Talkin' About: Audiobooks



I listened to my first ever audiobook (except for the legendary Harry Potter ones) this week and I must say, it was an interesting experience. It was A Monster Calls read by Jason Isaacs, the person who plays Lucius Malfoy, and I really enjoyed it, but also have some regrets.
First, I know there are a ton of different types of audiobooks. I borrowed a playaway from the local public library, which looks something like this: 
It's basically a mini audiobook mp3 player that I can just stick headphones into. It was great on bus rides :) 

The Ups of Audiobooks: 
  • You can listen to them while walking, while riding the bus, while being antisocial in hallways- it's great to not have to engage your eyes in anything but still be able to read a book. It did give me a certain amount of fulfillment that I was always reading. 
  • The characters' dialogue truly comes to life. Jason Isaacs and all British accents in general just have such a soothing, easy tone that lets me slip into the world so easily. I could literally hear all the characters' voices!
  • I was in kind of a reading slump at the time, and it was so nice to sink into a story without having to engage my eyes and physically having to turn pages- there are less distractions and obstacles to getting immersed in a story.
The Downs of Audiobooks:
  • You can't take your own time with passages/parts you really like or are trying to comprehend. LIKE THE ENDING OF A MONSTER CALLS. I had to relisten to it 4 times to absorb it, which I didn't like very much. 
  • I definitely think that it was difficult to just have the audiobook, because I was reading other physical books at the time as well, which broke up the story and made it a little difficult to completely understand. 
  • Also, I just love physical books and the feeling of them. It makes the reading experience just so much better.
Conclusion: I think I'll definitely be utilising audiobooks in the future, but not for books that are dealing with such serious subject matter like A Monster Calls, because I'd much rather experience those in print.

What do you think? What are your opinions on Audiobooks, and how often do you listen to them?


2 comments:

  1. I can't deal with audiobooks. I zone out and find them so boring and end up not even listening to what the person is saying or even falling asleep. Like you said, I guess they're good for lighter, easier books and especially books that you've already read and are familiar with, but if I read a new book as an audiobook, there is no way I will retain anything from it! And it sucks because they're so convenient:(

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  2. I've really grown to love those playaway things, though I do wish my library had more options! There are usually...25 different ones maybe? Not a LOT to choose from, and their usually very well-known books, which is slightly annoying to me. Also, if you want to get into more of those: Will Grayson, Will Grayson's audiobook I found really enjoyable for some reason, and 172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad is also pretty good, and both of them are available as playaways. :)

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