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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I realized that they take more time and the level of comprehension is actually lower. I had fallen out of the habit of reading literature - hadn't read that much great fiction since college. I decided I wanted to read serious literature - books like Bleak House, Middlemarch, Anna Karenina. I was a bit rusty and intimidated, so I decided to use Audiobooks (and read along with the text) as a "crutch" of sorts.

I realized it's ultimately a passive experience. Every line is delivered with equal weight, so a particularly profound passage that you want to think about passes you by. The voice of the narrator and the emotions of the scene are set by how the reader says them. You're not having your own dialogue with the text.

So Audiobooks are fine if you're cleaning or on a long plane ride, for something that's not going to really to have a longlasting impact. And maybe after reading a great work yourself, it would be interesting to hear an Audiobook performance. But you can't say you've "read" AK if you had in the background while you were cleaning the kitchen, IMO.

Have you actually ever listened to an audiobook? A narrator imparts more emphasis on certain words than a book where they're all in black and white and in the same size font...

[Anonymous]

There is no way that I'd be able to focus on an Anna Karenina audiobook. I pick current novels with narrators I like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I realized that they take more time and the level of comprehension is actually lower. I had fallen out of the habit of reading literature - hadn't read that much great fiction since college. I decided I wanted to read serious literature - books like Bleak House, Middlemarch, Anna Karenina. I was a bit rusty and intimidated, so I decided to use Audiobooks (and read along with the text) as a "crutch" of sorts.

I realized it's ultimately a passive experience. Every line is delivered with equal weight, so a particularly profound passage that you want to think about passes you by. The voice of the narrator and the emotions of the scene are set by how the reader says them. You're not having your own dialogue with the text.

So Audiobooks are fine if you're cleaning or on a long plane ride, for something that's not going to really to have a longlasting impact. And maybe after reading a great work yourself, it would be interesting to hear an Audiobook performance. But you can't say you've "read" AK if you had in the background while you were cleaning the kitchen, IMO.

Have you actually ever listened to an audiobook? A narrator imparts more emphasis on certain words than a book where they're all in black and white and in the same size font...

But that's part of the problem, no? Someone is telling you "listen here, this part is important." Rather than your own independent evaluation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I realized that they take more time and the level of comprehension is actually lower. I had fallen out of the habit of reading literature - hadn't read that much great fiction since college. I decided I wanted to read serious literature - books like Bleak House, Middlemarch, Anna Karenina. I was a bit rusty and intimidated, so I decided to use Audiobooks (and read along with the text) as a "crutch" of sorts.

I realized it's ultimately a passive experience. Every line is delivered with equal weight, so a particularly profound passage that you want to think about passes you by. The voice of the narrator and the emotions of the scene are set by how the reader says them. You're not having your own dialogue with the text.

So Audiobooks are fine if you're cleaning or on a long plane ride, for something that's not going to really to have a longlasting impact. And maybe after reading a great work yourself, it would be interesting to hear an Audiobook performance. But you can't say you've "read" AK if you had in the background while you were cleaning the kitchen, IMO.

Have you actually ever listened to an audiobook? A narrator imparts more emphasis on certain words than a book where they're all in black and white and in the same size font...

But that's part of the problem, no? Someone is telling you "listen here, this part is important." Rather than your own independent evaluation.

I didn't say that wasn't an issue. The OP said that every line in an audiobook is delivered with the same weight and it absolutely is not, for better or for worse.

[Anonymous]

Np here. I was an English lit / political science major so read a lot through college (also was the editor in chief of my high school literary magazine). But I really got out of the habit of reading for fun in grad school and then with kids. I have ADHD and an eye that wanders so sitting and tracking on the page takes a lot of energy and concentration for me that I just don’t have after a day of parenting / working. I read very few books on the page a year (I set a goal of at least 5 mins a day of reading “on the page”) but I listen to about a book a week. My husband is a much faster reader than I am and it’s interesting if we do a “bookclub” I think he retains what he’s read on the page but has trouble being patient listening to audiobooks which he finds too slow, whereas I find if I can be doing something else while I listen (walk, fold laundry…) it not only makes it easier to justify the time spent but also is easier for me to retain. The place I’m at a disadvantage vs reading on the page is I don’t know how names are spelling

[Anonymous]

Pp here. Also, it was posts like the judgement against people who listen to audiobooks in the original post that kept me away from them for most of my life. I’m pretty sure I would have been happier if I’d enjoyed more excellent stories sooner rather than worrying about how I accessed them and whether it “counted.”

