I've been told that after my eye surgery, I can't read for at least a week. (I don't really get this because I'm just getting one eye done, so why can't I read with the other eye?) The prospect of not being able to read is freaking me out. Does that mean I can't knit either? What the heck am I going to do -- listen to talk radio?
So I'm exploring audiobooks again. I've read listened experienced a few audiobooks over the last couple years, as it solves the perennial problem that I can't knit and read at the same time. (I do know of people who claim they can, but I'm skeptical of the quality of either activity.) Of the eight or so books I've downloaded, I've really enjoyed three and never got beyond the first hour of the others. My problems with them have been:
1. annoying narrator
2. losing track of the story
3. falling asleep
None of which is a problem for me with actual reading. But I liked a few, so I'm trying to figure out what it was about them that worked and look for similar styles.
I usually download them from audible.com which has thousands of titles of all genres, including a lot of soft-core you-know-what, more than one might expect. (I can't type the word in my blog or I'll get interesting spam.) They can be pricey, about as much as a hardcover bestseller, so you have to look for the bargains and guaranteed winners. The library offers downloads, but it's pretty cumbersome and incompatible with iPods, so that's not very useful.
My biggest problem with audiobooks is that I'm an extremely fast reader. (I'm not saying this out of pride, but fact. It's actually not always great, as I'll buy a book while waiting for a flight and finish it before I land. It really ups the cost of buying books if you finish them in one sitting.) So audiobooks drag considerably versus my own reading speed. I just found that my iPod has a "faster" option which does help, even if the narrator sounds a little funny.
There's some controversy (of course) about whether hearing a book is equal to reading it. It's an interesting issue: just because we've traditionally read words on paper, does that make listening less intellectually pure? After all, civilization started with the verbal tradition of stories being told around the campfire, before they figured out how to make paper and get a global publicity tour for a multi-book deal. People rhapsodize about the heft of the book and the smell of the paper, but the speed I read and the poor quality of the used books I buy makes that kind of moot.
So I'm on the quest for some good audiobooks. If you have any favorites, let me know. Nothing that'll make me cry, and no self-help, please -- this is as good as I get.
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