Audio Books? yea or nay?

[freddyvh]

I walk 5 miles every morning.
I listen to audio books on my phone on my walks

Is this just being too lazy to read?

[KatyMan]

1. I think it's making good use

of your time.
But I get distracted too easily listening to books so they're not for me.

[sfwriter]

2. Yes, very much yea...

Try Audible, or for free, try Overdrive. Overdrive let's you check out audiobooks from the library. We joined two nearby libraries and browse two collections.


I don't consider it illiteracy.

[MuseRider]

16. That is how I do it too.

I set up two different wish lists and when none of the books I want are available at that moment I go to Audible where I have built up a few credits. I read for free and save the others.

[WhiteTara]

3. I used to listen to lots of them while

we drove across the country. They're kind of fun when you are working on a project that doesn't require lots of movement or attention.

[lindysalsagal]

4. Makes a long drive feel quick. I swear by it and read when I get home.

[shenmue]

5. I like them

[Retrograde]

6. I listen to audiobooks

when I walk, garden, or do mindless tasks like housework.

Back in the days before tv and radio many families would sit around as one person would read the latest Dickens or other popular serial out loud, so "audiobooks" have a fine pedigree.

[Little Star]

7. Yay from me.......

When I had a half hour drive to work & another half hour home I listened to many good books but never gave up reading hard copy when relaxing or going to bed.

[Snackshack]

8. Audiobooks/Podcasts

Are awesome. Listening to a good audiobook or podcast can make any mundane task at work or home go by so much faster. I highly recommend both.

[Binkie The Clown]

9. I read books, but listen to audio books on the treadmill.

Using one does not mean you can't do both.

[matt819]

10. Been listening to audio books for more than 30 years

Also have 2-3 books on my bedside table. Not kacy at all.

[USALiberal]

11. Never tried an audio book, would it be good for a long road trip........

or to hard to pay attention when driving? I am driving 90% on main interstate highways.

[mcar]

13. I get distracted by them while driving

But YMMV.

[Thor_MN]

51. Personally, they disappear into background noise while driving

A couple exits down the freeway and I'm wondering how the story got to this place, because I don't remember what happened 10 minutes ago.

But I know that is me, I'm a linear person and the most important task gets 95% of my attention.

[USALiberal]

53. I think I would do the same thing! n/t

[mcar]

12. Love audio books

A great way to exercise/clean the house at the same time.

The narrator can really make the book special.

[GeorgeGist]

14. I do the same walking my dog.

I also read from my Kindle before bed.

Enjoy learning whenever you can.

[MuseRider]

15. I live on a farm/ranch

and audio books have saved my sanity. Before I would listen to music or just think but once Bush** got in office thinking became a bit painful for hours on end cleaning stalls and doing all the outside chores that take hours and hours. Seriously it could interfere with a lot of good thinking. Once I discovered I could get books on tape I started and with a good set of headphones I could even listen while on my tractor. I do not know what I would do without them now. I loved to read, do not have the time since I started this venture. You can be sure at 63 years old when I am done I easily fall asleep when I start to read. I have read so many things that I might never have had the time to sit down and read. I love them. I have a large library of books that I treasure, some very worn from years of reading and re-reading but it is audio for me now. Nothing like listening with a good reader. I say no it is not being too lazy to read, life is changing and you can go with it or not but it is not lazy. 5 miles to listen is good for you.

[freddyvh]

19. what do you read?

I have an author that is great but unknown

[MuseRider]

30. Oddly I just answered this but do not see it posted.

I read anything really. I love biographies but anything will do if it is written well.

Who is the author you are referring to?

[freddyvh]

31. Max Allen Collins

He is mainly a mystery writer.
IMO, some of his best books are historical fiction.
He has a Chicago private eye in the 30's and 40's who actually solved some real life cases.
Such as a different outcome for the Lindberg Kidnapping, Amelia Earhart dissapearance, the Harry Oaks murder and more.

He also wrote the Road to Perdition, which Tom Hanks later starred in
He also was the author of the Dick Tracy comic strip after Chester Gould retired.
And he worked on some Batman comics

he even is in a local band in his hometown. Creative guy.

[MuseRider]

50. I would think he would be

better known than my searches imply! Nothing in my local library, they are a little behind with the Audio Books and I did not look for other types of books. Our state library had nothing either, again in Audio, did not check the other types. I found an interview of his in Audible on Fresh Air but that was all. I will keep him in my list of want to read and see when it finally comes up. I know they are working hard to try to get more books. We have a wonderful library sadly influenced by the city with no money in the state with less money. Still, they keep adding. I will put in a request. Thanks!

