Listening to an audiobook
Before I could read, my parents used to read me bedtime stories. Even when I could read, they still did because my younger sister asked them to, and I listened happily. My grandmother used to tell us stories; the fairytales that she could remember. I always listened to stories with great fascination. Some were real as adults related to me how their childhoods were like. Others were fictional, either from books, or stories passed on from one person to the next.
Stories Come First
Stories are foremost why I love to read. That love for stories was instilled in me from young. When nobody could tell me stories, I would tune in to radio stations that broadcasted them for children. When my family was on road trips, my father would play cassette tapes with stories. In retrospect, I’m amazed he didn’t get tired of listening to Black Beauty or Grimm’s Fairytales over and over again.
The Beauty of Audiobooks
The beauty about audiobooks is that they aren’t only for children who can’t read. They’re also for people who can read. I evidently can read, yet I still enjoy listening to them. Sure, I could finish reading a book in less than half the time it takes to listen to the audiobook version but I listen anyway.
Audiobooks sometimes feel even more personal to me than printed words do. Audiobooks bring voices to life. These voices no longer remain in my head. Instead, these voices become part of my surroundings. There is comfort in hearing stories because it’s like someone is personally telling me these stories. Even though I can’t see the person narrating, I can hear and hear is exactly what I used to do years ago when my parents read to me.
What makes audiobooks so wonderful as well is that I can close my eyes and imagine the scenes of the stories much more vividly than I can when I keep my eyes open to read. That heightened imagination is why stories are meant to be told.
Now excuse me as I turn my attention back to Every Day by David Levithan.
How do you relate to audiobooks?
Confab ˈkän-ˌfab, kən-ˈ noun an informal discussion, often about a particular topic
Discussion posts are some of my favourite posts to read. New ideas get shared that way, or old ideas are revisited and given a new spin. And of course, I get to be my opinionated self as I hoist my views upon others, while pretending to be objective. Or maybe not. I do welcome alternate views and I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
I’m incredibly picky about narration and voice acting in audiobooks. I think there are certain books that translate incredibly well to an audiobook, and others than may not be as great as an audiobook. For example, I really loved the audiobook version of Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why. The story is about a boy listening to tapes made by his late classmate, so they had two different narrators. The voice acting was amazing because I could really feel the pain and anger in their words, and that made me love the story more.
I still love audiobooks though! They’re great for times when I can’t really read a book, like when I’m walking. :P
I felt the same way about Thirteen Reasons Why. Audiobook was the perfect format for it, and I’m so glad I read it that way instead of in paper form. It was also one of the earliest audiobooks I tried. I might not have gotten into audiobooks if I hadn’t liked the first ones.
I’m so glad you stuck to audiobooks and weren’t turned off by the earlier ones you read :) And with two votes for Thirteen Reasons Why, I must definitely check it out some day!
The Night Circus! I love it. Listening to it right now and the narrator is perfect for the mysticism of the book because he sounds like a classic storyteller. I’ve not read Thirteen Reasons Why, so I’ll try to check out the audiobooks in future. Thanks for the tip on that, Ana! :)
I listen to audiobooks on the go too, especially when on the bus since I’ve motion sickness, so actual reading’s a bit tough. Other than that, I also reach for audiobooks at night when I don’t feel like doing anything but am too tired to do anything productive.
The narrator for Cruel Beauty was so good that I ended up sticking until the end. If it had been a book, I would have given up! But I hate that they take so long, and then it’s even worse sometimes because I only have earphones and people are noisy and I can’t hear anything. And as in the case for Code Name Verity, the accent is hard to follow. >.< But hearing the story come to life is just really something else.
I am also seriously jealous that your parents read you bedtime stories.
I have Cruel Beauty but I didn’t listen to it yet. I didn’t really plan on reading it but since it was up for grabs, I downloaded it anyway. Maybe that was a good move after all. Haha. I use in-ear earphones, which partially cancel out noise, so I can hear even on public transport. My sister has problems with in-ear stuff though, so she uses headphones, which probably are better but I’m not sure. And yes, I love how stories come to life like that.
Great post, Joséphine! I’m not a huge audiobook person, but I listen to them every now and then…there’s definitely something special about being TOLD a story vs. just reading one. Especially if the voice actor is really good, it can greatly impact how much you love and connect to an audiobook.
Yes, so true! A narrator can make or break a story. In some cases, I was so glad I listened to the audiobooks because the narrators elevated the stories, I might not have liked as much, had I read them myself. But in some cases, I wish I hadn’t had bothered listening because I felt the narrators spoiled the stories for me.
I always loved my bed time story, but I can’t deal with audiobooks. There is something about it that doesn’t work for me.. It’s too slow and I feel disconnected from the story. It’s hard for me to concentrate, while I don’t have any problem with that when I’m reading a book.
I see what you mean about the slowness. For action-heavy stories, I prefer reading myself. But for lyrical narrations, I love listening to audiobooks because it allows me to get really comfortable, close my eyes and immerse fully in the story while imagining the scenes.
I love audio books, in fact my line of work allows me to sit and listen to the books while I’m working. I feel that I do get a better judgement and also personalisation with audio. I know pretty quickly if I’ll like the book or I won’t because I don’t have my own voice in my head giving me the approval–if that makes sense?!
Audio also give me a sense of nostalgia as my grandparents used to play Bible stories through cassette tapes when I was a little girl, so I always think back to a more playful and comforting time.
What is your current line of work? I just realized I know your aspiration but not your current job. Heh.
I’m not exactly sure what you mean about your own voice and approval?
Nostalgia’s always nice. It adds so much comfort and makes for more enjoyable experiences, which I think is wonderful especially when it comes to stories :)
I’m a freelance photographic retoucher at a couple of studios and of course I design blogger layouts and book designs for my own business What Georgie Did.
Yeah, I didn’t make much sense. I always find that I rate high on physical books more than audio because I can always see myself in a character when I’m reading, whereas audio has someone narrating it is harder for me to visual myself as a character.
Sigh, I want to get into audio books. But I am just not the person who can listen and pay attention while doing something else. I feel I would miss a lot of the story. I still want to try though! Perhaps in the car first?
You could try a novella first. Novellas tend to be about 3 to 6 hours long. Novels often are about 10 to 14 hours long, depending. So maybe if you start with something shorter, you can get a feel for listening instead of reading yourself :)
I love audiobooks as well. There are so many books that I know I enjoyed more listening than I would have if I had read the print version. There are even books that I don’t know if I would have read if i had to read the print version. But then I ended up loving the book in audiobook format.
Same here. There are books I didn’t actually plan to read but somehow ended up listening to as audiobooks anyway. It somehow makes it easier to get into these books because the narration keeps propelling me forward.