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Maybe you're just a visual learner that doesn't "learn" through voice/audio. Which would mean you wouldn't really pay attention cause your brain doesn't really operate by listening. Otherwise you just need a good recommendation from this thread and try that.
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Jan 12, 2012 11:41
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Good point. Also, I listen to a lot of stand-up comedy, so I've been used to the format for (nearly) forever.
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Jan 12, 2012 11:49
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Anyone have a problem with books just... stopping at a certain time stamp? I am listening on the audible app on my Droid X. A book will stop at a certain point, audible will crash and I will reload it. It will go immediately to "reloading library" and then if I load my book it is back at 0:00. It will crash at the same exact time too. And due to being unable to skip to a specific time, it is incredibly aggravating to set the book to a point immediately after where it crashes, especially while driving. I thought this was just the book I was reading (Emperor of all Maladies) but it is happening with a 2nd book (Doubt: a History) right afterward. BjornOfBorg posted:I guess my question is about when/how you people listen to audiobooks and whether you think you actually get all the details from the story as you would if you were to read the book. Is it something I just have to take some time to get used to? I listen during my commute and when I am at the gym and I listen almost entirely to non-fiction. I inevitably miss a few lines due to something happening on the road, the gym, or just plain zoning out and this is acceptable to me for non-fic but not really fiction where I hate missing anything and I feel like I can't appreciate the quality of writing as well in audio.
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Jan 12, 2012 16:24
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BjornOfBorg posted:I guess my question is about when/how you people listen to audiobooks and whether you think you actually get all the details from the story as you would if you were to read the book. Is it something I just have to take some time to get used to? I'm the same way. I have to actively listen to any audiobook (or anything else). I have headphones on all day at work and listen to music/radio and I've tried some audiobooks but unless I specifically sit there and make myself listen I barely understand or recognize what is going on. It's mostly just background noise for me. Even when I'm driving I zone out and realize i've driven for 20 minutes and have no idea what is going on in the story. I'm sure with time and effort I could get used to it, but that time and effort would be better spent specifically reading because I would get more out of it.
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Jan 12, 2012 18:57
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I had the same issue at first, even while driving I found my self to distracted to fully pay attention to the story. At first I just listened while not doing anything at home. After a few books I was more used to taking in the story via audio and could listen to new books while replying to emails at work and even while playing games like first person shooters. Has anyone listened to Confessions of a D-List Super villain by Jim Bernheimer yet? It had a few good reviews on Audible and I don't see many super hero books around and really liked the last one I tried Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines. Though that book was more of a zombie story with super heroes.
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Jan 12, 2012 19:46
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ultrachrist posted:Anyone have a problem with books just... stopping at a certain time stamp? I am listening on the audible app on my Droid X. A book will stop at a certain point, audible will crash and I will reload it. It will go immediately to "reloading library" and then if I load my book it is back at 0:00. It will crash at the same exact time too. And due to being unable to skip to a specific time, it is incredibly aggravating to set the book to a point immediately after where it crashes, especially while driving. I thought this was just the book I was reading (Emperor of all Maladies) but it is happening with a 2nd book (Doubt: a History) right afterward. Audible, Listen and my music player on my galaxy nexus and droid 2 stop randomly for no apparent reason. It's gotten to the point that I have a finger near the play button for these interruptions. This is annoying the poo poo out of me but if I see anything I'll pm you.
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Jan 12, 2012 21:48
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Minimaul posted:I'm the same way. I have to actively listen to any audiobook (or anything else). I have headphones on all day at work and listen to music/radio and I've tried some audiobooks but unless I specifically sit there and make myself listen I barely understand or recognize what is going on. It's mostly just background noise for me. Even when I'm driving I zone out and realize i've driven for 20 minutes and have no idea what is going on in the story.
