Audiobooks, it’s not you, it’s me…or is it?
So many of my blogger friends listen to audiobooks on the regular and it’s always very interesting to read their thoughts in their reviews — not just on the book itself, but on the narration, sound effects, etc. In the back of my mind I’m always thinking, “Okay, I’m going to finally give one audiobook a shot” and then, ultimately, it never comes to that point because of multiple reasons:
- Do I have the patience to listen to an audibook?
- Won’t it be faster if I actually read it?
- What if the narrator’s voice really annoys me?
- Does it really count as though I “read” the book? (Note: I think so, but I think I would feel weird for a bit.)
- So on and so forth…
Confession: there have actually been two occasions where I downloaded audiobooks to give them a go and here are the results:
- Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins: This was right after I finished the book and I was eager to keep myself attached to the series in any way possible. So, I downloaded the audiobook for Mockingjay. Before listening to the whole thing, I wanted to cry over certain scenes so I skipped ahead…and proceeded to laugh my head off and promptly hit “stop.” Not good.
- The Road by Cormac McCarthy: I had been wanting to read this for ages, but never got around to it for whatever reason. I thought it would be a great idea to try listening to it so I downloaded it…to listen to right before bed. Uh, whaaat? I don’t know what possessed me to think it was a good idea to listen to it in the darkness of my room, so I ended up creeping myself out and tossing that idea out.
My main issue with audiobooks is that I don’t think I would have the attention span for them. I know some of my friends listen to them while they drive or do chores and whatnot, which are great ideas, but I feel like I wouldn’t be able to fully immerse myself in the book.
But…I won’t really know until I give it a full, honest try. I used to be so against e-readers and ebooks and now they’re (gasp, shock, horror) probably how I read most of my books (I’ll have to write a love letter to my Kindle later) so who’s to say I won’t really love listening to audiobooks? So, I’m going to give them a go and actually challenge myself to get through at least one.
I think I’m first going to try listening to a book I’ve already read, see how it keeps my attention, and then hopefully dive into something new. I will keep you all updated on this new adventure.
Anyone in a similar situation with audiobooks? Or used to be and are now a big fan of them? Are there any books you think I might like in audio form?
About Stephanie
I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan of them, but I’m slowly getting into audiobooks little by little. I think that with a good narrator they’re great for classics because it makes them slightly more relateable.
Oh, oh and the reread thing– personally I wouldn’t do “reread” on audio because once I read it myself I have more of a “This is how each character would sound. The inflections in this sentence go here. This song sounds like this” thing in my head and I think I’d unfairly judge the narrator that way…
To the length thing– LOL, this drove me crazy with the Beautiful Creatures audiobook in particular (because I wanted it to end lol). And attention span– I have to do it when I’m not doing anything that requires a degree of concentration in any other way, like working out or driving.
I hope you grow to like them! I still prefer reading the story myself for the most part but sometimes it’s nice to truly be TOLD a story.
That’s a really good point re: not doing an ~auditory reread of a book I’ve already read. I hadn’t considered how things might differ from how I heard them on my own and I think that’s something that could possibly annoy me. Hmm, I’ll definitely have to reconsider my options then.
But thanks for the rec of the Amy & Roger audiobook! I’m curious if the playlists come out in that? Curious, curious.
OH AND I FORGOT TO WRITE THIS.
If you do reread a book via audio, the audio of Amy & Roger made me SOB.
I started audiobooks by listening to free classics – and hated it. Too slow for me. Now I love audiobooks though. I get them from my library’s website – and I listen to the sample before I commit to a book. If I don’t like it within the first 5 or 10 minutes, I move on. Not because I like a book (the print version), means I’ll like the audio. Also, I listen to an audiobook while I’m doing a mindless task, like driving, or doing chores, because it does require concentration.
Yes, I’d use my library too; that’s where I snagged my previous two (failed) attempts from. I think it’s a good idea to give myself a time limit on whether I’d enjoy one it or not and not feel bad about passing on one. The next time I have to tidy around, I think I’ll give an audiobook a go!
I listen to audiobooks at work more because I get to re-read and listen to my childhood favorites. That being said, often they do move too slow for me. I read extremely fast when it comes to books, so sometimes the audiobooks force me to slow down. Which is nice? haha.
Oooh, that’s an idea to listen to a childhood favorite! The possibilities are endless with that and perhaps it would be easier to get swept back into something I’m familiar with but I haven’t revisited in a while…
I’m actually an audiobook newbie as well, because I’ve never actually listened to one. *gasp* I honestly think I’m intimidated/worried by the idea of them, because I seem to have a problem LISTENING to people talk/speak/read. I’m more visual than anything, which is why I like reading by sight.
BUT I may have to give them a shot. Some of these audiobooks sound great!
There’s definitely a lot of intimidation involved for me too. I think I’d really have to close myself off to all distractions to TRULY appreciate the book in a way that will feel like I “really” read it. Sadly, I’m not too confident that I’ll manage to do just that, because I have such a short attention span, but hopefully I’ll be wrong!
