In praise of audio books

[daydream]

Sorry, Sister Ross, I took parts of  your post from another thread. 

https://jwtalk.net/topic/44052-what-are-you-reading-right-now/?do=findComment&comment=707997

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My eyes tire easily, so I am more into audio books these days.

Just finished having Louisa Mae Alcott's "Little Women"

and Mark Twain's "Life On the Mississippi" read to me. 

 

This is another great audiobook:   

https://librivox.org/the-scarlet-pimpernel-by-baroness-emmuska-orczy/

 

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https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/opinion/audiobooks-better-than-reading.html

 

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Recently I have been telling everyone I know to listen to “The Last Black Unicorn,” the comedian Tiffany Haddish’s account of her rough childhood in the foster system and the many hardships she endured on the way to making it big in show business. Her narrative is compelling enough, but she is one of the best stand-up comedians working today, so it’s hardly a surprise that the tragedy and the hilarity of her story are punched up by her delivery in the audiobook. There is a riotous extended section in the memoir about her elaborate revenge plot on a boyfriend who’d cheated on her; I pity anyone who only read Haddish’s text, because the way she explains the various parts of her plan had me laughing to tears.

 

When they’re read by the author, I’ve noticed that audio versions of memoirs sparkle with an authenticity often missing in the text alone. In fact, it is the rare memoir that doesn’t work better as audio than as text.

A fine recent example is “Greenlights,” by the actor Matthew McConaughey. As text, his story is discursive and sometimes indulgent, but as audio, in his strange and irresistible staccato speaking style, it exemplifies exactly the kind of weirdness that makes him so intriguing as an actor and celebrity. As I listened to “Greenlights,” I realized how much extratextual theater was going on; there’s a way in which McConaughey, through his delivery, conveys emotion that is almost entirely absent from his text.

Edited October 7, 2021 by happiness IS

[bohemian]

search Librivox for readings by Czechchris.  A couple of books available [Jerome K Jerome etc.] 

I recommend his reading (but then I would, wouldn’t I?)

[daydream]

https://archive.org/details/librivoxaudio?&sort=-week&page=4

 

https://archive.org/details/idle_thoughts_librivox/idlethoughts_00_jerome.mp   (Czechchris, UK)

 

Wow, this is so delightful. Like listening to a distinguished stage actor doing a recitation. Nicely accentuated. 

No wonder one of my favourite movies is Topsy Turvy. Loved the enchanting British accents.

 

Edited October 7, 2021 by happiness IS

[daydream]

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/08/opinion/sunday/audiobooks-reading-cheating-listening.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article

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Consider why audiobooks are a good workaround for people with dyslexia: They allow listeners to get the meaning while skirting the work of decoding, that is, the translation of print on the page to words in the mind. Although decoding is serious work for beginning readers, it’s automatic by high school, and no more effortful or error prone than listening. Once you’ve identified the words (whether by listening or reading), the same mental process comprehends the sentences and paragraphs they form.

 

Nevertheless, there are differences between print and audio, notably prosody. That’s the pitch, tempo and stress of spoken words. “What a great party” can be a sincere compliment or sarcastic put-down, but they look identical on the page. Although writing lacks symbols for prosody, experienced readers infer it as they go

 

So although one core process of comprehension serves both listening and reading, difficult texts * demand additional mental strategies. Print makes those strategies easier to use. Consistent with that interpretation, researchers find that people’s listening and reading abilities are more similar for simple narratives than for expository prose.

 

Eighty-one percent of audiobook listeners say they like to drive, work out or otherwise multitask while they listen. The human mind is not designed for doing two things simultaneously, so if we multitask, we’ll get gist, not subtleties.

 

* WT articles and the like

Edited October 7, 2021 by happiness IS

[bohemian]

  On 10/7/2021 at 2:02 PM, happiness IS said:

https://archive.org/details/librivoxaudio?&sort=-week&page=4

 

https://archive.org/details/idle_thoughts_librivox/idlethoughts_00_jerome.mp   (Czechchris, UK)

 

Wow, this is so delightful. Like listening to a distinguished stage actor doing a recitation. Nicely accentuated. 

No wonder one of my favourite movies is Topsy Turvy. Loved the enchanting British accents.

 

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Thanks for the compliment.

[Katty]

I sometimes listen to books on Spotify when doing housework: need to get back to doing that, actually. I was listening to a book on Byzantium

[Thomas Walker]

I have a stack of 'to be read' books. As a result, I never get back around to favorite. I actually feel guilty rereading a fav.

 

Audiobooks have been the answer. I get to enjoy the book again during my 'non-reading' time, and I don't mind if my mind drifts a little, because I've read the book before, and I don't get lost.

[Pikachu]

@Thomas Walker I'd love it if your books were on audio! I have so many non-readers (children + dyslexic adults) in my family who have been begging about listening to those books since they think they sound so awesome!

 

But, yes, audio books are the best. My husband works on a computer for work, but he listens to audiobooks every day after listening to things from the society. And since he started that habit, I don't know if he ever wants to stop and go back to the radio or music all day long.