Thursday, April 25, 2013

Audio Books

I keep noticing on Facebook all of my friends who like the Audible page. This got me thinking about trying them, but I am very wary of doing so. You see, I have a box of audio books sitting in my shed that my mom gave me, a decent size box of good books too. Thing is, I have not listened to a single one, and she gave them to me years ago. And I just cannot seem to get myself to join Audible or check out audio books from the library.

So what gives?

First, I have a preschooler who is constantly asking for my attention. It is very difficult for me to put headphones on and listen to a book while watching him at the same time.

Second, when we are in the car said preschooler usually wants to watch his movies or listen to music. He refuses to have anything to do with listening to what he deems boring. I have tried to listen to my German lessons in the car and it ends with me turning it off because he is too busy complaining about it or asking questions. I cannot pay attention.

Third, I think I am ADD when it comes to sitting and listening to anything. I have a hard enough time with my German audio lessons at least they are interactive and I have to repeat everything. I find I drift off and lose track of what is being said on those occasionally. Imagine me trying to listen to an audio book where my active involvement is not a requirement. If I am actively reading a book I do not drift off, listening is a whole different issue.

All of this made me wonder. Does anyone else have this issue or am I alone? If you listen to audio books, which do you prefer more, reading or listening?

4 comments:

  1. I listen to audiobooks quite a bit these days, but never used to. I have a couple of rules for audiobook listening.

    1, it's better if the book is realistic, as Fantasy or Science Fiction, etc., tends to be harder to follow...if you miss half of a conversation because you are distracted, it really doesn't matter much when it's a more simplistic plot line, and realistic stories tend to be better for this (at least for me).

    2, it has to be a story I'm not really super eager to read. If I really want to read something, I read it. My mind drifts when I listen, I get distracted, so on and so forth. It happens! So I know that going into an audiobook. Sometimes I'm surprised, and I am sucked into the story and I pay full attention. And sometimes I miss bits of the story because I'm distracted, but that's okay.

    If you're interested in starting out, try to find shorter books. I find I can't keep my interest levels high when there are too many parts to listen to...I get tired of listening to the same voice! Narrator is also key, a bad narrator can ruin a book (but a good one can keep you listening even if the story doesn't interest you =3 )

    Good luck with your audiobooks!

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    1. Thanks for the advice! I'm looking for a pay-the-bills job for the fall, so the drive will be perfect for audio books, I think.

      Now to pick books I'm less eager about. That will be the hard part, since I'm excited about so many of them. ;-)

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  2. I work outside, by myself and audiobooks are the perfect solution. However I don't think I could just sit down and listen to one at a time when I could be reading a book, I'd rather read.

    The one great thing about audiobooks is that they make it possible for me to deal with books which, for whatever reason haven't held my attention when I tried reading them.

    I've noticed the actor hired to read the book makes a huge difference. A bad reader can ruin an auidobook, a good reader, like Stephen Fry, creates a memorable experience and a book I want to listen to over and over again.

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    1. I'm seeing a trend here. Books I'm less excited to read are the key and the narrator is huge. Thanks for the advice. I will have to try listening this fall on my drive to and from work. :-)

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