Audio Books Are Not Boring.
Enjoying a good audio book depends a lot on the interpretation of the storyline by the narrator.
And, thankfully the quality of audio books is generally excellent.
There are novels and text books which are just not suitable for narration. Any book which contains facts, figures and dates is a case in point. Also, if there is an intense plot with many diverse characters, the narrator might have some difficulty interpreting them properly. Not too long ago I downloaded an account of the 1916 rising in Ireland but because of the many place names, dates etc… I eventually gave up on it. Often you need to refer to a chart to make sense of the storyline.
On the other hand there are many genres which were meant to be recorded and listened to on iPods or MP3 players. Radio shows audio books are a case in point. The War of the Worlds is a classic example, which, when adapted for radio in 1938 by Orson Welles, was realistic enough to cause widespread panic throughout the United States.
And, for the students among us there is a wide choice of classic novels, which are on the school curriculum, ready and waiting for their iPods. In addition, there is also a series of audio book articles and notes being published which explain the context of these novels.
I remember many years ago trying to read Macbeth by William Shakespeare and having lots of trouble trying to retain an interest. My teacher suggested that we should attend an amateur production of the play at a local theatre and, I surprised myself how much I enjoyed it, and understood it much better.
Many of these productions include well known character actors of film and radio. When sound effects and music are added to the mix, this makes the listening experience all the more enjoyable.
I read stories these days of commuters getting stuck in traffic for many hours. The audiobook would make an ideal traveling companion instead of listening to all the gloom and doom on the radio. I’m sure many of us would like to have the time to read more, but with the pace of life increasing this does not seem possible. Well, think again. How much time is wasted in the car, bus, train or at the airport?
There is a category of audiobooks which I think is badly overlooked, and that is the study of languages. This is one area where these books on audio excel themselves. The main languages are broken down into several parts, and range from easy phrases to more complicated conversations. The big benefit is that the narration is done by native speakers, and so the problem of correct pronunciation is eliminated.
