Audiobooks an apology
As a confirmed literary snob (or professional as we say round here) I have always been highly dismissive of audiobooks. This is a person who reads in excess of 100 books a year – read em and weep Goodreads. The Kindle was a revelation a decade ago. After the first holiday when I didn’t have to take up most of my baggage weight in paperbacks I never looked back. An entire library in your pocket for the train, brilliant.
But audiobooks. Someone else in control of the reading speed. A voice coming between me and the text. The smack of being read aloud to in childhood. The memory of those deathly dull classic serials on Radio 4 on a Sunday afternoon. Strictly for the civilians. Because I can read while listening to music, so why would I? And have you seen how long they are – eighteen hours, twelve hours – I mean won’t I have forgotten what happened at the start by the end.
But what’s this? The green Deathstar that is Spotify offering fifteen hours of audiobooks for free. Six months on I am a pretty complete convert. Family matters have involved a good amount of long-distance driving this year and I can now somewhat shamefacedly report on life with audiobooks.
What have I learned? Firstly, horses for courses. I still prefer a paper copy for reading at home. On the go nothing beats a Kindle. Audiobooks slot perfectly into the car commute or on a walk alongside the CDs. A good audiobook is the best type of mile melter, getting me through the jams and delays. It breaks up a long journey when another CD starts to pall – and my standard commute now consists of short classical piece on CD/audiobook until the roads have cleared/CDs until arrival at work.
So far I’ve massively enjoyed some trashy fun sci-fi (Murderbot Diaries), epic fantasy (The Obelisk Gate by NK Jemison) and waspishly witty collections of non-fiction pieces from Joan Didon and David Foster Wallace. Ms Moles has approved of both of the last category. My only bust has been much-hyped 70s sci-fi short stories from Japanese writer Izumi Suzuki which were deathly dull. The only slightly irksome voice has been that one reading Murakami’s Sputnik Sweetheart, but even then the narrator is slightly annoying so it fits. Ben Lerner’s voice reading At The Atocha Station is just perfect, but I’ve got used to the slightly dry, neutral tone of most readers.
Fifteen hours a month which is what you get with a premium and it seems to be enough for me, I got pretty close in April but otherwise haven’t needed to pay for any additional hours so far.
Podcasts man! Podcasts I hear you say. Well I just have never been able to think of them as anything except radio chat. Interesting theoretically, and the odd one such as the Chernobyl podcasts I really enjoyed. But as a new form of listening not really. Audiobooks however I’m now giving myself a large slice of humble pie.
I can see the publishers deals attempting to strike a balance between getting rinsed by Spotify on the streams, and the publicity the platform gives. Often there is one one or two works by an author on the ‘free with premium’ 15-hour package. Others by the author are paid for or on other platforms – so for example Ben Lerner’s equally brilliant The Topeka School is not available.
I probably read audiobooks for 90% of my reading. Dog walks, car journeys, train journeys or when I am attacking the garden. A good book we’ll read is a brilliant thing. Anthony Horowitz books and the Strike books are especially well read. And autobiographies read by the author are also fabulous.
They are perfect for when you want to read but your eyes are tired as well.
The Strike books are extraordinary, a bit verbose at times but having just listened to the (currently) final book which comes in at 34 hours 13 minutes I must say I’m not surprised that it has been rated at 4.9 out of 5 stars by over 5,000 readers/listeners on the Audible site, it’s pretty fast-paced despite its running time and the performance by narrator Robert Glenister is superb.
Christ, the one with all the webchats didn’t work as an audiobook though, despite RG’s best efforts. I didn’t realise that until it was well over a year in my library and no returning to Audible at that point…
All those webchats barely worked in the print edition, IMO. Made it a bit of a slog at times.
Definitely the weakest of the series but don’t let it put you off the sequels.
Oh, it was well worth the perseverance.
Not sure how that’ll get dealt with in the TV adaptation.
