iggystar

For some reason, I'd never gotten into audio books because it seemed like a lesser way to experience a book. It wasn't until last week that I decided to take a suggestion and try Audible (along with two free credits) and listen to my first audio book.

I found it to be really enjoyable, especially since I listen to my iPod during work and as an avid knitter it allowed me to work on a project while listening.

I thought I'd get a few of my fellow Talker's opinions on audio books. Do you feel like there's something missing by listening to an audio books even if it's unabridged? Do you supplement your reading with audio books? Can you post a book in the monthly "What are you reading?" post if you're not actually reading?

wlj

i have listened to a few and enjoyed them -- Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons, and the Twilight Saga. It makes a big difference in who is doing the reading. I remember the guy that did the Da Vinci Code was very "lively" and added alot to the experience. I started Game of Thrones on audio book, but the guy doing the reading was very monotone and dull so I stopped. I would listen to more if I could use headphones at work. I tried before and got an email stating that it was unprofessional .

wmansir

I love audiobooks, although you guys are right about the reader making all the difference. They can make or break a production.

For the last couple of years I've actually used them quite successfully as motivation to exercise. I've limited myself to only listening while exercising and once I'm hooked on a book I've found myself much more likely to get off my ass.

story

I read around 15-20 books a year for fun beyond my required reading and I'd say a good 50%-75% of them are on audio book. I drive a lot and it's great. I used to listen to audio books in the car all the time until I got a car with a CD deck and now can play music off my Droid phone. For a while, I listened to music more often but the books are picking back up. Now, I'd say my driving listening pleasure is 50% audio books, 25% music, and 25% podcasts.

Go to your library system. Mine has plenty of great audio books.

Nick Danger

Mrs Danger gets a lot of audiobooks from the library and listens to them while she's doing housework or the tedious aspects of creating sellable images.

I'll listen to them in the car while we're on long road trips. Otherwise, I'd rather have the text.

pelenor

I use audible and love it. Some narrators are better than others and make the book much more enjoyable. Although I have been surprised by some narrators. Stephen Webber doing the Myron Bolitar novels surprised me with the different voices and acting that the made an enjoyable story even more so. My recent favorite author, Larry Correia who has written the Monster Hunter International books, which are great books narrated by a great narrator, wrote Hard Magic and I was surprised by how much Bronson Pinchot added to the story with his reading. He did separate voices and actually made an already enjoyable story more so. But then have some I got that made me cringe and I couldn't even get through the first twenty minutes.

costanza

Get The Hobbit. The guy even sings all the songs!

I've listened to all of Stephen Kings stuff. Frank Muller is the man.

NZ_DVD_Freak

I signed up with Audible a few weeks ago and have listened to Henning Mankell's first Wallander novel called Faceless Killers. I have tried audio books in the past and have lost interest before finishing the book but Faceless Killers has kept me involved. It helps that it is just 8 hours so the end was never that far away, I'm not sure about the ones that are 30+ hours.

I like that audiobooks provide another way of experiencing books I would otherwise not have time to read. Now I have to work out what I should try next (maybe Ready Player One or The Magicians).

movie diva

I have used Audible for years, and before that my ex use to purchase them from the book store. I have my favorites, the person reading makes such a huge difference, and the book has to be unabridged.

I am listing to George RR Martin,the reader gets better with time and first I did not like it but it grew on me.

My favorite reader is Davina Porter and the Outlander series, and as some one stated before the Frank Muller was the man, especially with Stephen King books. I still love to pick up a book and read just for the joy, but nothing beats audio books when you have a long drive, everybody wants someone to read to them.

djmont

I used to listen to a lot of audiobooks back when I drove a lot. I do find it to be a "lesser" experience than actually reading the book, but that doesn't mean it's not entertaining. I find that the better audiobooks are those that are more plot-driven, and less dependent on authorial voice and style. They tend to make better oral stories, and you don't miss out on the nuances that you'd need to read the text in order to appreciate.

Just don't say you "read" a book if you actually listened to it.

Dan

I've used Audible and have been happy with it, although their "regular" prices seem really high, from what I remember. Their monthly subscription is the only way to go, IMO, but I haven't dropped the cash for that yet.
The two books I've listened to (I have a hard time saying I "read" them... since it's not the same thing) were Under the Dome by Stephen King (Raul Esparza is an excellent reader!) and I Drink for a Reason by David Cross (read by himself, which was entertaining, since he plays with the format a bit.

writer106

I like audiobooks more when I'm on long road trips or doing certain household chores that take a lot of time. A couple of months back I listened to Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill while I was varnishing furniture. Stephen Lang was the narrator and he did pretty good telling a horror story.

woemcats

i don't think listening to a book is less worthy than reading it (provided the audiobook is unabridged, anyway). what makes it a lesser experience exactly? you are still experiencing every word of the text. unless you are a bad listener.