I don't know if you would be interested or not but I found the autobiography of Keith Richards to be a hoot! He even reads it, I can't remember if he reads all of it since it is quite long but he reads at least part of it anyway. I found him to be totally unlike the crazy, out of control guy he appears to be in the public mind. It was a wonderful read about a very serious man who has had some amazing experiences and reflects a lot of political thoughts, maybe not exactly intentionally, into the mix.

I will put Max Allen Collins in my To Read file. Thank you.

[freddyvh]

55. he has more

he also released one of the same character about the JKF assassination, but before.
don't want to give away too much

but he also did some pulp fiction books. early stuff cranked out that wasn't fantastic quality, but they were based in my hometown (and his), so I enjoyed them
he did change the name of the town though

great guy.
my parents bought his old house.
I went thru it before he moved and he had tons of Dick Tracy and Batman stuff on the walls

I still chat with him on facebook occasionally

[MuseRider]

59. That is really nice!

It is always fun when your home town comes up in a book. Stephen King wrote about mine in one of the Dark Tower books. Apparently he stayed here for a while in a hotel my best friends husband was in charge of. He told neither of us. we were furious!

I have his books and name on my list. Once my area gets some of his books to audio I will read them. I can ask them to do that and they are good at trying to get the books when they are requested. Thank you again for the recommendations!

[freddyvh]

60. I'd start with

His historical fiction ones.
My fav is Stolen Away, the Lindburg kidnapping
He won an award for that one.

The first in that series is True Detective.

I love how he intermixes real life people in history with his fictional characters.
The last chapter of the book tells about his research, and does tell what happened to the real life characters and he also explains some of his fictional characters are based on real life people and etc.

[yortsed snacilbuper]

17. Tunein radio has 40.000 audiobooks, it cost 8 bucks a month, you can try it for free

http://tunein.com/premium/

[freddyvh]

18. ohh

got that to listen to my cubs since they aren't on tv here often in Iowa.
will have to check that out

ty for the tip

[yortsed snacilbuper]

20. You can listen to Rachel too,

live or podcasts.

[freddyvh]

23. sweet

thanx.

i will have to play around with that app and see what else i can discover

[Kaleva]

24. Bookmarked this thread because of your post.

Will check that site out.

[cwydro]

21. I drive an hour to work.

I love them.

I read all the time also.

[spiderpig]

22. Audio books are wonderful.

They make drudge work around the house more bearable. Many of the narrators bring an amazing depth to the material.

It's fun listening to Al Franken read his own book!

[DeminPennswoods]

25. Audio books are great!

My mom has low vision so she listens to them. Sometimes I listen also and remember how nice it is to be read to.

[chillfactor]

26. audio books if I am driving...

when home I refer reading myself....at my own pace.

[JDC]

27. Yea. Then yea again.

[pirateshipdude]

28. I read a lot. I also get audio books for rode trips. Eom

[Catmusicfan]

29. I am for them. I also do read but found audio books have come in handy

- 1 drives in cars.

- 2 I do have a learning disability and as much as I love reading it takes me longer than normal people to read things.

- 3 Sometimes like with Neil degrasse Tyson, Late Carrie Fisher and Steve Martin it is great to hear their voices deliver their material.

- 4 for some people it can be comforting/company when they don't often see people.

[rainy]

32. I love Audible.com I walk my dog and listen

to books every day. The readers bring the books to life and you can save clips and annotate for book groups.

One of my favorites was Cutting For Stone
The accents are mesmerizing!

[exboyfil]

33. I have been a consumer of audio books for over 25 years

At first I could only get things like Shakespeare plays from the university library. Soon I graduated to Books on Tape (rented many from them). In the early 90s they started to appear on tape in library as well as cut rate abridged versions cheap in the clearance bins (I used those before I knew better). In the mid-90s they had Audiobook clubs (like Book clubs) that allowed you to buy four for a $1 and then four or so more. Did that for awhile (along with specials they ran). Places like truck stops and Cracker Barrels started renting them in the late 1990s. Libraries continued to add to their collections on tape. I went through many "Walkmans" during the 1990s listening to them.

Then around 2000 both CD and online (Audible first) started becoming popular. I had two of the Audible early players (Otis). I added several others over the years (none seemed to last very long). The CDs were always a problem (that was until I started converting them to mp3 for the early players). I still have a handheld Discman (pretty impractical) but it does play MP3s so you don't have to keep changing it.

