We’ve talked about the debate between audiobooks and physical books before. Some die-hard reading fans don’t like the idea of a new format for their books, and claim that listening to an audiobook isn’t the same as reading the book itself. My response? I think that’s ridiculous. In fact, my opinions align very closely with those expressed in an article by Amy Harmon.
Month: April 2013
The Top 10 Audiobooks You Should Check Out
Audiobooks provide us with a useful way to experience great literature and yet still have both our eyes and our hands free to accomplish other tasks. When it comes to audiobooks, there are some readers that we like and some that we don’t; some books that we like in an audio format and others that we prefer on paper. Here’s a list of the top 10 audiobooks in an article by Janaki Jitchotvisut.
Source: http://www.complex.com/rides/2011/12/the-10-best-audio-books-to-listen-to-while-driving#1
Radios, the Ancestors of Audio Books
Remember when you were young – only a child at the peak of curiosity – and you loved that big, black box which told such beautiful stories? What did it matter what its name was? You were at the age when names, nouns, words, and phrases were all of little importance.
That Big Black Box
What mattered were the vivid adventures you took part in whenever that box began playing. A captivating voice would talk with you, to you, describing otherworldly adventures that you could only imagine, but of which you were now a part. In a pleasantly odd way, you were part of all the adventures narrated by the box. Because imagination was enough. Your imagination was enough. You would close your eyes and lay still in your favourite armchair, listening to the story as it was unfolding in front of your eyes as if in a fairytale…
This was your childhood. These were your dreams. The stories that the big black box could tell were unparalleled. Who needed images? Who needed movies? You would wrap yourself in the silence and became the dreamy prisoner of a fairytale world.
You knew it, that big black box. You eventually found out that it’s called a radio, and it has the magical power of knowing history’s best stories.
What Were the Best Vinyl Disk Stories of History?
It depends on who you’re asking. Of course, scientists will tell you scores and statistics. But we don’t measure stories’ greatness by statistics now, do we?
Now, children will tell you fairytales are the best stories of all. Maybe adults will answer that they no longer have time to let themselves become slaves of a good story so they have no idea what their favorite story genre or book is.
I will tell you that nowadays, the best stories are the audio ones.
Audio Books – Are They Worth the While?
How many books did you read in the past year? Not that many? A lot? ‘Meh… somewhere in between’?
- Listening to an audiobook can help you finish ‘reading’ a novel in half the time you will need to actually READ it.
- People listen to tons of music on their mp3s, smartphones, laptops, and all sorts of other gadgets, so why wouldn’t they listen to audiobooks as well?
- We are now witnessing the rebirth of the audio world with the rising of podcasts.
- The world returns to ‘retro’ as a way of being cool, and audio is so retro you don’t want to miss it.
Anyway, here are some reasons that will show you that yes, they’re well-worth the while.
1. Audio books save you time
If you’re a student you know how important it is for you (and for your teachers and professors) to complete your list of compulsory novels. And sometimes you just don’t feel like reading or you simply have something better to do. Or perhaps you are a savvy entrepreneur whose business takes up most of their time. On the other hand, you cannot give up your passion for books. Audiobooks can be a real time saver if used at the right moment.
2. Audio books allow you to be … multifunctional
Are you a busy mom? We all know what that means. No time to do this, not enough time to do that – not to mention reading… With a crying baby and the food in the oven who has time to even think about reading?
Here’s a tip: when my brother was but an incredibly lovely (and screaming) toddler, my mom used to enchant him with the stories she told him. Eventually we bought a pick-up and it successfully replaced (and even overcame) my mom’s ability to tell a good story. So, use the time you spend with your child listening to a good story. It can be whatever you want, or you can decide on the topic together with your baby. Another good idea is to listen to an audiobook while you’re cooking.
See? Multifunctional, defined!
3. Audio books ‘keep the flame alive’
“I will read that tomorrow,” you say. And then, when tomorrow comes, you will read it tomorrow as well. This is how your taste for reading dies and eventually you will conclude that you ‘used to read a lot’. So stop searching for reasons to justify your quitting and start looking for alternatives. If you love a good story, you will find a way to allow it to develop: either in writing or in audio format.
Audio books keep the flame alive, they train your mind and your thinking and they open your eyes to new horizons. If you need a great idea, listen to a great book – the idea will surely come in no time.
4. Audio books help you rest your eyes
People work a lot in front of a computer nowadays. Whether it is writing a good article, putting together a report or a presentation or dealing with bookkeeping, you will do it all on a computer. At the end of the day our eyes are literally exhausted – you will not be able to read more without destroying them.
