Listening to audio books vs. Reading visually

Even a GREAT book will sound dull when read by a robotic voice. So yeah, it's different.

maestrowork said:

Even a GREAT book will sound dull when read by a robotic voice. So yeah, it's different.

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Maybe I've just been lucky and only heard audiobooks read by real people who are professional narrators.

But if you want to be a writer, it's more important to read books than to listen to audio stuff, right? There is no way around it, writers have to read, is this not so?

hollyfan said:

But if you want to be a writer, it's more important to read books than to listen to audio stuff, right? There is no way around it, writers have to read, is this not so?

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I think that is correct.

However, audio books are wonderful entertainment.

I'm a recent audiobook convert. I have always read before going to sleep, but having the light on (even a tiny clip-light for my nook) bothers my husband. So I listen to an audiobook before going to sleep. I really enjoy it! I've been picking out books that I struggled to read because of the dry narration (Elizabeth Peters, for example) and enjoyed the audiobooks.

My husband prefers audiobooks to paper books. I think he just prefers hearing the characters speak and having the conversational voice rather than piecing it together on his own. I still read more in print than in audio, but I fail to see the difference between the two? A story is a story, the only difference is how it is delivered. But maybe that's just me.

Saying something that is not reading, is not reading, is not saying it is 'less than reading'. I think inferring that anything that is not reading is a lesser experience is the real snobbery.

veinglory said:

Saying something that is not reading, is not reading, is not saying it is 'less than reading'. I think inferring that anything that is not reading is a lesser experience is the real snobbery.

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But what do you think is better training for a writer who wants to publish his/her work? You can't be a successful writer if you don't read, can you?

hollyfan said:

But what do you think is better training for a writer who wants to publish his/her work? You can't be a successful writer if you don't read, can you?

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Surely they're not exclusive: I haven't stopped watching movies because I'm writing a novel: audio books merely fill a space which would otherwise not be spent reading anyway.

Yes, writers need to read, but they may also enjoy other forms of entertainment.

Chasing the Horizon said:

I can't listen to audio books because I have no audio comprehension and can't follow even a simple story in audio format (same reason I can't remember or understand most of what people tell me on the phone). But I don't think written text is superior to an audio book in general. I just need the text in order to comprehend because my brain is wired funny.

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OMG. I thought it was just me! I have a huge problem talking on the phone. Unless I concentrate really hard, I tune out after five seconds and have no idea what the person on the other side is saying. Half of the time I don't even understand the sentences. I hear them, but they only make half-sense.

I've only tried listening to one audio book and I gave up. I also cannot keep my concentration, and yes, I have a terrible time with phone conversations as well! For me, listening to a book is the equivalent of white noise while I'm working on something else. If I want to get the full impact, I have to read it, not listen to it. As for driving - what if something happens and you have to actually pay attention to your driving? Do you then pull over and rewind to the part that was interrupted? Or try doing it while driving (hello, text messaging horrors...)

maestrowork said:

Even a GREAT book will sound dull when read by a robotic voice. So yeah, it's different.

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Its really not as bad as it seems, I read a lot of books using text to speech. In fact, once you get over the robotic voice, which only takes a few seconds, you no longer even notice it.

If you think about it, you dont read a book with accents and expressions and what have you, so its not that different from reading... or at least I haven't notice a difference.

ave said:

If you think about it, you dont read a book with accents and expressions and what have you, so its not that different from reading... or at least I haven't notice a difference.

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Actually, don't we put the accents and expression into it as we're reading? I do, anyway. So any voice that did it differently would be distracting to me.

ave said:

Its really not as bad as it seems, I read a lot of books using text to speech. In fact, once you get over the robotic voice, which only takes a few seconds, you no longer even notice it.

If you think about it, you dont read a book with accents and expressions and what have you, so its not that different from reading... or at least I haven't notice a difference.

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I don't know about you, but when I read, I do imagine the accents and tones, etc. That's why "reading" visually is great because I supply my own interpretation. The characters come alive for me in my head while I absorb the text -- which my brian turns into visuals and sounds. The process works.

When I "listen," different parts of my brain come into play, and I no longer can do that imagining, because my ATTENTION has to be focused on understanding the text I hear. The narrator's tone and voice and accent becomes the actual interpretation. I can no longer supply the accents in my head when I hear a flat, monotonic voice. That's why a great actor can do wonder to the audio books, or a robot can just turn a great book into a dull list of words. At least for me.

