why-audiobooks

I tried speed reading, but I don’t think it really fits my personality. Plus, I like listening. It’s nice break for your eyes. I feel like we use our eyeballs a lot and I fear my vision is going through another one of its annoying changes. Regardless though, there is something really lovely about being told a story.

Audiobooks make me feel like I’ve entered a conversation. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love to read, but audiobooks are a nice change. I love how I can be driving, sitting on a plane or at home lying on my bed listening to a podcast, a book or a lecture. This is one of the simple areas where technology excels. Audiobooks have allowed us a different way to communicate and share stories or ideas. It’s like being read to – like they did in all those BBC Jane Austin dramas.

“Listening requires focus and attention,” Leon Berg says, because listening is intentional. Audiobooks reminds me of conversations around the campfire. They can feel even more intimate when the author is speaking to you. And the ear is much more forgiving than the eyes. You can still catch phrases or words that create that magic sit-up moment without getting too bogged down by the language or grammar.

So for all of these reasons and more, I created an audiobook for my first book {the missing teacher}. Name your price or download it for free on Gumroad.

If you are interested in hearing a sample, I’ve uploaded the Prologue and Ch1 on YouTube. You’re welcome.
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Extra credit: TED talk, The Power of Listening by William Ury
Free audiobooks online at Open Culture

What do you think? Do you listen to audiobooks?

29 replies on “Why audiobooks?”

  1. I love audiobooks so much! I love music as well, but over the years listening to the same songs on my iPod again and again can get old. Especially on endless commutes, waiting in line at the airport, even jogging.

    Several years ago I got into downloading some psychedelic lectures. like those of psilocybin mushroom guru Terence McKenna. So fascinating to listen to on long walks. Then, I had the entire Illuminatus! Trilogy by brilliant author Robert Anton Wilson and it took me months to listen to the whole thing, and I was hooked. From then on, I listened to as much as I could.

    I do have a short attention span, and for fiction I prefer books I’ve already read once to listen to a second time. I can delve deeply into the prose, revisiting the stories, and be taken into another world any time of the day.

    I listened to Neal Stephenson techno novels, which tend to be think and can consume me for months. I was disturbed listening to American Psycho. Last year when I was in America I went to the library and stocked up on White Oleander by Janet Fitch and P.K. Dick science fiction. Haruki Murakami, Lord of the Rings, as much as I could get my hand on. When I really want to go all out I think I’ll listen to James Joyce’s epic Ulysses one day…

    Then I discovered BBC radio dramas, without all that “he said, she said” distractions and multiple actors. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, classic of course. The Hobbit. Neverwhere by Gaiman. And some poetry readings by Bukowski.

    Recently, I’ve been getting into podcasts. Free on iTunes, it’s an amazing source of audio. Serial is worth the hype. I get my news on Democracy Now. Discovering more and more all the time, only problem is the time to listen to it all.

    That’s very impressive that you read your own audiobook. A whole new market, best of luck!

    Hmmm, what should I read next… What do you recommend?

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    1. Wow. Ray, you are an audiobook connaisseur! On Soundcloud I found The Guardian’s Long Reads audio and there was a series for short stories on http://www.aerogrammestudio.com/ that I enjoyed.

      Overall though, my audio tastes run around the Internet like a cat being chased by a dog.

      Have you read The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton yet? I’m also getting into The Best Russian Short Stories and I must say, I’m hooked.

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    2. I love audiobooks, especially if they are well-narrated. They make me feel like I’m a second grader again, sitting cross-legged on a carpeted classroom floor listening tou teacher read during story time. Lovely.

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    1. Thank you. I’m afraid I have a lot of unfinished books around me and so I can’t offer a list as long as yours. I guess I’m a tough person to please or I have a fear of commitment 😛 probably both.

