I love to listen on long car rides (cross country from NYC to SF, 4 times, alone) or just cleaning my house. You can order them on online, instant mp3 delivery, and your ipod then transports you to another world. I used to read alot more when I lived in NYC and took the subway and miss it alot. Also somehow the story helps with my ADD, keeping me on task much longer.

 

I'm gonna check out miranda julys, her mind makes me weak.

I love Miranda July, I will definately get me the audio book cause listening to her is lovely!!!

 

I was resistant to audibooks because I'm a reader who likes to savor every word and my mind tended to wander when trying to listen to books-on-tape. No surprise - remember those tests to determine your strongest learning style? My weakest was auditory.

Then I replaced my PDA a couple years ago when Audible.com had that deal - sign up for a year membership and get $100 off your PDA purchase. I quit after the year because I had only listened to 2 of the 12 books I had downloaded over the year. I spent more time looking for where I fell asleep or zoned out than actually listening.

Then I got an iPod and got hooked on podcasts (2 Homos, Whedoncast, Xena Fanfiction Podcast, etc.). I was working graveyard at the time (hotel night audit) and would listen every work night for a few hours while doing paperwork. My listening skills improved by leaps and bounds, and I think it's even improved my real-life communication skills now that I listen more effectively.

I happened upon a free audiobook podcast of Pride & Prejudice and found that I could finally listen to and enjoy audiobooks. I've re-joined Audible and the only problem now is that one audiobook per month isn't enough. I still have about 5 print books I'm reading at any given time, but now I can also listen to one when my hands or eyes aren't free. I think I still prefer the printed page, but sometimes hearing someone else read something adds to my enjoyment of the material. 

~ Angie

http://www.watchersgames.net

I'm a huge fan of audiobooks. I think they're an excellent way of enjoying books. I currently have all 7 Harry Potter books on my iPod, read by Jim Dale (the same lovely British man who narrates Pushing Daisies).. and a number of other series... mostly young adult (Narnia, Eragon, HHGTTG, His Dark Materials, Ender's Game etc) they're great for listening to as I'm falling asleep at night.. more practical than falling asleep with a book in my hands and having it land on my head when i finally pass out....

I like the idea of adding special features to audiobooks... I tend to buy audio versions of books that I've already read (I tend to listen to them more passively than actively and miss a lot of things if it's the first time).. so maybe adding something new will make them a hotter sales item?  They're certainly becoming more popular of their own accord with the quickening pace of today's society.

I still prefer the experience of books... I love the everything down to the feel and smell of books, but sometimes I just like to close my eyes and have a story told to me :)

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I can understand how listening might take practice, like Angie5x5 says, but unlike her, I haven't learned it yet. I love the written word, and I'm a very visual reader. When I read I usually read each scene three times, first I glance over it, then I read the dialogue, and finally I read the entire thing, beginning to end, and by then I can pretty much 'see' the scene happening on the page. The linear style of audio books bothers me, just listening without seeing the words doesn't make the scene play out in my head, and I've never lasted more than 15 minutes, and when I do focus on it I keep wanting to pause and go back. I have trouble listening to radio interviews with people I really wanna listen to, because I tune out the sound (I hate noise). I prefer my books on paper, thank you very much. If an author I liked started putting bonus stuff on the audio books, I think I'd be more inclined to give up the author altogether because it'd be too stressful being torn between deciding if I should buy stuff I don't want, or miss out on potentially important stuff.

but woo hoo for the south of nowhere shout out at the end! :D haha

 

"I'm drowning in assholes."-Igby Goes Down

www.savespashley.com

I like audio books, and I think that they can really make the book come alive.  Sometimes the tone that the author uses will give me a perspective on the book.  I wouldn't really like to listen to a book and not read it.  It's like seeing a movie based on a book without reading it.  It's better to do both.  I think some books work better. My mom learned the hard way that listening to As I Lay Dying isn't as acessible as, say, The Devil Wears Prada.  If it's not a collection of completely different essays or one whole story with a clear narrative, but a narrative that isn't put together chronologically or from the same voice, it can be tough to follow audibly.

 I love Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation audiobook, and I think that's because it's recorded with such a great cast of characters.  Trust me that you haven't lived til you've heard John Stewart doing the voice of James Garfield singing a republican campaign song.  (That's the same reason I'm looking forward to Broadway Nights by Seth Rudetsky on audiobook.)

I am pretty sure I will never buy an audio book. I just love reading books myself too much. I do not even like to be read to in general.

I love the idea of songs inspired by a book though, like a nice little soundtrack. Very cool.

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-Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.

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I'm like Lezzieboredom--when I lived in a big city and used mass transit a lot more often, I loved reading on the buses and trains. Now that I live in a smaller city and drive a lot more, I've largely replaced my commute reading with audiobooks. Only I generally don't buy them, I get them for free from the local public library. And I've given away the few I've bought out of desperation from lack of access to a library during a long car trip...why not pass on the joy to a friend who may have a trip coming up themselves? My only hesitation with audiobooks is that the reader can make or break the experience. If you get a bad reader or someone whose voice grates on your nerves, then it can ruin the whole book for you. That's why I usually take out 4-5 different books when I am heading out of town, so I have lots of options if 1-2 of the readers let me down. Also, I find that nonfiction is less of a gamble than fiction when it comes to quality of reading, but I also like nonfiction books a lot more than many...well, happy listening!