Monday, May 17, 2010

To Audio.. or Not to Audio.....

I consider myself a old fashioned girl... with that being said, let me go ahead and contradict myself... I purchased an audio book.

In starting a new commute, I was forced to take a busy, noisy train in and out of work daily. I attempted to read my book several times in the first couple days, when I realized it was way to difficult to read. I am not the kind of person who can just read the words on a page, I need to experience the words and all the emotions that come with them. And with the noise that came from the train, I decided it was time to try something a bit different, enter iTunes Audiobooks.

For my first shot at it, I wanted to get something light and easy to follow, so I opted for Nights In Rodanthe by Nicolas Sparks (see below for full review!). And it truly was the perfect type of book for my virgin reading ears. It was easy to follow, and light enough for me to just sit back and enjoy without having to put too much thought into it.

My first and most important suggestion for purchasing an Audiobook- is to make Sure you preview the audiobook first. You have to be able to find the reader's voice enjoyable, if not you'll find it quite difficult to really get into.

One thing that I really disliked about the audio book is that the reader would often use different voices for various characters within the novel. Being as she was a female, when she read the male voices (all in an "acted" Southern accent) I found myself concentrating more on how bad the accent was then to what was being said in the book. This was a Major drawback for my enjoyment of the book

The one thing that has plagued me since I began listening to this audio"book" is- can it really be considered a BOOK if it is being read TO you. I know, its a book written by an author. But by listening to someone read it out loud to you- does that then make it just a story?

Would I do it again? The answer to this is yes. But taking all of the precautions of "viewing" it before buying it to ensure I like the readers voice. And would really only do it if I was traveling somewhere, where focusing on a book may be difficult.

Books have been written since the dawn of time, and I am a firm believer that Nothing could ever replace the feeling of opening up a new book, the smell of the freshly printed paper, the intensity when at 2 am you think yourself.. "Okay just one more chapter". Those feelings, and attachments can only come from a real book.

So verdict on the audiobook... times are a changin', I can't always be Old Fashioned... and neither can you, so my book loving followers- give it a try... but I guarantee you... if you are as die hard as I am.... it will be a Try- not a life long change :)

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