Today I tried an audio book for the first time. I have always been against them for some reason, mostly cause I am old fashioned with some things, I've only recently come to accecpt that fact that I can no longer listen to music cassette tapes. :lol:
Anyway I tried to listen in my car, I don't think it's for me, but it made me wonder for those of you who do listen to audio books,

Do you consider that as a book read for challenges?
Where do you listen most in the car or with a portable cd player?
Would you read a book that you've already listened to or vice versa?
Are there certain reasons why you would choose one over the other if you had access to both?

Just Curious

I don't listen a lot. I keep mine on my Treo and listen while I'm in the car (rest it on my shoulder) or I use my earphones and listen while I'm walking the neighborhood or if I'm sitting at my desk doing really mindless work.

Yes, I count them. I still had to concentrate on them. 'Course I include YA books too :)

Yes... I'm listening to Frank McCourt's books and I've read those. Same for Gods In Alabama (which is FAB on audio)

I choose to listen to things, as a rule, that I probably would not choose to read - sometimes that works out like the Secret History of the Pink Carnation and sometimes it doesn't like Holy Fools. I also choose depending on the reader. Anything Kate Reading does, I would listen to. I'm also listening now to something called Garlic and Sapphires which is a kind of memoir from a food critic and she's HILARIOUS - I love that she read it herself.

It's hit and miss for me, but it gives me something to do... I typically rewind parts when my mind wanders too ;) So I probably listen to a book twice through ;)

Do you consider that as a book read for challenges?
Yup, I count them as regular reads (well, unabridged ones, but then I only listen to unabridged ones!). Why wouldn't I? As long as the words get into my head, the book should count. I pay attention while I'm listening and rewind if I miss something so it's not like a lesser quality read or anything.

Where do you listen most in the car or with a portable cd player?
At the moment I don't really have a commute, so at home, either on my mp3 or I've got assorted music players all over the house really so cassettes or CD's just get moved around with me! :lol: I mainly listen while knitting, baking/cooking, or doing mindless paperwork so that's no biggie.

Would you read a book that you've already listened to or vice versa?
If it's a book I would have reread anyway, then yes. That doesn't happen often these days since there's so much I want to read for the first time, but once in a while.

Are there certain reasons why you would choose one over the other if you had access to both?
The mindless paperwork mentioned above has been getting a little thick lately -- hence audios have been even more attractive than usual! Some series work so well as audios that I'd rather listen to them (Stephanie Plum, for instance), and since audios are a little harder to come by I will give them preference a lot of the time if I could go with either.

In general, I find that a first person narrative lends itself well to audios, since it's like your hearing the main character talk to you and tell you their story. With third person perspective, the quality of the narration makes a bigger difference to the quality of the audio so that's worth checking first if possible. Books with sections in some sort of non-standard format (straight dialogue sections written out like a script, those that use things like footnotes even in fiction, or anything where the look of the prose matters) aren't such good choices for audios.

Hmmm... would I consider it a book read for a challenge... I guess yes, because you're still putting in the time investment, and I kind of count it as having been exposed to the story rather than physically reading the pages, just my opinion...

I listen the most in the my car, to and from work, and on long trips. I'm just never stationary enough at home, not doing anything to be able to pay enough attention to it.

I would listen to a book I've already read, I probably would not read a book I've already listened to. Not sure why, but there it is! :lol:

Would I choose one over the other... well, I would always choose regular reading rather than listening during those times when it's possible, but sometimes, like driving it's not. However, there are some books and readers that I want to listen to, for the performance value, so yeah, i guess there are some books I might choose to listen to rather than read because of who reads it.

I mostly listen to audios in the car on long trips by myself or at work.

Of course, I don't actually have any audios at the moment, so I currently don't listen to any! :lol:

However, I generally listen to lighter things as I can't always give my full attention to the book. I like light mysteries (Janet Evanovich, Tony Hillerman), YA books, and humor essays in particular. Though David Sedaris is BAD for work. People look at you weird when you laugh out loud.

Sometimes I'll listen to something that I read and enjoyed years ago... like the Phantom Tollbooth or the Oz books. That's wonderful if I just want background noise.

I have found that a good narrator can turn mediocre writing style into a WONDERFUL listen. I really love CJ Critt and George Guidall and will listen to anything they narrate.

I don't participate in challenges, so I don't know.

