I love audiobooks! I'd say they account for 90% of the books I read in a year. Depending on the year, that's somewhere between 50 and 60 books. I started doing audio in junior high when I became a member of Recording for the Blind. I have some vision and learning issues that made it very difficult for me to read all of my assignments in school. It's a long story, one I should probably write about someday. But the gist of it is that I used to get all my books in junior high and high school on audio. But unlike the audiobooks of today, those books came on 4-track cassettes and could only be played on a clunky recorder that was about the size and weight of four modern laptops stacked on top of each other. The narrators were dry. Really dry. I think the philosophy was to read, not perform. I stayed with those audiobooks in college and law school, but I used them only for pleasure reading. By that time, I was able to keep up with my school reading, but by the end of the day my eyes were done, even if I wanted to pick up a novel for fun. These days, most of my pleasure reading is on audiobooks because my eyes still kind of fail me after a long day of writing and looking at a screen. But what I love about modern audiobooks is that they're less like an afterthought or something that was done for a handful of people who needed to access material via audio. They're becoming an art in their right, which makes them A LOT more enjoyable to listen to than the audiobooks I used in school. Anyway, I'm a huge fan of what they've become, but I'm also indebted to the format because if I hadn't had audiobooks I don't think I would've made it through school, and honestly, I don't think I'd be writing either. If you want to ask about any of this, I'm happy to talk more about audio!
Thanks, MIchael. I would like to follow up with you and I will.
Your experience with audio books over the years suggests that there has been an arc to the life form. I've heard from others that certain narrators can make or break the experience for them. I know that some of Neil Gaiman's work is performed by more than one narrator/actor. Like a theater in your ear. He's probably one of many, I'm guessing.
Snap. I just wrote a comment explaining that I listen exclusively to audiobooks because of an eye condition. I started keeping track of my reading this year (I often go to write 'reading' when I'm taking about audiobooks but that feels like diminishing it) and I have already read 54 books this year. Thank you audiobooks!
I just finished The Dutch house read by Tom Hanks and the performance was great. I didn't know the history of the form but it makes sense that it started out functionally and later became an art form.
I struggle with bad narration. I've had to stop books with enjoyable content because of unendurable narration. So yay for most of today's audios being generally pretty great!
I’ve never tried audiobooks. I have wireless headphones and I listen to podcasts all the time while cleaning or cooking (music, almost never).
I know a lot of folks listen to audiobooks while driving or walking, but I drive as little as possible, never for longer than an hour, and half the time I’ve got kids in the back seat. I do my best thinking while walking, so I never wear headphones then. So I think it’s about the length of time/level of attention I can give during any given listen.
When I used to commute long distances, I tried audio books (books on tape then) from time to time and a few times, I'd get to work and want to sit in the parking lot until the chapter ended. But once that ended so did my experimentation with it. I agree - it has to do with the length of time available. Like you and a few others who have commented here, I don't like to listen to anything except the world around me and my own thoughts when I take a walk.
I selected 'all the time' but that is only a temporary preference. Hopefully. I have an eye condition that makes it difficult to move my eyes in the way reading physical books requires. I do miss curling up with a physical book. But audiobooks mean I can still read without using my eyes. I am so SO grateful to audiobooks for that.
I used to read to my grandmother when she had macular degeneration and another grandmother with similar issues loved audio books. If we love books but can't read them then being able to listen is a gift. I'm glad you are able to enjoy the books you love.
I agree. That audio books exist is a good thing. I read a few when my cataracts got bad (always when poorly), but I haven’t listened to one since my eyes were sorted a year ago. When it comes to walking, which I do a lot of, I find headphones, also cellphones and cameras a distraction from ‘moments’. I hate the increasing reliance on technology for the simplest of things. How long before people start getting cellphone chips planted in their head with a built-in ‘suicide’ feature?
That last scenario is NOT something I'm looking forward to, Robert. I hope it doesn't come to that! But I'm with you on keeping things out of my ears while walking. I really don't want to have anything pull me away from the world around me when I am actually out in it.
