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Audiobooks vs. Printed Books: a debate as a reader and an author

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Re: Audiobooks vs. Printed Books: a debate as a reader and an author

#21

Post by stevenwoo »

zeristor wrote: post #14

Amazon is trying hard with Audiobooks, but they seem to be extremely expensive to me, maybe that’s their way of making a lot more money than kindle format. I spend my listening time just trying to catch up with podcasts. What audio book formats are there, and services. Dare I say it are there any open source ones? There are many podcast players, are the many audiobook players? Is there anything really useful in an au…

Free as in paid by our taxes - my local public library system in Santa Clara County has a decent selection via the Libby and Hoopla apps. I'm not sure why they have two apps, but maybe it's to give us more selection - there are differences in what is available in each (more older books, and current TV shows/movies in Hoopla, magazines and new releases in Libby), From what I've read, the library system pays a fee for each item borrowed via Hoopla, and there is very little overlap so I assume there is some exclusive licensing for some reason. VLC can go to chapters in book format audio files and lets you make bookmarks and change playback speed and lets you transfer files from your PC to mobile device pretty easily.

Re: Audiobooks vs. Printed Books: a debate as a reader and an author

#22

Post by scary-size »

I really liked John Green's take on audiobooks [1].

> ...the point of reading is to ingest someone's words and ideas in the most transparent way possible...

For some that's reading, for others that's listening.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80SCl6n0TEo

Re: Audiobooks vs. Printed Books: a debate as a reader and an author

#23

Post by wintermutestwin »

Why is there no Spotify for audiobooks? Audible’s pricing model is stupid. I guess the bean counters know better than I, but I imagine there are a lot of people like me who just shrug and listen to what I can get for free through my library’s Libby access. I would gladly pay 15$ a month for unlimited.

Re: Audiobooks vs. Printed Books: a debate as a reader and an author

#24

Post by silves89 »

Can I read a physical book when I'm running? Can I read a physical book when I'm doing house work? Or throwing pots in my studio? Or knitting? Or cooking? Or driving?

Can I stay focused if I'm just sitting and listening instead of reading? Absolutely not.

There's no 'vs' here. They occupy different spaces. All hail text, whatever form it takes.

Re: Audiobooks vs. Printed Books: a debate as a reader and an author

#25

Post by senectus1 »

beezlebroxxxxxx wrote: post #10
zeristor wrote: post #2

I’m curious as to what people think about Audiobooks? They just seem so expensive to me, and the concept still feels like cheating to me.

I find audiobook performances are usually quite bad or cheesy. Even the ones that people rave about. I also find radio plays, or podcasts with full scripts, the same way. I also find them simply boring to listen to, even the ones of books I love. It feels very passive and I'm always slightly annoyed that I can read significantly faster than the wpm of an audiobook (speeding up an audiobook ruins the performances).

the cheesyness really depends on the narrator.

Personally I have a fondness of a few select narrators. One guy who is increadibly talented is Jeff Hayes.

He's almost ruined audiobooks that aren't narated by him for me...

Re: Audiobooks vs. Printed Books: a debate as a reader and an author

#26

Post by tigrezno »

silves89 wrote: post #24

Can I read a physical book when I'm running? Can I read a physical book when I'm doing house work? Or throwing pots in my studio? Or knitting? Or cooking? Or driving? Can I stay focused if I'm just sitting and listening instead of reading? Absolutely not. There's no 'vs' here. They occupy different spaces. All hail text, whatever form it takes.

and books occupy physical space, something I can't afford on my tiny apartment

Re: Audiobooks vs. Printed Books: a debate as a reader and an author

#27

Post by cladopa »

zeristor wrote: post #2

I’m curious as to what people think about Audiobooks? They just seem so expensive to me, and the concept still feels like cheating to me.

As someone who has read thousands of books in his life, and always asks about the books on the shelves on the houses I visit, I would say that there is a so much people that do not read books with intrinsic and genuine interest.

They buy books as a status, intellectual symbol, but they couldn't care less about its content. It's an ornament, like a flowers' vase.

I like audiobooks too. It can only be cheating if you believe there is a proper way to experience a book. I enjoy specially some books narrated by their authors, because it adds the nuances of what they consider important, emphasis and information that is lost on paper.

Re: Audiobooks vs. Printed Books: a debate as a reader and an author

#28

Post by _glass »

wintermutestwin wrote: post #23

Why is there no Spotify for audiobooks? Audible’s pricing model is stupid. I guess the bean counters know better than I, but I imagine there are a lot of people like me who just shrug and listen to what I can get for free through my library’s Libby access. I would gladly pay 15$ a month for unlimited.

They do though: https://www.spotify.com/us/audiobooks 15h per month at least.

Re: Audiobooks vs. Printed Books: a debate as a reader and an author

#30

Post by constantcrying »

tigrezno wrote: post #26
silves89 wrote: post #24

Can I read a physical book when I'm running? Can I read a physical book when I'm doing house work? Or throwing pots in my studio? Or knitting? Or cooking? Or driving? Can I stay focused if I'm just sitting and listening instead of reading? Absolutely not. There's no 'vs' here. They occupy different spaces. All hail text, whatever form it takes.

and books occupy physical space, something I can't afford on my tiny apartment

I have hundreds of books in the size of paperback. E-readers are great for reading, I wouldn't want to go back.
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