I haven’t had much luck with audiobooks before and I thought it was possibly because either I didn’t like the narration, or if I was driving and listening then I was just too distracted to pay attention, but this week I decided to give audiobooks another try.
During one of the book exchanges at my reading group I got Fatal Error by J.A. Jance and I figured it might be a good book to try. So I saved the file and loaded it on my iPhone and I listened to it while on the treadmill at the gym the other day.
I typically listen to latin music like merengue or other fast paced tunes so I’ll be motivated to work out, so I was curious how I was going to do with this and it was ok. My attention wandered a bit but I think this was probably a good choice to try.
For those of you who do like to listen to audiobooks, does it matter what kind of book or what you are doing? Did your attention wander a bit at first too and then you got used to audiobooks? I’ll keep you posted on my progress. So far I have probably tried about 3-4 audiobooks and have yet to finish one so we’ll see how I do with this one.
I think once you get used to audiobooks it is easy to become addicted. Key to getting addicted though is finding the right book with the right narrator to draw you in!
Hope it works for you!
The listening thing is a learned skill I think. No matter what I’m doing…cleaning the house, walking, driving, cooking dinner…I can get distracted, but 9 times out of 10 I don’t end up missing anything all that important. My favorite activity to listen is walking, because there aren’t too many other things going on that I need to pay attention to. It also sometimes can matter what type of book you are listening to as well. Ones with a lot of facts (non-fiction or books with lots of characters) can be a little complicated. But like Marg said, it is pretty easy to get addicted.
Yes and yes. I have only been an audiobooker for two years if that and it does depend on the book – story, pace, thrills and also the narrator. AND I give myself permission to mind-wander. I listen in the car – highway is best, and on treadmill but my favorite time is when I am mowing the lawn which takes me almost 3 hours. Of course, not at this time of year! Stephen King books are awesome on audio for some reason – and he and I and audiobooks are all new to each other. (Meaning I didn’t read any King until I tried The Stand and then IT on my iPhone/Audible.com) My faves are IT, by the way – fab fab audio book with my fave narrator so far. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter is amazing, too. AND, let me say that for some books, I am perfectly OK to let my mind miss stuff. AND/or I do Whispersync so I can catchup what I miss in print version. Moby Dick was one that was really good on Audio and who cares about the boring parts; has great parts and ho hum parts. It was a good thing I did audio or I would never have finished it. I adore long books on audio… 🙂
OH, one more thing for me – I tend not to like mysteries on audio. I don’t read them much anyway but if you do miss something that seems critical, it gets hard to find. Classics and Stephen King were my key to liking the listening method of ‘reading’.
I’m still not an audio book “reader,” I’ve only tried a couple of times, but both narrators killed my interest. Funny, though I was thinking about trying again just yesterday.
I listen to audiobooks mostly only on the treadmill. I tried it in the car and I would get distracted… If I have the house to myself I will do it when I am cleaning, but if someone is around I find they pick those moments to talk and I get distracted… It took me ages to get into audiobooks and now I am kind of obsessed!
I have a hit or miss relationship when it comes to audio books–love the idea of them and often give them a try, but I have to listen to something fairly easy and not too complicated as sometimes dustractions will throw you off. I have had good luck with Agatha Christie mysteries and especially with radio programs–dramatizations which seem to be great fun (I have listened to several featuring “the Saint”–I like all the sound effects. And I’ve listened to Neil Gaiman’s Coraline–it was excellent–he is a great reader!
My attention wanders while reading a paperback, so audiobooks can be especially difficult for my ADD brain. But I have discovered if the pace is quick, I can keep up with the story without missing too much from losing focus.
I don’t listen to audiobooks very often. Those I do listen to have to be fiction since with nonfiction, I want to take notes. I either get distracted by what I’m doing or too absorbed in listening to the narrative, that I just want to sit and listen. 🙂 I hope this audiobook work out for you.
So far I have only listened to audiobooks that I have already read. This helps me so that if I can’t pay attention completely I don’t get lost since I have already read the book before. Right now I’m listening to the Harry Potter series on audio and it is SUCH a great experience to listen to them. It has been a really long time since I read them and I’m just enjoying listening to them so much! Good luck with finding a way for audiobooks to work for you 🙂
I mostly listen to audiobooks when driving long distances. Working out I like fast-paced music. I always notice that I pick up the pace on the elliptical when listening to certain kinds of songs (I love listening to MC Yogi on the treadmill or elliptical). I wonder how audiobooks would work for me on the treadmill?
Hey guys thanks for all the feedback on audiobooks. I have to say if I’m just walking (not fast paced or anything) listening is not so bad. But if I really want to work out a bit harder I have to go with music. Will keep you posted on how it goes!