i have listened to dozens, if not hundreds of audiobooks of all stripes, from YA to comedies to fantasy and sci-fi to lengthy classics. i absorbed and remember all the stories as if i read them. there are many books that i couldn't tell you if i read or listened to because the end result is the same. (i read -- on paper -- about 80-100 books a year too.)

djmont

The reason I think it's a "lesser" experience is because you're not experiencing the text as it was created, and as it was intended by the author. A narrator is interpreting the text for you, adding their own voice, with its rhythms, inflections, and emphasis, which might not be the same as you would read the text unadulterated. Also, you're experiencing the story through the medium of sound rather than reading the words themselves on paper. All of this, I think, necessarily affects the experience.

Some people might prefer this, however, which is why I put "lesser" in quotes. And indeed, I think some books are improved by it, as mentioned previously.

Lateralus

I have been a platinum member of audible.com since 2005 and I don't think there is a better way to read books. I have a 45 minute commute each way and that is when I do most of my listening, I put my iPod on "fast" and I can usually get close to 2 hours of "reading" in everyday so I get through books rather quickly.

I listen to mainly history books so whenever somebody gets in my car and the iPod starts playing they listen to the first 30 seconds or so and they are like "What in the heck are you listening too? OMG turn it off" Yeah they can be dry listens, but I'm listening to learn and being entertained is a bonus.

Before I started at Audible, I could only read 5-6 books a year now I am averaging 45 books or so a year depending on the length. I has also helped me push through books I could never read on my own like Atlas Shrugged, I was stuck on page 734 for 12 years and finally re-started and finished on a audio book, now if I could only to that with Ulysses I would be a happy man.

Another good point about audio books, it helps me pronounce names or words I don't know how to say. For instance in the beginning I would buy a lot of books on terrorism and would have no idea how these terrorists pronounced their names but whoever read the book new how to pronounce them.

Burnt Thru

I'm currently listening to the 3rd book of J R R Martin's Song of Ice and Fire. At the same time I am reading it as well. It's not concurrent but rather a consecutive thing where I will listen to a section and then read the next (all depending on whether I'm traveling or not). The quality of the experience is definitely lowered for me while listening to the audiobook. Reading is an interactive process between the brain and the printed word while the act of listening is more passive. At least for me.

To expand on that, the best audiobooks I've found are those performed by a cast of voice actors. Something like the BBC production of The Hitchhicker's Guide to the Galaxy for instance. This is a radio play being performed for the listener and doesn't require interpretation or as much visualization from the listener as reading a book would do. Normal audiobooks are simply a smaller step along the same path. The requirements on the listener are less than on the reader and as a consequence so are the rewards. Or, in briefer terms, it's a lesser experience.

iggystar

I've been listening to Roger Ebert's memoir and have found the audiobook format to be amazing. I really should have used this medium years ago. There is nothing worthy on the radio anymore, it's pretty much garbage and I've often kept my station on talk radio or even the sports station and I don't really follow sports that much. Plus, I can knit while I listen!!!

I've seen two opinions so far, do you say "I read a book." or "I listened to a book." I would honestly think you'd describe the experience as listening, that's what one does. I don't feel it to be a lesser experience, just another way to enjoy literature.

wlj

There are certain books that are essential to listen to the audio book. I listened to Jaycee Dugard's "A Stolen Life". You can't get a more real experience than hearing Jaycee tell her own story. The book has so much more impact hearing it in her own words.

movie diva

I love reading a book, but right now I am back in school, and I don't have time to read for school and pleasure, so I use audio for the time that I am in the car, or I am on break. I am on the second book of Martin's Song of Fire and Ice. I also use audio for books I know that I would never finish I've listen to Tolstoy and Dickens. I think audio books also have to do with when you were young, and you would ask someone to read to you, I still want someone to read to me.

shumway

I listen to audiobooks on my commute, at lunch, and at my desk when what I am working on isn't too complex, etc. A fantastic narrator can turn an average book into a fantastic book, let alone an already excellent book into new territory. A perfect example is the Stephen Fry (U.K. only) Harry Potters. People tout how wonderful Jim Dale does on the U.S. releases, but he can't hold a candle to Stephen Fry.

Burnt Thru

True, but then Stephen Fry is a bit of a genius. If you want to watch something very special check out "A bit of Fry and Laurie" co-starring the "House" actor Hugh Laurie.

shumway

I've eyed that on Netflix on many occasions. I know I need to give it a whirl.

boredsilly

Audiobooks are the best. They're a great way, as others have mentioned, to truly multi-task. Listening to a book while driving, at work (if you have a job that requires not thought like mine), doing chores, or something of the like is a really great way to squeeze in more books.