What's Your Opinion on Audio Books?

Discussion in 'Discussion of Published Works' started by mercy, Dec 9, 2008.

  1. busy91

    busy91 New Member

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    A good audio book, that is one that is read well, is beneficial to me. The nuances are apparent in an audio book that might not be in a print book. Voice inflictions and the like, help bring a story to life, and when I can hear them in another authors work, I can imagine them in mine.

    I try to listen to one audio book while I am reading 2 others (not simultaneously).
     
  2. arron89

    arron89 Banned

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    Audio Books?!

    Unless you're blind, why? They're more expensive, less convenient, less readily available...
     
  3. ManhattanMss

    ManhattanMss New Member

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    If I'm interested in a book I'm not likely to read otherwise (given there's so much great fiction out there I haven't even sampled), I'll sometimes buy the audiobook and listen to it at the gym or maybe if I take a trip somewhere. I listen to autobiographies, satirical stuff, authors I haven't yet read, but whose writing I'd like to catch a glimpse of, popular fiction sometimes—but mostly writing I'm not likely to want to write myself (i.e., not to learn anything necessarily about writing, per se).

    It might be a myth, but I feel like I learn more about writing from reading the actual book or story itself (I like to SEE the words in hardcopy print). When I've listened to short fiction--both CD version and often on NPR (Saturday Shorts), I’ve found virtually ALL of them to be exceptionally compelling, but I'm not sure I can say if that's because of the writing or more because of the presentation. It could be a combination of excellence in both. I think maybe it gives you a chance to “listen” to (or simply receive) the story rather than to focus in on the writing. I don’t think that’s a bad thing to learn how to do, and maybe it helps that aspect.

    Maybe instead of reading my stories to try to figure out what works and what doesn't, I should record my own stories and see what they sound like. I know of a writer who does this, and she says it's helpful in figuring out what's wrong with her stories. (Wonder if you could also figure out what's right.)

    Maybe I'll try it.
     
  4. Agreen

    Agreen Faceless Man Contributor

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    You can listen to them on the drive to work if you are so inclined. Other than that, I'd rather just read.
     
  5. CharlieVer

    CharlieVer Contributor Contributor

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    While you drive to work... or drive anywhere else... while you're running into the store for a loaf of bread... while you're walking the dog... while you're walking for exercise... while you're doing the gardening... while you're folding your laundry. I walk around with headphones on all the time, listening to books.

    It drives my wife nuts. She walks into the room while I'm doing laundry and she starts talking and then sees that I'm wearing headphones. I put my book on pause and then she says what she was going to say.

    More expensive? I've listened to hundreds of audio books. I spent a total of $1, because I saw Mario Puzo's "The Godfather" at a yard sale. Oh, wait, I spent another 50 cents at another yard sale on a John Grisham novel. I pick up audio books at the library every week. Those that my library doesn't have, they order for me. I've set up a system. I print out a list and hand them to the librarian, and I get a call in a week or two. I would say that more than 3/4 of the books I want to read, are available on audio book.

    Besides, how many opportunities do you get to drive your wife nuts?
    It's worth it for that purpose alone. ;)


    EDIT:

    Below is a list of every book I've read or listened to THIS YEAR ALONE.
    Notice how many are audio books. (If it doesn't say "Audio," I read the book.)

    All for FREE. The audios anyway -- I paid for the regular books, mostly under $1 at yard sales, garage sales and flea markets, AKA "swap meets" depending on where you live, or the books were given to me. One or two of them, also, I actually bought at a book store.

    I'd NEVER have the time to read this many books, in book form. The date is the date I finished.

