Although I've still got Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children under "Listening To," I had to give up listening to it. Maybe I'll come back to it someday. I think this is one case in which it would be better to read the book than listen to it. The novel is widely recognized as a modern masterpiece, yet it difficult to listen to commuting to and from work. It's a complex novel that requires your full concentration and schlepping up and down I-97 just isn't going to cut it.
My current audiobook in the car, The Turn of the Screw, is much shorter and easier to focus on. (Plus I've read it before.) Although narrator Flo Gibson's voice irritates me to no end, I think I can endure it. But I'd rather just re-read the book.
I'm finding that the only audiobooks I can really listen to while commuting or running are non-fiction or fiction for kids or young adults. This morning I started reading Bleak House by Charles Dickens. There's no way I could pick up all the subtleties of the novel in an audiobook. For one thing, I often go back and re-read several sentences to see just what and how Dickens crafts his story, paints his pictures. You just can't do that with an audiobook. (I guess you can, but it's not recommended while driving or running.)
So for now it seems my audiobook experiences will consist of J-Fiction, YA or non-fiction. At least until I become a more proficient listener...
7 comments:
I just read up about this book. Im done with school and always looking for a read. This sounds amazing. If it is as in depth as I hear it is, I could not do an audio book. I used audio books for my drives from Arlington to Dallas. Sometime an hour in length, so books are nicer than radio and commercials. However, I tried a book like this once, and I think it made the drive worse. Ill stick with paperbacks for certain books. Thanks for sharing. Sarah
I've found that just about any book that digresses from a linear plot is ill-suited to audiobook consumption. So most non-fiction and mysteries do quite well.
I figured out the same thing. Oddly enough, short stories didn't work too well in audio for me either. The first parts of any story are usually introducing new characters and require paying detailed attention in audio. Later on I'm familiar with them. But with short stories it's over and I start the next one.
Sarah, thanks for stopping by! Yeah, you need something for the drive.... I think I agree with John that non-fiction and mysteries best fit the bill.
King, same thing here. Short stories really do require a lot of attention, sometimes more so than novels. (Every word counts!) Ah, the search continues...
You should try Herman Melville's Moby Dick as an audiobook. Or better yet James Joyces' Ulyssess.
Maybe that's why I listen almost exclusively to YA and J audiobooks! I've had "Shadow of the Wind" ready to listen to for over 2 years, but am afraid I won't be able to follow it while driving. Maybe I'm right!
Catherine :-)
CJ, thanks for stopping by. Yeah, I tried Shadow of the Wind on audio in the car and felt like I was driving into a funnel cloud. Definitely go with the print format on that one.
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