I thought I would write a different blog today on audiobooks, and how they are used and perceived. I am fairly new to audiobooks, only having downloaded and listened to my first book in November 2017. Before this I was of those people who saw audio books as inferior to print books and not for me. I thought I would be easily distracted, as my mind can wonder on my medication and go fuzzy, and I thought I would get bored. There were several reasons that led me to try my first audiobook: I have days, and sometimes weeks where I can’t read due to my pain, not even on my Kindle, and when this happens I go to bed and watch television on my iPad or listen to music and I do get frustrated that I can’t read. It has been suggested several times from my Facebook book friends that I should try an audiobook. At this time there was also an offer on Audible of your first ebook for free, so I thought I would give it a go, and I am glad I did.
Since joining the world of audiobooks I have come across many discussions on the pros and cons and their inferiority as literature, so I thought I would share some of my thoughts.
PROS
There is a great history in listening to people reading, from families gathering together on an evening, after a meal to listen to a member of the family read from a book before we had television and radio. Also, as children nearly all of us were read a bedtime story and got comfort from that, so listening to a book is surely just an extension to this.
Time is something we are all of conscious of in today’s busy society, and not everyone has the time to sit and read. Audiobooks can be listened to in the car, on public transport, in the gym, whilst walking the dog, and doing housework.
To those with sight problems audiobooks are a life line. The same could be said for people with dyslexia, and those who do not like reading, yes there are some people who don’t like reading. Audiobooks opens the world of literature to these people, which can only be a good thing.
Linking to the point above, audiobooks increase our vocabulary and understanding of language.
CONS
Audiobooks are very reliant on the narrator, and as in every aspect of life, there are good and bad narrators. Having experienced a bad narrator I can say that it can spoil the enjoyment of the book, and be very distracting from the plot. However, a good narrator can add to the enjoyment, they add drama and emotion to and really draw you in.
There is the chance that your mind can wonder and you have to scroll back to find out what you missed. I find that I don’t take in as much detail of the audiobook as I would if I was reading it, but it doesn’t spoil my enjoyment of the book.
Listening to a book can curb the imagination as you are hearing the voices via the narrator, and you lose the use of the language and grammar that you would pick up reading a book.
Cost is also a consideration. On paper audiobooks are more expensive by quite a lot but if you sign up to something like Audible you pay £7.99 a month and that buys you one book a month. They also have daily offers and offers where you can buy extra credits for a reduced cost. Libraries are also now offering audiobooks, so you can borrow as you would a physical book.
Having laid out the arguments above I still feel that audiobooks are very positive and important to those who can’t or don’t read. Anything that encourages people to engage with literature has to be a good thing; it should be all about the books no matter what the format. I have fully embraced the audiobook experience, and really enjoy lying down in my bed listening to a story and have just bought a bluetooth speaker so I can listen to my books downstairs.
I look forward to sharing my reviews of audiobooks with you, taking into account the above factors my reviews will be slightly different to books I have read.
This is true for funding recommendation as properly.