One obvious, two not as much so...
To Pass Time on Long Drives / Shifts
The obvious one, and how I suspect most people use audiobooks. After college, I moved to Colorado. I still drove home at Thanksgiving and Christmas, in one glorious 22-hour shot each time. In my arsenal of things to keep me awake and alert were audiobooks, which at that time meant cassettes borrowed from the library or bought at truck stops. Stephen King's short story collections have a whole new effect at 3 a.m. on I-70. Later, when I had a graveyard-shift solo baking job, I listened to audiobooks to lessen the monotony of making 300+ loaves of bread every night. Listened to Barbara Tuchman's A DISTANT MIRROR then.
To Lure You to Exercise
Doing this one now. The temps here are dropping, so walking part of my commute is non-horrible again. To keep myself from being lazy and just scooting the whole way in, I bought ENDER'S GAME to listen as I walk. It's the only time I let myself listen, so if I want to know what happens next, I have to walk to work. This one's pulling double duty, too, since ENDER'S GAME is part of my Jack of All Genres reading challenge. I bought a paper copy to give to the library, as promised, but Dave's cousin Lois recommended the audiobook, so I'm using it to experience the story. It's really well done.
To Let Someone Else Do the Heavy Lifting
Let's face it: sometimes a book is daunting. It has a huge cast of characters. Or unusual place names. Or gigantic, unbroken paragraphs. Or takes its sweet time on the pacing. But you've heard it's amazing, and you don't want to be the only clod you know who hasn't read it. LIFE OF PI wasn't daunting to me when I bought the audiobook. But I think it would have been if I'd tried the paper or E version first. I mean, that awesome cover with a boy and a tiger in a boat? It takes...a while...for the story to get there. I don't know if I'd have stuck it out without a great voice actor to lead me there.
How about you? Do you use audiobooks? If so, why do you like them? If not, why don't they appeal?
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
3 Great Uses for Audiobooks
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 ate pie:
I had my first audiobook experience last week during a long drive for work and I have mixed thoughts. I listened to Fire by Kristin Cashore, which I enjoyed, but I realized how much I identify names, especially in fantasy, by how they look, versus how they sound. And I had to listen to every word, but when I read I usually go faster. So that could be a good thing for audiobooks :) I like the idea of using them during workouts; my sister's hooked on podcasts for that reason.
I like to listen to them while folding laundry. It's about the only thing that can make THAT enjoyable.
Sarah - books definitely take longer to listen to than read. I know what you mean about the listening/reading comprehension disparity. It happens to me in reverse, usually when I see an NPR reporter's name in print: I have trouble reconciling it to how I hear it on the radio.
Julie - No kidding! Great use for audiobooks. :)
Post a Comment