Betsy, as you well know, Saturday week we have a coronation coming up, which I will watch on TV for the theatre of it all, despite being against having a hereditary head of state. The occasion will be a sea of cellphones all jostling to take photographs and, in the process, the cellphone holder will miss seeing Charles and Camilla in the flesh. They will probably have earphones/headphones too so they watch it all from their spot on The Mall where they have spent the night holding onto their spot.
Maybe I will follow a fictional Mr and Mrs Royal and let them tell their own story and that of their grandparents, who did exactly the same thing in 1953. Thanks for the idea. Robert 🐰
I replied Never to your survey, but that doesn't mean I never listen to them. I like to listen to poets read their own work (I have several audiobooks out myself, but I only narrated my poetry book Desire Returns for a Visit). I used to listen to audiobooks when I was painting the walls of my house(s), but I no longer do that. I just love having the book in my hands for reading.
I like the book in my hands too. I also like to mark up pages and flag parts to go back to. I worry it might be difficult to do with an audio book?
You were one of the first people to tell me how audio books and finding narrators worked, way back when we attended Bindercon together in LA. I have always tucked that in the back of my mind. It seems another whole audience exists for them.
I’ve listened to a lot of audiobooks over the years. There are certain books I prefer to listen to. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey is a good example because his voice is so iconic. Highly recommended. I listen to less these days since I don’t have a commute anymore. I’ll listen to lots of podcasts while on walks or when I’m driving around to various places around town, but I really should pop on an audiobook more often in those moments.
I've read through your entire conversation with Michael, Lyle. I've never been tempted to read anything by Matthew McConaughey but if I do, it will be because of this conversation. I think, in his case, hearing that drawl is key to the experience.
Long commutes favor the books. A few folks here have said that the time available to them influences what they choose to listen to.
I always recommend Green Lights! It’s hilarious and weird and full of little wisdom gems. Perfect McConaughey. One funny thing about that book is that at the very end, like the last two pages, he made some vague political statements. This was PR bait of the highest order. The book has nothing to say about politics, but most of the coverage of Green Lights was about whether or not he’d run for governor or maybe president. On one level that’s a sad statement about the state of political journalism. But on a personal level it was helpful because it told me exactly which reporters wrote long stories about a book they didn’t read. I unfollowed them all on twitter, but then I left twitter, which is another story. But yeah, Green Lights for the win!
You don't remember them because they weren't really part of the book. At the end, he just said some stuff like "America has big challenges, and we're divided, but we can work together..." All really generic political candidate fluff. But it worked! Which is why my next novel will end with a brief five-point plan on fixing social security.
Points one and two will appeal to socialists. Point #3 will be bipartisan. Points 4 and 5 will appeal to libertarians. I'll be torn apart for sure, but bestseller here I come!
I’ve read Braiding Sweetgrass and I found parts beautiful, but overall it was sometimes boring, way too long, and tedious. Appreciated the vision and themes, but didn’t love the book.
Also found myself unable to answer your survey as I don’t prefer audiobooks over print, but I love them both equally 100% and I am always reading a print and an audiobook. Mostly like audio for commercial/genre fiction, memoir, or inspirational, and I like print for non-fiction or for denser, literary fiction.
I am interested in the what makes you gravitate to one form for some books and the other for others. Do you know why one works better for some forms than the other or is it just an internal instinct guiding you to what feels right?
I like to highlight and take notes on many non-fiction books, so like those best on Kindle or paperback. Then I highlight beautiful lines in lit fiction so also like those in print. Audio is just for entertainment.
Though sometimes I’ll listen to books I think will be hard to get through, but I want to read them. For example, thicker history non-fiction.
I have shifted slowly to audiobooks more and more as my attention span has waned over the last 3 years. Lately, it's a way that allows me to fully be present with the story, as I have to pay attention and focus, and I can spend time walking, or knitting, or cleaning, and be present with the story while my body moves around. It's been so helpful for me!
