Audiobooks vs. Printed Books July 30, 2006
Posted by poseidon715 in books, media.trackback
I have between two and three hours of commute time every weekday, so I pass the time listening to a lot of audiobooks from Audible (www.audible.com). I still spend a lot of time at the bookstore. All in all, on average I think I go through about 1 1/2 to 2 books (both audio and print) a week (depending on the size of the books).
I have been interested in the different experiences both mediums afford, so here is a breakdown of some of the pros and cons of each.
Audiobooks
- Actually get all the way through the book, as it is easier to get through the boring parts
-Get a wholistic picture of the story
-The reader-actors give new dimensions to chararacters,emphasizing and differentiating dialog
-Some writers have a style that lends itself to the spoken word
-I’m in the car anyway, what else am I going to do?
Printed Books
-Get more of the “deeper” themes running through a book
-Can take notes in the margins
Can dog-ear pages or use a permanent bookmark
-Can reference the book again easily in the future, for quotes, quick browsing, etc.
-Some writers have a style that lends itself to the written page
-Tend to remember names better after I have read them as opposed to just heard them, though I remember characterizations (accent, etc) better from audiobook
What do you think are the benefits and drawbacks of these formats from your own experiences?