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Jan 12, 2012 22:11
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BjornOfBorg posted:I haven't read through the entire thread and this may not be the right place to ask this but I need some help. Specifically, I want to know how audiobooks work for other people because they really don't work for me. I have only tried 2 or 3 audiobooks (I remember Lord of the Flies and The God Delusion) in my life and I've never really gotten into it. I would listen to them on a stationary bike and it would be hard to follow without concentrating on it really hard and I felt that I needed to have the text with the audio. So, I tried reading along with the narrator but that really was a terrible idea because it would be much faster to just read the drat book. I used to have boring jobs where I'd be stuck with nothing but an AM radio to keep me company for hours at a time, so i got used to listening to the radio while I did other tasks, and it is very easy to tune out audio and forget all of it entirely, but I also found that after a while you get better at retaining what you listen to. I even got to the point where I could listen to talk radio and read a book at the same time and keep up with both. Nowdays, I listen to a lot of audiobooks while playing games and stuff however, if it's a game with a lot of dialogue or text, I can't pay attention to both, and will lose track in one or the other. I still regularly re-listen to segments of my audiobooks and podcasts but it's more of a "I was busy doing something more important than listening to a book," case, than a "oh poo poo I missed a bunch of stuff there," situation. Besides, if you need to re-listen to a segment, that's not necessarily a negative thing.
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Jan 12, 2012 23:38
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BjornOfBorg posted:I haven't read through the entire thread and this may not be the right place to ask this but I need some help. Specifically, I want to know how audiobooks work for other people because they really don't work for me. I have only tried 2 or 3 audiobooks (I remember Lord of the Flies and The God Delusion) in my life and I've never really gotten into it. I would listen to them on a stationary bike and it would be hard to follow without concentrating on it really hard and I felt that I needed to have the text with the audio. So, I tried reading along with the narrator but that really was a terrible idea because it would be much faster to just read the drat book. I listen to my book while doing something that does not need any concentration, walking, doing the dishing or cleaning. For me the only thing with audiobooks if when your thoughts start to wonder of and u think about something completely different from the story. Obv if you read a book this is not a issue but the narration doest stop just because your not concentrating so this makes me have to jump back a couple of minutes every now and then.
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Jan 13, 2012 04:25
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I just finished listening to Swan Song and hated the drat thing. I should have read the one or two negative reviews on Audible, seen the "Dean Koontz" associated recommendations, and noticed the book is from 1987. Basically it's 100% written by a socially conservative Christian guy from the 80's, in the stereotypically worst way. As applied to: sex, romance, gender, race, religion, morality, and the human experience. At least now I can move on to other books.
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Jan 13, 2012 04:36
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Back with another recommendation. I was a big fan of the Harry Potter series and so I checked out the "Young Wizard" series. I'm five books out of nine into it and it is actually pretty drat decent. Admittedly, the first book is not very good. It does set up the rest of the series though. The second ramps up the fun factor and by the third and fourth books the author has hit her stride and fields an incredibly fun and exciting series. It revolves around the idea of wizardry as a science of life, protecting life and trying at all odds to try and slow down and stop the slow death of the universe and having incredibly interesting characters past the original two (Nita and Kit) who are wizards. One book has a representation of a white hole as a tagalong pal. Another a whale and a 90 foot shark. All intelligent but fairly alien or at least animalistic in their logic and thinking. The only real complaint I have about it is that it is showing its age. It was written in 1985 so you'll occasionally notice it and it can be a little cringeworthy. But otherwise a solid series so far. I plan on buying all nine titles given what I've listened to so far.
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Jan 13, 2012 05:25
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BjornOfBorg posted:I haven't read through the entire thread and this may not be the right place to ask this but I need some help. Specifically, I want to know how audiobooks work for other people because they really don't work for me. I have only tried 2 or 3 audiobooks (I remember Lord of the Flies and The God Delusion) in my life and I've never really gotten into it. I would listen to them on a stationary bike and it would be hard to follow without concentrating on it really hard and I felt that I needed to have the text with the audio. So, I tried reading along with the narrator but that really was a terrible idea because it would be much faster to just read the drat book. I spend a lot of time on the bus and walking so that's when I listen. When I used to have a car I listened in traffic (which there always is in LA). I've never had trouble following along. For me it's important that I feel I'm getting the full experience of the book so if I notice I'm not understanding what's going on or that I'd been daydreaming I'll go back a few chapters. I saw someone mention that during the book Anathem they were zoning out then coming back in during "interesting" parts. I couldn't do that in good conscience. I'm the type of person who can't stand people talking during a movie or now that I think about it, pretty much any time someone isn't paying attention to the task at hand I get annoyed. At least when it's something they've chosen to do. I can understand not paying attention in class or at the dmv. Woops started rambling a bit there. I think maybe you haven't had an audiobook that you've really enjoyed. If the narrator sucks or the story isn't that great it will naturally be hard to follow along. This thread is full of great recommendations so maybe try out a highly praised one and if that doesn't work then maybe they aren't for you. Do you have ADHD or anything?
