Declaring the audiobook vs print book debate officially stupid
I’m really tired of the “Which is better: listening to an audiobook or reading a book” debate. It’s inane, banal and pointless.
It’s requires the creation of a false dichotomy. A mandate that you fall into one side or the other. The assumption that you can’t do… both. And there in lies the idiocy of even having the argument.
Which is better? Flying in an airplane or driving in a car?
Which is better? Swimming in the ocean or swimming in a pool?
Which is better? Eating breakfast or eating dinner?
One does not preclude the other as a lifestyle choice. In certain circumstances, one option will logically be “better” than the other. But given an equally likely set of circumstances, the reverse will occur.
It’s not an issue of replacement. Yes, most sports fans would rather watch a game live than see it on TV. And yes, there are plenty of people who want to avoid the crush of the crowd and watch from the comfort of their own home. But that’s not what I’m talking about. It’s close, but this decision is often one of personal preference of one option over another.
When it comes to listening to audiobooks or reading books, it’s not an issue of personal preference for me. Hell, it’s not even a matter of choice. I cannot choose to read a book while I’m driving. If there’s a choice to be had at all, it’s to listen to audio or not. The choice then becomes to what am I’m going to listen. I can’t very well read text on a page while I’m cutting the grass, either. Again, my choices are a) listen or not, and b) listen to what? There is no option to read with my eyes.
So stop the argument. Please. For it really is no argument. And if you continue down this misguided path, find a visually impaired person. Ask your obtuse question of them. And be thankful you have an extra sense with which you can receive information.
March 11th, 2009 at 8:59 am
Thank. You.
Apples to oranges. Without audiobooks I would have no book consumption in my life.
It’s about making the best use of the time that you have.
March 11th, 2009 at 9:04 am
I agree completely. There is no reason to chose, no reason to limit ourselves, and no cause for debate.
For a small child, both at the same time is best. For an adult who can read without thinking about the mechanisms of it, it’s a pointless difference. Audio books, e-books, print books, paperback, hard cover…they’re BOOKS darn it. Wine is still wine when served in a paper cup.
March 11th, 2009 at 9:51 am
I have a confession to make. When I do have a choice, I prefer to read paper books. But as Evo says, I don’t always have that choice. No paper book-reading in the car. Most times I can’t listen when I’m working, but occasionally I have to do the kind of repetitive task where I can. The way I look at it, audiobooks give me extra options. And certain performances provide a totally different experience, so much so that it can seem like a different book when I read the paper version.
I would still rather listen to a reasonably well-done audio book than read a pdf on my computer (or heaven forbid, anything smaller). Too hard on my eyes. But things like the Kindle or Sony sound intriguing.
There are a lot of options. I can understand people who simply don’t enjoy listening to audiobooks themselves. But there seems little point in turning it into a pissing content.
March 11th, 2009 at 9:53 am
But wait! Of course its a valid argument…because, well…because…
Because I want to feel smarter because I read books instead of listening because I can read…and I sit under a nice lamp in my comfy chair with a smoking jacket and read books with big words while I suck on my pipe..and…and
Anyway, I can’t follow those audio books…they talk to fast and I like to sound out all of the syllables anyway because they make my tongue feel good…
and … and…
Aw..slow day at work…I’ll shut up now and get back to my nice audio book.
March 11th, 2009 at 9:57 am
In reality it is as you guys say Apples and Oranges.
I have an audio / podcast on my smartphone for the gym. I have another audio book in the cd player of my truck. I have a paper novel on the toilet in each bathroom, and another by my chair. I also have a few e-books on my computer that I pop into from time to time.
A little something for all me.
March 11th, 2009 at 9:58 am
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March 11th, 2009 at 10:27 am
You’ll get no argument from me, either. My issue has always been one more of the hybrid – why can’t I buy a book once, and then have it served up in whatever media happens to suit me at the moment? Maybe at home curled up in front of the fire under a blanket I prefer a literal page turner – but while I’m in the car driving 45 minutes to work, why not have it read to me? Likewise when I’m in a boring meeting at work, maybe I can get a few pages read on my iPhone? I shouldn’t have to pay for the book 3 times for that luxury.
