Agnostic.com

40 3

Audiobooks verse Regular Books

Two part question:

Which do you prefer?

Do you "see" the story the same with both or is there a disconnect with one over the other?

Crimson67 8 Aug 18
Share

Enjoy being online again!

Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.

Create your free account

40 comments

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

3

I do both, I do not see any difference other than the experience. I get the same info in the end.

3

There is no "versus." They both have their places.

Being read to is a pleasure.

3

Having been an Over The Road truck driver for over 13 yrs. Audio, definitely. I still enjoy reading though.

2

I concede the useful and pleasures of e-readers, but I favor real books. They engage almost all the primary senses and so the information and experience of reading is cemented in the brain.

2

I have been an Audible member for years. I drive a lot and the audio is great. Often the readers are so good that it’s actually better than reading it myself. However, I still enjoy just reading ?

2

Regular books. My attention tends to wander too much for audio books

GwenC Level 7 Aug 18, 2018
2

Spend more time commuting than I care. Audio books are great at times but just like when reading if it doesn't catch me i may not keep listening.

2

Because I still have very good eyesight I prefer reading books, but the same goes for books on tablet/e-reader, I like the smell and feel, even the weight, of real books

Even the sound of pages turning and inaudible creaking of the binding.

2

First of all, I am partially blind. Up until i started to lose vision I preferred books in print. As I lost vision I still tried to read print books, but it gave me eye strain hedaches. So, I pretty much only read audio books anymore.

I think it is a different experience, but I there is no disconnect with one over the other. The main issue is focus. As long as you are focused on what you are readign and find it interesting , I won't "disconnect."

Audio books are nice in that I can tke them on public transit, and listen while commuting, or just going for a walk. I dont' listen when ridign a bike, as due to the poor vision, I need tohear wht is around me more so than a fully sighted person.

I listen to more than ten books almost every week.

For anyone who has a vidual or orther print disability, the National Library Service (NLS) in the U.S. provides free books to download online, although you need a special format player to use the service. Players are provided for free, but I more often use an app on my phone for downloading nd listening. The download service is called BARD.

Here is the link [nlsbard.loc.gov]

A person has to be certified as having some form of print disability to use the service. Feel free to share the link with friends or family members who may be able to use the services.

2

Depends on the circumstance. Several of my jobs have downtime, so it's wise to have a good read handy. However, for one of my jobs I commute almost an hour one way, so an audiobook for the trip is fantastic--especially if the reader is expressive or particularly entertaining. (E.g., Eddie Izzard's "Believe Me." )

2

I enjoy both. I have a tradition with my kids. We listen to audio books in the car, read longer books together at night. Plus they read on their own or to each other. We listened to all 13 Series of Unfortunate Events together, I think that was a great audio book series. Tim Curry was an excellent choice for narrator ?

1

I love reading a physical book but 7 1/2 years ago I developed Trigeminal Neuralgia with burning, electric, stabbing pain that feels as if it’s in my right eye so it is difficult to read, audio books have been my source of inspiration, pleasure and education since then.

1

I prefer audio books, don’t seem to have time to read books but I work with my hands so I listen to books and podcasts all day long!

1

Audiobooks. I loe being read to. As a small child, my mother told me Grimm's fairytales. My father told me the whole Norse Mythology, so I have developed a strong link between my ears and my imagination. Now that my eyes are going bad from life long diabetes, audio books keep melistening.

1

I'm currently reading "The Primer of Object Relations" by Jill and David Scharff. AND rereading, and rereading. It is an example of a book so filled with implications that one reading won't give you the full impact of the information contained within. Rereading an Aubiobook isn't a simple task like turning back to an earlier page. I prefer regular books. I've not jumped on the Audiobook bandwagon, yet. I keep ordering books instead.

1

Regular books.

If you will indulge me a slight digression, I dislike a trend I am seeing in my company of management putting out a video message. I can read a published memo much faster than I can listen to a video memo. The same is true with audiobooks for me. I can read much faster than the pace of the audiobook.

The other problem with audio books is skimming ahead, skimming back, going back a few pages or to an earlier chapter to reread something that perhaps has new context based on later events.

I know folks like to listen to them while driving, but I much prefer music as I can tune it out when necessary based on driving conditions and other distractions. An Audiobook, if tuned out, means I have missed a bit of the story.

1

If i'm traveling a good distance then an audio book is my choice, if I'm alone. I have a kindle and about 4,000 paper books. Kindle has about 500+ books on it. Depends on what I'm doing, like all of them.

BillF Level 7 Aug 19, 2018
1

Regular, not even close. Audio is too distracting, doesn't allow enough focus.

1

I read ebooks on my phone. Sometimes I miss paper, but I have probably 50,000 ebooks on Google Drive that I've downloaded.
Tried audiobooks but not quite the same for me. And the files take up more space.

1

Each has its place. I would say that audiobooks are good for those on the go because they can listen to them whenever it is possible. I suspect that much is lost in the audio approach, but there may also be something to gain. In any case, it beats not reading at all, doesn't it?

I prefer holding a book, smelling its fragrance and caressing its pages. Next on my list is my reader where I can carry several novels wherever I happen to be without all that weight and bulk. Last on my list is the audiobook, but I do listen and have listened to them.

1

Audio books you can listen to them while you drive

1

I used to listen to audio books when commuting to work in my car. My only complaint was that the audio books were always heavily abridged...you never got the full text of the book on the tapes.

1

Audio books or satellite radio are an absolute necessity for long drives since there are places where you can not pull in anything but broadcasts from children of the corn church.
I also like them for falling asleep.

1

I enjoy both. For fiction I prefer reading. For biographies and especially autobiographies, I love audio books. With autobiographies, it's like hearing their thoughts.

1

There's something about the experience of reading an actual book that just can't be replaced by an audiobook or even a Kindle or other reader. I do like audiobooks on car trips though so I can multitask.

Believe it or not, I still prefer reading an actual newspaper (at the library perhaps since I don't subscribe to them anymore) over an article online. I think it's because I speed read and like to jump around and skim different articles.

Write Comment
You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:158072
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.