Question: Physically reading the book v Listening to the audiobook version

[Jonny]

I go through an awful lot of books these days, but crucially, my way of consuming them has changed beyond recognition in the last 3 years or so. I go on a five-mile walk daily and always listen to a book to help me stave off the torture and tedium. For me it's a really efficient use of time. And by and large, with 95+% of these, the audiobook works just as well as the physical book. But not always.

Since the spring I've gone through a period of listening to quite a few fantasy/comedy in my mix, and last week I got a Terry Pratchett title. The Colour of Magic (the new version just recently released) but as with TP and Neil Gaiman's collaboration Good Omens, which I a-booked a few weeks ago, it didn't blow my socks off at all. On the contrary, I found TCoM pretty disappointing to be honest. For me the plot was chaotic, jerky and a bit clever for clever's sake, and when walking I found my mind constantly wandering away from the story, and then having to spin back ten minutes once I realised that not only was I confused, I was now completely lost (plot wise).

Instead of listening attentively and being gripped, as is the case with most of the books I listen to, I was deciding what to cook that evening or daydreaming about winning The Open.

Now, I realise that to own up to this personal shortcoming is tantamount to committing heresy. To paraphrase the oft-used break-up line: "It's not Terry, it's me."

Ah, but is it? Because to kick things off I read books 1-3 of Tom Holt's Portable Door series (forever grateful for the heads-up on these @MattScho) and loved them from start to finish. None of the above drifting off problems. Similarly last year I revisited the entire LotR trilogy and The Hobbit. All four volumes gripped me fully again.

So I pondered a bit more and asked myself this. Could the issue perhaps be that TP's books aren't suited to the presentation style of an audio book? I say that because the only other TP I have experienced is Mort which I loved. But, I did that the old school way. I looked at all of the words written down on all of the pages. I think for my next TP foray, I'll maybe do it the old way and see.

So, I was just wondering what Litopian's think in general of audiobooks versus the print version? Are they a yes or a no for you?

 

[Robinne Weiss]

I enjoy audiobooks. Unfortunately, my husband hates when I listen to them (I think because I'm not available to respond to his random comments when I do), so I only get to listen when he's out of town. I have found that the narrator makes a HUGE difference in whether I like an audiobook or not. A good narrator can bring almost any text to life, and a bad one can kill even the most scintillating material.

 

[izi 出久]

I listen to audio books when I'm sick or for some other reason can't read. Can never listen on runs, sadly, because I'm too busy watching the world go by.

Perhaps you're onto something, though. I've read quite a few of Faulkner's novels. Can't imagine understanding them as audio because my mind drifts over the streaming bits and I never remember the content, only the feeling. Could audio capture that? I'm skeptical.

Edit because didn't mean to post yet damnit:

Generally, though, I appreciate audiobooks for what they offer: the ability to enjoy a book even when I'm unable (at least not safely) to read but feel like filling my mind with a good story. Once during my shortish stint as a teacher, I sat in a conference where a woman raved about how listening to audiobooks doesn't count.... I could not be more opposed to that nonsense.

 

[Dorm Ant]

I struggle to retain things that I hear. I have to see, feel, smell or taste them. So, my concentration doesn't allow me to appreciate audio books. I would like them if they let off smells, at certain points in the story.

 

[Vagabond Heart]

I listen to audiobooks all the time, especially when busy doing other things. Yes, I have to rewind a bit, but that’s ok.
When I was working in the studio I had War and Peace on in the background so now have a sketchy idea what some of it is about.
But I also have loads of Pratchett’s. And one I simply won’t bother with is The Colour of Magic. Because I’ve read it, and it’s not that good. If I’d read it before other ones it would have put me off. Terry was finding his feet with this one - exploring ideas and developing his style.
Later books are character-led, with complex plots and insanely good humour.
And Stephen Briggs is the best narrator.
My favourites are Witches Abroad, Unseen Academicals (this one’s about football, Jonny), Monstrous Regiment, and Thud.
Give them a go. Xxx

 

[izi 出久]

I'm not a fan of James Franco's more recent work (can't get into it), but I loved his narration of Slaughterhouse-Five.