It's interesting that audio books allow you to feel more present with a book . Others say they are more easily distracted. There are so many ways we respond differently to words whether they are spoken or on the page.
I mostly listen to audio books when I'm on a long drive. Otherwise, not so much. I'm not one for listening to music or podcasts or audio books when I'm walking; I like to be present with where I am and what I'm experiencing in the world.
As for "Braiding Sweetgrass," I began reading it on a flight from Maui to San Diego, but I'm also not one for ebooks and knew this is one I had to have in my hands. I wrote down two quotes in my daybook. I know there were many more I captured on bits and pieces of paper as I read, but these two are in my daybook that I keep by my morning writing table. "Isn't this the purpose of education, to learn the nature of your own gifts and how to use them for good in the world." p. 239. And..."If there is meaning in the past and in the imagined future, it is captured in the moment." p. 296.
These quotes stayed with me too, Judy. And you are among those of us who like our ears free when we are walking about in the world. I just about never take long drives these days but I always think audio books would be perfect for them as long as I don't get too lost in the story...
Hi Betsy, I got to attend a workshop with Ada Limone yesterday, and she said that sometimes we can’t write because we have too much to say, so we have to start by narrowing...start with something smaller. She also said that sometimes we are in receiving periods rather than giving periods in terms of writing which made me wonder what I will do when I’m receiving in terms of pocketfulofprose. So this helps me, pose some interesting questions and maybe some cool photos, better if they are of birds and remind folks we all need rest. I love Braiding Sweetgrass. I think everyone should read it, but her writing style appeals to me- making all these things that don’t seemingly connect, connect. I’m also just really into Indigenous wisdom and how if we listened more, we might have some solutions to some really big problems. I really love how she writes about motherhood and also reciprocity and what it means to share and receive gifts. That’s the relationship I want to have with Substack in a way, a sharing a receiving of gifts.
Thanks, Mary. All of those things that Ada Limone said are true.
And you are right, Robin Wall Kimmerer's writing is so special and her mind / way of putting things together just really works. Here's to reciprocity in the world and with our writing!
I listen to audio books when my hands and/or eyes are otherwise occupied, like when I am grooming my dog. I used to listen to them while walking in my San Diego neighborhood but I haven’t listened to anything but nature while walking in my new rural neighborhood in Vermont’s NE Kingdom.
I find audio books different from reading but neither better nor worse. I sometimes like to flip backwards in a book while reading, and it’s harder to do that in an audiobook. But it makes me pay more attention and sometimes I will read the book I have listened to if I enjoyed it.
Ahh, interesting that you sometimes read a book after listening to it. Do you get more from the story that way or discover things in the book you didn't catch when you listened or vice versa?
You've given me an idea though. Next time I bathe the dogs, I may turn on an audio book just to see if that distracts them while I listen. They don't love their bath days so much...
It’s kind of like watching a movie and reading the book, although listening to a book is obviously more true to the writing. Listening and reading bring me the story through different senses. I tend to pay closer attention when reading but honestly if I really enjoyed listening, reading it just gives me another chance to savor the story while making sure I didn’t miss anything.
You may find the dogs are more relaxed when you have a book to distract you from their unhappiness!
I love books. Any books, but I particularly love holding a printed something in my hands. The thing about audiobooks is they fill the space that happens when I’m too tired to read, my eyes need a break, my brain is fried or I just need to hear different voices. They’re great for road trips. But... I find I don’t like audiobooks that aren’t narrated by author or a truly good actor.
Thank you, Courtney. I'm glad I was able to just follow my instincts instead of forcing things. Patience turns out to be one of the simplest and most difficult aspects of writing for me.
