If you listened to an audiobook, do you say you "read" it? (5 Viewers)

[oysters]

Since the written language is fairly new in human history I’d say that listening to the audiobook is akin to the story tellers of our ancestors. That’s how stories were past down for 10’s of thousands of years. Books for only a few thousand.

That being said, if someone asked if I read a book I’d respond “I listened to it”. But

 

[saint_drago]

I always specify that I listened to something on audiobook. I don't know why. That distinction doesn't make any difference to the person you're talking to. But it just doesn't feel right somehow.

I've had a few jobs that required me to be on the road a lot so I've had a lot of time to listen to audiobooks. Obviously now we have anything you can imagine at our fingertips with smart phones but back in the day I had to listen to CDs. First audiobook I ever bought was The Gunslinger. I knocked out the first four books of The Dark Tower series in short order.

Some people prefer to have a book in their hands to read but I'm perfectly fine listening to a story if it's being read by a capable narrator. Hearing Frank Muller read the second Dark Tower book, The Drawing of the Three, was one of the best experiences I've ever had with a novel. That man was a gifted narrator. Rest in peace.

 

[saint_drago]

while I'm no longer a fan of Woody Allen, i do love that the plot behind "Zelig" is about a man who physically blends in to conform to the groups around him and the triggering event was that he lied about reading Moby Dick at a dinner party
i think Norm MacDonald had a bit about lying about having read books too
i mean we used to get gold stars when we read a book when we were 5 - maybe we're continually trying to chase that high

No doubt. Not a fan of Woody Allen but Zelig is damn near perfect. One of the best comedies ever made imo.

Why do people lie about reading books though? That's an interesting question. Why do people think they have to lie to kick it?

 

[Thunderchild]

I read quite a lot (as do my whole extended family) and listen on occasion where that is more useful. When discussing, I usually differentiate between the two (I read [book] and listened to [audiobook] ). Not sure why, and I don't think it actually makes much difference to the discussion. The same material is absorbed either way.

I do find that I occasionally fade out of a book when listening and that doesn't happen when I read. But all that means is that I have to go back and re-listen to what I missed. Again, that makes no difference in a discussion.

A distinction without a difference.

 

[mjcouvi]

In casual conversation we often say things that aren’t literally true. But this gets to the heart of the issue, I think. Is that really “misleading”? Why is listening to a book not the same as reading it for purposes of discussing the content?

I suspect that there’s some judgment or bias underlying this idea - I sense it within my own thinking so I’m not any different. What I’m questioning is whether that judgment has merit. If it’s an empty bias, than we shouldn’t cling to it. And I can’t come up with a reason why it’s wrong to say you read a book that you listened to. Would you tell a blind person that listens to audiobooks that they “shouldn’t” say they have read them?

I get that people who read books might think reading is just more pure, requires more effort (perhaps intellectual effort), and is therefore superior. But I can’t figure out why that matters - so what? There’s no awards being given out here, just people talking about books. If you take away the same content and the thought it inspires, I don’t see a difference that warrants such judgment.

You address something that’s worth a book of knowledge

 

[Optimus Prime]

Some people prefer to have a book in their hands to read but I'm perfectly fine listening to a story if it's being read by a capable narrator. Hearing Frank Muller read the second Dark Tower book, The Drawing of the Three, was one of the best experiences I've ever had with a novel. That man was a gifted narrator. Rest in peace.

Even though I had listened to audiobooks before it was Frank Muller reading The Green Mile was what really made me fall in love with them, I've listened to it many times

I think he was one of the first 'superstar' narrators, around the same time as George Guidall and Scott Brick. Now there's a ton of them

 

[saint_drago]

Even though I had listened to them before Frank Muller reading The Green Mile was what really made me fall in love with audiobooks, I've listened to it many times

I think he was one of the first 'superstar' narrators, around the same time as George Guidall and Scott Brick. Now there's a ton of them

Guidall picked up The Dark Tower series after Muller's death and he was very, very good. But to me Muller was the narrator for that specific series. He was the voice of The Dark Tower.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Guidall picked up The Dark Tower series after Muller's death and he was very, very good. But to me Muller was the narrator for that specific series. He was the voice of The Dark Tower.

A narrator change for a long running series is jarring - and it goes to the performance I mentioned earlier - the same characters can come across differently because of it

Who are some of your favorite narrators?

Mine are RC Bray, Luke Daniels, MacLeod Andrews, Angela Dawes, Ray Porter

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

I always specify that I listened to something on audiobook. I don't know why. That distinction doesn't make any difference to the person you're talking to. But it just doesn't feel right somehow.

I've had a few jobs that required me to be on the road a lot so I've had a lot of time to listen to audiobooks. Obviously now we have anything you can imagine at our fingertips with smart phones but back in the day I had to listen to CDs. First audiobook I ever bought was The Gunslinger. I knocked out the first four books of The Dark Tower series in short order.

