On Audiobooks
There was just an article in the New York Times -- "Your Cheatin' Listenin' Ways" by Andrew Adam Newman -- about audiobooks and the controversy around them. More than having anything to say about it, I thought I'd share the link because it pertains to this blog's general subject.
I posted my initial thoughts on audiobooks after listening to Water for Elephants a few months ago, and I have an even stronger opinion of them now. I don't buy into the idea that listening to books on tape (or CD, or iPods, or whatever) is necessarily "cheating."
Well. Now that I've got myself all worked up about it, I'm going to try to compile a list of my own, personal, pros and cons.
Pros
- Audiobooks are excellent for multitasking. For me, this usually means listening while a) shelving books for my job at the library, b) doing other solitary tasks involving hands, like cleaning, knitting and (hah!) "working out," or c) just walking around campus. The third one's really rare, because I hate the antisocial implications of someone walking around plugged in.
- They give you a feel for a book otherwise unattainable. (At this point in the list I realize that I'm probably not the best person to be making it, having listened to only one book. But whatever. Too late.) This is especially true -- I suppose, anyway -- if the narrator's a good one.
- All foreign, slash would-be foreign but really just intelligent words you don't know, are pronounced correctly.
- They're easy.
Cons
- As Mariam once pointed out to me, they lack the great, inimitable effect of real, tangible paper and ink. You can't flip through and read the table of contents and admire the cover when you're bored. And you can't go back and reread your favorite parts half as easily.
- For me, a big one is I can't write in them. I have a constant fear of forgetting things -- not just things, like dates and names, but thoughts, my own thoughts. It's why I have so many blogs and journals and a big part of why I take notes in books. For this reason, even though I have 11 more audiobooks to pick up from Audible, I have a really hard time deciding what books to listen to, because I'm afraid it'll have such a big impact that I'll regret not being able to annotate. I know. This con is nerdtastic lykwoah.
- They do encroach on the Imagination Territory a little. As I said before, not nearly so much as movies and other adaptations based on books, but still. Voices and accents count for something.
- When other people tell you they've listened to a book you spent hard-earned time and concentration actually reading, you get miffed. It's 'cause they're easy.
Uhh. So, I got pretty much nowhere with those lists, but whatever. Audiobooks are no replacement for "real" reading, but people who use them aren't cheaters. Guess what! All the words, printed or spoken, are the same. You're not necessarily any smarter for reading a book as opposed to listening to it; it just shows that you can read.
After all: in a perfect world, words, whether taken in by the ears or the eyes, should be processed the same way, so what's the difference?
I think the stigma surrounding audio-reading is basically just nostalgia. People don't like the idea of doing something so institutionalized, so dependable, in any other way. My own reservations about it have to do with this, as do, I'm pretty sure, most arguments attacking it.
This discussion excludes, of course, abridged books. That is a different topic altogether and yo, I'm not in the mood. :)
What's your stance on audiobooks?
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Comments
I've always heard or read positive things about audiobooks. What difference does it make if someone reads or listens to a book? I found the "cheating" claim to be very surprising. So, according to the latter stance, does this mean that people who have learning differences or physical disabilities are cheaters? How disturbing. =(
Anyway, on a more positive note, I also take notes while reading. Haha. You're not alone =)
1. I have several Harry Potters on CD, and I listen to those because I love nothing more than being read to. I have, of course, read those in the traditional way before listening to them, so it doesn't interfere with how I imagine the book. I bought Deathly Hallows as something to listen to as I clean my room and pack for school, and it's the only reason I've made any progress at all. :D
2. My mom and I had to do some spring cleaning this summer, so we went to the library and got an audiobook of a total chick-flick book. It was one that I probably wouldn't have read in book form, but it was just right for this, because if we missed a bit, it wasn't a big deal. It was funny and again, a good distraction from the otherwise-boring task at hand.
3. During the school year, I totally procrastinated reading Heart of Darkness. I'd read it before in another English class, but hated it enough not to retain much... or anything at all. So, knowing I had to have it done that day, I popped the last 2/3 onto my ipod and was able to knock out a chapter on my drive to my college classes, back to my high school, and on my lunch break, and then read the last bit. So audiobooks get the thumbs up for aiding me in my procrastination, too.
And, to fill you in, since I've realized you have a link to this from your knitting journal, I find it much easier to check when I am browsing knitting blogs. Hence this comment. XD
The best place for successful listening, for me, is while driving.