I love audiobooks! I'd say they account for 90% of the books I read in a year. Depending on the year, that's somewhere between 50 and 60 books. I started doing audio in junior high when I became a member of Recording for the Blind. I have some vision and learning issues that made it very difficult for me to read all of my assignments in school. It's a long story, one I should probably write about someday. But the gist of it is that I used to get all my books in junior high and high school on audio. But unlike the audiobooks of today, those books came on 4-track cassettes and could only be played on a clunky recorder that was about the size and weight of four modern laptops stacked on top of each other. The narrators were dry. Really dry. I think the philosophy was to read, not perform. I stayed with those audiobooks in college and law school, but I used them only for pleasure reading. By that time, I was able to keep up with my school reading, but by the end of the day my eyes were done, even if I wanted to pick up a novel for fun. These days, most of my pleasure reading is on audiobooks because my eyes still kind of fail me after a long day of writing and looking at a screen. But what I love about modern audiobooks is that they're less like an afterthought or something that was done for a handful of people who needed to access material via audio. They're becoming an art in their right, which makes them A LOT more enjoyable to listen to than the audiobooks I used in school. Anyway, I'm a huge fan of what they've become, but I'm also indebted to the format because if I hadn't had audiobooks I don't think I would've made it through school, and honestly, I don't think I'd be writing either. If you want to ask about any of this, I'm happy to talk more about audio!
Thanks, MIchael. I would like to follow up with you and I will.
Your experience with audio books over the years suggests that there has been an arc to the life form. I've heard from others that certain narrators can make or break the experience for them. I know that some of Neil Gaiman's work is performed by more than one narrator/actor. Like a theater in your ear. He's probably one of many, I'm guessing.
Happy to talk about audiobooks as much as you’d like me too. I’m very passionate about them.
Snap. I just wrote a comment explaining that I listen exclusively to audiobooks because of an eye condition. I started keeping track of my reading this year (I often go to write 'reading' when I'm taking about audiobooks but that feels like diminishing it) and I have already read 54 books this year. Thank you audiobooks!
I just finished The Dutch house read by Tom Hanks and the performance was great. I didn't know the history of the form but it makes sense that it started out functionally and later became an art form.
I struggle with bad narration. I've had to stop books with enjoyable content because of unendurable narration. So yay for most of today's audios being generally pretty great!
I’ve never tried audiobooks. I have wireless headphones and I listen to podcasts all the time while cleaning or cooking (music, almost never).
I know a lot of folks listen to audiobooks while driving or walking, but I drive as little as possible, never for longer than an hour, and half the time I’ve got kids in the back seat. I do my best thinking while walking, so I never wear headphones then. So I think it’s about the length of time/level of attention I can give during any given listen.
When I used to commute long distances, I tried audio books (books on tape then) from time to time and a few times, I'd get to work and want to sit in the parking lot until the chapter ended. But once that ended so did my experimentation with it. I agree - it has to do with the length of time available. Like you and a few others who have commented here, I don't like to listen to anything except the world around me and my own thoughts when I take a walk.
I selected 'all the time' but that is only a temporary preference. Hopefully. I have an eye condition that makes it difficult to move my eyes in the way reading physical books requires. I do miss curling up with a physical book. But audiobooks mean I can still read without using my eyes. I am so SO grateful to audiobooks for that.
I used to read to my grandmother when she had macular degeneration and another grandmother with similar issues loved audio books. If we love books but can't read them then being able to listen is a gift. I'm glad you are able to enjoy the books you love.
I resisted audiobooks for the longest time. Until the eye thing. Now I think they are a gift from the heavens!
I agree. That audio books exist is a good thing. I read a few when my cataracts got bad (always when poorly), but I haven’t listened to one since my eyes were sorted a year ago. When it comes to walking, which I do a lot of, I find headphones, also cellphones and cameras a distraction from ‘moments’. I hate the increasing reliance on technology for the simplest of things. How long before people start getting cellphone chips planted in their head with a built-in ‘suicide’ feature?
That last scenario is NOT something I'm looking forward to, Robert. I hope it doesn't come to that! But I'm with you on keeping things out of my ears while walking. I really don't want to have anything pull me away from the world around me when I am actually out in it.
I usually walk without stimulation for the same reason.
