audiobooks

[Chris Daddy Cool]

what do you guys think about audiobooks?

for those who've used them do you find the experience better or worse than actual reading? (in terms of enjoyability and understanding the text)

[kurosh]

Useful for long driving trips, but that's pretty much it. You have to concentrate or you won't understand (for me at least). It sucks having to rewind if you miss a portion. I also read very fast, so it takes a lot longer to listen. Reading is far superior.

[[censored]]

[ QUOTE ]
Useful for long driving trips, but that's pretty much it. You have to concentrate or you won't understand (for me at least). It sucks having to rewind if you miss a portion. Reading is far superior.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sums up my experience. I tried downloading and listening to some while I play poker or just while relaxing and in both circumstances I found I was unable to concentrate enough on the material to make it rewarding. On a very long road trip with lots of long desolate highway time, they are really nice.

[Benholio]

Along with lond road trips, I could see audiobooks being good for running/jogging/walking/etc.

[Ringo_Mojo]

When i had Lasik i downloaded a bunch of audiobooks to listen to, some of them were great (The Hobbit) others were very difficult to follow. I think its really dependent on the material and the reader.

Also make sure to get unabbridged versions, not much point in listening to the shortened versions.

[diebitter]

Good for work, if you can stand the mutlitasking.

Comedies work quite well (like mp3 rips of Cheers, say), cos you can just stop em if you need to concentrate hard for a bit, and start again without losing the plot.

[shant]

At my last job we had to read The Da Vinci Code for research on a project so they got us the audio books and played them while we worked. After rewinding the first 2 pages of the first chapter 5 times I gave up. I think you pretty much have to be doing nothing or be good at "multitasking" to get anything out of it.

[Perseus]

I listen to music so much playing poker I need a change of pace in the car. I always have one ready to go, and while I'm driving I hardly ever lose track.

If you are going to do it listen to stories that are easy to follow. I just listened to the Shining...good, I thought...and right now I'm in the middle of Diary by Chuck Palahniuk.

I find when I get into the stories I do not mind being in the car at all, and it makes drivin ten times easier/seemingly faster.

Of course, I'm also a dork.

[SammyKid11]

I have a tough time falling asleep at night (or early in the morning, usually). I like d'loading/listening to audiobooks as a way to relax at night. For me, actual reading doesn't help me sleep (using my eyes, brain, lights are on, etc.)...but listening to audiobooks is great. I'm up for a little while listening, and after a while, it just helps me fade away. Good stuff.

[baumer]

i have trouble getting to sleep also.

one thing i tried was listening to digital white noise, which is just like radio static.

some sites sell CDs of "professionally made digital white noise" which is just a horrible scam.

thankfully they let you download a 10 second clip of it, so you can create an MP3 file of whatever length you want out of that one clip.

Contrary to what I expected it actually makes falling asleep a lot easier.

as for audio books, i'm not a huge fan of them for any occasion. i'd rather listen to a good concept album.

[cdxx]

[ QUOTE ]
Useful for long driving trips, but that's pretty much it.

[/ QUOTE ]

[thirddan]

they rule for car trips to vegas /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Chris Daddy Cool]

basicically i wondered if they would be useful if i listened to them during one of the following things

1) typical 40 minute Bart rides to the Berkeley/SF area

2) an hour or two in bed before I go to sleep

3) running on a treadmill

so i think i'm going to try one out. thanks.

[thirddan]

i don't think i would enjoy listening to an audio book if i couldn't finish it in one sitting...i think for the short bursts you are talking about just listening to some music would be better...i would really hate to get into a good story and then have to cut it off for a day because my train ride ended...

[Chris Daddy Cool]

[ QUOTE ]
i don't think i would enjoy listening to an audio book if i couldn't finish it in one sitting...i think for the short bursts you are talking about just listening to some music would be better...i would really hate to get into a good story and then have to cut it off for a day because my train ride ended...

[/ QUOTE ]

aren't there like, chapter breaks and stuff?

[Sifmole]

[ QUOTE ]
what do you guys think about audiobooks?

for those who've used them do you find the experience better or worse than actual reading? (in terms of enjoyability and understanding the text)

[/ QUOTE ]

I am one of those poor married, working, father of two schlubs. If it weren't for audio books my "reading" would be very little in a week. W/ audio books, the 90 mins I spend in a car each way is a chance to "read". I love them, you get used to them very quickly and they are so much better than the radio and CDs get dull after a while.

BTW -- check your local library you can often find a very nice selection and libraries are free.

[SL__72]

I've been listening to one in my car for the last week or so. It makes the trips to/from work more enjoyable... definately.

[RacersEdge]

I love them. But I only use them so far on my ipod. I listen driving to and from work, while eating, while walking from the parking lot, etc. By reading volume is going way up.

[The Truth]

Audio books are a blast... www.audible.com (http://www.audible.com)

I've been using it for nearly a year now. I can't listen to a book and play poker, but road trips its #1 and its not close.

It also works good for rare other occasions. I can listen to a book playing live poker. Before bed is meh. Working out is good.


-blake

[Blarg]

A lot depends on the voice actor and the choice of material.

Audio works very well for horror stuff. I remember hearing Edgar Allen Poe readings that were very good, done very atmospherically. You can really add drama by the good readings on those, maybe the odd sound effect thrown in here and there.

I also got an audiocassette a long time ago of some Lovecraft being read by that blond guy from Man from UNCLE, I forget his name. He always struck me as deadly dull on t.v., but his delivery was perfect, and that can be dicey when you're shouting out gibberish lunatic ravings. It worked exceptionally well, and I listened to the renderings again and again.

[Bubu]

Are audio-books faithful to the book ? Say you want to use
the audiobook at the gym, but would rather just carry on
reading the book elsewhere. IS there an easy way to keep
track of where in the audiofile as compared to the book ?

[diebitter]

[ QUOTE ]
A lot depends on the voice actor and the choice of material.

Audio works very well for horror stuff. I remember hearing Edgar Allen Poe readings that were very good, done very atmospherically. You can really add drama by the good readings on those, maybe the odd sound effect thrown in here and there.

I also got an audiocassette a long time ago of some Lovecraft being read by that blond guy from Man from UNCLE, I forget his name. He always struck me as deadly dull on t.v., but his delivery was perfect, and that can be dicey when you're shouting out gibberish lunatic ravings. It worked exceptionally well, and I listened to the renderings again and again.

[/ QUOTE ]

Listening to Lovecraft is probably pretty awesome, I'd imagine. Re your Poe comment, I've got Christopher Walken doing the Raven (it's an extra on the DVD of 'The Dead Zone' I think) - it is really fantastic.

I actually cried listening to 'Pet Semetary' I remember. (Gay flame on). It was a bit about where a man chases his small son who is stumbling towards the wheels of a big truck. He catches his son, and the son's life it played out for you, getting swimming medals at college, getting married whilst his father looks on proudly, things like that.

Then it switches - it's all in the father's mind, he misses grabbing his little boy, and the boy is killed.

It broke my heart. My own son had just been born, and it just got to me.