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Audiobooks?


Michelle

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Maybe it should be retitled dreambooks, and we can all talk about dreams we have when reading certain books. Dreams seem to be related to what we are thinking, so you can't be the only one with that sort of story, especially as a lot of us seem to read in bed..

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What I found is that I fall asleep right away

DP

I've listened to a couple of audio books and unless I am doing something at the same time i.e. ironing then i quite easily drift off to sleep. Beats sleeping pills :) .

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I listen to them on my iPod all the time. In fact, coincidentally, I just finished listening to 1894 today on my way home from work. We sometimes listen to audio books in bed at night, but only ones we already know and love as we fall asleep. I use my iPod to listen to them whenever I'm walking about the place (I don't drive) and find it an excellent way to get in some extra reading when i can't have a book in my hands!

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Is anyone into audiobooks at all? The reason I ask is that on a car ride up north my buddy was listening to 1984 on his Ipod. I decided it would be fun to read again and figured I could play it on my Ipod when I was laying down to go to sleep. What I found is that I fall asleep right away when I put it on but I certainly don't stop enjoying it. I end up having crazy dreams about the thought police and whatnot. My girlfriend has also told me that in the middle of the night Ive been known to say crazy things in my sleep. Its kind of like a choose your own adventure book.:D The book gets me started then I fall asleep and go from there. Just wondering if I was crazy of if anyone else had tried this with any of their favorite books. If not I recommend it.

 

DP

 

I listen to audiobooks all the time, but only when I'm walking or travelling by public transport or doing boring jobs in the house like ironing, washing up etc. I have listened to them in bed occasionlly but I always fall asleep and then I have to go back and find my place again, which is so frustrating :motz:so I don't tend to do that too much. I can't remember if I've had any weird dreams afterwards though :weeping:

 

Carole

:)

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  • 5 months later...

This question is aimed at Kell, because I know she uses the site, but if anyone else also uses it then feel free to jump right on in! :lol:

 

I downloaded 'Emma' from Librivox a few months ago because it was our summer 'bookworms' read (which we all gave up on, but that's another story...) and I thought it might be good to listen to it.

 

Aside from the fact that it was read by a woman with perhaps the most irritating voice in the world, when I tried to burn it to CD to listen to in the car, it wanted to put it onto about 20 CDs!

 

So, I was just wondering how you listen to yours? Do you burn them, or do you just listen to them on your computer?

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Janet - I listen to mine on my iPod, but I agree, sometimes you get a dodgy reader - but you have to remember they're just regular punters like you and me, not professionals, and they volunteer, rather than get paid. There are some readers on there who are excellent - there's a guy called Chip who has an amazingly expressive voice.

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I don't like audiobooks. I don't think I could ever get into them. There is something about holding a book and reading the words and having the images painted in my head. I love the smell of books, turning the pages. I just love reading. I love books and I would rather read :lol:

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I just love reading. I love books and I would rather read :D
Me too - but when I can't have a book in my hand, an audio book isn't as bad as I thought it would be. And it means I can walk down the street without crashing into people.

 

Well, without crashing into as many people. :lol:

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Janet - I listen to mine on my iPod, but I agree, sometimes you get a dodgy reader - but you have to remember they're just regular punters like you and me, not professionals, and they volunteer, rather than get paid. There are some readers on there who are excellent - there's a guy called Chip who has an amazingly expressive voice.

 

I listen to a lot of audio books, since I have a commute to school (it makes the time go SO MUCH FASTER), and I think there are quite a few professional readers -- like George Guidall (not sure if that's how he spells it) who always reads for Tony Hillerman, and even Jim Dale of the Harry Potters. It's not uncommon to catch an actor reading, too, especially Broadway actors. There are definitely styles I like...and styles I don't like. And it's true if I lose my train of thought I have to find my spot again and start over:smile2: But I think I do that with books, too.

 

Is this a particular type of audio book that you're getting that has volunteers reading?

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Is this a particular type of audio book that you're getting that has volunteers reading?

It is, and I do appreciate that they are volunteers, but there is something wrong about hearing 'Emma' read in an American accent. I don't mean to cause offence to anyone by that statement, but it's such a 'British' book that it just turned me off it straight away.

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I've noticed a few members mentioning audio books on their reading logs and I wondered, since I'm pretty new to audio books (I've mostly listened to radio plays instead), which ones people have heard, which they would recommend, and if anyone downloads them from the internet at all - if so, which sites do you recommend? Do you prefer short stories, novellas or novels? Classics or contemporaries? Tell me all - I want to know so I can fill my ipod up with good reading!

 

Kell, I am a member of audible.co.uk. You pay a monthly fee and can download one or two 'books' a month for that. Any additional ones that you require (special offers etc) and you pay the cost of the book. They have a huge range and, if you sign up for a year you get a free i-pod!

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I have just read The Bookseller of Kabul, and it was OK, but the reader really was awful at times. Her accents were terrible, but the indian ones were not as bad as the american one. She just didn't read as the text would sound in real life. It sounded far too pretentious. The narration was OK mostly, but the speech was not.

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I have membership of audible too, which means you can get modern titles, rather than the older ones that are in the public domain. I always look forward to downloading my audio books as there is lots of choice. However, I would agree that sometimes the narrators are not as could as they could be. Some are just right, but others seem to misunderstand the the text and don't use the right inflections etc. But overall, I like listening to books. It means I can draw or paint, or make my cards, or even do the ironing, at the same time.

Pp

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My Mum bought Lauren the a collection of Roald Dahl books, which covers 27 CDs.

 

I have to say I was a little dissapointed in the two we have listened to so far - The Twits and The BFG. It didnt hold Laurens attention for long. I think you have to have read and understood the stories before listening to them, we could have done with the books to read along at the same time. The illustrations may have helped Lauren along a little...well she is only six, so maybe I will keep them to one side until she is a little older.

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I miss audio books since The Bookseller. I love holding a book and turning each page, feeling the world in my hands as I immerse in it, but with me not having much time at the moment for reading it was great to grab some time with a book whilst getting ready in the morning.

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  • 2 months later...

Me and OH have ordered each other MP3 Players for each other as our christmas present (waited for the Jan sales lol) so we can listen to music when we go running and to the gym. However I want to use mine for listening to audiobooks as well and was wondering whether anyone has any recommendations of the best sites and places to get them?

Thanks for reading!

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  • 1 month later...

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