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Jan 14, 2012 18:41
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For me, listening to audiobooks works in the same way as reading does: I'm barely conscious of either and fall into a sort of trance. Everything I read or listen to coalesces as a sort of movie in my mind, and that's what I focus on. If I'm interrupted and asked to repeat the last sentence I read or heard, I won't be able to. But I'll be able to describe exactly what's happening in terms of plot. I think it's why I often won't distinguish between good and bad prose (unless it's so bad as to take me out of the trance), because I'm barely conscious of the prose in the first place.
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Jan 15, 2012 02:48
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One posted:I saw someone mention that during the book Anathem they were zoning out then coming back in during "interesting" parts. I couldn't do that in good conscience. Obviously you've never read Anathem.
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Jan 15, 2012 05:39
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Ice Phisherman posted:Obviously you've never read Anathem. I did the audiobook. Granted it was long as hell but part of the magic of the book was the sheer depth and detail of the world he made.
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Jan 15, 2012 06:44
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Besides Harry Potter, are there any good or interesting books read by Stephen Fry?
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Jan 15, 2012 16:45
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gmq posted:Besides Harry Potter, are there any good or interesting books read by Stephen Fry? The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I love the original Adams narration of the Hitchhiker's series, but Fry does a superb job and the quality of the recording is much cleaner. Unfortunately I don't think he did the entire series, so you'd only have his dulcet tones for two books out of five. He's also done what sounds like a charming take on Winnie the Pooh as part of a full-cast recording, but I don't own that one so I can't speak to it beyond the preview.
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Jan 15, 2012 18:05
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gmq posted:Besides Harry Potter, are there any good or interesting books read by Stephen Fry?
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Jan 15, 2012 21:37
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I wanted to post 2 of my recent listens that have a narrator who I really feel brings the book up to another level: Ready Player One narrated by space nerd Wil Wheaton - he's a perfect fit for the first person protagonist who immerses themselves in 80s pop culture to find an online fortune left by a 1980s obsessed developer. A cool book but Wheaton really nails it and improves the experience. Hounded: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 1 narrated by Luke Daniels - I don't know how I've never listened to this guy before but he's pretty great. His voices are varied and spot-on, and the voice he gives to the dog is worth the price of admission alone.
