"What has gone before"

[ur-bane]

I've never listened to an audio book, but I know that I read faster than most people speak.
For me, it would be annoying simply knowing that I would have read 4 pages by the time one page was spoken.

[Berenford]

I've never listened to an audio book, but I know that I read faster than most people speak.
For me, it would be annoying simply knowing that I would have read 4 pages by the time one page was spoken.

I don't understand this way of thinking. You can't read at all while driving, so isn't a slow rate (listening) better than nothing? Perhaps it will even allow you to savour the book in a different way, a way which is prevented while reading because of the faster rate?

I can understand a preference for reading when reading is possible, but surely listening is a good idea when reading isn't possible?

[dlbpharmd]

I particularly enjoy audiobooks on long trips, but only when I'm alone.

Thanks for the update, Berenford!

[ur-bane]

Berenford, I would have to guess my way of thinking is due to where I live. I live on Long Island, New York, USA. It is just too fast-moving a driving environment to concentrate on driving and concentrate on an audiobook. It is kind of like cell phone conversations. Silly laws are passed for "hands-free" usage of the phone. That's a joke to me. It's not the hands that are the problem, it's the attention. Drivers should be paying attention to the road, not to their cell phone conversation. Hands/no hands doesn't make a difference. Same holds true with audiobooks in a driving environment. I would not want to get distracted while driving.

Any other time, if I want to read, I set time aside for it. I prefer music in the background while doing my daily tasks. But that's just me. By no means am I trying to sway people away from audio books. They're just not for me.

[Berenford]

Berenford, I would have to guess my way of thinking is due to where I live. I live on Long Island, New York, USA. It is just too fast-moving a driving environment to concentrate on driving and concentrate on an audiobook. It is kind of like cell phone conversations. Silly laws are passed for "hands-free" usage of the phone. That's a joke to me. It's not the hands that are the problem, it's the attention. Drivers should be paying attention to the road, not to their cell phone conversation. Hands/no hands doesn't make a difference. Same holds true with audiobooks in a driving environment. I would not want to get distracted while driving.

Any other time, if I want to read, I set time aside for it. I prefer music in the background while doing my daily tasks. But that's just me. By no means am I trying to sway people away from audio books. They're just not for me.

Ahh, now I understand. Yes, I find audiobooks distracting in busy driving situations. But they are great for multi-hour stretches on the interstate/motorway.

But some aspects of books are ill-suited to audiobooks. For example, the plot of the Da Vinci Code hinges on the fact that two characters are actually the same person. But since the narrator tried to do different voices for different characters, his reading is actually inconsistent with the key plot twist.