Do you consider that as a book read for challenges?
I listen to a lot of audio dramas as opposed to audio books (dramas are performed by a full cast with sound effects and music, books are usually a single performer reading) and I don't go in for challenges, but I do count audio books (but not dramas) as books read for the month.

Where do you listen most in the car or with a portable cd player?
I can't pay attention in the car - I listen via an MP3 player, usually while walking the neighborhood but occasionally while doing laundry or other household cleaning..

Would you read a book that you've already listened to or vice versa?
audio books are expensive so I won't risk buying something I'm not going to listen to several times, meaning I only buy audio books I've already read in print.

Do you consider that as a book read for challenges?
No. Not sure why :shrug:

Where do you listen most in the car or with a portable cd player?
In the car. Although if I'm in the house on my own doing housework I'll sometimes listen to one.

Would you read a book that you've already listened to or vice versa?
Yes. If it's a book I enjoyed and haven't listened to in a while or if I'm going to read the next one in a series and fancy a refresher.

Are there certain reasons why you would choose one over the other if you had access to both?
I don't think you can really beat a real book, so if I really want to read something I'll sit down and read it. I do think you sometimes miss bits with an audio as you start thinking about other things..like staying on the road :lol:

I'm relatively new to audiobooks as well.

I've started listening to them in the car because I'm commuting to work by car for the first time and I was really bored with the radio. (I HATE commercials.)

I don't really do challenges, but it seems like (at least for an unabridged book) the audio is the same as the book.

I almost never reread books, but I might listen to something on audio that I've read. But so far, I've listened to so few audios that it hasn't come up yet.

I also listened to an audiobook last weekend while doing the week's cooking and it was nice background.

I've been downloading books from Audible for quite some time (2+ years, I think), so with getting two each month, I've got quite a collection.

Even so, I hadn't really been listening to them. I had tried in the car, but I don't really have a commute, so that wasn't really working. And because I'm more of a visual person, I only chose books that I had already read but wanted to "read" again.

All that has changed recently. About a month ago, I started walking 2-3 miles each morning. I was listening to music, but then I thought I'd try an audiobook. Perfect combination!

But that hour in the morning wasn't quite enough for me - I was getting into the book that I was hearing and wanted to spend more time with it. My other hobby is knitting. So instead of watching TV or a movie while I knitted, I decided to listen to the audiobook. Another perfect combination! I've since added housework like laundry and doing the dishes.

At first I listened to two books that I had already read (and did not count them in my list of books read this year). Then I decided to branch out into one I hadn't read. You see, I've really been wanting to read the Discworld books but I never seem to get to them. I have almost all of them from Audible, so thought I'd try one out. I was worried that I'd miss something since I couldn't actually see the words on the page, but the experience turned out much better than I had expected. (I listened to Equal Rites.)

So now I've been listening to books that I haven't read - one more way of getting to the books I want to read. And this month I downloaded two books that were on my wishlist but that I haven't received in print yet. I finished listening to The Deception of the Emerald Ring (and then took it off my wishlist, since I don't feel like I need to read the print version now since I've already "read" it) and right now I'm listening to Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (something I'm really excited about because otherwise I'd have a long wait to get the book from PBS).

So now I am counting these as books I've read this year. I'm also enjoying my knitting time even more than I did before. (I'll even go so far as to say I even kinda like doing the dishes now.)

I don't do any challenges but I would count the audiobook. I started listening to audios after my dad's eyesight deteriorated and he had to switch to audios. I only listen to a less complicated story but right now I am listening to The Looming Tower and it is excellent. I listen while working out at the gym or at home on the treadmill because nothing is more boring then working out.

I like George too, I just finished listening to one he did, "The Hidden Empire: The Saga of Seven Suns book 1" and I think I wouldn't have cared for it too much except that he read it. Not that it wasn't good, but I think having him do the different voice styles for different characters helped me keep all the storylines separated.

Kate Reading is another one I like, and also Barbara Rosenblat (I've only listened to her doing the Amelia Peabody series so far, but she does an AWESOME job!) oh yes, and Davina Porter on the Outlander series! :drool:

I've tried a few times, but I can't seem to listen to audiobooks... for some reason they drive me kinda batty. Not sure why exactly. But my boyfriend really loves them, he drives SO much for his job (like, a 1,000 km a week on average, and nearly all of that highway driving) and he finds they keep him awake and alert much better then the radio or music (having to follow the plot).

If I did listen to them, I would count them the same as reading the paper copy of the book.