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Jan 16, 2012 01:07
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I chew through audiobooks like you wouldn't believe so here are some recent ones I'll review. Into Thin Air Narrated and written by Jon Krakauer. A entertaining read but short. Very descriptive but if you have seen the NOVA special or any of the other media on the 1994 Everest disaster there really isn't much new in the book. It is still exciting and well read. 3/5 Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations The history of humans and soil. I found the middle of the book the most interesting where it really gets into how soil husbandry has doomed a few civilizations. The end of the book gets a bit preachy for my taste. Overall very informative and well written. 4/5 Demon In The Freezer A book about the history of smallpox and bioterrorism. Completely enthralling book from start to finish. The most interesting parts I found was the history of the smallpox eradication. The section on the antrax attacks was also interesting. Basically this book is a sequel to The Hot Zone. 5/5 Things Fall Apart A book about pre-colonial africa and the impact of the slave trade from a first person perspective. Interesting to listen to and learn about the unique culture. The audio version made it a bit difficult to keep track of all the names without actually seeing them written on the page. This book is short, but probably best suited to being read as a paper book rather than a audiobook, it is still easily doable though. 3/5 Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen This book is great if you are a runner or a jogger. A fun story and some interesting insight about how humans run. 4/5 The Fruit Hunters: A Story of Nature, Adventure, Commerce, and Obsession Amazing book, fun story and very informative without being preachy. I tend to be a bit biased though as I am completely obsessed with food and agriculture. The histories of fruit discovery was the best part. 5/5 The Emperor of All Maladies A long and somewhat depressing book about cancer. Very thorough, but it was a bit slow at times. It gave a lot of good perspective on cancer treatments and what to expect when dealing with the disease. Recommended if you want to learn more about cancer, but definitely not the feel good book of the decade. 4/5 Stranger in a Strange Land Classic Sci-Fi. Short, fun, with deep philosophical undertones. 5/5 Oryx and Crake I love a good biopunk novel but this was tripe. Nonsensical setting, terrible character development, and non-sequiter ending. Avoid this at all costs. 1/5 The Great Influenza Very interesting book on the 1918 flu. Long but it follows many of the threads as the disease developed and spread. IF you like reading about science history at all, this is one to get. 5/5 That's all for now, but my audible list is a couple hundred books long.
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Jan 18, 2012 19:24
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Sepherothic posted:I chew through audiobooks like you wouldn't believe so here are some recent ones I'll review.  Yay, a new Enderverse book is out! (totally gay for Ender & Bean) 5/5 (Totally biased, and gives no fucks about it  ) Just finished it during work.
Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 04:39 on Jan 19, 2012 |
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Jan 18, 2012 20:18
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A while back someone recommended The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress read by Lloyd James. Gotta say it was really good, so if you haven't done so pick it up. Mr. James does a good job of giving the characters distinctive voices, although the Prof's smug goony voice hurt my brain (although matched his character perfectly).
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Jan 19, 2012 02:11
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Audible is having a 48 hour sale, it will end at noon on the 19th.
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Jan 19, 2012 02:14
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I recently listened to Hard Magic by Larry Correia. The audiobook narrator is pretty fantastic. It was great listening to an audiobook where everyone had really distinct voices, accents and speech patterns. Quite often a narrator will be able to manage different voices, or accents, or speech patterns. But almost never all three simultaneously. It takes a skilled narrator to be able to do accents and give distinctive voices to those characters that share them.
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Jan 27, 2012 08:12
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PBCrunch posted:I vehemently disagree with that statement. I've read Neuromancer and it was great. I later started the audiobook read by Gibson and it was unlistenable. I gave this a shot and got about an hour and a half into it and just couldn't take it anymore, which bums me out because I really want to give this book a shot. The reader was painful to listen to. Two books I really loved though were "The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night Time" and "Nickle and Dimed". Also, at the risk of being criticized, Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels are an enjoyable listen. They're stupid, but they're not a bad way to pass the time. Christopher Moore's novels translate to audiobooks quite well too. His novel FLUKE is one of my favorite audiobooks of all time
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Jan 28, 2012 03:25
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Has anyone else experimented with turning ebooks into audiobooks? I've done it twice now with mixed success. I've been using textAloud3 and neoSpeeches bridget as the voice pack. http://www.neospeech.com/ has a sample. It works alright and it nice to get access to a whole new wealth of books not available on stuff like audible. You kind of forget about the robot voice after a minute or two, but it still takes more attention to listen.
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Jan 28, 2012 07:44
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Sepherothic posted:Has anyone else experimented with turning ebooks into audiobooks? Tried the demo. That Bridget is pretty good, and the Julie one isn't bad either. [Sneakers] "My voice is my passport. Verify me." [/Sneakers] 
Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 10:57 on Jan 28, 2012 |
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Jan 28, 2012 10:53
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Are there any alternatives to audible in australia, that don't have the same restrictions they do? Just tried to use my wall of credits to buy the harry potter audiobooks, only to see they're not available on audible. Going on the itunes store, bringsu p the books, as presented by audible. A little aggravating!
