26, 2014)

For me it does depend on the narrator. A bad narrator is like a bad actor.  If they can't bring the character to life, I won't listen to them or finish watching the movie.   I grew up playing RPG's and we had some incredible Dungeon Masters that were able to create believable situations.  I prefer an audio book, but only if I have the time to really listen.


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## escorial (Nov 26, 2014)

when i listen to music my mind often moves away from the lyrics and i find that is the case when listening to audio books


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## T.S.Bowman (Nov 26, 2014)

I just have to have the feel of the pages. For me, there is no other feeling quite like it.


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## BryanJ62 (Nov 26, 2014)

*I can't do audio books and I wish I could. I'm afraid I am the old fashion type. *


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## Newman (Nov 28, 2014)

Sleepwriter said:


> Do you feel like you get the same absorption of the story, if you listen to someone reading it to you as you would if you read it?



Well we know that audio can be pretty darn awesome: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/24/b...st-breakout-hit-sets-stage-for-more.html?_r=0


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## Plasticweld (Nov 28, 2014)

BryanJ62 said:


> *I can't do audio books and I wish I could. I'm afraid I am the old fashion type. *



Us real old fashion types remember hearing stories on the radio.... Wow has the definition of old has changed


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## Deleted member 56686 (Nov 28, 2014)

I do like the old radio shows. I actually enjoy listening to old AM radio airchecks. As for books, it really is better just to read the real thing :smile:


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## helium (Nov 28, 2014)

Just listening to the audio and fell asleep. Too boring. But, reading books are more lame. Better keeping TV on and sleeping.


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## queenslime (Dec 1, 2014)

Usually audio books aren't in my pace. Plus English is my third language, so I sometimes have to look up words, which is easier if I know how they're written. In my mother language they aren't easily accessible and are pricey.


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## twelvesoswald (Dec 1, 2014)

For me I like books becasue I like the feeling of holding a book. I also feel like I am more into the story when I am holding the book, maybe I should try more audio books I think I may like them a little more then.


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## InnerFlame00 (Dec 2, 2014)

I think it really depends on the person.  Audio will be better for some, and reading will be better for others.  I like reading because you can get really absorbed into it, and it's nice to be able to focus on just one thing once in a while. I like audio because it allows me to 'read' a book if I'm too busy to sit and read.  It's nice to have a book to listen to while working out, cleaning, driving, and doing artistic stuff.  I'm one of those people who has no problem fully absorbing a story while also doing something physical, so while the experience is different I absorb the book the same either way.

That said there are definite advantages of both mediums.  I love it when an audiobook has a good narrator with distinct voices for each character because it can really add to the character's personality.  Of course it can go the other way, and I have skipped some audiobooks that have a terrible narrator.

Also, books written by comedians are best listened to, in my opinion, because they are often read by the author.  Which in my experience thus far translates to awesome.


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## thepancreas11 (Dec 2, 2014)

You get something different out of each of them. Sometimes, I want nothing more than to turn the pages myself. I tend to retain information when I see it, but I also know that hearing the natural rhythm of good writing out loud instills a kind of better judgment when it comes to crafting my own sentences.


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## mommytozachandgrace (Dec 3, 2014)

I don't.  I've tried that before and it was just weird to me.  There would be some dialogue that I wouldn't have said exactly the way the reader said it, things like that.  I'd much rather have the book in my hands than have it read to me.


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## S.T. Ranger (Dec 9, 2014)

Sleepwriter said:


> Do you feel like you get the same absorption of the story, if you listen to someone reading it to you as you would if you read it?



Nothing beats reading, lol. While I agree that audio programs are in themselves a unique form of entertainment, and have a special place in my own heart, when it comes to involving your mind in the process nothing does what reading a good book does. The characters are unique to...you. The image created as a whole brings an experience that is unique to the individual reader and something special. We get, I believe, a similar experience with books on tape, but the pace of the audiobook is it's own pace contrasted with the pace of the reader which is set by the reader. In other words, we miss less. 

Secondly, we have all (those who listen to audiobooks with any frequency) probably listened to books read (on tape) and noticed intonation that disagreed with how we interpreted it when we read it ourselves. The reader will put his own inflection into the reading which is part of what makes reading unique. 

That doesn't mean I am against audiobooks, but I would cast my vote to reading is far better. While it is just my belief that these days children may be more inclined to watch movies rather than read, I think it has always been true there has always been a minority group of bookworms, hence the title...bookworm, lol. And I think most of us who are devoted readers and can fully appreciate the joy of reading have something that a lot of people miss out on.


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## JDCrow (Dec 12, 2014)

I've tried Audio Books - didn't work for me. I usually get distracted too easily and wonder off for a few hours. Then I suddenly remember what I was supposed to doing!


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## ppsage (Dec 12, 2014)

Down in the cellar standing at the lapidary machine grinding some fancy agate, dark except task lighting and a fire in the furnace grate, wearing raincoat against the spray and visor and big, noise-cancelling earphones listening to Aasif Mandvi read _Shalimar the Clown_ for the third time. Fully engaged.


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## Playboy V (Dec 17, 2014)

I personally prefer to read, especially when it's fiction.


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## Rookish (Jun 28, 2016)

I have recently waded into the world of audio books...

My observational determinations thus far: 

-From the two that were heard(a rather paltry number, but viable enough as test pieces), I find the medium is more suited to non-fiction than fiction.

-On the mp3 player I have always played music while walking, but now I am immersed into Douglas Adam's world of the aye-aye and Komodo while walking beneath fever trees, finding a snare set for animals on their way to a stream, preventing the dogs from chasing a monitor lizard and being enthralled by termite cities. This has created a very strange fusion of two worlds within my mind.

-Not having someone about to speak English with on a daily basis, audio books create humans within my head, humans who expose me to different accents and the correct pronunciations of words that I have never before heard spoken.


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## TKent (Jun 28, 2016)

I hate the medium compared to reading, but finding myself with 7 hours on the road most weeks, I've started listening to them. I've found the narrator makes all the difference in the world and they work best with mystery/thrillers for me where I'm caught up in the 'story' more than I am the 'writing'.


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## aurora borealis (Jun 28, 2016)

I prefer reading myself. I have always hated having other people read to me, and that extends to audio books. If I can't read a book myself (if I'm driving, for instance) I'll put music on and listen to that. But I can't do audio books.


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