This week is audiobook week at Devourer of Books. I will be participating in daily discussion topics as well as posting a few reviews, and other audiobook goodies!
Are you new to audiobooks in the last year? Have you been listening to them forever but discovered something new this year? Favorite titles? New times/places to listen? This is your chance to introduce yourself and your general listening experience
I am quite new to consistently reviewing audiobooks. The first audiobook I reviewed was in the summer of 2010, but I didn't really start getting into them until the fall of 2011. See, I bought a car with a CD player, where before I only had a tape deck. Because of my commute to work, audiobooks have accounted for almost 1/3 of what I've read this year.
I have to admit that I was not an audio believer originally. It was difficult for me to let go of my need to skim and read quickly through a book. Narrators keep a slower pace than what I can read on my own. What it took for me to really embrace them was to change my perspective. I now allow myself to let the narrator tell me a story. The really good ones do that, and it's so relaxing to have someone who is really good at storytelling just take you away.
Most of my listening happens in the car to and from work. I have about an hour a day total commute time, so depending on the size of the book, a book will take between a week to a week and a half. My husband and I also listen to audiobooks on road trips. My other favorite way to listen is on my iPhone while cleaning or doing other chores around the house.
I listed some of my favorite titles recently, and I've also done an interview at Reading Teen that highlights a few more.
If you haven't checked out audiobooks yet, you definitely should. Most libraries have them available for checkout either in a physical copy or online. They are easy to use, and have really improved in the past few years.
That's great that you have audiobooks to keep you company on your commute. I know what you mean about getting used to the narrators reading pace - sometimes I'm tempted to speed up the book on my ipod but then it doesn't sound right. But overall, like you I just enjoy the experience of it all.
ReplyDeleteHappy audiobook week!
It used to drive me crazy. But, now I've kind of mastered the art of just letting go and listening. There isn't anything like it!
DeleteI clicked on the link to check out your faves...I just added four of the five to my list!! Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteI hope you love them as much as I do! Thanks for stopping by Alison.
DeleteAudio books are definitely an acquired taste, I think. It's been a slow going fandom for me, but I'm finally sold on their coolness. :)
ReplyDeleteI think you have to start out with a pretty amazing narrator at first, so that you aren't tempted to put it down. :)
DeleteGetting into the pace of audiobooks was a hurdle for me, too. I think that might have been what it was about The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo that finally clicked for me. If I had been reading it in print, I would have scrambled ahead to see what happened next. In audio, I was made to wait it out and have the story unfolded for me. It was exquisite!
ReplyDeleteI know! I feel like I really get a chance to have a story unfold like you said. And the best narrators know how to build suspense so that you are almost literally on the edge of your seat.
DeleteIt's exactly that slower pace that I love about audiobooks (well, in addition to being completely transported by an actual voice that can make the story seem a bit more real to me). I'm a pretty fast reader and sometimes it's just really nice to let a story unfold gradually.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm beginning to feel the same way. I think that I miss so much sometime with print books that it's nice to have to just sit down and listen.
DeleteI wish my husband would listen to audiobooks with me on road trips. He prefer podcasts, which are great, but not the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI've just got my husband converted. He doesn't really have time to read since he is in school, but he can listen in his car on the way to school and work, which is great.
DeleteYour listening experience is very similar to mine except my listening now accounts for over half of my reading (thanks to having a baby at home which makes reading tough). I still struggle with the actual reviewing of audio as my brain processes the books differently than if I read visually.
ReplyDeleteI've heard some people listen to all of their audios on double time but I feel this really distorts the narration some times. time and a half works some of the time, though.
Reviewing audio is a little bit different. Especially when it comes to spelling of names and other terms.
DeleteEven though I don't have a long commute - I mostly work from home - I love listening to audios in the car. I just recently started putting some on my iPod and use those while walking on the treadmill.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that audio books are a great time to really get into a story and the whole storytelling thing!
Kristin @ Always With a Book
If I worked out, I would totally do audiobooks! :D
DeleteI converted my husband too! When he would ride with me I would tell him, 'Just a sec, I am at a really good part in my book' and then we would listen. I knew he was taking an interest when he started asking me what happened in the book. I knew he was hooked when he didn't want to get out of the car at home because something interesting was happening in my story!
ReplyDeleteHappy AudioBook Week!
Dorothy - The Alaskan Bookie - Squeak
Blog ~ http://alaskanbookie.blogspot.com/
Twitter ~ http://twitter.com/AkChocoholic
Yes! Audiobooks have gotten him into reading again!
DeleteThe fact that I can get through a book faster in print has never really bothered me, I think because I'm listening during times when I couldn't otherwise read.
ReplyDeleteMy problem was that when I got out of the car, I didn't want to stop, or I wanted to continue reading, and because it's a CD, I couldn't do that.
DeleteSounds like the change in perspective made all the difference for you - glad you are enjoying audiobooks now!
ReplyDeleteIt is something you have to learn. But, I'm totally into them now. No going back.
DeleteAnother facet of this is that with the epidemic of macular degeneration, audiobooks are a lifesaver for blind readers.
ReplyDeleteThat is so true! I hadn't thought of that, but I can imagine how invaluable they would be.
DeleteI am new to audiobooks but I just love your description of letting the narrator just tell you a story! It is so true...the really good ones make you forget everything but the story :)
ReplyDeleteMakes me wish I had a talent for that.
DeleteThe commute is great for audiobooks! I have a few trips during the week and love listening to them in the car. And they've made me more productive around the house!
ReplyDeleteI'm new to them, too ... it takes some getting used to to try and find the genres and types I like, but it's been fun!
I wish I could listen more while I was cleaning. But, my 2 year old is pretty demanding. When she's asleep though... I stick my earbuds in!
DeleteI'm a slow reader so audiobooks don't really slow me down. But I can see how that would take some adjustment if you're used to flying through books.
ReplyDeleteNot only is it the speed of reading, but it's also my tendency to skim passages that I think are boring. (But generally hold key parts of the story).
DeleteI don't know what I would do without audiobooks on my commute. Somedays it's the only thing that gets me moving in that direction! LOL
ReplyDeleteYou can say that again!
DeleteI am a commuter listener too! I never get into my car now without an audiobook playing.
ReplyDeleteMe neither! I always have a back-up now for times when I finish the book en route!
DeleteMy husband like to road trip with audios too. It's such a fun thing to share together.
ReplyDelete