But your thirst for a new novel is acute. You long for a new universe, for an escape from the mundane world – you want it, and you want it now. Can you get your story without sacrificing your eyes? Well, audiobooks only require your ears and your imagination. So yes, they are the perfect solution to this problem.
In time you will get to know the voices who narrate stories and you will be able to choose your favorites. You will definitely grow your knowledge in half the time you would need to read everything. You will save your eyesight, and at the same time meet your favorite characters. Last but not least, at the end of this year you will be able to impress your friends with the incredible amount of books that you have ‘read’ throughout the year. Can something be cooler than that? Radios, vinyls, and now audiobooks – they are all taking the legends of our past into our present…
Summary of Posts: April 28th 2013
Audiobooks are a versatile way to add reading to your busy lifestyle. Whether you have a child that needs some extra help with reading or who just needs that extra little push to put all the mechanics of reading together, listening to audiobooks can meet your kids’ needs. You can also find out the benefits of listening to audiobooks from several different perspectives when you explore the links below.
- Using audiobooks to improve your child’s reading can make an important skill fun as well as stress free. Learn how in this About.com article by Ann Logsdon.
- In an article by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson, you can learn some strategies that teachers and parents can implement when using audiobooks.
- Learn the benefits found by John Dyer when he listened to ten audiobooks, as detailed in his blog post.
- The Happiness Project’s author, Gretchen Rubin, writes about ways, such as listening to audiobooks, to minimize the boredom you might feel when you are faced with the mundane parts of your day.
- This blog post on the Living with Anxiety website gives you ideas to keep boredom at bay, even if you don’t have anxiety.
- Learn some of the most popular books for your listening pleasure with this comprehensive list.
Stop Being Bored! Listen to an Audiobook Instead
Being bored at some point in your life is, probably, a rite of passage for almost everyone. In fact, it is safe to say that almost every day carries the possibility of being bored for at least a short period of time. Indeed, it is often a consequence of this hurry up and wait world that at least some time will be spent doing something mundane during the day, such as waiting.
Putting Boredom to Good Use
Audiobooks can be a great way to make those periods of boredom productive as well. Instead of carrying a book around, simply download that book you’ve always wanted to read but never had the time to on your MP3 player or smartphone, grab your headphones, and go. You will likely be so engrossed in the story that you won’t notice how long you had to wait for your next doctor’s appointment or how long your layoff is.
More than just Fiction
Many people use audiobooks for more than simply listening to the fiction novels they have been meaning to read. You can use them to brush up on your foreign language skills, learn a new computer programming language, or discover new organizational options to apply to your life. Beat boredom and grab an audiobook – you’ll be spending your time well and the time will fly by.
How to use Audiobooks to Reduce Boredom
Many people, especially those who deal with being anxious on a regular basis, often find that their anxiety levels rise when they are bored. Fortunately, there are a number of different ways that can be used to turned these times of boredom into times of productivity, as suggested by this blog post on the Living with Anxiety website.
Source: http://www.livingwithanxiety.com/blogs/s/6-simple-ways-to-overcome-boredom
Combat Boredom with Audiobooks
Gretchen Rubin admits to having an arsenal of tools up her sleeve that she pulls out when she is bored. From really observing the scene around her as she waits in line, which Gretchen finds incredibly boring, to listening to an audiobook, you could find a few new ideas in her blog post.
What You Can Learn From Audiobooks
John Dyer, a web developer at the Dallas Theological Seminary, blogged about his experiences with audiobooks. He choose ten audiobooks from various genres to listen to while going about his everyday routines – such as commuting to work or jogging. His choices for listening material ranged from current favorites, such as the Hunger Games, to religious based choices, such as Pastor: A Memoir by Eugene Peterson, so he could have a well-rounded experience.
Source: http://donteatthefruit.com/2012/01/5-things-i-learned-from-reading-10-audiobooks/
Teacher Tips for Using Audiobooks
Teachers, as well as parents, can use the tips found in this Reading Rockets article to implement the use of audiobooks. These tips range from instruction on enabling kids to hear books that are at their interest level but beyond their reading level, to helping children learn the correct pronunciation of the English language, to a number of others.
Learn how to Improve Your Child’s Reading
Because audiobooks are read by professional voice actors who put a great deal of emotion and inflection into these stories, they are the ideal way to improve your child’s reading comprehension. This About.com article by Ann Logsdon gives you numerous tips, tricks, and techiniques on how to do so.
Source: http://learningdisabilities.about.com/od/readingstrategies/qt/audiobooks.htm