 

[Hannah F]

I don't listen to audiobooks. If I'm alone, I walk with my dog in the woods and enjoy listening to birds, arguing squirrels, the babbling brook etc. and interacting with my dog. If I'm gardening, I like listening to the birds or just being one with my work. Housework, I listen to music. If I sit down and read a book, I'll journey into its world and enjoy the immersion. If I try to listen to an audiobook, I fall asleep. No matter how awake I am to start with or who is narrating, I fall asleep.

 

[Jonny]

A good narrator can bring almost any text to life, and a bad one can kill even the most scintillating material.

Very true. This is an added joy of a good audiobook. A skilful narrator really can add to the prose and make it sing.

Can't imagine understanding them as audio because my mind drifts over the streaming bits and I never remember the content, only the feeling. Could audio capture that? I'm skeptical.

I did wonder if this was my problem re TP.

I sat in a conference where a woman raved about how listening to audiobooks doesn't count.... I could not be more opposed to that nonsense.

Yes, when I started my audiobooking I was aware of this stigma. Similarly, when I began using a Kindle. Neither of these new-fangled contraptions particularly liked by the "book crowd" As far as many of them were concerned you hadn't actually read a book unless you'd first blown eight ounces of dust off its cover and then inhaled its musty aroma for at least three hours, before having the temerity to open it and begin reading.

I had War and Peace on in the background so now have a sketchy idea what some of it is about.

Ha ha! I started Ulysses two years ago and have yet to get through the final eight hours of the bloody thing ... err... I mean... this work of unrivalled genius. The narrator of my version is Jim Norton (Bishop Brennan from Fr. Ted) His narration is utterly brilliant, but for me the prose swings from the mesmerisingly amazing to downright infuriatingly irritating. But I will preserve to the bitter end (I'm predicting sometime around 2028) as I want to be seen as being kinda highbrow when Melvyn (Bragg) does my South Bank Special.

And one I simply won’t bother with is The Colour of Magic. Because I’ve read it, and it’s not that good. If I’d read it before other ones it would have put me off. Terry was finding his feet with this one - exploring ideas and developing his style.
Later books are character-led, with complex plots and insanely good humour.

I'm glad it's not just me then, Bev. I did wonder if what you say was indeed the case. Will check out some of those titles.

 

[Rich.]

I also have loads of Pratchett’s. And one I simply won’t bother with is The Colour of Magic. Because I’ve read it, and it’s not that good. If I’d read it before other ones it would have put me off. Terry was finding his feet with this one - exploring ideas and developing his style.
Later books are character-led, with complex plots and insanely good humour.

I second all of this. I don't think the problem with TCoM is listening vs reading. It's simply that the book isn't very good.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

I'll always choose to read, no matter how excellent the narration. I want to interface directly with the writers voice, without the interjection of another voice.

 

[E G Logan]

If I don't like the voice of the person reading them, that's IT for me.

I was trying to get hold of a recently out of print US novel by no one special – I was interested in her agent – and it looked as if the audio book, via (I think) Amazon.com, was the only quick possibility.

There was, fortunately, a 'Listen to a Sample' option... and I just hated the voice. Loathed it, everything about it. And not because it was American (author and book were US), or female (author is, story narrator may also be). For me, it grated. So that was that.

 

[Robinne Weiss]

I struggle to retain things that I hear. I have to see, feel, smell or taste them. So, my concentration doesn't allow me to appreciate audio books. I would like them if they let off smells, at certain points in the story.

Maybe someday we'll have VR books that do!

 

[izi 出久]

Maybe someday we'll have VR books that do!

My dream

 

[RK Wallis]

Sorry I'm late to the party, I don't know how I missed this. If the budget allows, I listen to an audiobook while I read its kindle version (I can't handle a physical book). @Robinne Weiss and @E G Logan are spot on: a narrator makes or breaks an audiobook.