    1. Stalemate Iris Johansen 1/1/09
    2. Duma Key Stephen King 1/6/09 Audio
    3. The Gospel Parallels Burton Throckmorton 1/8/09
    4. The Millionaires Brad Meltzer 1/9/09 Audio
    5. The Rise of Barack Obama Pete Souza 1/9/08
    6. Pattern Recognition William Gibson 1/12/09 Audio
    7. The Postman Always Rings Twice James Cain 1/13/09 Audio
    8. The Door to December Dean Koontz 1/14/09
    9. Hard Eight Janet Evanovich 1/16/09 Audio
    10. The Truth (with jokes) Al Franken 1/19/09 Audio
    11. Death in Holy Orders P.D. James 1/28/09
    12. Barack Obama: From Promise to Power David Mendel 1/28/09 Audio
    13. Shadow land Meg Cabot 1/31/09 Audio
    14. American Gospel: God, Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation Jon Meacham 2/3/09 Audio
    15. The Seventh Sinner Elizabeth Peters 2/4/09 Audio
    16. The Epic of Unitarianism David B. Parke 2/6/09
    17. Children of the Vampire Jeanne Kalogridis 2/9/09 Audio
    18. The Collectors David Baldacci 2/10/09
    19. Frankenstein1: Prodigal Son. Abridged Dean Koontz 2/11/09 Audio
    20. Plum lovin’ Janet Evanovich 2/14/09 Audio
    21. Blade runner Phillip K. Dick 2/17/09 Audio
    22. The Zero Game Brad Meltzer 2/21/09
    23. Lincoln’s Melancholy Joshua Wolf Shenk 2/23/09 Audio
    24. Mary, Mary James Patterson 2/26/09 Audio
    25. To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee 3/5/09 Audio
    26. King Leer William Shakespeare 3/6/09 Audio
    27. Six Easy Pieces Walter Mosley 3/10/09 Audio
    28. Stories from the Macabre Edgar Allen Poe 3/11/09 Audio
    29. No Safe Place Richard North Patterson 3/13/09
    30. A Mercy Toni Morrison 3/13/09 Audio
    31. The Witching Hour (abridged audio) Anne Rice 3/14/09 Audio
    32. Living a Life that Matters Harold S. Kushner 3/16/09 Audio
    33. Unitarians and Universalists Robinson 3/20/09
    34. The Book of Lies Brad Meltzer 3/21/09 Audio
    35. Jefferson (abridged) Saul K. Padover 3/24/09
    36. A New Earth Eckhart Tolle 3/24/09 Audio
    37. Alf. Hitchcock Mystery Mag (May 09) Various Short Story Authors 3/25/09 Magazine
    38. The Road Cormac McCarthy 3/26/09 Audio
    39. Copyright Permission Libel Handbook Lloyd Jassin, Steve Schecter 4/3/09
    40. Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla Stephen King 4/5/09 Audio
    41. A Man Without a Country Kurt Vonnegut 4/6/09 Audio
    42. Stalin’s Ghost Martin Kruz Smith 4/11/09 Audio
    43. Ten Big Ones Janet Evanovich 4/15/09 Audio
    44. Dead Even Brad Meltzer 4/16/09
    45. Hawksmoor Peter Ackroyd 4/21/09 Audio
    46. Darkest Evening of the Year Dean Koontz 4/27/09
    47. The Camel Club David Baldacci 4/27/09 Audio
    48. Analog Science Fiction/Fact (May 09) Various authors 5/6/09 Magazine
    49. The Presence Heather Graham 5/7/09
    50. The Hemingses of Monticello Annette Gordon-Reed 5/7/09 Audio
    51. Man in the Dark Paul Auster 5/9/09 Audio
    52. Goosebumps Camp Nightmare R. L. Stine 5/14/09 Scholastic
    53. From the Corner of His Eye Dean Koontz 5/17/09 Audio
    54. Letter to a Christian Nation Sam Harris 5/18/09 Audio
    55. Dark Tower VI: Song of Susanna Stephen King 5/23/09 Audio
    56. The Body in the Closet Mary Higgens Clark 5/25/09 Audio
    57. The Five People you Meet in Heaven Mitch Alborn 5/26/09 Audio
    58. Outliers: The Story of Success Malcolm Gladwell 5/29/09 Audio
    59. The Eyes of the Dragon Stephen King 5/29/09
    60. Divine Justice David Baldacci 6/2/09 Audio
    61. The Professor and the Madman Simon Winchester 6/4/09 Audio

    Edit:
    Since I posted last, 3 days ago, I listened to 2 more books!

    62. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 6/7/09 Audio
    63. On the Wealth of Nations P.J. O’Rourke 6/9/09 Audio

    By tomorrow I'll be able to add Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy to the list!
     

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