# What's the point of Audiobooks? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 3, 2005, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-audiobooks/282810 "2005-01-03T11:47:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-audiobooks/282810/21 "2005-01-03T19:17:51Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > Also, I’ve found that with a good reader, an audiobook can ‘come alive’ more than just words on the printed page… though I’m still a voracious reader of the printed page. Yes. A good reader is the main reason I will occasionally pop one in my car tape deck. I have listened to audio books I didn’t even like all that much, because the reader make it really come to life. ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-audiobooks/282810/22 "2005-01-03T20:53:22Z")
Books on tape (mp3 _downloaded_) are the only way I could get through LOtR. While I agree the story is great, it was just too tough to read. It made a great listen though. I use them to help the monotony in driving. AM radio, and FM (repetition) radio just get boring after a while. My wife uses them when she quilts, or does “housework.” ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-audiobooks/282810/23 "2005-01-03T21:49:45Z")
I’m another audiobook commuter. My commute is about 40 minutes each way, but that’s still enough to get through a Terry Pratchett book in about 6 days. I’m up to **The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents**. Other recent “reads” of mine include the first six Lemony Snicket books and **The Bourne Identity** , which unfortunately featured a rather dull narrator. Sure hope **The Bourne Supremacy** is better. ---
**Author:** ![Bibliovore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Bibliovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bibliovore)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-audiobooks/282810/24 "2005-01-03T23:16:27Z")
Sounds like audiobooks are great for a lot of people, however, I don’t think they’re for me. My commute to work takes a half-hour each way, but I commute by train, so I read. As far as housework goes, I don’t really do all that much :D. I suppose the clincher is that I find the reader’s voice impinges on my own “Inner voice”. I guess I just prefer the intimacy of a regular book and the way it interacts with my own imagination over the voice of an actor, no matter how good he or she may be. For me, books are never a “background” thing. I need to give them my full attention, even if it’s only for a couple of minutes at a time. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-audiobooks/282810/25 "2005-01-03T23:44:09Z")
I also have an hour drive each way to work, so that’s 10 hours a week that I can enjoy more listening to a good book. It’s especially nice for poetry; I listened to Billy Collins for quite a while. I just finished the Canterbury Tales. ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-audiobooks/282810/26 "2005-01-03T23:44:36Z")
I listen to audiobooks nearly every single day. Several reasons: First off, I commute 2 hours every day, so I enjoy listening in the car. Second off, I work at a job where I can listen to headphones undisturbed, so I listen all day at work. I can get through some serious amounts of “reading” in a workday. Third off, I knit and do other work with my hands as a hobby, so I like to listen to them instead of watching TV. I read close to 60 books last year, including all of the LOTR books, several LONG LONG Stephen King books, and others that I’d never have had time to read in my spare time. I enjoy the readings as well- I like having a story read to me and hearing the voices of the readers. If anyone is interested, my favorite of last year was the entire series of the LOTR read by Rob Inglis. SO GOOD. I’m actually thinking about listening to the whole series again, it was so enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-audiobooks/282810/27 "2005-01-04T00:00:51Z")
> [@Bibliovore](#): > > I can understand the point of listening to a book on tape or CD if you’re blind or even just have trouble reading, but I can’t really think of any other circumstances where a real book wouldn’t be simpler, cheaper, and more convenient. Perhaps if you were driving, you could listen to a book in the car, but apart from that, I just don’t get it. > > Do any of you listen to audiobooks on a regular basis? If so, what are the benefits? As far as I know, they’re almost double the price of a regular paperback, and you’ll need batteries to listen to them. Am I just being a book snob? Please enlighten me! I listen to audio books while working out. It’s one thing that keeps me on my workout schedule – I don’t allow myself to listen to the book except while working out. If there would be a way I could really read while doing excercise I would prefer that, but so far I haven’t been able to think of a way to do that, so I stick with audio books. Ed ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-audiobooks/282810/28 "2005-01-04T00:55:26Z")
Add me to the half-hour each way commute club. I find that audiobooks pass the time more pleasantly than radio. My favorites are long novels that I would never take the time to read in written form, and biography. There are also a lot of books that I also wanted to read, but are hard to get into. A great reader makes all the difference. I check them out from the library, so they’re free. I don’t do mysteries, though, because they require too much concentration. Over the years, I’ve listened to the complete works of Jane Austin, all the Harry Potter books, and a lot of classics, like The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Good Earth, and even Fanny Hill. Personally, my experience is that men are able to do a variety of female voices better than women do male voices. I don’t find the voices interfering with an internal voice, though. In fact, I sometimes think I’ve actually read a book when I’ve only listened to it on tape. Overall, I welcome anything that makes me look forward to my commute time. ---
