Confession: I was anti-audiobook for a looonnnggg time. You couldn’t get me to even entertain an audiobook. I needed to smell the books and feel the texture of the pages between my fingers. And I definitely didn’t want to hear someone’s voice.
Jenifer Lewis’ book, The Mother of Black Hollywood: A Memoir came out. I love her and I definitely wanted to hear her voice reading her book. So I checked out the audiobook from the Hoopla app, which is connected to my library card. I was sold. Not just on the audiobook itself, but the app. It wasn’t as bad as I thought.
After a lot of listening, I’m here to share my audiobook experience. Ready? Here we go!
Pros
- Can listen everywhere
- This is my favorite thing about audiobooks! Being able to listen while commuting, working, cleaning, etc. makes it easier for me to build a habit of reading (I know it’s not technically reading, but work with me).
- Don’t have to carry a physical book.
- There are situations where bringing a book, especially a heavy book is ideal.
- The narrator can bring the book to life.
- I like when the narrator aligns with the book. For example, Jim Dale narrates the Harry Potter audiobook series in the U.S. His ability to narrate so many characters is very entertaining.
Cons
- Loss of imagination.
- When reading physical books, you get to imagine the characters’ voices and tones. It can be difficult to adjust to that when listening to an audiobook.
- Dislike the narrator’s voice/tone.
- I’ve listened to some audiobooks where I felt that the narrator wasn’t a good fit. In those instances, I’ll switch to the ebook or the physical book instead.
If you’re anti-audiobook, I would suggest that you at least give it a try. Maybe start with something non-fiction to get a feel for the rhythm of the audiobook. If you have questions about my audiobook experience or want to share your favorite audiobooks, let me know!
Write on,
Joy