Some people prefer to have a book in their hands to read but I'm perfectly fine listening to a story if it's being read by a capable narrator. Hearing Frank Muller read the second Dark Tower book, The Drawing of the Three, was one of the best experiences I've ever had with a novel. That man was a gifted narrator. Rest in peace.

you reminded me of something i'd long forgotten - when i was in 7th grade we had several shakespeare plays assigned
i wasn't really 'getting' them, but then my dad took me to the downtown library and they had the plays produced as audio dramas on LP - so i took them to a turntable kiosk and listened to the plays - much more impact that way

i do have a 'devil's advocate' notion in this - yes most of us are saying reading physical book and listening to audiobook is what and what
however, i doubt any of us would say that we 'read' a book when out parents read to us at bedtime - i read pride and prejudice to my oldest when he was 1ish (in fact his first sentence was "No more Mr Darcy") - so...there's that

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

Who are some of your favorite narrators?

Jefferson Mays
he's mostly just done "the Expanse" series, but he's great

 

[saint_drago]

A narrator change for a long running series is jarring - and it goes to the performance I mentioned earlier - the same characters can come across differently because of it

Who are some of your favorite narrators?

Mine are RC Bray, Luke Daniels, MacLeod Andrews, Angela Dawes, Ray Porter

I love Muller and Guidall. They are two of the greats. I also love Gordon Gould and Conrad Feininger. Years ago I discovered Lovecraft and I found that it was much better to listen to Lovecraft as opposed to reading. So I stumbled across Gould and Feininger reading his short stories and it was amazing. They wouldn't be the best fit for everything but for Lovecraft they were perfect.

And Sally Darling. I listened to her do To Kill A Mockingbird and it was great.

 

[gboudx]

Hearing Frank Muller read the second Dark Tower book, The Drawing of the Three, was one of the best experiences I've ever had with a novel. That man was a gifted narrator. Rest in peace.

This is how I feel about "Go the fork to sleep" as narrated by Samuel L. Jackson. Very gifted narrator.

 

[kansast]

A narrator change for a long running series is jarring - and it goes to the performance I mentioned earlier - the same characters can come across differently because of it

Who are some of your favorite narrators?

Mine are RC Bray, Luke Daniels, MacLeod Andrews, Angela Dawes, Ray Porter

Have listened to quite a few audiobooks narrated by RC Bray and Ray Porter. I've been directed to a number of audio books based on narrator alone.

 

[St. Widge]

In casual conversation we often say things that aren’t literally true. But this gets to the heart of the issue, I think. Is that really “misleading”? Why is listening to a book not the same as reading it for purposes of discussing the content?

I suspect that there’s some judgment or bias underlying this idea - I sense it within my own thinking so I’m not any different. What I’m questioning is whether that judgment has merit. If it’s an empty bias, than we shouldn’t cling to it. And I can’t come up with a reason why it’s wrong to say you read a book that you listened to. Would you tell a blind person that listens to audiobooks that they “shouldn’t” say they have read them?

I get that people who read books might think reading is just more pure, requires more effort (perhaps intellectual effort), and is therefore superior. But I can’t figure out why that matters - so what? There’s no awards being given out here, just people talking about books. If you take away the same content and the thought it inspires, I don’t see a difference that warrants such judgment.

I think as usual words have more than one meaning and language evolves. We often say that we "read" the room, "read" a situation, "read" a person, or even "read" a defense. Obviously we don't literally mean that we read anything in those situations. In the context of a book, I guess we assume that when someone says read, they actually mean physically read the words with their eyes, but I suspect that will be less so as time goes on and more and more writing is consumed by listening rather than reading the words. So, language evolves and I expect at some point we won't really distinguish between the two.

I also think that there is a certain level of snobbishness to the idea of reading a book as opposed to listening to it. And I suspect your discomfort with saying read when you listened (and my own) has something to do with not wanting to run afoul of the snobs who might call you out for listening instead of actually reading. I guess I think that snobbishness is unwarranted. I think it's important for kids to read to 1) learn how to read; 2) learn how to spell; 3) learn how to write; and 4) learn more vocabulary, but I'm not so sure it's all that important for adults. Especially since most adults are too busy or tired to read much where as they are much more likely to have time to listen while doing other things like commuting or exercising. And isn't it better to consume the art, knowledge, and information in some way rather than not get it because you don't have time or the energy to read?

 

[St. Widge]

On a side note. I really miss listening to audio books. I used to have a 1.5 hour total commute on a daily basis. I hated the commute, but I loved all the time I got to spend listening to audio books. My job also used to have me driving all over the state of Louisiana, including a lot of trips to Baton Rouge, on which I used to listen to audio books. Now my commute is a total of 30 minutes and a rarely ever travel for work. It's nice not to be on the road all the time, but I miss the audio books.