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Jan 28, 2012 12:55
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Tithin Melias posted:Are there any alternatives to audible in australia, that don't have the same restrictions they do? Just tried to use my wall of credits to buy the harry potter audiobooks, only to see they're not available on audible. Going on the itunes store, bringsu p the books, as presented by audible. That's the author doing it, not Audible. As far as I know, Harry Potter is only available on iTunes (and was news when she finally allowed someone to sell non-CD versions of them). I'm not actually convinced the presented by Audible isn't incorrect. I do know you cannot buy them through Audible.com, only iTunes.
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Jan 28, 2012 18:46
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Roydrowsy posted:I gave this a shot and got about an hour and a half into it and just couldn't take it anymore, which bums me out because I really want to give this book a shot. The reader was painful to listen to. coyo7e fucked around with this message at 20:09 on Jan 28, 2012 |
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Jan 28, 2012 20:06
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What's the best audiobook edition of The Lord of the Rings? Also, The Hobbit.
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Jan 29, 2012 16:45
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Welp, finally joined Audible. When I realized I could get Zinn's unabridged People's History with a trial membership, that sold me. Very excited. Only audiobooks I've been enjoying lately have been Reamde, Atlas Shrugged, and re-re-re-listening to Gibbon's Decline and Fall from Librivox, which I strongly endorse, irregular quality of readers from one chapter to the next notwithstanding. I have also purchased a whole slew of Terry Goodkind novels, drawn by the promises he was sort of a sword-n-sandal Ayn Rand, which I'm hoping will provide hours of merriment. Am I a masochist? I dunno, but I've recorded all the Republican debates to audio this year. 
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Jan 31, 2012 06:28
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coyo7e posted:Yeah, William Gibson's reading voice is simply terrible. This became common knowledge twenty years ago when the audiobook version of Neuromancer, read by the author, was released. It had terrible reviews. Confession time: I love that version to death. Gibson's abridged reading of Neuromancer was the first audiobook I ever listened to at the age of ten. Listening to it now after becoming a bit of an audiobook snob and reading the full version of Neuromancer many, many times, I can see the flaws in the Gibson reading. Even so, something about it just works for me. The abridgement turns a book that's already a bit chaotic and disorienting into a fever dream, and Gibson's bizarre accent and cadence just feel "Sprawl" to me. Nostalgia is clearly at work here because it is an objectively bad abridgement and a bad-to-decent reading, but there's something about it that speaks to me.
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Jan 31, 2012 06:42
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Kestral posted:Confession time: I love that version to death. drat skippy. I love that version. No voice actor could have done it justice like Gibson did. If you don't relate to his voice, that's OK. You're probably just not from the same demographic.
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Jan 31, 2012 07:06
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I'm trying to find out the name of one of the narrators from the Ender's Saga. It's the younger sounding female reader not Gabrielle De Cuir. Anyone have an idea here? I googled around but the credits usually say Stephan Rodniki, Scott Brick, and a FUll CAST.
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Jan 31, 2012 23:12
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Ender in Exile lists Cassandra Campbell, Emily Janice Card, and Gabrielle de Cuir. Card's daughter sounds young. Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 09:15 on Feb 1, 2012 |
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Feb 1, 2012 09:11
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Thank you. It was Cassandra Campbell. I just meant young sounding relative to Gabrielle de Cuir. Careful googling for Emily Janice Card you may end up watching her video Jane Austin's Fight Club.
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Feb 1, 2012 15:14
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SnakePlissken posted:Welp, finally joined Audible. When I realized I could get Zinn's unabridged People's History with a trial membership, that sold me. Very excited. I ended up going with the 2 credits a month sub to audible, because a lot of the newer and bigger name books can be 2 credits, and if I don't buy one of them, then I can get two other ones instead! 
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Feb 2, 2012 00:57
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What books besides G.R.R.M.'s are two credits? His, and Cryptonomicon are the only ones I've noticed so far.
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Feb 2, 2012 04:42
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When the Wheel of Time books are first released they are but it looks like the last book is already 1 credit.
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Feb 2, 2012 04:45
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