I am now getting most of my audiobooks from Hoopla and downloading them to my Android phone. I still have a large library of Audible titles (probably invested a fortune in them). Also Overdrive has some good stuff, but not nearly as good as Hoopla. If your local library has Hoopla take advantage of it - it is great. No waiting for the book is the best part.

I still read as well - probably not as much as I should. I just got back from a 1:15 minute walk with the puppies listening to Dark Screams, Vol. 1. I don't drive much anymore, but I listen to audiobooks on drives. I probably listen to 12 titles a month (some of the 20 plus hours).

[freddyvh]

34. the reason i started this forum

is I am a Prime member and get 1 free Audible a month.
I only listen to them on walks.

I am a reading nut at home, but my eyes are getting worse and worse. Even with my new tri-focals, I have problems reading some books due to small print.

Due to this, I might just switch to audible books full time.

[exboyfil]

35. I wish you the best

Losing sight is an awful thing. I do find upping the font on my Kindle to help my eyes. There is a lot of free material available for the Kindle (and other readers) as well. You can get books from both Hoopla and Overdrive from the library. Amazon has a huge number of classics (out of copyright) for nothing or very little.

[freddyvh]

36. yeah

I have a Kindle.

But I live in a town of 300, and we have one of those tiny "libraries" by a local charity. About 5 times the size of a birdhouse.
I love to check thru there, and have noticed some books I am interested in aren't on my Kindle.

Oh well.
I am just sad I didn't get into reading until later in life. Hated it when I was young

[avebury]

41. I definitely recommend that you check out your local library.

You would be surprised what you might find there either as an audiobook download or books on CDs. There is a great fairly inexpensive program called Audiobook Builder. I use it to convert books on CDs to an audiobook format. Once you build the audiobook format you can upload it to your Itunes account and then put it on an Ipod, Ipad, Nano, apple phone, whatever.

[Lithos]

37. Audio books have their place

Also, I would suggest you check out podcasts as well - there are some awfully good ones out there.

Audio books and podcasts do not replace physical books, *BUT* they do complement them very well.

L-

[womanofthehills]

44. For me, Audible books replace physical books -

If you listen to a lot of books, it's nice to have them all available in an online library. I've listened to over 200 Audible books and that's 200 books I don't have to have on my bookshelves. They are in my Audible library and available to reread (listen to) anytime. Also, if you download a book and don't like it, you can exchange it.

I listen while I drive, when I'm cleaning and Audible books are great to put you to sleep. I also listen to Randi Rhodes and Rachel Maddow podcasts.

I do not have the time to sit and read as I live out in the country and have too much to do. Lately, I've been big time into fiction written by contemporary women authors. Some favorites I recently read - "Difficult Women" by Roxane Gay, "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" by Gail Honeyman, "The Answers" by Catherine Lacey, "Anything is Possible" by Elizabeth Strout, "On Turpentine Lane" by Elinor Lipman, and "The Portable Veblen" by Elizabeth Mckenzie. So many new creative women authors out there - this is just a very short list.

[PoliticAverse]

38. Yea, but unabridged. n/t

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

39. Well, you could actually

READ a REAL book while you're walking.

I actually used to do that occasionally, but it's not a very good idea.

Of course, you could simply walk and not listen to anything at all, or listen to music, but audio books are an excellent thing in this context.

I listen to audio books when on long driving trips. I love them for that purpose.

[avebury]

40. I often listen to audiobooks when I am walking my dog or doing chores around the house.

It is a great way to multi-task. I still read books on my kindle. I just like having two choices in how I consume a book.

[meadowlander]

42. I don't like them but I see the appeal.

I get distracted really easily and can't even listen to music when I drive, so I think trying to listen to an audio book would just stress me out. And the whole appeal of walking for me is getting lost in my own thoughts which I wouldn't be able to do listening to an audio book.

But for some people, I guess they fill in some time that would otherwise be wasted.

[moonscape]

48. While I love to listen to music when I drive, I'm the same

as you when I walk. Do my best thinking when I walk, or am in the shower.

[sakabatou]

43. I love audiobooks

I have 10+ myself.

[jobycom]

45. You are definitely being too lazy. You should read real books on your morning walk!

Just kidding. I love audiobooks. I think I've finally gotten to the point where I prefer listening to reading. Took me fifty years or so.

They also helped my dyslexic kid learn to read. On her own, reading was too hard for her to enjoy what she was reading. With audiobooks, she learned to love the stories, so it gave her a reason to want to read, and reading the books she had just listened to helped her.

