Audio books

wilkie2006

While I can see their appeal, I really dislike audio books. I just find them really difficult to engage with and can't help but allow my mind to wander when they're playing. I tried to listen to Ishiguro's "Never Let Me Go" about a year ago and gave after 30 minutes, zoning in and out so frequently I had no idea what was going on. I'm reading it now (in good old paperback format) and I think it's great.

The only audio book I enjoyed was Alan Partridge's "biography" but I think that's because Steve Coogan read it as Partridge. Also, I wasn't interested in it enough to actually sit down with the book.

What are other users feelings about - and experiences of - audio books?

de Faoite_girl

I have never listened to an audio book myself and, I dont know, I just find the whole idea weird. I don't think I would like it to be honest. I should give it a go, who knows, I might be happily surprised (I don't think so really).

My main concern is what you've already touched on: I feel that my mind would wander off and that I woe not know what's going on.

When do people listen to those? While out running/walking, driving the car or like a book i.e. not doing anything else at the same time. I wonder...

eskimocat

I love a good audio book when I have a long journey to do in the car. I have listened to many a book over the years. Occasionally the voice of the reader is just too irritating and I have to turn it off.
I like re-reading books, and similarly I like to listen to books that I have already read. A good example is the Harry Potter books, I really enjoyed those. Nice light, easy listening... Couldn't follow a really detailed book by an author I haven't read before, the car is not the best place for that for me anyway.

The Black Oil

I think they can be good provided they're done well. I listened to the likes of The Road and Shutter Island, found them very engaging. Haven't listened to any in a while and of course, when I was young it was cassette tapes from the library. Don't get that now, eh?

Toby Take a Bow

I got into podcasts a couple of years ago, so I thought I'd love audiobooks. I was thinking of sticking with very light reads, but I found even them difficult to concentrate on.

Maybe if I was doing a lot of long-distance travelling. Otherwise, I don't like them.

wilkie2006

Toby Take a Bow wrote: »

I got into podcasts a couple of years ago, so I thought I'd love audiobooks. I was thinking of sticking with very light reads, but I found even them difficult to concentrate on.

Maybe if I was doing a lot of long-distance travelling. Otherwise, I don't like them.

Yea, I expected audio books to be like podcasts too! I really enjoy the BBC's documentary series but I've never found an audio book that can live up to them

Coriolanus

Some of the readers are just damn irritating.
I can't listen to the Game of Thrones for example, thankfully I listened to a sample before purchase.
Penn's book was read by himself, and was great. Also Bill Bryson's A Short History of Almost Everything too. They're the only two I've so far liked to voice enough to listen to.

Agent J

I adore audio books. I wouldnt get any non college reading done without them. I probably run through about 3/4 audible credits a month.

I tend to use them while commuting mainly but tend to mix it when doing something else.

I've run through most of the Game of Thrones Series (Got really dull around book 4).

The Dresden file series is read by James Masters (Spike from Buffy). A perfect example of a good author & good reader

Bill Bryons set is execellent.

Maybe it's a subject/voice issue?


Try a few non fiction books if you want. Non ficition can be a bit difficult to listen to in the begining in my experience. I have had to dial back infrequently if i missed something but not too often.

Posy

I never seen the appeal of audio books but a coupe of years ago had eye surgery so downloaded a few from 'audible' and found them enjoyable, since I couldn't see so couldn't read.
I don't think I could listen to anything too complex or 'heavy' though.
My only problem was that I'd fall asleep and wake up the next morning with no idea of where I'd gotten to in the book and take ages to find it again. At least if I fall asleep reading a 'real' book it's easier to retrace my steps!

I think they're great for long journeys too!

Agent J

Posy wrote: »

.
I don't think I could listen to anything too complex or 'heavy' though.
My only problem was that I'd fall asleep and wake up the next morning with no idea of where I'd gotten to in the book and take ages to find it again. At least if I fall asleep reading a 'real' book it's easier to retrace my steps!

Set your ipod (or whatever) on a 15 minute sleep clock. If you are still awake then set it again. If & when you fall asleep you know you are within a 15 min window at max...much much easier to find where you are.

.. I used to have the exact same problem.

Nody

I've done audio books now for close to 7 years (and 3 MP3 players :P ) and I'd hate to go with out them. As others have noted I can't do heavy thinking stuff (tried some Dala Lama books but I needed far to much brain activity for that to work as casual listening book) but "normal" stuff such as Game of Thrones, dective stuff and also lesson based stuff goes easily enough.

