Audiobooks vs Reading

[Southern Ivy]

Just wondering if I'm alone in this: 

I have tried audiobooks before (mainly when driving), but I find I get too distracted. I start thinking of other things and I miss crucial moments or important information. I have to back up and listen to the parts again.
I am far more engaged when I can read a book, rather than listen to it. 

Was listening and comprehending the audiobooks a skill you had to acquire? Or, is it possibly just something that can be a struggle for visual people? 

ETA: I'm not bashing audiobooks in any way. I would love to be able to listen and get a lot out of them, especially since my reading time is limited. 

[bakpak]

I have an easier time reading than listening, but I think you're right, it is a skill that will improve with time. I also think it depends on the type of audiobook and how stressful your driving commute is. There are many fewer options of audiobooks compared to books at the library for the genres I like, so I often settle for something that's not as fully engaging as what I normally read. I think this contributes to not getting lost in the story as much. You are much more distracted while driving than reading, so it's harder to maintain that interest. Instead of having to go back to listen again, I've gotten better about just turning the CD off when I'm starting to become less engaged, and restart again when I'm fresh.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I struggle with this too.  I don't think it's inherently the format, I think it's because audiobook automatically equals multi-tasking, whereas a physical book requires total attention.  If I were to just sit still in a chair and either take notes or do nothing while listening to an audiobook, I'd probably retain it as well as a book I read physically.  But since I have children,  I've never been able to actually test that hypothesis... 

[Sukale]

I do better with audiobooks. I love the different voice tones and accents that I can hear. I find myself getting board with a paper book and wanting to skip ahead a few pages to get to the next "action" in the story. With a good classic audiobook I absorb the the rich language and can follow along and understand the story so much better. I remember trying to read The Secret Garden a loud when my oldest was little. I just couldn't get into the book. When I got the audiobook we both loved listening to it.

[ondreeuh]

My oldest son listens to audiobooks while he reads along. My youngest son listens to them while he plays with Legos. Both of them actually do VERY well listening in the car (we are almost through the whole SOTW series). I can only get something out of it if I am knitting or doing a jigsaw - otherwise my mind wanders too much. Actually I was able to follow the autiobiographies of Amy Poehler and Tina Fey while driving, because they were doing the narrating themselves. I tried listening to an audiobook (and then a Great Courses lecture) while walking on the treadmill and it was torture. I wish I was able to multitask better while listening - but I think I have a touch of ADD.

[Southern Ivy]

Glad I'm not alone!!  :laugh: 
 

[OneStepAtATime]

I do not do well with audiobooks.  I do better reading.  My son does phenomenally well with audio books.  Way better than reading them.  

 

I do better with audiobooks on long car rides on highways where I am not having to dodge traffic, especially if it is a book on a topic I am interested in researching.  Still, it isn't easy and I hate having to then try to find specific information again later.

[mamaraby]

I think it's a skill a lot of people can develop, but not necessarily all and it's ok if that's not you. They really work well for us. Dh gets really annoyed listening to the radio (as do I) with all the commercials and such. Audiobooks mean dh can read more than he might without them. The kids and I really enjoy ours. YMMV

[wendyroo]

I have a Roomba vacuum cleaner; it does a pretty good job vacuuming, but man is it inefficient.  It bounces all over the place and will go by a piece a lint a dozen times always missing it by a couple inches.  OTOH, a robot spending an hour vacuuming a room while I'm taking the kids to the park still beats me spending (or, more likely not finding the time to spend) 15 minutes in there efficiently vacuuming.

 

That's how I see audiobooks.  I'm currently listening to SWB's The History of the Ancient World in preparation for doing SOTW 1 with the kids next year.  I listen for 30ish minutes a day while I clean; I am currently going through the book for the second time.  Do I retain as much as I would if I was reading the book?  Certainly not the first time listening to it, probalby not even after two listenings.  But then again, I don't really have 30 uninterrupted minutes a day to devote to reading it, so any information I do glean from the audiobook while multi-tasking is certainly more than I would get from having the book sitting around unread.

 

Wendy

[Butter]

I don't do well with audiobooks (or having someone else reading aloud to me).  My husband and oldest son do best listening to audiobooks (or someone else reading aloud).  Different things work for different people.

[frogerella]

I love audiobooks.  I've been listening to them for years and yes, I believe it's a skill that gets better with practice :).  For me, reading a book is more engaging because I get to create the world, the images, the voices, etc. whereas an audiobook part of it is decided for you.  It's probably why we are often so disappointed with books made into movies because the world we create is so different from the world that a movie director creates.  