[oasis]

46. Audio books will be on my "things to do" list because of this thread.

[Maraya1969]

47. I listen to self help/spiritual ones when I go to sleep at night and often in the car

Because I have to re-listen to them over and over anyway, they are not just a one time read so it is easy with Audible.

I've been listening to Eckart Tolle's book, 'A new book" I recommend it highly.

Plus I like to go to sleep listening to positive words. I feel it just helps set the scene for a nice night.

[genxlib]

49. Audio Books have been a life changer for me

I know that sounds ridiculous but their are a few technological advances that really make a difference in my life.

Due to my work schedule, I rarely had the time or mental energy to read. Audio books allow me to use time where I am occupied but underutilized (mostly driving or exercising) to get my reading in.

In the old days, I might read 5 books a year. Now I listen to probably 30 or so and still actually read the 5 or so on my kindle.

Aside from convenience, I love the narration. A good narrator really brings a story to life. Especially the dialog where subtle variations in the voices can give the characters distinct personalities and make the dialog more conversational.

I definitely recommend Overdrive (or there new app Libby) if you have a Library that carries it. I listen to 90% of my books for free. It also allows borrowing text books to Kindle.

Audible can be pricey but there are a few tricks. Rather than the monthly subscription, you can go on a maintenance membership that is about $10 per year but you can buy what you want. They often run really good sales on Black Friday and other big shopping days. Last year, I bought 11 books for less than $50.

Also, if you are a Prime member, here is a neat trick. Every month you can get a free Kindle ebook in their Kindle First program. I have used it to develop quite a backlog in my Kindle. Those books can often be upgraded to audio books for $2. It actually gives you the opportunity to switch back and forth (Amazon calls it Whispersync) but there is nothing preventing me from just using it as an audiobook. I just did it for 6 books that would languish on my Kindle but now can listen to them for $2 each. Sweet!

[FloridaBlues]

52. I love my audio books listen on my iPod along with podcast

You can get a lot done while listening to good books and political talks.
Not lazy to do it this way.

[Vinca]

54. I'd rather read a book. And I'm picky about them, too. I prefer hardcover.

If it was a nonfiction topic I might be able to listen to an audio book, but when I'm reading fiction I sort of see the characters and hear them speak in my head. Nuts, I know. LOL.

[cagefreesoylentgreen]

56. I listen at work

For a few hours at work, I basically do nothing. And I'm not allowed to bring a book or read or do anything but sit there. I'm not allowed to bring out my phone for any reason. But I am allowed to use it as an audio device only, no headphones. So I listen to audiobooks to keep from falling asleep.

[NewJeffCT]

57. Love them!

I've had long commutes to work over the years and they're a great way to catch up on books I've missed over the years. With a child at home and a wife that is away a lot for work, I rarely had time for reading on my own when I got home from work, so it's been great way to catch up with adult books. (Though, I'd also highly recommend the Harry Potter audio books with Jim Dale as the narrator)

Example - a few years back, they came out with a list of the top 100 fantasy & sci-fi books of all time. Since I'm now 50 years old and have been a life-long fan of fantasy and sci-fi, I was disappointed in myself when I found I had only read somewhere around 45 of the top 100. So, while passing time waiting for The Winds of Winter, I borrowed a bunch of top 100 books over the past few years from local libraries and I'm now somewhere around a much more respectable 70 of the top 100. I discovered Neil Gaiman and American Gods this way and The Name of the Wind from Patrick Rothfuss, as well as a bunch of classics that I knew about but had just never read (Brave New World, the Foundation Trilogy from Asimov, Neuromancer, Slaugherhouse 5, Frankenstein, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Watership Down, Flowers for Algernon, A Canticle for Leibowitz, and others)

Also, once I heard the Wheel of Time series was finished by Brandon Sanderson, I listened to the audiobooks of the series to refresh my memories of the older books and finish out the series - two excellent narrators in Michael Kramer for the male PoV chapters and Kate Reading for the female PoV chapters really helped with the series.

Unfortunately, we're still waiting for The Winds of Winter... I'll likely refresh my memory of the series using audiobooks once Martin makes an announcements that TWoW is imminent. I'm just hoping Roy Dotrice is still able to narrate, but he's in his mid 90s now.

[WinkyDink]

58. I have never listened to one, but when "The Fall of the House of Trump" is published,

I might want someone to read the sweet, sweet words to me!

[MiddleClass]

61. I think it's making great use of time,

That come from a slow reader because of an eye abnormality. That's not visible.

So I have to admit I am way biased