Six Reasons I Would Choose an Audio Book Over Traditional Books
Listening to an audio book is a different experience than reading written text. Although I love reading written books, there are some reasons I might choose an audio book instead. Here are six of them.
- I can multitask by listening while washing dishes, driving, excercising, or other tasks that don’t require the same type of attention as listening to a book.
- I can enjoy the accent of the narrator.
- Some groups of words were designed to be heard rather than seen. Shakespeare’s plays were written for the stage not the page, and there is a poetic quality to Marilynne Robinson’s prose that would be missed without pronouncing the words.
- Audio books are read at a constant pace. While I read more quickly than narrators narrate, my reading is frequently interrupted by my contemplation, so if I really need to just get something read, the steady pace of an audio book may help me finish it.
- It can be more convenient to download an audio book than to go to a library or wait for shipping. If I buy a Nook, this factor will be less of a motivation as I will also be able to conveniently read text that is avaialable for download.
- Michael and I can both listen at the same time and then interact with what we both heard (and he apparently likes that reason too as he suggested it).
