Audiobooks

[WICKES]

What are your views on them? Is it just cheating, or a great way to bring literature alive? Personally I couldn't live without them, but I find they work best with lighter novels, particularly Waugh's comic novels (Decline and Fall, Vile Bodies, Sword of Honour trilogy), P G Wodehouse, Kingsley Amis etc or with writers who had a simple prose style like Hemingway.


They are also great for people like Joyce, Chaucer, Shakespeare etc so long as you read them first THEN listen to them. The RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company) actor Paul Scofield once did a reading of The Wasteland which I have- no matter how many times I read that poem I wouldn't get as much out of it as I do listening to that recording. The same goes for a magnificent recording I have of Blake's Songs of Innocence and Waugh's Decline and Fall. I could read that novel over and over and I wouldn't enjoy it as much as the audio version.

[Janine]

Hi Wickes, glad to meet you.

I love audiobooks myself! I have some issues with ones that tend to put me to sleep, such as some I have tried, with one droning voiced narrator; however, the ones I have sought after myself and purchased, such as Shakespeare (with many voices or actors) are more to my liking. I have several of those by now, and hope to own more in the future. I also have an audiobook of the D.H.Lawrence novel, "Women in Love", with a really animated narrator, who plays out the various parts in the story, which I have enjoyed emensely; in fact, I plan on listening to it a second time. I was considering another of L's books on audiofile, but listened to a sample and the voice of the narrator has me still a little undecided to spring for the download - however it is cheap - actually, only 99 cents here in the US, so how could I go wrong, right?

I am very lucky to have assess to many audiobooks free, from a site that my library subscribes to - some can only be borrowed for a few weeks, but a great many of them can be burned to CD or saved in an MP3 player. I plan to do both. I did recently burn the CD's for Ayn Rand's "Anthem".

I also love to listen to poetry recited and own a wonderful mix of Shakespeare sonnets on a CD which was produced by the alumni of RADA (many noted actors); I have listened to that innumerable times. It only gets better each time I hear it.

Not long ago, I bought a set of Chekhov short stories on a three CD set, narrated by Kenneth Branagh. It is very good and I have enjoyed very much.

I don't think audiobooks is cheating at all. In fact, I read "Women in Love" twice and then listened to the reading and I was amazed to pick-up on things I did not even recall reading; isn't that strange? I guess 'listening' is a whole different perspective; I think audiobooks can be a great 'tool' in better understanding a text. I know I feel this way entirely with the Shakespeare plays on audiofiles. The plays really come alive and make much better sense, when acted out in one's imagination.

[Virgil]

Wickes, we've had this discussion before. Here's the thread with amny comments on both sides of the issue. I personally enjoy audio books.
http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27280&highlight=audio

[WICKES]

I also have an audiobook of the D.H.Lawrence novel, "Women in Love", with a really animated narrator, who plays out the various parts in the story, which I have enjoyed emensely.


Yes, when the reader has a gift for voices and acts out the different parts it can really bring a book to life. I have an absolutely brilliant recording of Evelyn Waugh's Decline and Fall read by a Shakespearean actor. He uses different voices for each character and, well, it's extraordinary. I'd NEVER have enjoyed it so much if I'd read it (another guilty pleasure is lying in a hot bath listening to Stephen Fry reading Harry Potter).

I guess the first poets/ literary people were shamans who told stories around campfires for thousands of years, jumping around and waving their arms. Then you had bards, who would recite great chunks of memorised poetry/mythic tales. Literature grew out of an aural tradition- the Illiad and Odyssey were read aloud long before they were written down. Perhaps, dare I say it, humans respond better to literature read aloud than to the written word? I think I do.

[poet]

So happy to discover that there are others who enjoy audio books. They have been a Godsend to me. I don't have the time during the day to sit for long periods and read, and at night I am so tired I fall asleep if I try to read. With an audio book, I can go about my business and still enjoy reading. I use them when I exercise, drive, and even when I take a bath. You are right about a good reader bringing a book to life. I whince when someone looks down or takes a superior attitude towards those of us who use audio. Also, if I really love a book, I buy a hardcopy. To me it is the best of both worlds.

poet

[JBI]

They were I think originally designed for the blind, but have now become a mainstream. I attribute it to the artificial lack of time in people's lives. This way there is an alternative to a quite drive, or music in the car. I guess now though, people use them as their own form of entertainment, instead of as a substitute, and simply sit in a chair and listen.