I find Terry Pratchett books hard to concentrate on sometimes but the humour carries me every time, although his books take me longer to read because I can put them down and read 10 more books in between. I enjoyed the humour of TCoM enough to make me read other books of his (so it did its job). As @Vagabond Heart said, Witches Abroad is a great audiobook. I love its narrator, Nigel Planer.

Andy Weir pulls me through his audiobooks at a rate of knots, despite the mumbo jumbo maths that goes over my head.

 

[Hannah F]

Of course, when reading physical books, your eyes take in how the author has divided their paragraphs and grammatical constructions - a kind of subconscious (or indeed conscious) learning.

 

[RK Wallis]

Of course, when reading physical books, your eyes take in how the author has divided their paragraphs and grammatical constructions - a kind of subconscious (or indeed conscious) learning.

That's why I read and listen. I analyse how authors write

 

[Pamela Jo]

I go through an awful lot of books these days, but crucially, my way of consuming them has changed beyond recognition in the last 3 years or so. I go on a five-mile walk daily and always listen to a book to help me stave off the torture and tedium. For me it's a really efficient use of time. And by and large, with 95+% of these, the audiobook works just as well as the physical book. But not always.

Since the spring I've gone through a period of listening to quite a few fantasy/comedy in my mix, and last week I got a Terry Pratchett title. The Colour of Magic (the new version just recently released) but as with TP and Neil Gaiman's collaboration Good Omens, which I a-booked a few weeks ago, it didn't blow my socks off at all. On the contrary, I found TCoM pretty disappointing to be honest. For me the plot was chaotic, jerky and a bit clever for clever's sake, and when walking I found my mind constantly wandering away from the story, and then having to spin back ten minutes once I realised that not only was I confused, I was now completely lost (plot wise).

Instead of listening attentively and being gripped, as is the case with most of the books I listen to, I was deciding what to cook that evening or daydreaming about winning The Open.

Now, I realise that to own up to this personal shortcoming is tantamount to committing heresy. To paraphrase the oft-used break-up line: "It's not Terry, it's me."

Ah, but is it? Because to kick things off I read books 1-3 of Tom Holt's Portable Door series (forever grateful for the heads-up on these @MattScho) and loved them from start to finish. None of the above drifting off problems. Similarly last year I revisited the entire LotR trilogy and The Hobbit. All four volumes gripped me fully again.

So I pondered a bit more and asked myself this. Could the issue perhaps be that TP's books aren't suited to the presentation style of an audio book? I say that because the only other TP I have experienced is Mort which I loved. But, I did that the old school way. I looked at all of the words written down on all of the pages. I think for my next TP foray, I'll maybe do it the old way and see.

So, I was just wondering what Litopian's think in general of audiobooks versus the print version? Are they a yes or a no for you?

I think Pratchett evolved. Mort is far more complex and wonderful than Color of Magic. The early books are clever and cute and I enjoy the word play-but my mind wandered. I read Pratchett out of sequence becasue someone said disc world was better than Harry Potter. So I think I was introduced to Vimes and Vetinari first. Then the witches and whatever book I could find in the middle of the US Great Desert. My vote is not you-but a writer who was the kind of writer who was first known at com-icon conventions and could have stayed there but allowed his brain to kick it up a level. In the end he wrote about all that humanist literary stuff. Meaning of life, death, duty, etc.... But he did it for us great unwashed. In words and stories we unexalted could not only understand but seemed to be personal to us. Just my take. Like Shakespeare. He took an everyday oik, like a policeman trying to do his best to make there world a better place and showed that being a good human being was not only enough, but the best thing you could become. If that makes sense? He started off a clown and ended up a jester?