Personally I'm someone who's in multiple books at the time; hence I got 1 book in my MP3 player (when I'm out walking/commuting), 1 book in my car (CD based) and then a couple paper books when I'm at home/travelling (I'm usually in 2 to 4 paper books in parallel at any given time). I've used it to get back up to speed again on something I've already read (for example did the whole Game of Thrones series as audio book before reading the latest one) or for books I'd never read in paper (Harry Potter series come to mind, I was close on giving up on that one quite a few times as a audio book).

Many people listen to music to shut out background noise; me I listen to books instead.

Toby Take a Bow

wilkie2006 wrote: »

Yea, I expected audio books to be like podcasts too! I really enjoy the BBC's documentary series but I've never found an audio book that can live up to them

Ooh. Must check them out so.

Posy

Agent J wrote: »

Set your ipod (or whatever) on a 15 minute sleep clock. If you are still awake then set it again. If & when you fall asleep you know you are within a 15 min window at max...much much easier to find where you are.

.. I used to have the exact same problem.

You are a GENIUS.

birdfeet

I like to listen audio book when I was doing my housework. For I find that I have fewer and fewer time sitting and reading books, after I have baby.

D-FENS

I love the idea of a good audio book in CD format for a long drive I have to take every week, especially like to get a good Stephen King or Roald Dahl, but I can never seem to find a good one anymore at a cheap/reasonable price

Anyone know where cheap audio book cd’s can be bought online?

Also, what are the good sites for cheap downloads of audio books?

wilkie2006

Toby Take a Bow wrote: »

Ooh. Must check them out so.

Do, they're brilliant. I listen to the BBC's World Service Documentary Archive via iTunes. They're free and there are hundreds of them. Enjoy!

wilkie2006

Black Oil wrote: »

I think they can be good provided they're done well. I listened to the likes of The Road and Shutter Island, found them very engaging. Haven't listened to any in a while and of course, when I was young it was cassette tapes from the library. Don't get that now, eh?

I read The Road in paperback and really enjoyed it. Aside from the narrative, I thought that McCarthy's unusual syntax was brilliant. Could you pick that up from the audio book?

Toby Take a Bow

wilkie2006 wrote: »

Do, they're brilliant. I listen to the BBC's World Service Documentary Archive via iTunes. They're free and there are hundreds of them. Enjoy!

I've already subscribed to them. Some of the topics look great, and the one on Syria I've listened to was great: very professional and very interesting. Thanks again!

r3nu4l

Audiobooks? I'm in two minds to be honest. I have the Count of Monte Cristo, purchased from iTunes (here). It was only £2.99 when I bought it (57 hours of audio ). The narrator is excellent and it's very enjoyable to read.

My boss downloaded Catch22 from Audible and again the narrator was great and really brought the book to life (I had read the paperback).

However, I also downloaded all of the John la Carré giveaways from the Guardian and I can't get into them at all, I find the narrator really boring and my mind keeps drifting away to other things.

So for me I thnk they are a risk and you really, really have to listen to a preview first before going ahead.

There are loads of librivox audiobooks available that are completely free (mostly classics). They are hit and miss because they are amateur readers but they can be fantastic.

I have 'Audiobooks' as an App on my iPad (available on iPhone too) and there's plenty of free choices there. I'm currently listening to the 911 Commission report on that app.

The Black Oil

Is an iPad not a bit heavy to hold for listening, what's the Sept 11 report like, btw?

Would add to the recommendations for the BBC World Service documentaries, some great stuff on there.

I was going to get Mark Kermode's audiobook, but it's dearer than the paperback. Coming back to The Road, I'm afraid it's 3 or more years since I listened to it and I was unfamiliar with any of McCarthy's work before that, I can't really comment on the syntax, wilkie2006. I did get pretty sucked in by the audio version, though.

r3nu4l

Black Oil wrote: »

Is an iPad not a bit heavy to hold for listening, what's the Sept 11 report like, btw?

I listen to my books in the car so I plug the iPad into the car stereo and listen Also when I'm travelling for work I bring my iPad for taking notes and typing up reports so the iPad is handy for listening to books as I type . Unfortunately my work BlackBerry has a tiny amount of memory and I'm not allowed to store audiobooks on it.