**Author:** ![gouda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c77e96/32.png) [@gouda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gouda)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-audiobooks/282810/29 "2005-01-04T12:36:58Z")
I would listen to audiobooks on my 30 minute commute to university. Roger Moore was my favourite narrator - in addition to being a familiar voice, he is simply a brilliant narrator. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-audiobooks/282810/30 "2005-01-04T13:53:03Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I listen to audio books while working out. It’s one thing that keeps me on my workout schedule – I don’t allow myself to listen to the book except while working out. > > If there would be a way I could really read while doing excercise I would prefer that, but so far I haven’t been able to think of a way to do that, so I stick with audio books. > > Ed I might have to try this. I hate exercising, but perhaps it would be more palatable if I listened to a story while I’m plodding through my routine. I got hooked on radio dramas in Spain. My husband was stationed in Torrejon AFB (near Madrid) and there was a GI radio station that played American music and aired some of the old, old dramas each day at certain times. These dramas were wonderful to listen to. Incidentally, I read to my daughter every night until she was nearly in high school. She’s dyslexic, and she found it very difficult to read, but she enjoyed the stories and the company. I finally told her that she’d have to read for herself if she wanted to go on to more complex stories. She finally, FINALLY started to read for enjoyment, and now she spends quite a lot of her money on books. ---
**Author:** ![YWalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/6f9a4e/32.png) [@YWalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YWalker)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-audiobooks/282810/31 "2005-01-04T14:03:54Z")
My mother was always a voracious reader, so it seemed exceptionally cruel when she went blind — sort of like the twilight zone episode where the man finally had all the time in the world to read, but his glasses got broken. The books on tape supplied by the NC Library for the Blind were a genuine Godsend. She was really thrilled with them, and gushed about how great it was to be able to read while she was outside gardening, doing dishes, etc. It pretty much doubled the amount of time she had available to read, since she no longer had to choose between reading and doing the necessities around the house. (This was circa 15-20 years ago, by the way. The NC Library for the Blind positively rocked — they had a huge selection of excellent books available, and sent them out pretty much the way Netflix works, except free of charge.) ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-audiobooks/282810/32 "2005-01-04T14:24:45Z")
> [@YWalker](#): > > My mother was always a voracious reader, so it seemed exceptionally cruel when she went blind — sort of like the twilight zone episode where the man finally had all the time in the world to read, but his glasses got broken. > > The books on tape supplied by the NC Library for the Blind were a genuine Godsend. She was really thrilled with them, and gushed about how great it was to be able to read while she was outside gardening, doing dishes, etc. It pretty much doubled the amount of time she had available to read, since she no longer had to choose between reading and doing the necessities around the house. > > (This was circa 15-20 years ago, by the way. The NC Library for the Blind positively rocked — they had a huge selection of excellent books available, and sent them out pretty much the way Netflix works, except free of charge.) I think my mother and I kinduv both got hooked on audiobooks in large part after my dad’s health started to decline… he could still see (about as well as ever, he was blind in one eye since he was young,) but would have difficulty holding a book where he could read it easily, and turning the pages himself. So we got books on tape out for him, first borrowing them from the library and then buying them from a local books-on-tape reseller. And everyone would tend to hang around somewhat while they were playing. I’ve ‘unofficially’ inherited some of those tapes now, since my father passed away. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-audiobooks/282810/33 "2005-01-04T15:15:21Z")
I’m a huge audio book fan. I listen in the car (45 min commute), at work when it’s slow, while I’m knitting…etc. I got an MP3 player for Christmas and a subscription to Audible. I love it. I had a job two years ago where I was working in a print shop, folding paper, collating, really boring stuff. I SURVIVED on audio books. I also exercise to audio books. I also read paper books, usually one a week. I think of it as a way to read even MORE than I already do. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-audiobooks/282810/34 "2005-01-04T20:20:10Z")
I started [this thread about Audiobooks](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=270509&highlight=audiobooks) a couple months ago. I was recommended quite a few great ones off of it. I’ve gone through the Lemony Snicket series with Book 11 in my iPod now and a collection of Bill Bryson books in there as well. I used to just listen to them on the commute to the cabin, but somedays when I’ve got a day of just manual entry to do at work, I’ll get a book going and passes the time. [Audible.com](http://Audible.com) is a great resource for getting them cheaply (although, I did find out the hard way that the 2 book credits a month don’t carry over if not used.) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-audiobooks/282810/35 "2005-01-04T20:29:51Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Yes. A good reader is the main reason I will occasionally pop one in my car tape deck. > > I have listened to audio books I didn’t even like all that much, because the reader make it really come to life. I listened to something by Fannie Flagg recently and thought it sucked, but I kept on listening to it anyway because I really liked the sound of her voice. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-audiobooks/282810/36 "2005-01-05T01:38:27Z")