I read books. It isn't reading, whether that is good or bad, but it isn't reading, it is listening.

[Dobie]

They were I think originally designed for the blind, but have now become a mainstream. I attribute it to the artificial lack of time in people's lives. This way there is an alternative to a quite drive, or music in the car. I guess now though, people use them as their own form of entertainment, instead of as a substitute, and simply sit in a chair and listen.

I read books. It isn't reading, whether that is good or bad, but it isn't reading, it is listening.

I do, and I have always, read as often as possible. You are very fortunate to be someone who can view a lack of time as "artificial". For some of us, it's quite real (I won't bore you with my sob story [for which I really don't have the time]).
I always have a book going, and I always have an audio book going in the car. Sometimes I can orchestrate them so that they're same book, but it's hard to find my place when I switch from one to the other.

[Virgil]

I do, and I have always, read as often as possible. You are very fortunate to be someone who can view a lack of time as "artificial". For some of us, it's quite real (I won't bore you with my sob story [for which I really don't have the time]).
I always have a book going, and I always have an audio book going in the car. Sometimes I can orchestrate them so that they're same book, but it's hard to find my place when I switch from one to the other.

Dobie, if you go to the link in pasted in post #3 where this was discussed in the past and you look for my comments you'll see I really enjoy readng along with the audio book. So I'm actually doing both, listening to the audio voice and using my eyes to read too. I think it heightens the whole reading experience.

[JBI]

I didn't say it was bad, I merely said it was not reading. Either way though, those voices read between 20-25 pages per hour, depending on your rate, that can be quite slow, as that is the speed it would take to say something slowly, meaning if you can read out loud, you automatically can read something faster.

[Dark Muse]

I think they are good for people who might not have the time to read, but I myself do not think I could ever listen to a book on tape/CD. It would not be the same for me, becasue I like acutally reading.

[Janine]

They were I think originally designed for the blind, but have now become a mainstream. I attribute it to the artificial lack of time in people's lives. This way there is an alternative to a quite drive, or music in the car. I guess now though, people use them as their own form of entertainment, instead of as a substitute, and simply sit in a chair and listen.

I read books. It isn't reading, whether that is good or bad, but it isn't reading, it is listening.

Considering my eyes get dry and my eyesight blurry, the books on CD or MP3 files, come in real handy sometimes. Once our electric went out due to a storm and so we had nothing to do; so I whipped out the players and headphones. I listened that night to Chekhov - the 3CD set I bought. It makes sense they were originally designed for the blind, because in my own case, they really give my poor dry tired eyes a break sometimes. I am one to sit and actually concentrate on the reading and I don't read any faster really so it hardly matters to me either way. Only thing about listening in bed prior to sleep is that many times I fall sound asleep and forget where I left off. They can be a sure cure for insomnia!

[kasie]

I don't dislike audio books but I try to check that they are unabridged versions - the first audio book I tried was Tess of the Durbervilles and I was waiting for a favourite scene only to be disappointed that it wasn't there. I learned to check after that. I used them when I was driving to work, a rather boring drive when you've done it every day for sixteen years.

I am not yet among those who are blind or partially sighted (I learned when I worked with them they do not like being referred to as 'the blind' as though they are a separate species) but I am short sighted and find my eyes getting dry and tired towards the end of the day and then I enjoy an audio book. I have to admit to being in two minds about them - like Janine, I find I often pick up on something listening that I had missed in reading but I also find myself irritated if the reader gives the passage an inflection that gives the passage a meaning that I feel isn't there in the original text. Also as JBI says, they are slower than my reading pace. At the moment I am fortunate enough to be able to read text but if and when the time comes that I can't, I shall turn to audio books with relief.

[wessexgirl]

I'm a fan of audio books, but it doesn't take away my reading pleasure. The problem is that I don't have the time to sit and read for hours, so I use them when I'm doing some mundane chores. I do have to concentrate, as it is easy to miss something if you're not. But I tend to use them while doing household stuff, that is just boring, things you don't have to think about but just do automatically. I would also say to check that they're unabridged versions.