Betsy, as you well know, Saturday week we have a coronation coming up, which I will watch on TV for the theatre of it all, despite being against having a hereditary head of state. The occasion will be a sea of cellphones all jostling to take photographs and, in the process, the cellphone holder will miss seeing Charles and Camilla in the flesh. They will probably have earphones/headphones too so they watch it all from their spot on The Mall where they have spent the night holding onto their spot.
Maybe I will follow a fictional Mr and Mrs Royal and let them tell their own story and that of their grandparents, who did exactly the same thing in 1953. Thanks for the idea. Robert 🐰
I replied Never to your survey, but that doesn't mean I never listen to them. I like to listen to poets read their own work (I have several audiobooks out myself, but I only narrated my poetry book Desire Returns for a Visit). I used to listen to audiobooks when I was painting the walls of my house(s), but I no longer do that. I just love having the book in my hands for reading.
I like the book in my hands too. I also like to mark up pages and flag parts to go back to. I worry it might be difficult to do with an audio book?
You were one of the first people to tell me how audio books and finding narrators worked, way back when we attended Bindercon together in LA. I have always tucked that in the back of my mind. It seems another whole audience exists for them.
Wow. You're good at holding onto info! We rode to Bindercon with Elaine. I'm so glad we met.
I’ve listened to a lot of audiobooks over the years. There are certain books I prefer to listen to. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey is a good example because his voice is so iconic. Highly recommended. I listen to less these days since I don’t have a commute anymore. I’ll listen to lots of podcasts while on walks or when I’m driving around to various places around town, but I really should pop on an audiobook more often in those moments.
I've read through your entire conversation with Michael, Lyle. I've never been tempted to read anything by Matthew McConaughey but if I do, it will be because of this conversation. I think, in his case, hearing that drawl is key to the experience.
Long commutes favor the books. A few folks here have said that the time available to them influences what they choose to listen to.
I always recommend Green Lights! It’s hilarious and weird and full of little wisdom gems. Perfect McConaughey. One funny thing about that book is that at the very end, like the last two pages, he made some vague political statements. This was PR bait of the highest order. The book has nothing to say about politics, but most of the coverage of Green Lights was about whether or not he’d run for governor or maybe president. On one level that’s a sad statement about the state of political journalism. But on a personal level it was helpful because it told me exactly which reporters wrote long stories about a book they didn’t read. I unfollowed them all on twitter, but then I left twitter, which is another story. But yeah, Green Lights for the win!
Wow, that’s bad. I don’t even remember the vague political statements. I just remember his great stories and the numerous little wisdom nuggets.
You don't remember them because they weren't really part of the book. At the end, he just said some stuff like "America has big challenges, and we're divided, but we can work together..." All really generic political candidate fluff. But it worked! Which is why my next novel will end with a brief five-point plan on fixing social security.
Fixing social security? Sounds like something a socialist would say...
Points one and two will appeal to socialists. Point #3 will be bipartisan. Points 4 and 5 will appeal to libertarians. I'll be torn apart for sure, but bestseller here I come!
I’ve read Braiding Sweetgrass and I found parts beautiful, but overall it was sometimes boring, way too long, and tedious. Appreciated the vision and themes, but didn’t love the book.
Duly noted, Charlotte! Thanks for weighing in.
The second half was really repetitive. But I still thought the book's message was extremely worthwhile.
Totally agree. It was the second half also that really dragged for me.
I thought my reaction was just me being an editor.
Also found myself unable to answer your survey as I don’t prefer audiobooks over print, but I love them both equally 100% and I am always reading a print and an audiobook. Mostly like audio for commercial/genre fiction, memoir, or inspirational, and I like print for non-fiction or for denser, literary fiction.
I am interested in the what makes you gravitate to one form for some books and the other for others. Do you know why one works better for some forms than the other or is it just an internal instinct guiding you to what feels right?
I like to highlight and take notes on many non-fiction books, so like those best on Kindle or paperback. Then I highlight beautiful lines in lit fiction so also like those in print. Audio is just for entertainment.
Though sometimes I’ll listen to books I think will be hard to get through, but I want to read them. For example, thicker history non-fiction.