 

[Dorm Ant]

I think Pratchett evolved. Mort is far more complex and wonderful than Color of Magic. The early books are clever and cute and I enjoy the word play-but my mind wandered. I read Pratchett out of sequence becasue someone said disc world was better than Harry Potter. So I think I was introduced to Vimes and Vetinari first. Then the witches and whatever book I could find in the middle of the US Great Desert. My vote is not you-but a writer who was the kind of writer who was first known at com-icon conventions and could have stayed there but allowed his brain to kick it up a level. In the end he wrote about all that humanist literary stuff. Meaning of life, death, duty, etc.... But he did it for us great unwashed. In words and stories we unexalted could not only understand but seemed to be personal to us. Just my take. Like Shakespeare. He took an everyday oik, like a policeman trying to do his best to make there world a better place and showed that being a good human being was not only enough, but the best thing you could become. If that makes sense? He started off a clown and ended up a jester?

I have only ever read one of the Ricewind books and found the humour very boring, so concluded that I didn't like Pratchett. However, I found Good Omens on a train and enjoyed it. So am willing to give him another chance. What's a good book to start with?

 

[Vagabond Heart]

I have only ever read one of the Ricewind books and found the humour very boring, so concluded that I didn't like Pratchett. However, I found Good Omens on a train and enjoyed it. So am willing to give him another chance. What's a good book to start with?

Hey RG,
Maybe Thief of Time could be a good starter? Is one that you don’t need to have read earlier books to understand.
I started with the first book about Vimes (cos hubby left it open in the loo, so I kept dipping into it when I wanted a moment’s peace from the kids) and then discovered the books about the witches. For me, Captain Vimes and Granny Weatherwax are my favourite characters, but it helps to read about them in order.
Xxxx

 

[Pamela Jo]

I have only ever read one of the Ricewind books and found the humour very boring, so concluded that I didn't like Pratchett. However, I found Good Omens on a train and enjoyed it. So am willing to give him another chance. What's a good book to start with?

You might like his Tiffany Aching books. The first one is Wee Free Men. I really like his women characters when he starts writing about witches. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34494.The_Wee_Free_Men

 

[Becca T]

Audiobooks are not for me. I have to hear it in my own voice and read it at my own speed. I need to be fully engaged, or my own thoughts will take over, and I'll lose focus. I prefer paper books, but I can read books on my laptop. I wish that I could listen to audiobooks though, I imagine it would be a nice thing to do on the way to and from work.

 

[Peyton Stafford]

Maybe someday we'll have VR books that do!

I hope not. VR is just another barrier between the reader and the writer. Written language creates a huge barrier between story-teller and listener, but introducing more barriers will only deepen the rift.

 

[Peyton Stafford]

I listen to audio books when I'm sick or for some other reason can't read. Can never listen on runs, sadly, because I'm too busy watching the world go by.

Perhaps you're onto something, though. I've read quite a few of Faulkner's novels. Can't imagine understanding them as audio because my mind drifts over the streaming bits and I never remember the content, only the feeling. Could audio capture that? I'm skeptical.

Edit because didn't mean to post yet damnit:

Generally, though, I appreciate audiobooks for what they offer: the ability to enjoy a book even when I'm unable (at least not safely) to read but feel like filling my mind with a good story. Once during my shortish stint as a teacher, I sat in a conference where a woman raved about how listening to audiobooks doesn't count.... I could not be more opposed to that nonsense.

Me, too. Novels have depth and require a lot of page-flipping to get the story in mind. Not something to do while jogging...

 

[LJ Beck]

I hope not. VR is just another barrier between the reader and the writer. Written language creates a huge barrier between story-teller and listener, but introducing more barriers will only deepen the rift.

Yes, that's true, and interesting. But it's really just another story-telling medium, like graphic novels, plays, or movies. As a writer, one of the joys of wriitng a novel vs a screenplay is just what you're saying though, more control over your story's end product. But as an audience member, I do enjoy stories in many different ways, involving different aspects of my senses and emotions. Some mediums are a deliberate collaboration vs a single voice.

