LibriVox Forum

What are the advantages of Listening To Audiobooks over Reading Through The Eyes and What are the advantages the other way around?

Since,Librivox is not a Commercial Platform,I believe the Admins will not mind me posting this Topic and thus,we can have a Freindly discussion on it.

It's a very personal matter surely
If I were completely blind audiobooks would win hands down
If I was completely deaf printed texts would win ditto
Or if I am using my eyes or hands for something else then audiobooks win.
I can read text faster than I can follow an audiobook so if I was short of time text would win.
So there isn't an answer there either

So yes let's have a discussion but let's say

I think this way is better

not

this way is better

Anne

As a child of the 80's I encountered audio books. My public library in my town had an upstairs section. In there were shelves of cassette tape audio books. I borrowed an Arthur C Clarke novel and a tape by a British chess master on how to play better chess. That one was interesting; chess in audio has always been problematic. How do you describe the board position? It can be done but it is awkward. A visual book wins hands down for chess. I see that LibriVox has one chess book: Paul Morphy American Chess Champion.

At that point I went back to visual dead tree books.

Now in the computer age my reading habits have changed. My desk is not set up anymore for physical books. My computer, speakers and now a microphone, all fill the desk space. I have started to take audio books more seriously. Basically I only read digital PDFs or listen to audio books. In my era of schooling it was frowned upon to not be a "reader". I suppose that in a semantic sense I am not a "reader".

let me tell you that audiobooks seem to be a lot less alarming to other drivers. How these people ever got through life without seeing a book or a magazine is beyond me,

For me, reading printed books is better than listening to audiobooks. Although, I've only read one dead tree book since 2009; the rest of 700+ books I've read since 2009 have been digital on a Kindle.

Except for during PL, when listening to audiobooks for pleasure, my mind/attention wanders too much, so I can end up not remembering much, if anything, of what I've listened to, especially if I'm doing something else at the same time (household chores, driving, etc.). My brain retains the printed word much, much better.

So the obvious question arises: why am I here at LV?

While pleasure listening is worse for me, I enjoy reading aloud to others (especially my numerous school-age nieces and nephews). So I spend most of my time at LV as a reader rather than a PL. The side benefit is that since I'm reading, my brain is retaining what I've read aloud.

FWIW,

GettingTooOld wrote: ↑December 1st, 2021, 3:26 am let me tell you that audiobooks seem to be a lot less alarming to other drivers.

Wait, drivers??

Audiobooks are great for on the go (driving, doing yard work, etc), and for when I want to fall asleep to a good book.

DACSoft wrote: ↑December 1st, 2021, 11:01 am my mind/attention wanders too much, so I can end up not remembering much, if anything, of what I've listened to, especially if I'm doing something else at the same time (household chores, driving, etc.). My brain retains the printed word much, much better.

FWIW,

This.

And I agree about retention, although for me this continues to be a problem when I pre-read books, which I tend to do by mouthing the words. There are so many interesting things I've read aloud about, but I hardly retained any information, it seems.

I often/sometimes listen to 'A Chapter a Day' on my local public radio station. It's an half hour each weekday and the titles selected are not usually of a complex nature. I have to say that the readers are quite good and they make the stories and other texts come alive. I have even purchased the printed texts of some of their selections such as Amor Towles's 'A Gentleman from Moscow.'

Hahah! You'll notice that I did not address the question posed!

I used to have a very snooty opinion of audiobooks. I've always been a strong reader myself, and haughtily thought that audiobooks are for "people who can't read." Mea culpa.

My opinion has totally changed. Once I realized that I can read a good book while driving, while knitting, while cooking, etc., once I learned more about other people's legitimate struggle to read visually and got off of my high horse, once I realized that, historically, more people read a book by hearing it than by looking at it, once I learned about the brain science of what really happens in someone's head when they hear a book read to them... Well, now I make no distinction. I will unhesitatingly tell you that I read Silas Marner this year, for instance, when in fact I "only" listened to it.

That being said, I do still love physical books, and there are times when nothing else will do. When it's a book that I already know and want to get to know better, for instance, I love to read from a paper copy. It's so much easier to stop, slow down, back up, compare this chapter with the previous chapter, and make connections that I might have missed by listening straight through. And of course, sometimes I even feel I have to make notes!

Like most things in life, my answer here is "it depends."

KevinS wrote: ↑December 2nd, 2021, 6:06 pm I often/sometimes listen to 'A Chapter a Day' on my local public radio station. It's an half hour each weekday and the titles selected are not usually of a complex nature. I have to say that the readers are quite good and they make the stories and other texts come alive. I have even purchased the printed texts of some of their selections such as Amor Towles's 'A Gentleman from Moscow.'

Hahah! You'll notice that I did not address the question posed!

This sounds very cool -- what station??

northstar95 wrote: ↑December 5th, 2021, 12:35 pm

KevinS wrote: ↑December 2nd, 2021, 6:06 pm I often/sometimes listen to 'A Chapter a Day' on my local public radio station. It's an half hour each weekday and the titles selected are not usually of a complex nature. I have to say that the readers are quite good and they make the stories and other texts come alive. I have even purchased the printed texts of some of their selections such as Amor Towles's 'A Gentleman from Moscow.'

Hahah! You'll notice that I did not address the question posed!

This sounds very cool -- what station??

WHAD 90.7 FM

It is aired on the Internet, too. wpr.org (I think.)

Humans are made to listen, and sometimes we read too much. I like audiobooks because you don't think about listening, whereas if you are reading, you can't do anything else. Books on the other hand are better because if a word is mispronounced, you can't look it up in an audiobook, but in a book there is a glossary. (sometimes)

While I enjoy both.. the time it takes to complete a book is lesser when I listen to it, it takes longer to complete a book when I'm reading it. My mind tends to wander while reading while I feel like I pay close attention while listening to an audiobook or I'll miss it and would have to rewind. My native language isn't English, so that could also be a reason why I'm a rather slow reader.

To me, this is like "which color is better; red or blue?" Both are good, in this question and the one this thread is based on .

I opt for reading through eyes. I have nothing wrong or bad to say about audiobooks, but I perceive information better when I see the text.