Why I've given up on Audiobooks (for serious reading)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your ableism is showing, OP.

+1

NP. I’m a paper reader but I think OP is ridiculous. People absorb literature in very different ways. There are people who are probably horrified at OPs inability to engage deeply with spoken word, and they are just as obnoxious as OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Audiobooks are good for lighter, pulp reading but physical books are essential for something deeper imo.

For you. FOR YOU. Why on earth can you and OP not understand that people engage deeply in different ways? It’s so narrow-minded.

[Anonymous]

Hence "in my opinion."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Audiobooks are good for lighter, pulp reading but physical books are essential for something deeper imo.

For you. FOR YOU. Why on earth can you and OP not understand that people engage deeply in different ways? It’s so narrow-minded.

Seriously. As it happens I retain nonfiction so much better in audio form, so I listen to nonfiction audiobooks. Fiction audio doesn’t work for me for some reason, so I read fiction as a physical or ebook. I don’t go around saying that people who listen to fiction or read nonfiction are “doing it wrong” and “not really getting a full sense of the book” just because that happens to be true for me.

[Anonymous]

I dislike audiobooks as well because my attention wanders and then I want to multitask, so then my attention wanders even more! I can only do them on a long car trip. I couldn’t not do a weightier book even then, though.

[Anonymous]

I'm bad at retention no matter what.

I like audiobooks for stuff I can space out to while taking my dog for walks and gardening. They're great for celebrity memoirs! I've listened to some novels as audiobooks, too, and enjoyed them - Nothing To See Here was a perfect 10, for example. I usually speed them up to 1.25 or 1.5 speed because otherwise they are too slow.

Anyway, glad you found what works for you, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hence "in my opinion."

It should be “in my experience “.

[Anonymous]

I've never enjoyed audiobooks (or books on tape in the old days). Too slow. I'm a fast reader. I've tried upping the speed, but, it's annoying to listen to the person talk fast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm bad at retention no matter what.

I like audiobooks for stuff I can space out to while taking my dog for walks and gardening. They're great for celebrity memoirs! I've listened to some novels as audiobooks, too, and enjoyed them - Nothing To See Here was a perfect 10, for example. I usually speed them up to 1.25 or 1.5 speed because otherwise they are too slow.

Anyway, glad you found what works for you, OP.

Totally agree, celebrity memoirs are great in this format!

I've also liked some collections of essays.

I have trouble focusing on longer/deeper audiobooks, though.

[Anonymous]

Some people actually absorb more through listening than they do from reading. I tend to speed read sometimes and my mind can wander even with an actual book (versus an audiobook). Sure, I'm studying a text more when it's on paper and I'm making notes and re-reading passages, but I'm also not taking English Lit in college anymore.

Mostly I read or listen to books for the enjoyment of it. I get to go through more books by having an audio book and a regular book going at any given point in time, so that I can either be listening while doing something that wouldn't allow me to read or reading when I have the time. Mostly I'm doing it for entertainment, not "serious reading."

You're entitled to your opinion, but you sound like a snob and I don't think anyone cares whether or not you think they've "read" a book from your list of classics or not.

[Anonymous]

When I studied for the bar exam they had the textbooks available on CD at the library. I would pop them in my Discman and listen to them all the time. When I went to take the bar I could hear the voice of the reader explaining the various elements of intentional infliction of emotional distress, for example, and I was able to regurgitate it onto the page (I took the bar in VA when they offered it on paper). I learned so much better that way than I did reading the textbooks.

[Anonymous]

I have been listening to audiobooks for at least 10 years now. I listen to probably five audiobooks for every one book I read with my eyes.

I find that I retain better by listening to audio. When I read with my eyes, after about 20 minutes, my mind wanders to all the chores I could / should be doing instead of reading so then I set the book down and go do some chores for 30 minutes or a few hours. Then when I come back to the book I don't remember what was going on so I have to re-skim for a bit. Then after reading again for 20 minutes my mind again wanders to chores I need to do so I set the book down again. Repeat repeat repeat. Pretty soon I resent the book because it is preventing me from getting anything accomplished with my day. I suppose most of my resentment is from knowing that now I have a choice with most books as to whether to sit on my butt all day while reading or get things done while listening to the book via audio.

[Anonymous]

On a related note, would you want your teenage kid to mainly get their literature from audiobooks? Because I wouldn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some people actually absorb more through listening than they do from reading. I tend to speed read sometimes and my mind can wander even with an actual book (versus an audiobook). Sure, I'm studying a text more when it's on paper and I'm making notes and re-reading passages, but I'm also not taking English Lit in college anymore.

Mostly I read or listen to books for the enjoyment of it. I get to go through more books by having an audio book and a regular book going at any given point in time, so that I can either be listening while doing something that wouldn't allow me to read or reading when I have the time. Mostly I'm doing it for entertainment, not "serious reading."

You're entitled to your opinion, but you sound like a snob and I don't think anyone cares whether or not you think they've "read" a book from your list of classics or not.

+1

I tend to skim and read physical books too quickly to catch everything. I slow down during audiobooks and catch so much more. I've gone back to relisten to old favorites and have picked up on more/different details than in the past.

[Anonymous]

I'd rather have a paperback book, but I have two hours of commuting most days. I also listen to books while I do chores, cook, and get ready in the morning. During my kids ' sports practices, I often listen to books with an Airpod. I can't imagine life without Audible! I tried Libby but kept having issues with accidentally returning a book in the middle.