Overthinking audiobooks

[umadoshi]

For a while now I've been vaguely meaning to try to get into audiobooks. The actual impetus--brace yourselves for the shock of this--is because I hear the Newsflesh books are generally well narrated, and I'm curious. But I also keep thinking that they're probably not the best place for me to start investigating the medium.

I hear the Code Name

Comments

[coastal_spirit]

I LOVE audiobooks. It always feels like someone is reading to me, and I've always loved that. However, I do understand your problem. I used to listen while I went back and forth to work, which was a half-hour commute each way, three times a week; and I spent more time than that in the car, since every place I regularly go is a 20 to 30 minute trip. However, now I'm not in the car nearly as much, and if I am, lots of times I'm with Wes, which is not conducive to listening to a book. I have tried knitting while I listen, which is a way to get me to knit, since I find it boring otherwise. (And you may say, "Well, why do it then?"; to which I can only answer, "I like the finished products, but not the process." If that makes any sense.) To make a long story short, I don't get many audiobooks now that I'm not driving around as much; but I do miss them a LOT, and, if you can find something to do while listening, I highly recommend them.

I am also meaning to listen to Night Vale, since everyone seems to like it immensely, but I just don't

[telophase]

Toby and I love audiobooks, and tend to listen to them in the car and while cleaning house. 15 minutes isn't too bad, actually: my morning commute is about 15-20 minutes depending on traffic (afternoon is 25-20, though), and I find that I can get into the story just fine.

As far as the Wil Wheaton: it's going to be up to your preferences. Wheaton is the sort of narrator that doesn't particularly do voices. Toby doesn't mind either way, but I tend to like them better if the narrator does distinct voices, because I have a tendency to drift mentally a bit, and that way I always know who's talking when I realize I've drifted off and need to start paying attention again. :)

Toby really likes the Newsflesh audiobooks, btw. Recently, we've both listened to Ben Aaronovitch's RIver of London series--the nerrator is fantastic--and I made Toby listen to the first Sandman Slim book. :D The narrator for Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastards series is also excellent, and he really gets into the over-the-top cursing

[dhampyresa]

Audiobooks! I used to listen to them a lot more than I currently do (having mostly replaced them with podcasts, mostly Stuff you Missed in History Class). I would heartily reccomend the audiobook for Runemarks (written by Joanne Harris), because the reader does the voice and does things like give related characters the same accent. There's also librivox.org for free audiobooks, read by volunteers (in particlular, I really love the Ariel from this dramatic reading of Shakespeare's Tempest). You can listen to audiobooks while exercising and/or doing housework.

[hymnia]

I listen to audiobooks while doing household chores - handwashing dishes, folding laundry, etc. - as well as in the car, even on fairly short drives. I also have kind of a long morning routine (about 30 minutes, post-shower) that I can use for listening time. Basically, anytime I have to use my hands and eyes, but only a small corner of my brain, I listen to audiobooks. I actually get a chance to consume far, far more books that way than I would by reading, because I'm just too busy most of the time to sit down and dedicate my full attention to media.

The last audiobook I finished listening to was the new Veronica Mars novel, and I thought it was very enjoyable. It was a little strange at first because Bell narrates but the book is written in third person, so it sounded like Veronica was talking about herself in third person. But it didn't take too long for me to get used to that little anomaly.

[umadoshi]

It was a little strange at first because Bell narrates but the book is written in third person

That didn't even occur to me as a possibility, which is very weird, since it's not like my Newsflesh obsession has suddenly made me forget that third person POV is more of a default. If I do make it as far as listening to that book in particular, I'm glad to be consciously aware of that detail in advance! I suspect I'd adjust quickly too, but it's also possible that I wouldn't. O_o