Are Audio Books Good Or Not.

[DEM FAN]

I Wonder If I Should Check Them Out. :-)

[mr_hat]

1. Are you a good listener?

[bif]

2. They can be pretty good

I listenedd to a few on my commute to my old job. They usually pick good voices. But it's hard to give it your full attention when you're driving a car. Get them out of the library for free!

[Lefta Dissenter]

7. yeah,

what bif said! They're harder to concentrate on when you're driving (though it's easier than actually reading while you're driving), and definitely get them from the library. I wouldn't think of doing otherwise! They have a great selection.

[Lefta Dissenter]

3. absolutely,

as long as you stick to the unabridged ones. They're great for exercising (I walk around our fields, so it's pretty quiet, otherwise).

I listened to 'Bel Canto' last summer, and it was AMAZING!

[Randomthought]

4. I like them

I take books on Cd's to the gym and play them while I walk. also when I'm doing chores at home. If I sit and listen I go to sleep so printed books are better for just recreational reading.

[OneBlueSky]

5. don't know . . . never tried one . . .

and don't have an urge to . . . I like to read . . . the old fashioned way . . .

[Silverhair]

6. I loved them when I was a trucker.

I could slap a book in the tape player and pass a lot of miles that way. If you are going across Kansas or Nebraska, you need some help.

[bowens43]

8. I like them.

[Florida_Geek]

9. With 150 audio books on MP3s

maybe I am not a fair judge. :evilgrin:

Just got done listening to the 30+ Spenser (for hire) series by Robert Parker.

I listen to them on the road, and around the house.

on edit I am soon to buy an IPOD mini

[FunBobbyMucha]

10. Depends a great deal on the reader

There's a legendary guy named Frank Muller that frankly I can't stand. He has a nice enough, generic radio voice, but doesn't seem to get the material he's reading, and ends every sentence wistfully, despite the text.

My faves have been Al Franken (if you can find "Why Not Me?" it's a tour de force piece, with staged press conferences, etc), Ron Rifkin, the evil guy from Alias reading "The Giver," and Stephen King reading his own "On Writing." Molly Ivins' "Bushwhacked," is steeped in her Texas rasp and incredulousness also. I own all of Spalding Gray's stuff.

I really enjoy a good audio book, but the dilemma is having time to listen to an eleven hours plus book before it's due back at the library. They cost a fortune so I rarely buy them.

[Kamika]

11. They are gREAT

but they sometimes leave out stuff from the book