Since I have started this blog, I have discovered how wonderful audio books are. I don't know why I was so hesitant in the past because audio rocks. Now don't get me wrong, not all audio rock. There are some good and there are some bad and the are some in between. I have my favorite narrators and I have those I won't allow in my MP3 player. The narrator makes a huge difference to the books. I really should review more narrators but I don't think about it when I review books....shame on me, I know...
If you haven't tried audio books you should. What I love about audio books. I love that I can listen to them while I work. I don't have to go 8-10 hours without a book. I mean imagine 8-10 hours without being immersed in another world, a day without my fictional friends, hours and hours of boring.. no saving the world, no falling in love, the horridness of it!
And this was the true reason I got into audio books. Once I started I realized what a wonderful world audio books were. If it's a great narrator, everything seems more. The characters, the romance, the danger, all the feels. The downside... I tend to ignore all those around me, not that I don't do that with books. With audio its a heck of lot harder to get my attention.
Now the downsides of audio... the only a few. A bad narrator. This can be from boring to someone who does horrible voices for the characters. Especially the opposite sex characters. Some just try to hard. Slow narrators really get to me. Then there are some that just have the nice smooth sounding voice that can soothe me to sleep.
So I try my best to stay away from those voices.
I also have issues with very descriptive world building books. Those I have to read. If I have them on audio, I find myself spacing and then I have to rewind, then I space, then I rewind. It's a vicious cycle. I love great world building. Its really a requirement, but when its very very descriptive and detailed... my ADD kicks in.
The last thing that is an issue with me and it's really a pet peeve of mine. (this is really what start this entire discussion) If I start a new series and start it on audio, I want to end it on audio. If I fall in love with a series from audio I fell in love with the narrator too. I know have the voices that the narrator gave to the characters in my head. I think the narrators do a pretty darn good job of getting the voices just as the author imagined them and I am pretty sure they are better than my own most of the time. So really don't put the first book of a series on audio or the first and second but not the third. Make sure they are all on audio. I have to finish what I started, don't go and change my method. It makes me almost want to give up on the series. (almost).
So just don't do it. Don't stop making audio books part way through the series. It makes me mad.
Do you like audio books? Do you have any audio pet peeves? Do you have any favorite narrators?
What are your thoughts?
I'm a bit scared to try one, I don't know why, it's just, I don't think I'd be able to concentrate on it, like I can't concentrate on reading if there's TV or people around, so would probably be the same. Like you said, you have to concentrate more on it and block everything out.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think I would like them, but I do love audiobooks now. I have problems with spacing out sometimes, which is why I don't always review them. But I'm trying to improve that and to review more. I've even started accepting audiobooks from publishers for review. I have a review on one (it's middle grade though) coming up, hopefully this week.
ReplyDeleteI prefer female narrators. Julia Whelan is one of my favorites. I think I'm partial to her because I loved her on Once & Again (early 2000s TV show).