 

[LJ Beck]

Audio books allow me to listen while doing other things, like while at work. I still read printed books as I do love the feel of a book, and I like to see the style and format that you can't get from audio, plus I read on my kindle when traveling, but my dedicated reading time is limited, and I'm a slow reader with a tendency towards distraction.

I always listen to the sample before buying an audio book to ensure I like the narrator's voice. I agree, this is key to enjoying the audio book. I also like that I can adjust the speed of the narration. I always put it up to x1.1 or x1.2 speed.

The format can impact the experience of the story however. I listened to Andy Weir's books, "Project Hail Mary" and "Artemus" while my friend read the books. I loved both tellings, and she was quite annoyed by the books. She found the MC's in both books to be annoying and arrogant, and I didn't get that impression at all from the audio books. The narrators for both books are brilliant. So, was this just personal preference between myself and my friend, or did the audio vs book have a big impact on how we perceived the characters?

I also recently listened to the audio version of "Dune", which was quite the production, with a cast of characters and even some sound effects. I'm honestly not sure I would have persevered through the book if it hadn't been for the audio version. (Sacrilege I know, but the truth.)

And I have listened to books because of the narrator as well. I had never read "To Kill A Mockingbird" and found that Sissy Spacek had narrated it, so I listened, and it has become one of my favorite stories.

I've enjoyed so many more stories since becoming an audio book listener. That can't be bad, can it?

 

[Jonny]

Really interesting discussion in this thread.

To me, something seems to be emerging. A lot of us clearly focus on the 'here and now'. The actual experience of "receiving" the story. Certainly the two methods (reading or listening) involve totally different sensory experiences. I've read many books (physical & Kindle); lots more than those I've listened to, but in my mind all have become stories to me.

As a writer, I feel I have been able learn in craft terms from both forms. One of the reasons a lot of us in Litopia read, in addition to simply being lifelong book fans, is to learn. I can honestly say I have found both methods equally beneficial.

And as the mists of time swirl ever thicker behind me, ask me about book X, Y or Z, and I honestly can't tell you how those stories got inside my head.

They just did.

 

[gbhunt]

Great discussion, and a question I've been pondering over the last few weeks. I almost never read books nowadays because my eyes are tired at the end of the day from computers and watching interesting creatures through binoculars , but I listen to a lot of audiobooks that I rent through the local library. I often listen to them at night, and yes, I do go to sleep, but backtrack the next day. Reading, or listening, it simply reaffirms that the more time you spend doing it, the more ideas you are exposed to.

 

[Mel L]

I think listening to something vs reading it are two very different experiences. Personally I don't do audiobooks, although I do enjoy listening to podcasts on walks. I also don't e-read. To me the experience of reading a book, on paper, is immersive, and I need to see the words in print to get into my imagination.
But it raises an interesting question on narration. Is it performance or is it reading? I know that as a listener, if the narrator's voice and style are too present, or if sounds too much like a performance, I stop hearing the story and only listen to the voice. And if that voice rubs me the wrong way, it's game over!

 

[Vagabond Heart]

Oh, Jonny, just a quick recommendation - best audiobook I have is Susanna Clarke’s PIRANESI, narrated by Chiwetel Ejiofor. Is fab to listen to.

 

[Pamela Jo]

Oh, Jonny, just a quick recommendation - best audiobook I have is Susanna Clarke’s PIRANESI, narrated by Chiwetel Ejiofor. Is fab to listen to.

I agree. I painted my front door and windows with it. Perfect for that. But Way too slow for me to sit down with. I think Jonny's theory that some books are good for listening and some are better with pages is correct. I've just been listening to Wm Least Heat Moon's, ' Blue Highways.' Driving across the US on the highways marked in blue on the map, not the red interstates in the 80's. It feels like a different world the people he meets and places he goes. A good antidote to the headlines now. He did another one Prairie Earth about the National park that was started near where I grew up. And a recent one about traveling across the US in trains. Prefer him to Billy Bryson.