I’m not usually an audio book person at all; I do have a long commute and get carsick if I read on the train, but I’d rather listen to music. However, my aunt got me a couple when I was in the hospital and then convalescing at home after surgery; the painkillers messed with my concentration to the extent that I couldn’t focus on reading, but I could manage to focus on listening. I doubt I’d buy any on any other situation, though, or even bother to check them out from the library. The voices would mess with my own mental images of the story. ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-audiobooks/282810/37 "2005-01-05T01:42:46Z")
We listen on trips because I get hideously carsick and can’t read while riding. Some co-workers listen to things like “7 Habits” during drive time - multi-tasking, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-audiobooks/282810/38 "2005-01-05T03:48:50Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > But I can’t help but wonder how you could NOT go nuts by having your “inside the brain reading voice” compromised by the voice of the guy reading the book. > [later post] > I suppose the clincher is that I find the reader’s voice impinges on my own “Inner voice”. I don’t understand this “inner voice” thing. Could you explain? Is it like reading out loud, but in your head? ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-audiobooks/282810/39 "2005-01-05T05:48:54Z")
Reading this thread made me realize I don’t “hear” a book in my head when I am reading at all. I think I hear the first sentence and then I am immersed. When it comes to people’s voices, I don’t hear that either, I just read it and then I know that they said it. It’s a bit hard to explain. It’s like dreaming, I guess. I listen to a lot of books. I feel like it’s two different things. I’ve listened to books that I’ve also read and I get different things out of the different experiences. When I read, I pause to reflect a lot. I also, obviously, read faster in my head than someone can read out loud. So hearing a book, I don’t have the chance to pause and think, yet each word stands out more. If you try to listen to a book instead of reading it, you will be disappointed and frustrated. It won’t be like reading it at all, and you will feel ripped off. It’s better to pick up things you didn’t really want to read, and then develop listening tastes. Sometimes they will overlap with your reading, but most of the time I find that they’re two different worlds for me. Bill Bryson is a good example because I don’t think I would ever see him at a bookstore and say, “oh this looks interesting!” I don’t even go into that section. But I really enjoyed his audiobooks and they led me to look for similar audiobooks and now I am really into essayists but I still only listen to them. On the other hand, there have been a few times when I started to listen to a book and decided to read it instead because I didn’t have the patience to listen to it and wanted to be able to read it all in one or two sittings. I listen to them in the car, but I also sometimes listen in the house while doing other things. I especially like to listen to them while I fall asleep. It keeps me from lying in bed worrying. I can listen to the same tapes over and over, in no particular order. Lately I have been listening to Dragonrider by Cornelia Funke. It has the weirdest reader I’ve ever heard (the actor Brendan Frazer, aka Encino Man.) He’s great, but he makes me really sleepy. I read til I am ready to turn out the light, and then I put the ear bud in one ear and listen for another ten minutes or so, and then when I can’t listen I click it off and fall asleep. I used to think books on tape were for lazy people and it definitely took me a few tries before I could really pay attention. Now I think I will probably always want to listen to books as much as I will always want to read. I think they’re a great invention and I get a lot of enjoyment out of them. ---
**Author:** ![prisoner6655321](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f8ce5/32.png) [@prisoner6655321](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prisoner6655321)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-audiobooks/282810/40 "2005-01-05T10:02:38Z")
Well, I’ve listened to a few audiobooks in my day. I love them for all of the reasons mentioned, plus I can usually listen to an audio book faster than I’ll read a book on my own. And I do read books fast, but with audiobooks I don’t have to worry about getting distracted or re-reading a page because my mind wandered. But I find the selection pretty lacking myself, and what I’ve found that I might be interested in is abridged, which I can not stand. But, since I’d like to get more entertainment to keep me working out, I might join [audible.com](http://audible.com). Sounds like a great way to stay in shape and stay well read too. Hey, how about you guys? Do you find the selection lacking too? I really love sci-fi and fantasy. And I like some obscure books. Would I have a problem finding these less popular books, or do I have to start listening to Lemony Snicket and Stephen King? Do you have to listen to abridged versions of the books or do they have unabridged versions of most all of the popular books? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-audiobooks/282810.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-audiobooks/282810.md?page=3)