Listening to Books

Richard / July 5, 2007 6:53 PM

I definately listen to books! I've been downloading them off the internet because I exhausted my local libraries supply.

When I first started downloading, I found it irritating, but then I found a cool website that doesn't try to trap me into subscriptions or hassle me. (www.exclusive-audiobooks-download.com)

As a business person I also appreciate the diversity of content. I like a good book as the next person, fiction is great, but sometimes I like historiographies or other non-fiction morsels of audio goodness.

I just purchased and downloaded "Kite Runner" and intend on listening to it as I cook dinner tonight!

Judi Schindler / July 8, 2007 10:38 AM

I've been an avid audio book fan for more than 15 years. I used to rent from a company that is no longer in business. Now I download from www.audible.com.

What I love is the ability to multi-task -- to enjoy a book while driving, cooking, riding my bike.

In no way does it take away time from actual reading -- an activity enjoyed by itself.

I've frequently been introduced to an author via an audio book, and then purchased another title by that author in print.

Ed Dziedzic / July 8, 2007 2:16 PM

I too listen as well as read. They are great when I walk for exercise, which can be boring without a good book to listen to. The only problem I ever had was a poor reader on a Walter Mosely novel. He mispronounced words and often put the em phas is on the wrong syll ab ble. It was an excellent story (The Little Yellow Dog) that the reader did his best to make unlistenable. Fortunately, 99% of the audiobooks have very skillful readers.

TOM RUDD / July 8, 2007 9:58 PM

PLEASE PUT ME ON YOUR EMAIL LIST FOR FUTURE ANNOUNCEMENTS.
THANKS
TOM

Joan Friedman / July 10, 2007 10:51 AM

I love audiobooks and have been listening to them for years. I now get them from audible.com and listen to them on my Mac in my office while I work on my windows based PC. I aso listen on my ipod while I drive and when I walk the dog.Because I have a bad habit of reading the end of the book first audio books keep me honest.Most of my reading time (visual) is newspapers and magazines and the occasional book.

Joan Friedman / July 10, 2007 10:52 AM

I love audiobooks and have been listening to them for years. I now get them from audible.com and listen to them on my Mac in my office while I work on my windows based PC. I aso listen on my ipod while I drive and when I walk the dog.Because I have a bad habit of reading the end of the book first audio books keep me honest.Most of my reading time (visual) is newspapers and magazines and the occasional book.

Terri Lackey / July 12, 2007 12:12 PM

Audio books have saved my life. No longer am I bored driving 50 minutes to work and 50 minutes home from work. I no longer have to listen to the same NPR stories over and over. I can now "read" a book while driving. I'm concerned, though, that I'm not really reading, and that I can't count listening to an audio book as the same thing as reading. But by the time I get to read a real book at night when I go to bed, I'm pooped. I fall asleep after two or three pages, so it takes me forever to get through a book. I've "read" about 50 audio books in the last couple of years, and I get them all FREE. I used to check them out from the public library and burn them. But now I download them for FREE from Netlibrary.com or the Chicago Public Library.

What does everybody else think about "reading" audio books. Is it real reading?