I really don’t like audiobooks either. I’ve tried, but either my mind wanders or the reader is too slow or their voice is just too WRONG for me to listen. But, I absolutely adore Bronson Pinchot’s reading of The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom. It’s funny, engaging, and the voices he does are fantastic. You can listen to a clip of it here if you’re interested. I highly recommend it, especially for an audiobook newbie.
Thanks so much for the rec, I’ll definitely give the preview a listen! I think it will be a challenge to find the right book for me to enjoy in audiobook form ESPECIALLY because of the pace of reading. Hopefully there’s one that’s not too bad!
I totally agree with all the issues you list above. I enjoy an audiobook now and then but it must be a book I’ve read before because I just can’t pay 100% attention to it. Then the voice has to ‘click’ too. So far I’ve really enjoyed Cinder, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Finnikin of the Rock, Scorpio Races and the sole exception to the read-before is Carnival of Souls (I really didn’t like this book..but the audiobook was good!). But audiobooks can be great for learning how to pronounce the foreign names too (Kevin Herne’s Iron Druid series).
Thanks for mentioning those standout audiobooks that you enjoyed! I really like most of them in “real book” form so now I’m curious how the narration plays out. The Scorpio Races made me an emotional mess so I’m wondering if the audiobook would do the same? I know they actually had Irish narrators for it which I think is really, really neat. I really want to give that one a try now!
Audiobooks don’t work for me. I tried one of my favorite books (Harry Potter) and I tried a complete new book, but both didn’t work out for me. I don’t have the concentration for it (and my concentration is normally just fine. I can read in a room filled with talking people without any problems, but I can’t listen an audiobook in a silent room :p my mind keeps wandering of) It’s also too slow for me. I have the idea that I read much faster and I have a better picture in my head when I read the words. So, I got used to the fact that I don’t like them and I will not try it anytime soon. Good luck! I’m looking forward to your experiences with audiobooks :)
I think the reasons I have yet to listen to an entire book on audiobook are the same as yours. I haven’t been able to bring myself to invest in it, but maybe I just haven’t found one to convince me (the fact that the two I have are Twilight and Blood Promise probably have something to do with this). Ohh, another one I listened to was City of Fallen Angels – there was this preview of the first chapter and Ed Westwick was narrating. That one actually wasn’t too bad. So maybe it depends on what novel and who is narrating…
One series that I do think I want to try on audiobook is Harry Potter… I think because I’ve read them all several times each, I would be able to get something out of the audio, and I wouldn’t have to totally pay attention. Like if I don’t catch one of the lines because I’m distracted by whatever, I won’t have to go repeat that part.
But you are right. We will never really know unless we try it. I’m still kind of like that about e-books just because I’m not used to it. Hmm…
Scorpio Races, Harry Potter, and The Magicians are all fantastic books with fabulous narrators… Just saying. And I like to do something repetitive, like knit, while I listen.
I am NOT an auditory learner. I cannot concentrate on audiobooks. I used to listen to dramatizations a lot as a kid (mostly kids books) and I LOVED those. I also still love The Nutcracker audio narrated by Christopher Plummer and Winnie the Pooh narrated by Lionel Jeffries, but I think a lot of that is just nostalgia and the fact that I grew up listening to it. I get a MUCH fuller experience with a book by reading it myself. I tend to forget whole chunks of the story if I do audio. I’m glad there are people out there who love it, but it’s just not for me. :\
PS As far as The Road goes, I highly encourage you to read it. McCarthy uses very minimal punctuation and actually seeing it enhances the very stark world he created. :)
I know how you feel! I think listening to audiobooks is a good idea, but putting that idea into practice is really difficult. I have a short commute to work and while at home I’d rather just read a book. So I wanted to try listening to one for my two-hour drives to visit my boyfriend on the weekends, but I haven’t had too much success yet. I’m such a visual learner and reader that I feel like I’ll lose valuable bits of understanding by only listening. And driving in a car is attention-consuming anyway, so I’m not sure it’s the best. I tried one and then just got the physical book. I tried another one and just stopped after 15 minutes. Maybe I haven’t found the right one yet. Someone suggested that I use audiobooks for rereads. Maybe that’s a good way to get into them. I’ll have to see. I hope you’re able to try them out too, Steph! Just to see what they’re about and all.
I don’t often have the concentration for them either and get distracted really easily. I have to be doing a seriously mundane and repetitive task and the plot needs to be fairly simple for me to get through it. BUT I have found that I do actually really love rereading books in audiobook format as refreshers. If there is a sequel coming out and I want to remind myself where the first book ended up or if there is a movie coming out and I want to remind myself what happened in the book version because it’s been so long (I’m listening to The Host right now! Just finished listening to Beautiful Creatures!), then that’s when I find audiobooks are their most useful. That way, I can follow along and don’t need to have complete concentration because I already know the story and it doesn’t take any time out from my regular reading time like a reread would. So I would recommend maybe trying out a book that you’ve already read first! And for goodness sake, don’t read The Road at night!!