Written Books vs. Audiobooks

[Brayon]

For my next major project, I've been reading up on different Subreddits for writing, and I've noticed a couple of different things. I'll quote one person I read, "I don't have time to read, and actually find reading boring, but if the book has an Audio Version, I'm all over that shit." In fact, one subreddit I read, at least half of the responses when discussing a book, is almost always, "is there an Audio Version?" I've done audiobooks in the past, A Song of Fire and Ice, and Harry Potter, when I was at work in payroll, and we listened to them as a group, but I've never sat down to listen to a book, by myself for pure enjoyment.

 

Why do you think these types of "books" have become popular, and would you write with an end goal of your story/book/series being made into an Audio Format?

Is there a different style of writing to do in order to make an Audiobook?

[JayT]

I love audiobooks..I can listen to them while I'm driving or sitting at home doing other things...

[JayT]

I forgot to say... I've listened to and then read separate books in a series and there's not really a different writing style to them

[Superpride]

I could never get into audiobooks, at least not the ones that I listened to.  It's just weird hearing the same voice narrating the story, especially if there is a lot of dialogue between different characters.  Are there audiobooks where one person IS voicing the narration and other people who are voicing the different characters when there's dialogue?  If there are, it must be a big production and could change my mind on audiobooks 😛

[MacGreg]

My inital reaction to this post was: how sad. This, in reference to your quote of someone saying, "I don't have time to read, and actually find reading boring, but if the book has an Audio Version, I'm all over that shit." I think that's very telling of our current cultural situation. So many people prefer glitches of sound bytes and visual stimuli over quality craftsmanship.  

 

I guess audio books are good for times when you simply can't pick up a book to read. But I would fear that the nuances of the author in his/her writing style would get lost in translation. For someone to say that reading is boring kind of crushes me as a writer. It's like someone saying "I don't have time to look at art, and really, art bores me, so if someone could just describe it me, that'd be great." You will never receive the full impression of the piece unless you're willing to invest the time to immerse yourself in it. 

 

However, I do recognize that some people are unable to read written words. In that regard, it's great that audio books exist. 

 

As far as a different style for audio books - I would say yes. More action, less prose. I can't imagine many people choosing to listen to an audio version of Thoreau's Walden.

[JayT]

2 hours ago, Superpride said:

I could never get into audiobooks, at least not the ones that I listened to.  It's just weird hearing the same voice narrating the story, especially if there is a lot of dialogue between different characters.  Are there audiobooks where one person IS voicing the narration and other people who are voicing the different characters when there's dialogue?  If there are, it must be a big production and could change my mind on audiobooks 😛

All of the books I've listened to have the narrator doing different voices for the different characters. 

[Brayon]

17 hours ago, MacGreg said:

I think that's very telling of our current cultural situation. So many people prefer glitches of sound bytes and visual stimuli over quality craftsmanship.

My thoughts exactly.

[Myr]

I'm not a big fan of audiobooks personally.  The only place I'd use them would be on a long drive and the vast majority of the time I do that, I actually plot and write in my head and don't have any noise in the car. 

I admit I might be a bit off center. lol.

 

[Valkyrie]

24 minutes ago, Myr said:

I'm not a big fan of audiobooks personally.  The only place I'd use them would be on a long drive and the vast majority of the time I do that, I actually plot and write in my head and don't have any noise in the car. 

I admit I might be a bit off center. lol.

 

I can't listen to audiobooks in the car if I'm driving because I pay too much attention to the books and not enough to driving.   I do a lot of 'writing' in the car, especially on long trips.  I stopped listening to music or the radio a while ago so I could flesh out ideas while I drive.  I'm glad to know I'm  not the only one who does that.  lol 

[Mikiesboy]

They don't appeal to me. I think they would if i couldn't read any longer, but no, i like to read, think about the words, touch the paper and the book.  i do read e-books as well, but well the experience is just not the same to me.

[Brayon]

1 hour ago, Mikiesboy said:

i do read e-books as well, but well the experience is just not the same to me.

Likewise, but I've been reading a lot of eBooks lately via an app from the library. The only downside is when the library doesn't have the complete series if the book is part of one.

[FormerMember4]

Some of us have no choice. Audiobooks and ebooks have opened new doors for the disability community. Many would be isolated without these options.

I miss the textures and smells of a book. Sitting in the window nook curled in a blanket. Yet, I still can get lost in a ebook with text to speech. I don’t like audiobooks. Too distracting for me. When I went blind, ebooks were limited. Many authors revolted the move.

Theres room for each. Ebooks and audiobooks are more inclusive. Allowing the blind a break from Braille. Not an enjoyable task for me.

[CassieQ]

If I read a book and really enjoy it to the point where I know I would like to revisit it, then I'll usually go for the audiobook version.  I've tried listening to a book for the first time through an audiobook and I just can't do it with my attention span issues.    If I have a long car drive or something like that, I'll usually listen to fictional podcasts.  They are usually much shorter than an audiobook and I appreciate that form of story-telling.  

[Pmsingtiger]

Audiobooks are only as good at their Narrator. Trust me, I have listened to Sean Crisden's Barney voice so many times I could spit. That's why I don't like audiobooks because inflection of voice and tone can change the entire perspective on a situation. Granted, when I find a narrator whose voice in what I expect and they have the same tone I imagine would follow the story it's like heaven. I can listen to it in my car and at work, and when I'm ignoring people, in the grocery store, ANYWHERE. Then you find a bad narrator who is reading one of your all time favorite books and it's like a lance through the heart. 

 

That is my love-hate relationship with audiobooks. 

[AusGlitterati]

Definitely a fan of audio! I can listen to a book while doing the dreaded minutiae of everyday life.

Reading too much seems to give me headaches, but I can listen to a book for days at a time.