March 11th, 2009 at 11:14 am
You raise a valid point, SG. It’ll take a shift in business strategies to see it fully adopted, but I think it will happen. The Kindle is raising the point, much to the chagrin of some audiobook producers. I think that debate — purchasing the “content” and having unlimited options of the “container” is a much more worthwhile discussion. Oh, and if it wasn’t clear, I’m all for it!
March 11th, 2009 at 11:57 am
It’s already happening !
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6641258.html
And just to add… when it comes to choosing, I’m a both-at-the-same-time kinda girl if I can manage it !
March 11th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
I just shared this with you on twitter, but I do love your point about the visually impaired. Who would say to them, “Well, that’s not really reading”? I’ll have to remember that one!
March 11th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
A brilliant, brilliant point. I love BOTH reading and listening to books. It makes no difference. I’m still being exposed to such great storytelling. If I’m on a train journey, I can either listen to my iPod, or read a paperback and enjoy it either way.
March 11th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
I will say this: some of the books I’ve started and then abandoned on this site usually fall into the “can’t stand the performance” category rather than “can’t stand the writing.” Probably 2-1. Some of those poor performances I might actually read later.
March 11th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
I couldn’t agree more. There are stories that I absorb through audio books and stories I read. For me there are certain stories that work better in Audio form, and some that work better off the page. I tend to read non-fiction and classics and listen to more modern books. I’m a kindle user and a podiobooks subscriber. And does it really matter? If people are getting exposed to more literature I don’t care if they are reading the books, listening to audio books or having their Mom read to them at bed time, it’s about getting good literature into more people’s hands.
March 13th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Everyone likes to be read to. (Well, nearly everyone.)
March 14th, 2009 at 4:21 am
I personally find that there is an additional dimension in the podio- and audiobook: That you get to hear the author’s version. I am currently listening to Infected, and mr. Sigler’s approach contributes greatly to the feel of the novel. The same goes for Dr. Lowell’s storytelling in the tales of the Solar Clipper – and Phil Rossi’s characteristic voice first with Crescent Station and now with Eden.
There is a well-known (well, here, anyway) and most productive Danish author, Hans Scherfig, who had a very distinctive voice and narrative style. He did a voiceover in a movie made over one of his books, Den forsvundne fuldmægtig (‘The clerk gone missing’ would probably be a usable translation) – and everyone I know who saw that movie remembers how that voice penetrated it all – and was evoked every time they read one of his books later on.
March 15th, 2009 at 1:48 am
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March 18th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Evo, thank you for making me aware of this article, it really does raise some good points, especially concerning the visually impaired.
I was made aware of audiobooks through Ask A Ninja’s vlodcast via iTunes when a PDF was delivered in the feed advertising Infected by Scott Sigler.
I went along to the website and downloaded the first ‘episode’ and was immediately hooked.
My fiancé laughed when I told her I was ‘reading a book on my iPod’, and even today she giggles when I tell her about the latest novel I am ‘reading’.
And this is where I think the problem comes from: generally people do not see audiobooks as a book, and therefore the ‘idea’ of reading, or listening to a novel is, well, novel!
But is it really any more ridiculous than listening to the radio as a streamed audio file over the internet?
I don’t think so.
I like reading novel’s in the conventional sense, as a paper medium, but I just don’t the time. I need to sit and read regularly, and spend a good chunk of time with the book. My time these days allows me time to read only a magazine article or two at a time, so audiobooks are, for me, a blessing.
These days I do not read paper books, I listen to them, and Podiobooks has allowed me to read novels by authors I would have probably never heard of, genre’s I would not normally have bothered with, and to become so engrossed in a way I never have done before.
The author, telling the story just as he or she intended it to be read helps the listener to ‘live’ in the story.
There is so much more I could say, but I think this comment is long enough as it is.
So yes, give up the farcical debate now, its silly to say the least.
April 24th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
[...] guess my last rant on the topics of personal preferences in book reading didn’t go far enough. Because if I hear one more person try and correct someone talking about [...]
October 10th, 2009 at 8:43 am
I love both, actually, but reading a book whilst driving in the car is a little tricky. The sheer convenience of audiobooks adds greatly to their appeal. But sometimes the voice of the reader detracts from the enjoyment of the story, at least for me. I just can’t get into ‘Crescent Station’ because the reader has the most annoyingly nasal , irritating voice I have ever heard.