Sep 19, 2001 12:27 AM
52792 Views
Audio books can be great but in my opinion can rarely match the experience you get from reading a book for yourself. I will divide this opinion into a series of points on audio books.
-You can do other things at the same time
One advantage of audio books is that you can listen to them when you are doing something else entirely whether this is driving, housework or something else entirely. You still need to have enough concentration to follow the story but it is a good option in many situations, I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone read a paper book while driving:)
-They cost more
If you are buying an unabridged audio book then it will in most cases cost you more money than a paper book would cost. Perhaps this is partly because paper books are harder to copy as well as the lower demand for audio books.
-Good for people with eyesight problems
If you have poor eyesight then reading a paper book may be difficult or even impossible and as such an audio book is probably the only way you can experience the book. Of course if you have hearing difficulty then the opposite will be true and you would be better off with a paper book.
-Less left to the imagination
The person reading the audio book has to take their own interpretation into what has been written, they will do the voices for the characters and put the emphasis into what is being said from what they think the author meant to be written. When you read a paper book you can imagine these things for yourself and may get a better experience from the book. You also have to hope that the person reading the audio book is a good'actor' as their interpretation of a character may end up making you laugh and not in a good way.
-May be abridged
Not every audio book available is unabridged and as such you may be getting an incomplete story.
-Less range
A lot of paper books are not available as audio books and as such if you want to purchase an audio book the range you have a choice from is limited. This is especially true among books that aren't that popular, the very big books(eg. the Discworld series in the UK) will almost always be put audio format but less well known books may not be.
-Have to wait longer for the audio book
Normally the paper book will be produced first and you will have to wait a period of time before the audio book comes out, this only affects new books of course as older ones will either exist or not exist already.
-Conclusion-
Audio books are great but cannot match the experience you get from a paper book, if you have the choice I would always recommend a paper book. Of course audio books are good for specific people or circumstances, if you have trouble with a paper book then an audio book may be the only way you get to hear the story, if you spend a lot of time driving you might want also to consider an audio book as an alternative to music to listen to as you drive.