I have a lot of poetry ones, as I love to hear a good reader narrating them. I think they are a great supplement to reading, and I have started buying more for work. I am a school librarian, and have been promoting them to the students, for lots of reasons. We have some VI pupils, but there are also the ones who either don't like, or have a problem with, reading. They can be a great aid to get them into books. As Virgil said, you can read along with the CD/tape, which helps them. I have bought a number of Shakespeare plays too, as I think it really helps the students to hear them read. It makes sense of the plays, and they get to hear the language, diction etc. how it should be said. Of course, I can listen to them too, and do if I'm working when the students aren't in! :D

[J.D.]

Dobie, if you go to the link in pasted in post #3 where this was discussed in the past and you look for my comments you'll see I really enjoy readng along with the audio book. So I'm actually doing both, listening to the audio voice and using my eyes to read too. I think it heightens the whole reading experience.

This is what I do, too, Virgil. I especially like to do it with poetry, as if I'm attending a reading. I have no talent for "hearing" the correct emphasis in my head when reading poetry silently--though I can do so quite well when reading prose silently--so I like to hear how the reader chooses to place the emphasis in the poem.

On the other hand, perhaps because I've always been so concerned with sentence construction while reading, if I'm listening to prose and I'm in the car or someplace where I can't follow along, I actually see the words in my head, punctuation and all, as the reader reads them. Isn't that odd?

[Annamariah]

When I was a kid and got ill, my mother always went to library and brought back some audio books for me. Listening to them was a great way to spend the long days when all I could do was to lie in my bed, but other than that I've never been one to listen books instead of reading them. I think listening to books is terribly slow. When you're ill it's of course nice, especially if reading gives you a headache, and perhaps during long car journeys.

[lyni]

I love reading books and I also love listening to books. isn't it great that we have the choice to do whichever suits us at the time?

[Janine]

I love reading books and I also love listening to books. isn't it great that we have the choice to do whichever suits us at the time?

Absolutely!:)

[Night_Lamp]

I'm resurrecting an old thread because I just got a GREAT audio book:

I finally found the audio book of Lewis' The Screwtape Letters read by
John Cleese! His voice and subtleness really underlines the satire of the text. This was a very enjoyable listen.

I also love the original BBC HHGTTG with Simon Jones as Arthur Dent. Love him in Brideshead too.

[Virgil]

I'm resurrecting an old thread because I just got a GREAT audio book:

I finally found the audio book of Lewis' The Screwtape Letters read by
John Cleese! His voice and subtleness really underlines the satire of the text. This was a very enjoyable listen.


John Cleese to read C.S. Lewis? Now that is an odd combination. Is Cleese particularly religious? I am not aware.

[dfloyd]

I started out with some simple but pretty good stuff such as the Nero Wolfe mysteries by Rex Stout. Soon I was in to more advanced books. It takes a while to use audio books while driving on short trips, but I have learned to concentrate so if I can snatch 15 minutes of Dostoevsky, I do it. I have listened to over 400 audio books which has increased my literary output by this amount. I listen to then at home when doing household chores such as ironing.

I never listen to abridged cds, and I try to get audio books with the same translation as my personal library books. Many times I listen to the cd while reading the book. I have listened and read Crime and Punishment, Gone with the Wind, Tender is the Night, the Iliad, and The Odyssey to name just a few. Some of the readers are great, and my local library has been helpful in obtaining cds in unabridged formats. Some of the audio books I have recently listened to are The Beautiful and Damned, Main Street, This Side of Paradise, The Collector, The French Lieutenant's Woman, and Moll Flanders.

There is no question that audio books can vastly increase your reading ability, and can enhance your reading. On a recent vacation trip, I listened to Dickens' Pickwick Papers in its entirety. There is no question in my mind that your ability to concentrate is enhanced and increased with audio books.

[Virgil]

Many times I listen to the cd while reading the book.

Hey, I do the same thing. I'm not sure if this is the thread (there have been several) I talked about my audiobook habits, but if it is look back and see my thoughts on it.