I'm a big fan of audio books. Our library has downloads, so i am lucky that way. I have a few caveats, though. Readers make a huge difference. A good reader can make a not so good book better, and a poor reader (sometimes the author) is absolute death. But my biggest general complaint is I'd really like to see odd names spelled out. Sometimes i get distracted when I can't see the name written. A small complaint is about authors who write cussing. Read aloud, even damn sounds abrasive and boring, but in a visual reading I just skip over it. Heard, cussing is like an exclamation point, a little goes a long way. Probably the best thing about audio books is listening on long trips. I can really get into them and the miles just slip by.

maestrowork said:

I don't know about you, but when I read, I do imagine the accents and tones, etc. That's why "reading" visually is great because I supply my own interpretation. The characters come alive for me in my head while I absorb the text -- which my brian turns into visuals and sounds. The process works.

When I "listen," different parts of my brain come into play, and I no longer can do that imagining, because my ATTENTION has to be focused on understanding the text I hear. The narrator's tone and voice and accent becomes the actual interpretation. I can no longer supply the accents in my head when I hear a flat, monotonic voice. That's why a great actor can do wonder to the audio books, or a robot can just turn a great book into a dull list of words. At least for me.

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Okay, then I can understand why you wouldnt connect with audio books- I tend to read a book like I would read a maths textbook. For me its the story and words that makes the book come to life, so I can use an electronic reader and get every bit as much out of the book.... I guess our brains are all wired differently.

I really want to like audiobooks. I've tried them several times. But I simply tune out within minutes. Same with live readings by prose authors. I can sit in an audience of people paying rapt attention to an author enthusiastically reading the best excerpt of their work, with no other distractions, and I'll come away having no idea what I just heard.

Though the first authors, such as Homer, originally performed their stories in public and only later wrote them down (or had them written by followers), I think literature has evolved to where it is meant to be read from a page rather than spoken aloud.

Billingsgate said:

I really want to like audiobooks. I've tried them several times. But I simply tune out within minutes. Same with live readings by prose authors. I can sit in an audience of people paying rapt attention to an author enthusiastically reading the best excerpt of their work, with no other distractions, and I'll come away having no idea what I just heard.

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Authors are usually not very good at reading their own work aloud. The best audiobooks are those read by actors or professional narrators.

On Audible.com, reviews often include both a review of the book and of the narrator.

I love anything read by George Guidall.

I've read the same series, The Aubrey Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian, four times. Twice as audio books, and twice as book books. Both ways are satisfying and wonderful. The great thing about the audio books is that you don't miss a word. You don't skim. The great thing about the book books is that you see the words and feel the pages.

I realized I could write only after I recorded my WIP onto CD and played it in the car on my 75 minute commute. It stood up against all the other published books I was reading. Huzzah!

I love to read so much that I can't stand wasting time doing something brainless--like driving--without reading. That's why I love books on tape so much.

It's weird, though. I can't stand when books are read by the author. They just don't get it. Reading aloud is a real art.

That said, I can listen to David Sedaris read his essays and stories for hours. That guy has a gift.

Ziljon said:

I realized I could write only after I recorded my WIP onto CD and played it in the car on my 75 minute commute. It stood up against all the other published books I was reading. Huzzah!

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I'm glad I'm not the only one who's done this! I have mp3's of my book on my ipod, and I find it helps me to edit spelling and narrative flow.

I don't know if the writing is any good but it's an awesome editing tool, and helps me see my writing from another perspective.

To get a grasp on a poem or novel I often read parts aloud. But I definitely also have to see the words in front of me. So I prefer a mixture, which audiobooks can't provide.

BUT...... I hate listening to audiobooks because often I can NEVER get the reader's voice untangled from the story. I was introduced to 'Harry Potter' through a radio reading and have only ever been able to imagine the series narrated by a kindly old grandma-sounding woman. (This got more problematic as the series became increasingly mature, haha...).

It's a bit weird, this... because writing is a visual and an auditory craft, really. Cadence and rhythm are important but so is layout and the way the words look.

I'd choose reading if I had to choose, though.

MissMacchiato said:

I'm glad I'm not the only one who's done this! I have mp3's of my book on my ipod, and I find it helps me to edit spelling and narrative flow.

I don't know if the writing is any good but it's an awesome editing tool, and helps me see my writing from another perspective.

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How long does it take to record MP3s of your WIP? It'd take me hours, even if I use text-to-speech software and I never like the reading voices (even natural voices). Again, I think my brain is wired that way. I prefer reading by sight. I can "listen" to my WIP while I edit in chunks (using T2V), but that's about it.