Reading Vs Listening

Over the years, I have received numerous comments and questions from a variety of people in several different venues on "listening to books". My thoughts posted on this subject, as all other posts on this blog, are purely my own.

There are reasons galore to listen or not to listen to audio-books, so instead of listing the pros and cons of both, I'm going to share why I do like to listen by using the comments and questions I have been asked as a springboard. I'm not trying to convince anybody of anything. I'm just sharing what has worked for me.

Why do you like to listen to audio-books instead of reading?

I don't. I love reading, that's why I listen. As odd as that sounds, it's true. I enjoy reading so much that whenever I can . . . I do; however, life requires much more from me than sitting with a book in hand. It's at some of those times that I resort to listening. More audio-books means I've spent more time multi-tasking, which from my point of view is a very good thing!

Where do you get your audio-books?

I do not reread or relisten to books, so I do not purchase audio-books. I receive all my audio-books from the public library. There is a wide variety and it costs me nothing.

How do you choose your audio-books?

Unfortunately, I can't be too picky here. Many of my choices, especially in the past, have been based on availability from the library system. The system I belong to is very large, but still limited in audio-books in comparison to books.

I have discovered that for myself, I prefer to listen to books that are NOT thrillers. Virtually every other genre works, but there's just something about turning the pages as fast as I can read them during a chilling thriller. I would totally miss out on that fun, if listening to the audio version. Also, on occasion, I've run across a non-fiction book that I'm really interested in and have had to go back to relisten for clarification. It's not as easy as rereading, but it works.

In general, if I had to choose between light or heavy books for an audio-book, then I would choose the lighter books; however, I have thoroughly enjoyed some deep books while listening, so that is certainly not a rule. Choosing a specific audio-book for a specific reason can actually turn out to be a dud and not necessarily because of the book's content, but because of the narrator. Narrators can make or break a book.

For the most part, I do not like theatrical narrators and/or music playing in the background. I like someone to read it like I would read it - with emotion and inflection, but not a lot of drama. I'm not watching a play . . . I'm listening to a book.

And, I try to avoid listening to a book in a series after I have read the first. The narrator has their own "voice" for the characters that do not necessarily match mine. Listening to the first, then reading the second works out fine though.

What do you use to listen to them?

A long time ago, I used a portable CD player, but for the past several years I have had an iPod. I LOVE my iPod! I download the CDs into iTunes, then I upload them onto my iPod. Here's a site that I have found to be very helpful: Aldoblog

Do you consider listening to a book the same as reading it?

No. It's not the same. One you read with your own eyes and the other you listen with your ears. :) They are different. Although, I don't believe that reading a book makes you a better consumer of books and I don't believe that listening to a book is considered "cheating". By reading or listening, ultimately the story resides in my brain . . . either way works for me.

Although, my experience of a book can be affected by the mode in which I choose; however, that's just an added piece to the puzzle like time, mood, circumstances, etc. And in my experience it has gone both ways.

Is it faster to listen to a book?

Everybody reads at different speeds, but for me, listening to an audio-book often takes much longer than if I were to read it. It's not about saving time. It's about using the time I have effectively.

How do you get your mind to stay focused?

I'm a visual learner, so learning to become a listener took some time. I began listening to CDs on a CD player that I would carry around with me on my 3-mile outdoor morning walks. Much of the first book was missed due to my wandering mind of thoughts or the viewing of my surroundings. One time, I actually had to relisten to the full 45 minutes that I supposedly listened to during my walk. That annoyed me. I tried a lot harder to concentrate after that. I admit, it was VERY difficult, but I wanted to succeed. I wanted to succeed at being able to use that time as exercising AND getting in another book. Also, I wanted to succeed at stretching my mind and increasing my abilities as an auditory learner. With time and perseverance, I trained myself to get back on track as soon as I found my mind trailing off. The time off task got less and less and, now, it is a very rare occasion that I find myself spacing out. I succeeded. I taught myself to listen and I love it!