There is no question that audio books can vastly increase your reading ability, and can enhance your reading. On a recent vacation trip, I listened to Dicken's Pickwick Papers in its entirety. There is no question in my mind that your ability to concentrate is enhanced and increased with audio books.
Completely agree. We share the same experience. :)

[soundofmusic]

I love the audio books; and often do listen to them while I am reading the novel. In addition to making the drive to and from work and chores more pleasant; I find that they increase my understanding of bits of the book that I may have not caught otherwise. Sometimes, I listen to them in order to fall asleep! :eek: No, really, you continue to hear and learn while you are sleeping; you wake up the next morning and know the book!

[Brad Coelho]

Great thread. Audiobooks actually got me into reading (which is perhaps an *** backwards process of sorts) as I tend to be on the road quite a bit. Sports talk radio, bad FM music and redundant ITunes MP3s could only take me so far.

Perhaps what I love most about audiobooks is that they make my otherwise banal time pretty damn fulfilled. Not just driving in the car, but walking the dog, doing the dishes, etc. For me, it isn't exactly complex multi-tasking (I have close to zero creative output during those mechanical activities...keeping me cerebrally focused on the reading). The crux is that the narrator has to be at least palatable, but as has been said before, a compelling narrator truly acts & provides an added dynamic that few readers intrinisically experience w/o this assistance.

I've done the Virgil technique, particularly w/ Ulysses (especially in those all too seldomly punctuated segments)- and this adds a layers of intrepretation to the experience. Certain prose does tend to fair better in this medium, and I generally agree that the stripped styles thrive w/ a compelling voice behind them.

Something that should be additionally considered is whether or not you personally respond more acutely to auditory stimulus or a visual one. While books on tape have made me a more voracious and competetent reader, I've also learned how well I retain & absorb information through the ears. It is an interesting subjective experiment at least ;)

Also, MP3's through Itunes have gotten quite user friendly. Gone are the days of fast-forwarding and re-winding, you can skip from chapter to chapter w/ ease (though admittedly not as briskly as by thumbing through pages).

[wildspirit]

Audio books are great when doing mindless tasks. I wouldn't be able to "read" half as much without audio books and I would usually much rather listen to a book then listen to music.

[FrankMarcopolos]

I love audiobooks. It's one of the reasons I started doing audio versions of public-domain short stories on my website.

Two of the most awesome performances I've heard are Douglas Adams performing his own, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and Stacey Keach doing some of Hemingway's short stories.:thumbs_up

[Blanket Heist]

Call me a silly goose, but something about audiobooks rubs me the wrong way.

[FrankMarcopolos]

Call me a silly goose, but something about audiobooks rubs me the wrong way.

Silly Goose.

[papayahed]

Does anyone else have a problem concentrating on audiobooks?

[FrankMarcopolos]

Depends on the quality of the narration. For me, if they're done well, they're easy to follow, if not, then not.

[Janine]

I am a slow reader, so I love them. I tend to fall asleep if I lay in bed with headphones on. One night I did just that and woke up when people were warring and shouting at each other - pretty alarming. I like narration but best of all love the ones that have characters and are actually acted out such as the Shakespeare ones I own. I could listen to those over and over again and never get bored. I already have listened several times to "Women in Love" read by an English female narrator who is quite good. I would listen to it a third time. I find when it is read it takes on new perspective if the narrator is really good at what they do. The book can really come alive.

papaya, I have trouble concentrating unless I really like the voice and delivery of the narrator and I have to listen to them on headphones; otherwise my mind just wanders away.

[JuniperWoolf]

Towns in my area are pretty spread out. An audiobook on a six hour drive is a godsend.

[higley]

During Christmas time I overheard an audiobook my father was listening to while he was packing. The narrator's voice was so perky that at first I didn't even realize he was narrating a very tense scene from some thriller novel until I paid close attention to the words. It was kind of funny, but very distracting.

I like when male narrators affect a female voice and end up sounding like Mrs Doubtfire.

[Brad Coelho]

I love audiobooks. It's one of the reasons I started doing audio versions of public-domain short stories on my website.