The 911 Commission report I have on Audio is 'okay', it switches narrators and there's one woman who narrates whose voice grates on me. Thankfully I also have a PDF of this book so might actually switch to that.

Dades

Nevore wrote: »

Some of the readers are just damn irritating.
I can't listen to the Game of Thrones for example, thankfully I listened to a sample before purchase.

No way!

Did you listen the American narrated version? I have the Roy Dotrice (English Shakespearian guy) versions and thought they were phenomenal. Even the other English guy who did A Feast For Crows was great, I thought.

This might sound terrible, but I can't listen to an audiobook read by an American.
I really tried a couple of books but it just got on my wick.

r3nu4l

Dades wrote: »

This might sound terrible, but I can't listen to an audiobook read by an American.
I really tried a couple of books but it just got on my wick.

I thought it was essential for Catch 22! Can't imagine a rich, cultured British timbre making the book as 'authentic'.

Unless it was Hugh Laurie using his 'House' accent

wilkie2006

Hey,

If anyone's interested, The Guardian's giving away a free copy of Jonathan Safran Foer's "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close".

I've started a thread in the bargain forum with details on how to download...

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=2056559521

Posy

wilkie2006 wrote: »

Yea, I expected audio books to be like podcasts too! I really enjoy the BBC's documentary series but I've never found an audio book that can live up to them

Are these just on the iTunes store?

r3nu4l wrote: »

I thought it was essential for Catch 22! Can't imagine a rich, cultured British timbre making the book as 'authentic'.

Unless it was Hugh Laurie using his 'House' accent

I think English books should be read by someone English and American books by an American. 'The Catcher in the Rye' or 'The Great Gatsby' for example would need to be read by Americans imho.

wilkie2006

Posy wrote: »

Are these just on the iTunes store?

Nope. Just found this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/docarchive

(Although if you're in Ireland you might have a problem accessing them - I'm in London so I don't know)

Grover16

I think they can be good provided they're done well.

Balmed Out

I love audio books. Have a 45 - hour long commute so I go through a book and a half each week and dont know how id manage the commute without them. You can pick them up in the library too.
As for the narrator they can be a little annoying to begin with but once your 40 minutes into a story itd have to be a very poor one for me to even notice the narrator.

The Black Oil

For a second there I thought you said you had a 45 hour commute. I take it libraries have them on CD?

Balmed Out

Yeah all the libraries have them on cd

coalshed

Just noticed this thread while looking for opinions on Audible.com.

I've enjoyed lots of audio books and have benefitted from the selection on offer for free to members from South Dublin Libraries.

http://digitallibrary.southdublin.ie/658A3DC1-670F-46A3-A594-D63F063C4F78/10/457/en/Default.htm

It might be an idea to check the libraries in your area, they may well offer free Audio and e-books which you can read on your phone, ipad, laptop etc.

I listen while commuting and particularly enjoy the experience while running.

jackthelad321

I love audiobooks but also suffer from many problems already mentioned here. They are most useful to me when I am pottering about the house cleaning on some nonsense, even doing the dishes. Much will be missed of course, and your understanding or enjoyment will probably depend on you being an auditory listener. It appeals more to some than others. I listened to Shawn Achor's Book on Positive Psychology whilst at the gym and I missed bits and pieces but got the whole gist and loved it keep spitting facts out at people. I have listened to One Flew over the Cuckoo's nest twice. Absoloutely loved it, even better than the book; the narrator voices are so engaging. You'll be lost in the story. Some lectures work great as audiobooks. (though they may not technically be audiobooks).

So, what am I saying. If you like audiobooks you'll probably move to loving them. But they are clearly flawed for comprehension and it is very boring to sit down and listen to a book, as opposed to simply reading it, but listening whilst doing something mundane it's great and good audiobooks can be wonderful and a rich experience. (A large part will probably depend on how much you can tolerate the voice: some are dreadful and some are hypnotic).

Lady Chatterton

I have become a big fan of audio books in recent times as I simply don't have the time I once had to sit and read a book.

I have an account with Audible UK and my local library provides a decent selection too. Like previous posters have said, they are great if you are on the move, in the car or doing housework etc. They are also wonderful for people who are ill or have sight problems. I purchased an iPod for my 85 year old Grandmother a couple of years ago and she loves listening to her audio books on it

saraocallaghan

Can anyone suggest where to buy good quality up to date audio books? Would iTunes be a good choice or would somewhere like Audible be a better choice?