I have shifted slowly to audiobooks more and more as my attention span has waned over the last 3 years. Lately, it's a way that allows me to fully be present with the story, as I have to pay attention and focus, and I can spend time walking, or knitting, or cleaning, and be present with the story while my body moves around. It's been so helpful for me!
It's interesting that audio books allow you to feel more present with a book . Others say they are more easily distracted. There are so many ways we respond differently to words whether they are spoken or on the page.
I mostly listen to audio books when I'm on a long drive. Otherwise, not so much. I'm not one for listening to music or podcasts or audio books when I'm walking; I like to be present with where I am and what I'm experiencing in the world.
As for "Braiding Sweetgrass," I began reading it on a flight from Maui to San Diego, but I'm also not one for ebooks and knew this is one I had to have in my hands. I wrote down two quotes in my daybook. I know there were many more I captured on bits and pieces of paper as I read, but these two are in my daybook that I keep by my morning writing table. "Isn't this the purpose of education, to learn the nature of your own gifts and how to use them for good in the world." p. 239. And..."If there is meaning in the past and in the imagined future, it is captured in the moment." p. 296.
These quotes stayed with me too, Judy. And you are among those of us who like our ears free when we are walking about in the world. I just about never take long drives these days but I always think audio books would be perfect for them as long as I don't get too lost in the story...
Hi Betsy, I got to attend a workshop with Ada Limone yesterday, and she said that sometimes we can’t write because we have too much to say, so we have to start by narrowing...start with something smaller. She also said that sometimes we are in receiving periods rather than giving periods in terms of writing which made me wonder what I will do when I’m receiving in terms of pocketfulofprose. So this helps me, pose some interesting questions and maybe some cool photos, better if they are of birds and remind folks we all need rest. I love Braiding Sweetgrass. I think everyone should read it, but her writing style appeals to me- making all these things that don’t seemingly connect, connect. I’m also just really into Indigenous wisdom and how if we listened more, we might have some solutions to some really big problems. I really love how she writes about motherhood and also reciprocity and what it means to share and receive gifts. That’s the relationship I want to have with Substack in a way, a sharing a receiving of gifts.
Thanks, Mary. All of those things that Ada Limone said are true.
And you are right, Robin Wall Kimmerer's writing is so special and her mind / way of putting things together just really works. Here's to reciprocity in the world and with our writing!
I listen to audio books when my hands and/or eyes are otherwise occupied, like when I am grooming my dog. I used to listen to them while walking in my San Diego neighborhood but I haven’t listened to anything but nature while walking in my new rural neighborhood in Vermont’s NE Kingdom.
I find audio books different from reading but neither better nor worse. I sometimes like to flip backwards in a book while reading, and it’s harder to do that in an audiobook. But it makes me pay more attention and sometimes I will read the book I have listened to if I enjoyed it.
Ahh, interesting that you sometimes read a book after listening to it. Do you get more from the story that way or discover things in the book you didn't catch when you listened or vice versa?
You've given me an idea though. Next time I bathe the dogs, I may turn on an audio book just to see if that distracts them while I listen. They don't love their bath days so much...
Say hello to Vermont for me.
It’s kind of like watching a movie and reading the book, although listening to a book is obviously more true to the writing. Listening and reading bring me the story through different senses. I tend to pay closer attention when reading but honestly if I really enjoyed listening, reading it just gives me another chance to savor the story while making sure I didn’t miss anything.
You may find the dogs are more relaxed when you have a book to distract you from their unhappiness!
Vermont says she misses you.
I love books. Any books, but I particularly love holding a printed something in my hands. The thing about audiobooks is they fill the space that happens when I’m too tired to read, my eyes need a break, my brain is fried or I just need to hear different voices. They’re great for road trips. But... I find I don’t like audiobooks that aren’t narrated by author or a truly good actor.
Thank you, Courtney. I'm glad I was able to just follow my instincts instead of forcing things. Patience turns out to be one of the simplest and most difficult aspects of writing for me.