I didn’t mind it – I think the biggest problem with Strike books is the length – dipping in and out doesn’t work. I was doing long commutes at the time and it was ideal.
My mind wanders too much to follow audiobooks. That’s a large part of the reason I fall asleep to audiobooks or podcasts. If I play music, even ambient music I find myself actively listening and following it, but if it’s a human voice I just … I just … mmm, sorry did you say something? This could explain a lot of my professional and relationship history.
Same. Also: very difficult to underline favourite passages! 🙂
If I like a passage I tape it.
Confirmed fan of audiobooks for long car/train/plane journeys and cooking marathons. Particularly good for long non-fiction I might not otherwise get through, eg biographies, history. I had an Audible subscription for a few years and built up a massive backlog of the monthly free titles which I’m still working through.
I’m very fussy about readers though. Sean Barrett is my favourite – he’s equally good on Dickens, Anthony Beevor or Mick Herron. English classics read by Americans are an absolute abomination, even if free.
IIRC Sean Barrett did the narration on that “Dancing In The Street” TV series back in the mid 90s – loved watching that just to listen to his voice.
Indeed he did. Interesting fact: the wet sailor on the cover of The Smiths’ How Soon is Now is the 18-yr-old Seán Barrett in the 1958 film Dunkirk.
He’s 84 now.
As a tinnitus sufferer, It was suggested to me that I tried listening to the audiobook whilst reading the text.
It certainly works for me and helps me to push back the ringing.
Do you listen at a slightly faster speed that the normal? I’m a complete convert to Kindle books – haven’t read a paper book for about 10 years and, like you, I read a lot – but when I’ve tried audiobooks in the past I’ve found them to be frustrating to listen to knowing I’d be reading a lot quicker.
Horses for courses @ainsley – so audiobooks in the car or walking, ie places where even the Kindle cannot go. At home the only time I’ve listened has been while cooking. Never tempted so far by the 1.5 speed.
1.5!!!???? I never read books on paper, I fell out of the habit when I was about 15 and, as a voracious magazine reader, I never picked up the habit again in adulthood.
I do get through quite a lot of audiobooks though. Audible has a x1.1 speed and that seems perfect. I’ve tried faster and it just seems wrong. I’ve tried x1.0 and it seems too pedestrian.
My teenage kids habitually listen to school/uni material at 1.5x. They’re doing all right, get good grades…etc.
I listen at 0.9. No idea why, but I’ve never felt the need to change it. Of course I’ll start tinkering now.
I’ve never even considered changing the speed. Mind you, I always feel a little bit cheated if the book is less than 8 hours. I could always slow down the short ones…
Nothing beats the smell of a brand new audiobook on the book shelf. Er……
I listened to Tune In by Mark Lewisohn on one hour commute bus rides when I first moved to Ottawa. 43 hours of it. I looked forward to getting on the bus. Otherwise apart from one Harry Potter book on a long drive to the East coast with my daughter I haven’t bothered. Listen to podcasts every day though, addictive
I was a podcast devotee and audiobook denouncer for years. I had an Audible account for my kids, but when I started on my fitness push a year ago, I found they were a perfect companion to melt the hours away.
I’ve enjoyed many, including the murder-bot diaries and the Bobiverse series. A great one is the Andy Serkis Lord of the Rings which is my favourite consumption of that tome, including movies, readings etc. I also enjoy non fiction, such as Jon Ronson, Ben Goldacre etc.
I have the Audible account that gives me a book each month, so I hit the free books fairly hard but the strike rate is pretty low. There are some amazingly bad narrators and some truly awful authors out there.
I’m in a bit of a lull at the moment and none of my recent purchases have stuck. I need some fiction (Sci Fi, Fantasy, Horror) to disappear into. I’m a bit skeptical of long series as they inevitably turn into soap-opera after a few instalments: I need books where each is self-contained narratively. I’ll check out the ones mentioned above, but happy for other suggestions.