Regular Reading or AudioTape

[Wrecks]

My apologies if a similar thread is around like this one. But do you prefer to read the old fashioned way? Or prefer to let the Audio Tape do it for you? Personally, I'd rather do it the old fashioned way.

 

[Werewolf87]

I prefer the old-fashioned way myself, as I am one of these people that don't really see the words but have a movie running behind their eyes while reading. Having someone else intonate character voices and moods would disrupt my film. The voice would probably also influence me to give characters a face that doesn't fit.

 

[Tonyblack]

I usually can't be doing with talking books, as I tend to get distracted too easily and miss huge bits of the story. They have their place though, and if I'm cycling or driving alone I've been known to listen to one.

 

[TwoShotTino]

I've tried to listen to a few audio books, even ones I didn't have the inclination to sit and read, but as mentioned above I too

1 Make voices up in my head as to how the character should sound(Hard to do when they all originate from the same voice)
2 Tend to miss chunks of the story through concentration
3 Find that (especially with the Discworld series) a lot of the jokes don't come across in audio as well as they do in text

 

[DaveC]

I listen tot he Doctor Who audio CDs that come free with the papers while riding my bike. Only occasionally,though

 

[The Mad Collector]

I love the Stephen Briggs audio books. I'm listening to Monsterous Regiment at the moment.

 

[Teppic]

The audiobooks are brilliant. I've got the majority of them on my phone 8)

 

[mspanners]

I love to listen to the books as I drift off to sleep, the only problem is finding the last point in the book you can recall before the zzzz cut in!

 

[poohcarrot]

I've never heard an audio book in my life, and don't want to.

 

[chris.ph]

books for me or ebooks

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

I don't mind listening to them on journeys if they are well read,just downloaded Good Omens it will while away an up comming bus journey.

I'm toying with the idea of getting a kindle for when I going to conventions.

 

[Tiffany]

I prefer a proper book, but I do have a lot of audio books too, cassette & c/d's. Kniting would be a good thing to do when listening, as my late Mother used to do while listening to the radio, but I can't knit.

 

[raisindot]

I never listen to an audiobook for a book that I haven't previously read.

And I never accept the idea of someone saying they've 'read' a book when all they've done is listen to the audiobook. Two totally different processes. Reading requires the use of abstract thought process that begin with assembling letters into words into sentences into paragraphs into chapters, understanding their literal meaning, and then having an emotional or intellectual reaction.

Audiobook listening skips all the abstract bits and goes straight to the reaction part.

That said, I do enjoy listening to certain audiobooks (particularly the better DW books) when I'm exercising or when I'm on a long car trip. Having read the book first makes the experience far more enjoyable, especially great when a great reader (like Stephen Briggs) voices the characters in ways that make the words you read come alive.

 

[poohcarrot]

...so you've listened to Pyramids then.

 

[raisindot]

...so you've listened to Pyramids then.

I wish I had. It would have been a lot better than suffering through the reading of it.

 

[The Mad Collector]

...so you've listened to Pyramids then.

I wish I had. It would have been a lot better than suffering through the reading of it.

I've done both and enjoyed both ways