Two of the most awesome performances I've heard are Douglas Adams performing his own, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and Stacey Keach doing some of Hemingway's short stories.:thumbs_up

I was wondering how the Douglas Adams version was. Thanks, I'll give her a shot. :D

[Kafka's Crow]

I can't read paper books any more because of a busy schedule. I read 'audiobooks' now and love them. I still buy paper books but most of my 'reading' consists of audiobooks. I am listening to Hilary Mantale's Wolf Hall these days. It is unabridged and I am more than half way through this 23 hour reading. Audiobooks have transformed the very mundane tasks of cooking and walking the dog etc into learning time. I have a lovely hardback edition of Wolf Hall as well but for now I will have to stick with the audiobook. I am a regular customer of Audible and they have a huge collection:

http://www.audible.co.uk/aduk/site/product.jsp?p=BK_HOWE_000527UK&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

[Kevets]

I won't listen to a whole book, but what I like to do is to read at night, then listen on my commute. Then when I'm back home I flip ahead to where I stopped listening. I recently did that with Anna Karenina, and enjoyed it quite a lot. It's fun to get the foreign pronunciations correct (or I presume so). The voice actors on these can also be quite good. In teaching myself German, I got the CDs for Phillip Pullman's The Golden Compass, and that had a large and wonderful cast. The bass voice for Iorek was worth it alone.

[Brad Coelho]

Which narrator did you listen to for Anna Karenina?

[ClaesGefvenberg]

What are your views on them? Is it just cheating, or a great way to bring literature alive? I have nothing against them except for the fact that the going gets so slow compared to actual reading. They are great in situations where you don't have the opportunity read, though.

/Claes

[Kevets]

Which narrator did you listen to for Anna Karenina?
Nadia May. She was quite good.

[Emil Miller]

The problem with audio books is that you are not, as Kafka's Crow suggested, reading them.You are hearing them through someone else's mind. When anyone reads a novel, as opposed to non fiction, they are relating to it through their own experience; which is why we all have our own views on the book concerned. Of course it is very nice to hear a story told by a melifluously spoken reader but it is told second hand, no matter how well-spoken. There is also the fact that if we rely on audio readings we will not increase our vocabulary and rely on others to explain the complexities of a given work rather than figure it out for ourselves.

[Annamariah]

I listened to an audiobook a while ago. It was new because of two things: it was in English and the first one I've listened to when I'm healthy and not a sick child lying in bed.

I realised there were only so many things I could do while listening, because something like doing the dishes causes so much noise that I would keep missing words which is very irritating, and while with a regular book it's easy to reread the sentence, rewinding an audio book isn't as quick and easy.

Audiobooks aren't really my thing, and they're really expensive, so I wouldn't buy them. Getting them from library and ripping them on my computer, however, might be a good idea. I probably wouldn't bother with books in Finnish, though, but at least with English audiobooks there would be an additional plus of improved listening comprehension.


There is also the fact that if we rely on audio readings we will not increase our vocabulary and rely on others to explain the complexities of a given work rather than figure it out for ourselves.
You don't learn how to spell words, true, but you can still pick up some words or phrases and check the spelling later, if necessary, don't you think?

I don't quite understand how someone reading the text aloud explains all the complexities. They're just reading it, not commenting on it, after all :)

[Emil Miller]

I listened to an audiobook a while ago. It was new because of two things: it was in English and the first one I've listened to when I'm healthy and not a sick child lying in bed.

I realised there were only so many things I could do while listening, because something like doing the dishes causes so much noise that I would keep missing words which is very irritating, and while with a regular book it's easy to reread the sentence, rewinding an audio book isn't as quick and easy.

Audiobooks aren't really my thing, and they're really expensive, so I wouldn't buy them. Getting them from library and ripping them on my computer, however, might be a good idea. I probably wouldn't bother with books in Finnish, though, but at least with English audiobooks there would be an additional plus of improved listening comprehension.


You don't learn how to spell words, true, but you can still pick up some words or phrases and check the spelling later, if necessary, don't you think?

I don't quite understand how someone reading the text aloud explains all the complexities. They're just reading it, not commenting on it, after all :)

Yes you are right but I think you are more likely to go to a dictionary when you can actually stop reading rather than listening and stopping the audiobook each time a new word is spoken. Also, with a book you can underline the words in pencil and check the dictionary later. Many words can be roughly deduced from the context of the sentence but it is always better to make certain of their exact meaning with a dictionary . I agree that the complexities will not be explained by using an audiobook, I had just finished a bottle of Cote du Rhone when I wrote that and was feeling rather tired.

