Thursday, June 20, 2019

Can You Hear What I Hear?

I know this won't be a long post, but I have to ask - are audio books really a thing?

I've seen more than a few of my fellow authors talk about their audio book offerings, and there are even a few services out there to turn your book into an audio book.  Maybe I'm completely out of touch, but do lots of people really listen to audio books?  The only time I ever did this was on a cross-country trip from North Carolina to California, and I found myself bored out of my skull.

Admittedly, my books were on cassette tape(yes, I'm really that old), but they didn't capture my attention the way a real book does...and that might be a touch dangerous driving down the interstate at 70mph.  I like reading because I can envision my own world and imagine the voices, but an audio book tightens that window.

Perhaps I'm being too elitist here.  After all, I enjoy a few podcasts on a long trip, and I can't explain why they're fine but audio books aren't.  I'm searching for words here, so somebody...anybody...help me understand why people like them...or IF people like them.  I haven't seen too many listening, but maybe I'm missing the hordes.

2 comments:

  1. Ha, I really rarely do audio books! Or podcasts either. I don't like listening that actively to someone telling the story outloud, is that wrong?

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    Replies
    1. I agree. Music I can do in the background while I'm doing other things, but I need to pay attention to a book.

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