Saturday, August 3, 2013

Audiobook Appreciation

This year, I have expanded my reading world to the listening side of things. Audiobooks were never on my radar because of several things.
  • I thought I would mourn the loss of a paperback in my hands.
  • I sometimes listened to music while I read or multitasked so how could I possibly listen to something? What could I do if I was listening to a book? Sit there like a lump? 
  • Narrators intimidated me. 
  • If I listened to a book, what if any negative feeling towards the audio element of it made me dislike the actual book? What if I was missing out on a wonderful piece of art because something else got in the way? 
  • I don't like change.
Looking back at my list, I realize that I sound like an old lady. I couldn't process this technology and didn't care to. I was still resistant even coming into the blogging world until I read Starry-Eyed Jen's blog. She is a big promoter of audiobooks and when I read her reviews, I questioned if I was really looking at audiobooks correctly. 

Then my sister started listening to The Hunger Games audiobook in the car and when I went with her on errands, she played it. Since I was forcing** myself to not reread The Hunger Games series until Catching Fire came out in November, I was okay with this arrangement. Sure, I was nervous when she started playing it that it would ruin my love for the series. However, that irrational thinking went out the window when she hit play and we were at the cave scene with Peeta. Well, hello there. 

**I was forcing myself because I had gotten so attached to the series that I got more emotional each time I read it. I needed to use self-control more and also not experience so much heartbreak. Yes, listening to the book is kind of like reading it, but let's not discuss that small detail. 

I still thought that I had no room for audiobooks even though I wanted to go on errands with my sister even more and just sit in the car when she went inside all the stores. But then LIGHTBULB! I realized that I could play it on the iPad speaker in the bathroom while I took a shower. So that's where I listened to all the emotional scenes with Peeta, sad Gale moments, even sadder Prim moments, and Finnick *sobs*. Of course, I also retracted my balking at the thought of listening to it on my daily walk because I couldn't just listen to them in the shower, I needed more time with this lovely series. There was also the fact that I kept getting goosebumps right after I shaved from all the feels. 

That's when I realized: Jen was right! Everyone was right! Audiobooks aren't boring and they shouldn't be intimidating. You can get into them and when you do, they are a wonderful thing. I actually did just sit on my couch as I played an addicting game wasting a lot of time when I should have been doing school so I could listen to my audiobook. 

The things I realized during my audiobook experiences expand every time. 
  • Sometimes I don't have time to sit down and read a paperback. Even if I do, I probably just finished reading lots of chapters in my textbook or had to write and reread and reread and reread and reread some more an essay for school. Audiobooks are a great way to help your desire for fiction, but gives a break on your eyes. 
  • Like I mentioned above, you can still multitask! Indulge yourself in an addicting phone game. 
  • Narrators can give the story more life. Really, that surprised me the most. My audiobook review for The Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce will be coming soon, but the narrator? Fan-stinking-tastic. 
  • I might get into books even more if I listen to them because the narrators not only give life to the story, but also pronounce words for me, give voices to the characters, and by listening to a book, I could possibly be wrapped up in the story more. 
  • Sometimes change is a good thing. 
I still absolutely love my paperbacks and would rather get a physical book for my birthday than a disc, but audiobooks are great alternatives. 

How I now feel about audiobooks.
All summer, SYNCYA has been giving away two free audiobooks a week, one classic and one YA. It's wrapping up this month, but it's not too late to download a few! Unfortunately, my computer is being wonky and won't let me get to the website. So go to Jen's page and try to get to it there. Or use the powerful Google. 

I might be the last one to the audiobook party, but if you still haven't gotten into them, I strongly recommend starting. 

What are your favorite audiobooks? Do you use audiobooks? 