[Janine]

I listened to an audiobook a while ago. It was new because of two things: it was in English and the first one I've listened to when I'm healthy and not a sick child lying in bed.

I realised there were only so many things I could do while listening, because something like doing the dishes causes so much noise that I would keep missing words which is very irritating, and while with a regular book it's easy to reread the sentence, rewinding an audio book isn't as quick and easy.

Audiobooks aren't really my thing, and they're really expensive, so I wouldn't buy them. Getting them from library and ripping them on my computer, however, might be a good idea. I probably wouldn't bother with books in Finnish, though, but at least with English audiobooks there would be an additional plus of improved listening comprehension.

You don't learn how to spell words, true, but you can still pick up some words or phrases and check the spelling later, if necessary, don't you think?

I don't quite understand how someone reading the text aloud explains all the complexities. They're just reading it, not commenting on it, after all :)

Annamariah, I do agree with you here on most points; and I also get mine free from the library most times - too expensive to buy. I don't agree with you, Brian, in this point - I don't find it decreases one's perception of the vocabulary; If anything, for me, it increases it or enhances it. I do think it wise if someone wished to re-read a book and then instead listened to it being read. I did this with several books - "Frankenstein" and "Women in Love"...oddly enough, I actually picked up on things in the books, I had not noticed or noted in the text. This was especially true of the second book, which by the way, I had already read it twice...strange, isn't it? I mustn't be as attentive a reader, as I thought I was.

I do find I can't do much other than listen to the book or story being read or acted out. I loose concentration. If I listen in bed at night, I tend to drift off and fall asleep; the it's hard to find the place I left off. I only listen on headphones; otherwise, I am totally distracted. Best was when our electric went out one night and I bundled up and listened to my player on headphones - all of the 3 disks of the set of Chekhov short stories, I bought. I had listened before with half concentration, but this time I took in every work and really enjoyed them by candlelight. I didn't lay down, so I managed to stay awake. I would think maybe driving would be good; but then again, one would lose some concentration playing attention to the road. The reason

Brian,I think nothing is truly lost in vocabulary is because, I have more trouble pronouncing words and so this helps to increase my vocabulary because I stop avoiding those words in my own verbal speech. Now spelling is always a different story. I admit to not being a good speller at all.

[Emil Miller]

Annamariah,

Brian,I think nothing is truly lost in vocabulary is because, I have more trouble pronouncing words and so this helps to increase my vocabulary because I stop avoiding those words in my own verbal speech. Now spelling is always a different story. I admit to not being a good speller at all.

Well Janine I was referring to the fact that Annamariah ( pretty name) is from Finland and was speaking of reading in English; in which case, a book is certainly better than an audiobook for vocabulary but not so useful for pronunciation.

[applepie]

What are your views on them? Is it just cheating, or a great way to bring literature alive?

I've tried several times to listen to audio books, but I tend to find that my mind wanders when listening. There is a certain level of engagement that I have with a book, and I just can't find it with audio books. I have the same aversion to the little e-readers. I don't know how to describe it, but neither can bring me the same feeling or sensory experience as a real book.

I love them for my children, but I can't not find any way to listen to them myself. I've thought to try again since I find so little time to read, but it always feels as a stand in. Maybe I'm just picking the wrong ones...

[papayahed]

I've tried several times to listen to audio books, but I tend to find that my mind wanders when listening. There is a certain level of engagement that I have with a book, and I just can't find it with audio books. I have the same aversion to the little e-readers. I don't know how to describe it, but neither can bring me the same feeling or sensory experience as a real book.


Exactly what I was thinking, except the e-book part I find I can get lost in an e-book just as easily as with a print book.

[applepie]

Exactly what I was thinking, except the e-book part I find I can get lost in an e-book just as easily as with a print book.

I miss the smell and the feel of the pages when I am reading whenever I try to use an e-reader. I tend to prefer paperback books, and the e-reader just doesn't "feel" right in my hands. I've thought to try some of the newer ones, because it would be convenient, especially when I'm at work or on vacation. The new ones seem to be a bit nicer, but they still just aren't the same:)