 

Just a recommendation, young adult or kids audiobooks are fun and less complicated than most adult books so they're great for practice!

[ondreeuh]

Ok. DS7 and I spent about 3 hours today listening to audiobooks while doing jigsaw puzzles together, and then later he took a break from official schoolwork to go listen to Henry Huggins while playing with Legos.

 

Besides puzzles and legos, what other activities are great for keeping your hands busy and mind on the story?

[Rosie_0801]

 Was listening and comprehending the audiobooks a skill you had to acquire? 

 

Absolutely yes. When I first started trying to listen to audiobooks, I felt like I couldn't hear them properly, even though I could, unless I already knew the story. I had decided to listen to all of Jane Austen's work that year, so I began with the stories I already knew and by the time I was done with them, I had no problems listening to the unfamiliar stories at all.

[RootAnn]

Wow, I opened this thread up thinking it was something completely different. (Value of listening to audiobooks vs. reading the book itself)

 

My kids have grown up listening to either me read aloud or an audiobook. Except for eldest, they prefer to listen over reading a book themselves. Eldest wants to be able to skim, to skip ahead, to go at her own pace (fast). Audiobooks require her to slow down & listen at the pace of the book & not zoom to the ending. I require them to be able to both listen to an audiobook (or Great Course lecture) & read Hard Things. Sometimes, it goes better if they hear the classic before they read it themselves. 

 

Me? I love listening to audiobooks and often find myself unable to concentrate on what I'm supposed to be doing if I'm listening too much to the audiobook. I have to have it turned off before I can get back to work (fixing dinner, going between rooms to do chores). My biggest annoyance with audiobooks is either missing the action when they are listening & I can't or having to listen to the same story 156 times (like D'Aulaires' Greek Myths-  :smash: ).

[Alice]

I'm a very visual learner and definitely think that listening is a skill. I used to really not enjoy audiobooks. In the same way I hate being read to. (I love reading out loud to my kids but I hate having someone else read to me.) I also found I got much more out of reading a text in school rather than listening to a lecture. I trained myself to take copious notes in all my classes and it was only the act of writing down what I heard that made me able to retain anything. 

 

I have started to get back into audiobooks in the past few years because I have to drive a lot in the mornings on my own. My kids also love audiobooks and we always have one going in the car. For me, there will always be books that I don't want to listen to as an audiobook but would prefer to read. I still wouldn't be able to listen to a book if it was one that I wanted to get information from rather than mostly be entertained by. 

 

Things that I find helps:
Listening to books I had already read. That way if I stop listening for a few minutes I don't feel like I have to rewind. 

Listening to "lighter" books. I tend to prefer mysteries or young adult novels in the car. I did also really love listening to David Copperfield last summer. I find it easier to pay attention in the car to something that is more plot driven rather than something more cerebral (which I often like to read.) 

Finding certain readers that I enjoy. Jim Dale is amazing, I loved listening to all the Harry Potter books with him as a narrator. 

 

[Χά�ων]

I do not do well with audiobooks. I do better reading. My son does phenomenally well with audio books. Way better than reading them.

 

I do better with audiobooks on long car rides on highways where I am not having to dodge traffic, especially if it is a book on a topic I am interested in researching. Still, it isn't easy and I hate having to then try to find specific information again later.

This.

[pitterpatter]

The only things I can do and effectively listen to audiobooks or my Kindle read text-to-speech at the same time is cutting, folding laundry and wrapping presents, although I still have to back up and replay every now and again while doing those. Listening while riding through rural Illinois was okay too, but not regular highway driving/riding. When I read, I like to reread the parts/paragraphs I really like...up to five-six times sometimes. It bugs me that I can't do this with audiobooks. I find I'm still thinking about the good part while the rest plays on. Sometimes, I let Kindle read to me at night in bed while a follow along. I tend to drift off. The next day, I find that I slept through chapters! It's a real pain to try to find the point where I was last conscious. Hah!

 

DD does amazingly well with audiobooks, but she tends to listen to them over and over. Whatever she misses the first time, she catches in subsequent readings.

 

I don't really like audiobooks for myself, but I'm training myself to listen to them during monotonous tasks. My brain races, so things like folding large baskets of laundry (particularly DH's white shirts) can be next to torture for me. Audiobooks make such tasks a little easier to bare. Unfortunately, my Outlander book doesn't have text-to-speech on it. Laundry's piling up fast. :p

[Southern Ivy]

I have a Roomba vacuum cleaner; it does a pretty good job vacuuming, but man is it inefficient.  It bounces all over the place and will go by a piece a lint a dozen times always missing it by a couple inches.  OTOH, a robot spending an hour vacuuming a room while I'm taking the kids to the park still beats me spending (or, more likely not finding the time to spend) 15 minutes in there efficiently vacuuming.