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  3. I love audiobooks. I sttarted with them just few years ago but I mentioned to go through a lot I think. As I am mostly into the fantasy genre I listened to most books I had read so far but still, some audiobooks are over fourth hours long and then having 12 of them for the entire serie will surely keep you occupied for a while 🙂

    Usually I listento them during bicycling tours and on the rare occasions that I am outside doing some running rounds. For me it all started when I had a very dull job and needed to kill 7hours a day…

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    1. Yes. You reminded me of a coworker who was stuck in a corner office, who would almost always have his earbuds on listening to podcasts and music. This was when podcasts were still relatively new, too.

      And isn’t it interesting how many listen and read the book? Also, books I would not normally read, like a lawyer thriller, I can listen to, you know? Got to get back into my fantasy reading…I’ve been out of the loop for too long.

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  4. I’ve always loved podcasts of talkback radio shows that I liked, and the talk on some pop stations back in Singapore. Funny how you can play over a podcast over and over and not get bored by it. As for audiobooks, I like them but I find it very hard to find time to listen to them. Usually when I’m writing, I cannot listen to audiobooks or podcasts as it’s distracting. When I’m out walking, I like to look around me and focus on taking photos. Music is okay, but I find that my brain can’t handle processing someone speaking to me and me creating art.

    So generous of you to give away your audio book, for free 😛 Are all the files large? It might seem a silly question but in Australia are on limited internet plans – use up a certain amount of data and then we’ll be speed limited or charged more. And I’m already halfway through my data for the month 😀

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    1. You have the option of downloading all of the chapters in one zip file or just downloading chapter by chapter OR just listening online.

      I know what you mean about listening and writing and such. I used to be able to listen to music and write, but lately I find the music to be distracting because I want to listen. Hahahah.

      If I’m walking, then it cannot be an audiobook or anything that requires concentration, music is alright.

      Generally though, if I’m listening, I’m just listening to the book. Driving is different though or being in a moving vehicle…the movement suits audiobooks very well.

      Lying on my bed listening to an audio works well for me, too. There we go again, being all alike, just get over on to the spicy food wagon, alright? 😛

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      1. So many options, Lani. Might as well get them all. Thanks for that.

        Didn’t know you had fussy listening habits too 😛 I can imagine you lying on your bed, listening to your audiobooks and then dreaming about the stories in your head as you sleep.

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      2. Hahahaha. I used to be absolutely religious about recording my dreams every morning. I should get back into that.

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  5. I love audiobooks but have recently realized that I am incapable of even the simplest multi-tasking. Audiobooks are something that you can listen to while doing something else so you can be DOUBLE THE PRODUCTIVE. But alas, I’m cursed to be only singularly productive. The only kind of audiobook I’ve realized that I can listen to while driving (or anything else that requires just a LITTLE bit of attention) is YA novels or a collection of VERY short stories lol.

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    1. By all means, drive safely! I should clarify that long distance driving works best – in city traffic and listening could be a bit overwhelming. Hahahhaa.

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  6. I haven’t gotten into audiobooks yet, Lani. I don’t even listen to radio. I love listening to just baroque classical music.

    I dunno. Maybe I’m more a visual and tactile learner.

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    1. Maybe. You love cycling and painting. I grew up listening to stories from my mom and listening to all these Thai women chatter, so maybe I tuned in to listening in a way…

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  7. Thanks for reminding me of audiobooks! I used to listen to them all the time. It’s hard for me to read sometimes because I’m usually writing, but I can listen to books while I clean or exercise. Glad you made an audiobook for “The Missing Teacher.” I can see that working well with your content. 🙂

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  9. I love audiobooks but never get a chance to delve into them. With a toddler running around… it would just be me trying to listen through the sounds of a wild child.. ok not wild but still. I have ten pages left of your book! I have been loving it!

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    1. Thanks so much for reading it! Wow. I’d really like to know your option since I know how much you are interested in Waldorf.

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  10. I haven’t tried audiobooks yet but your post has me sold. You make a good point about how we use our eyes too much. I think lying down, closing my eyes and listening to an audio book (and going to another world) would be an excellent way to relax and get in some good ‘reading.’

    Gotta get me some audiobooks!

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  11. Pingback: The gifts of a reading habit – Life, the Universe, and Lani

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