Yesterday I discussed how and why I listened audio books and how my love of being read to evolved into a membership with Audible Books. I promised that today I’d give examples of what I miss about actual, hand-held books and what audio books can’t deliver.
Aside from the new book smell, the crack when you open a fresh tome, and the whisper of cotton, linen, or papyrus as you thumb through the new pages, there are a few more things Audible, CD’s, and Books-On-Tape can’t do:
- There is no instant replay
Sometimes I want to read a line again or pause just to savor the thought or the phrasing. The author has put a lot of time into the turn of a particular phrase, yet if I’m read to, I only get to hear it once. In a mystery I want to reflect on the information I’ve just been given and try to figure out who did it before the author tells me. If I’m read to I must hurry along.
- The spelling of proper names/foreign names is often way off
There have been times when I’ve seen a character’s or town’s name in a book review and been thrown because I’d spelled the name a different way in my head.This is happening right now as I listen to Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. I just know that every name I hear is going to be spelled differently.
- BOT’s limit visualization
When someone else reads for me, I must follow along at their pace. This eliminates the time I might take to look around the town and imagine the scene. If I were the reader, I’d slow down to see things for myself and allow my very vivid imagination to take over.
- Narrators are sometimes unsuited to the story
More than once, I’ve returned library tapes due to a terrible narrator. In a series I’m familiar with, the narrator had better bring it, or, at least, be neutral enough for me to ignore. If the voice grates—a male not doing a female voice well, or vice versa—I’m done. Consult the reviews before you purchase a recorded story. If reviewers say the narrator is terrible, believe them.
- Picking up where you left off is a task
If I want to relax or read in bed, a bookmark or folded corner earmarking the place to pick up the book is easy. With a B-O-T, I must plug-in the headphones and cue up to where I last stopped. Though, if I’ve listened on two or more devices, Audible will ask if I want to start at the current location. Also, I’m having a love affair with the Alexa Echo Dot that I purchased from Amazon on Prime Day. I just tell it what Audible book I want to hear and it kicks right in, no headphones or anything.
- Flipping back to see the cover is difficult
Yep, that’s me flipping back and forth to view the cover as I imagine the iconic bridge or rainforest—the skyscraper where the guy and girl meet—or the place where the decaying body was found—the monster last spied.
- B-O-T’s can come with a hefty price tag
When there were bookstores on the planet, I’d spend as much as $30 for a book-on-tape. Now, for $14.95, I get one Audible book credit per month. Over the years I’ve accumulated 6 credits, so I manage to keep a surplus of credits.
Despite what I’ve described as drawbacks, audio books are beneficial for these reasons:
BIG books are easier to digest
They’ve enabled me to cover most of the Bible. I’ve read entire self-help books where I’d normally just read the parts necessary to my personal search.
Audio Book’s give me the beauty of a foreign language
When I’m listening to a book by a British author or one who speaks English as a second language the accent is perfection. I wallowed in Jim Dale’s narration of the Harry Potter books. I’ve just discovered there is a UK narrator, Stephen Fry. I may listen to Harry Potter all over again.
They provide work for voice actors
My two, all-time favorite narrators are Susan Ericksen and Bahni Turpin. After hearing Turpin read The Hate You Give, I listened to her Children of Blood and Bone. It was outstanding.
If you listen to audio books, which narrator stands out as exceptional?
Notes:
In 2018, approximately 50,000 audiobooks were recorded in the United States with a sales growth of 20 percent year over year
A recent survey released by the Audio Publishers Associationfound that the overwhelming majority of audiobook users listen in the car, and over two-thirds of audiobook buyers described audiobooks as relaxing and a good way to multi-task. Another stated reason for choosing audiobooks over other formats is that an audio performance makes some books more interesting.