19 comments:

  1. I can relate to so much of this! I'm still a reluctant audiobook listener, but I'm slowly starting to appreciate them more. SYNC is definitely helping with that! I guess I'm not fond of change either, as I went through a similar phase with ebooks. Now I can't live without them. ;) But my biggest problem with audiobooks is that I can't seem to do anything else when I listen to them. For me, sitting there like a lump is totally necessary. It just takes a few minutes of distraction before I'm completely lost. :P I guess because I don't always have the time to just sit there and listen, ebooks and paperbacks still work better for me. But I'm looking forward to trying more in the future. :)

    Great post!

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    1. I'm still in that phase with ebooks! Although with ebooks, it's more of not being able to connect more for some reason. That's true! Thank you :)

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  2. Wish I had discovered this site sooner! Hopefully they'll do it next summer too!

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  3. I had a lot of the same thoughts as for why you weren't into them before. And I still have never tried one. My thing is I just don't know when I would listen. Showers are usually rushed in the AM while I try to be quiet and not wake the kids. I work at home so no car rides. *sigh* I'd like to at least try someday but we'll see. lol I'm glad you like them so much now. :)

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    1. Aw. Well, I guess any errands and I take showers at night for that very reason ;) Someday!

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  4. So cool that you are getting into audiobooks more! The Hunger Games series is one of my favorite ones to listen to and got me into audiobooks. When I'm super busy sometimes multi-tasking with audiobooks is the only way I can get "reading" in.
    Looking forward to hearing about the great audiobooks you discover :)

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  5. I LOVE audiobooks, Sunny! I work full time and have a 45min-1 hour commute EACH WAY so it's a perfect way to spend that time. I don't feel like it's such a waste of time and I actually look forward to it now. I LOVED Shadowfever and Never Seduce a Scot on audio book. The narration was perfection! Great post and looking forward to your review. :)

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    1. Whoa, long commute! That would definitely perk it up and it's way better than the repeated radio! I'll have to check those out :)

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  6. It's almost as if you crept into my brain when writing that list of audiobook fears because I share almost all of them. But I LOVE your point about narrators pronouncing words for you. I don't know how to say a decently sized handful of words in my vocabulary, as I read and write more big words than I use in conversation, and having someone tell me could help a lot. I have been meaning to give audiobooks a try while treadmilling, and this post got me more excited.

    I also adore all your strikethroughs and I especially relate to the rereading and rereading and rereading one. Editing your own work is ten times worse than drafting. :/

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    1. Yay! I hope you do and let me know what you listened to and how you liked it :) Because they really are amazing!

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  7. Yayyyy!! Welcome to the audio world!! I find that I can get through twice as many books by listening to audios. Probably half of my reviews are audiobooks. Honestly, I couldn't live without them now that I've doubd them. :) Great post!!

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  8. Love this post! I agree that audiobooks are fantastic. I however, have trouble finding time for them. Mostly, b/c I have to pay very close attention when reading that way - b/c I'm such a visual person - and I usually have people talking to me constantly. Sometimes I do re-reads this way. One of my favorites is The Scorpio Races. Happy Audio Reading.

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    1. Only rereads was actually a rule of mine AT FIRST and then I just wanted to discover new books, but I definitely see how rereading would be a plus :)

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  9. Ah, Sunny, I adore this post! And not just 'cause I'm mentioned. :P Seriously, I'm soooo glad you gave audiobooks a try, and even more so that you love them! I, too, find myself trying to find ways to listen longer. Even prolonging my workout or folding the laundry, etc. Audiobooks have made me more efficient! :) One of my favorite audiobooks is The Scorpio Races, and also like Lauren, I use audio as a refresher before a sequel. If you ever need an audiobook rec, you know where to find me! :D Happy listening!

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    1. Oh, 'course not ;) Okay. I read Scorpio Races and it was just meh, but now this is the 2nd thumbs up for it being a favorite by a trusted blogger. I'll have to check it out :) Oh, I definitely will!

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  10. My grandparents have been into audiobooks for years because they love to listen to them on road trips, but I only recently started listening to a few. But I really agree with you, the narrator makes you get even more involved with the story and makes the story come to life! :) Great post!

    Alice @ Alice in Readerland

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