Pros and Cons of Audiobooks

I know that I've briefly talked about audiobooks before, but I only really talked about why I liked them. I never really elaborated on the pros and cons of them...so for those of you who are still on the fence about whether to utilize them, here goes...

Pros

1. You can do virtually anything while listening to them. 

Like I've mentioned before, I typically am cleaning, driving, or doing something relatively passive while I am listening to audiobooks. As a working mother, I have a TON of things to do - my to-do list never gets smaller, it only gets longer. So, in order to read as much as I want to, I have resorted to audiobooks. This allows me to read (or listen) to as many as 20 extra books a year. Just think about it...if you have a daily commute to work that averages 30 minutes a day, each way, that is an hour of listening you could do. You could listen to a 5 hour audiobook in a week! I know some people who train for half marathons or marathons and they listen to audiobooks while they run. Depending on how fast you are running, you could almost listen to a complete audiobook!

     2. Better reading experience for auditory learners.

Just as many of us probably know, there are many different styled learners. This also applies to readers! Some readers prefer the actual act of turning pages and visually reading words, whereas other readers may prefer being read to. They are better able to process what they are reading when they are listening to someone else read the material to them. For those readers, audiobooks are your friend!

    3. Convenience.

Without a doubt, it can be burdensome to carry a 400 page book along with me every where I go. Yet, I always have my phone on me! As an Audible subscriber, I am able to go anywhere I want with my purchased books. So, that means that I can listen to my books wherever I am. On the plane, on the beach, in my car, at the park, in the grocery store...wherever. I no longer have to worry about lugging J. K. Rowling's hefty masterpieces with me in order to read them - I can keep them conveniently in my back pocket!

Cons

     1. Hard to focus.

Sometimes (even for myself), it can be hard to focus on what is being read to you - especially if it is a slow story or the narrator has a less than desirable voice. There have been plenty of times that I have unknowingly drifted off to sleep while listening to an audiobook. It's actually quite frustrating; however, most times, I attribute it to the book that I am listening to. There are some books that are simply not meant to be read.

    2. It's hard to judge your progress.

One thing that many people, as well as myself, enjoy about reading, is watching the progress being made while you are reading. It is rewarding to see a bookmark being placed further and further through the book, until voila - finished! This is a little harder while listening to audiobooks. Sure, you can gauge it by the time elapsed and time remaining but it isn't the same. There is nothing in this world as holding a 400 page book and feeling the accomplishment of getting through it (for anyone who has ever read Don Quixote...you know what I mean).

     3. You become a recluse.

It's hard to engage with others with headphones in your ears. Sure, while you are reading a print book, that is indicative to others that you don't want to be bothered, but people tend to feel more comfortable interrupting you in that scenario than when you have headphones on. As a result, while listening to audiobooks, you tend to take on an anti-social approach, especially if you listen to them for long amounts of time. I know that I have to catch myself sometimes and force myself to stop listening so that I can interact with others; however, if it is a book that has caught my attention and the narrator is doing a phenomenal job ("Flowers in the Attic" by V. C. Andrews, narrated by Alyssa Bresnahan), it is hard to pull yourself from those headphones. 

The audiobook that I am currently plugging through. I listened to almost 4 hours yesterday (anti-social, I know)...review to come soon.

For those of you still on the fence about whether to try audiobooks or not, head over to your local library and rent one first. You may be pleasantly surprised! In my experience, the best audiobooks are biographies that are read by the author, fiction with action (like the Hunger Games trilogy), and humor; however, it goes without saying...whatever floats your boat. It truly is all about preference.

Until we read again...