Agent J

saraocallaghan wrote: »

Can anyone suggest where to buy good quality up to date audio books? Would iTunes be a good choice or would somewhere like Audible be a better choice?

Audible run a subscription model and automatically syncs in with iTunes..Work work out cheaper than iTunes in my experience.

You can stop anytime and all your books are kept on Audible for redownload at anytime

(For full disclosure purposes i have 2 audible accounts at 2 credits a month each. I am a heavy user : ) )

r3nu4l

r3nu4l wrote: »

However, I also downloaded all of the John la Carré giveaways from the Guardian and I can't get into them at all, I find the narrator really boring and my mind keeps drifting away to other things.

I figured out what it is I don't like about these books! The way the narrator voices the dialogue is really not how I would imagine the voices of those characters to be. When I'm reading a book I have my own 'pace' for the dialogue and this narrator voices his dialogue far too slowly for me, even in the urgent conversations.

So my opinion hasn't really changed. These books are good but the narrator has pretty much ruined them for me...

The narrator is vitally important to an audiobook and therefore a preview is vital too imo.

calex71

Love auidobooks while I'm out for a walk or on the bus, the reader is important though not a deal breaker as you usually get used to them ..... except when Stephen king reads wind through the keyhole :mad:

There seems to be a major snobbery towards audio even more so than towards kindles but here is some science the human eye is lazy, and skims text recognizing patterns and not actually reading every letter or even every word of text it sees , where as with audio you are forced to hear every word said.

My last 20 or so books have been audio because it fits my needs, love to hold a book but I really don't care what medium the tale is told through as long as it;s a good one

Edit: Pet hate though is when you listen to a series of books back to back and they change the readers Someone mentioned Game of thrones / song of ice and fire earlier, the change of voice from Storm of swords to feast for crows was most unpleasant.

Dades

calex71 wrote: »

Edit: Pet hate though is when you listen to a series of books back to back and they change the readers Someone mentioned Game of thrones / song of ice and fire earlier, the change of voice from Storm of swords to feast for crows was most unpleasant.

There were two versions of Feast for Crows originally recorded without Roy Dotrice - with an American, and an Englishman. I loved Roy but the English guy's version of FFC was also excellent.

As an aside, I believe Roy has since recorded a new version of FFC, as well as A Dance with Dragons.

calex71

Dades wrote: »

There were two versions of Feast for Crows originally recorded without Roy Dotrice - with an American, and an Englishman. I loved Roy but the English guy's version of FFC was also excellent.

As an aside, I believe Roy has since recorded a new version of FFC, as well as A Dance with Dragons.

Ah it wasn't the voices themselves I minded it was the fact you get used to one over the 1st 3 books and then the change is hard as you've been with characters for 150 hours or so at that point. I wasn't aware Roy did a version of FFC and DwD but a quick google informed me other wise. John Lee does a great job but........ he's not Roy

Just checked my copy of DwD as I'm only half way through FFC and it's got Roy reading that one, now it's going to be another adjustment changing back to him lol,

Agent J

calex71 wrote: »

Edit: Pet hate though is when you listen to a series of books back to back and they change the readers Someone mentioned Game of thrones / song of ice and fire earlier, the change of voice from Storm of swords to feast for crows was most unpleasant.

Try 10+ books of the Dresden files with James Marsters as the Narrator.
Then on book 13 they change to John Glover(No disrespect) but i want Spike back!

dr gonzo

I'm quite fond of librivox as a project (I even recorded a story myself) but the issue of voices is particularly noticeable here, completely understandable of course, they are all volunteers. You can get some excellent readers who sound professional (listening to Legend of Sleepy Hollow at the moment which is fantastically read) but then others are sadly so badly recorded or recorded by people who dont have the voice for it that its completely unbearable.

Isard

r3nu4l wrote: »

The way the narrator voices the dialogue is really not how I would imagine the voices of those characters to be.

And in fantasy books they are forever pronouncing the names not the way I would imagine:mad:
Actually I listen to audio books only when I'm ill and feel too bad to read a normal book.

dekeed

I've just started listening to audio books in the car. I do a lot of driving and I just got sick of "the recession" and all the other misery being blasted out constantly over the airwaves while I'm captive in the car. Best thing I ever started... you'd forget how pleasant it is to be read a story. For most people the last time anyone would have read you a story would have been before you could read your self. Totally recommend it - will check out 'Audible'. Tx