That's a great analogy. :)  

 

 

Absolutely yes. When I first started trying to listen to audiobooks, I felt like I couldn't hear them properly, even though I could, unless I already knew the story. I had decided to listen to all of Jane Austen's work that year, so I began with the stories I already knew and by the time I was done with them, I had no problems listening to the unfamiliar stories at all.

 

I'm a very visual learner and definitely think that listening is a skill. I used to really not enjoy audiobooks. In the same way I hate being read to. (I love reading out loud to my kids but I hate having someone else read to me.) I also found I got much more out of reading a text in school rather than listening to a lecture. I trained myself to take copious notes in all my classes and it was only the act of writing down what I heard that made me able to retain anything. 

 

I have started to get back into audiobooks in the past few years because I have to drive a lot in the mornings on my own. My kids also love audiobooks and we always have one going in the car. For me, there will always be books that I don't want to listen to as an audiobook but would prefer to read. I still wouldn't be able to listen to a book if it was one that I wanted to get information from rather than mostly be entertained by. 

 

Things that I find helps:

Listening to books I had already read. That way if I stop listening for a few minutes I don't feel like I have to rewind. 

Listening to "lighter" books. I tend to prefer mysteries or young adult novels in the car. I did also really love listening to David Copperfield last summer. I find it easier to pay attention in the car to something that is more plot driven rather than something more cerebral (which I often like to read.) 

Finding certain readers that I enjoy. Jim Dale is amazing, I loved listening to all the Harry Potter books with him as a narrator. 

I'm much more visually and tactilely inclined, so I guess I just need to really train myself. I will have to try listening to books I've already read. Love the ideas. Thanks!

[EmilyK]

My kids love audiobooks but it has taken me a while to get as into them. For me, I find they really help me do monotonous household chores that I used to dread or delay (cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.). Maybe start there before using them while driving? 

[purduemeche]

I am generally fine with audiobooks...except Dickens.  I am trying to listen through Bleak House, and if I drive defensively for thirty seconds and pay attention to the road, Dickens has introduced three new characters and I am lost.  Again.

[Southern Ivy]

I am generally fine with audiobooks...except Dickens.  I am trying to listen through Bleak House, and if I drive defensively for thirty seconds and pay attention to the road, Dickens has introduced three new characters and I am lost.  Again.

Well, that happens just when I'm reading Dickens! :lol:  If I were to listen to him, I'd just be hearing words - no comprehension whatsoever. 

[mom2att]

You are not alone. I do not like being read to, nor do I enjoy audiobooks. I need to hold it in my hands and see it with my eyes for it to penetrate my brain. I also don't do well with youtube videos explaining something, and I hate it when I click on a news item online and it takes me to a video.  Just give me the words in print, please.  I've found that trying to interpret spoken directions is difficult for me. My husband was trying to explain over the phone how to fix something in the house. I ended up throwing down the phone in frustration and asking him to text me the directions. Thing was fixed in no time after that.

 

I do have one child who needs to read along with audio because he is a super slow reader, and another who just likes to be read to. I've read myself hoarse with them. My oldest, however, is just like me. Once she could read anything she put her hands on well (which was when she was 5), she didn't want me to read to her anymore.

[Cottonwood]

You're not alone for sure.  the kids and I have tried numerous times to stay tuned in and we just can't.  The kids minds seem to be so busy.  But give them a book and they are completely focused until they finish it.  We just got home from a trip to Wyoming and we drove along some of the loneliest and sparse roads there is.  Ten hours each way.  We tried audiobooks again and while DH was riveted by the story (LOL) we all fell asleep.  Finally, after several naps, we asked him to just stop the book and finish it later.  Which he did on the way back. While we napped soundly.  LOLOL

 

I really want it to work for us, and we try but can't do it.

[Arcadia]

Audiobooks or audio lectures work well for my kids in the car or before they sleep. I would fall asleep though since car rides make me sleepy and I am not the driver.

[rocassie]

I'm okay if I'm doing something that doesn't take a lot of concentration like driving (well when it's not bad driving conditions or crazy busy), folding clothes, walking, or knitting.  If I am a passenger in a car, I will almost always doze off while listening.