A friend of mine growing up was severely dyslexic but listened to a ton of audiobooks. It turns out he’s very talented with languages and hearing tone and speech. He has a PhD and is a professor who, among other subjects, has taught both Swahili and Arabic at the college level. (He speaks 5 other languages as well.)

[Anonymous]

Depends what you're reading and why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hence "in my opinion."

Adding IMO to the end of a judgmental and obnoxious sentence is like adding 'no offense' to the end of an insult or mean observation/joke. Saying it does not automatically spare you from the consequences of saying something jerky.

[Anonymous]

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

A thought exercise. Would you like to have your parents dictating the way you consume/d information based on what worked for them growing up? How about what your grandparents think is best? Should that dictate how you ingest literature?

It is best for kids to learn to navigate the world they will live in, not the one that has been left behind.

[Anonymous]

This is a good example of how people have different learning styles. I really struggle maintaining attention to audiobooks even if they are very well done. It takes me longer because my mind will wander and then I have to go back in the book. Usually what happens is that I start thinking about something from the book and that takes my attention away and I realize I have stopped listening. This doesn't happen when I read because I control the pace so if I want to think about something from the book I can naturally pause and think and then return to reading when I'm ready without missing anything.

And again quality of the audiobook is not relevant. I recently listened to Tom Lake on audio (with Meryl Streep doing the narration and "all the voices") and it took me like 3 weeks because I kept having to go back.

The one exception is children's literature. I've listened to the Harry Potter books and some Roald Dahl and Neil Gaiman with my kid and because the stories are more simple and are often plotted to be maximally engaging (with fewer sequences that might be contemplative or purely thought provoking -- they are just more action driven) I find they hold my attention without allowing it to wander so much.

I wish I did better with audiobooks because it would allow me to get through more books. I like being able to listen to books on errands or while working out but it just doesn't work well for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love that the “serious literature” you had not yet read as a, what, 30something or 40something are books I read in middle school, high school and college. It is hilarious to me that you are trying to lecture and look down on people. Most of us read “serious literature” in or before college. You’re just now catching up, and this is your attitude?

Not only did I read “Anna Karenina” in high school, but my mom, sister and I recreated dishes from it. My reading list for my graduate exam had 200 works, and I had no idea ahead of time which works would be on the essay exam. But sure, sneer at audiobooks. I enjoy them frequently, along with hardbacks and paperbacks.

What did you understand about love and marriage and relationships in high school? Have you read it again?

Or the political economy of Russian agriculture or pan-Slavism.

The idea that great literature is something you "get done in high school" is very philistine.

Using the word philistine as an insult is also pretty high school

[Anonymous]

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

Huh, that is how my DC with dyslexia gets his and I think it’s great!

[Anonymous]

The only audiobooks i've been able to enjoy are the ones narrated by the author. For example, Bruce Springsteen's book and Michelle Obama's. Otherwise, I tend to multitask. I'm more of a podcast person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Having someone read a book to you is a very positive experience, often soothing, relaxing, enlightening, entertaining and educational. That's part of why good parents read to their children, often well past the point where the child could read it themselves.

As an adult why deny yourself this pleasure? It is especially enjoyable if the audio reader is good at it and I really like it when the reader is the author. Listening to books does not have to take the place of reading actual books and depending on the book it definitely falls into the category of "serious reading."

So much this. It is so enjoyable. My 9yo still wants me to read to her at night because I actually perform the book, like the professional actors who perform audiobooks.

However you read, I don’t judge you or rank your seriousness. This isn’t a contest. Let’s all enjoy life when we can.

[Anonymous]

I love audiobooks. My biggest complaint is when a female narrator does a male voice and thinks a husky whisper = man's voice. I almost want to DNF when this happens.