After finishing reading a book on my Kindle recently, I decided to try something a bit different. I wanted to read more books, but minus the hassle of physically reading one. I visited the library and grabbed a couple of audio books (okay, four to be exact).
I’ve listened to audio books once before, but they involved CDs, which made it a bit awkward when it comes to being portable. This time around, all I need to do it put in one AAA battery, my headphones and I’m off and running. Much easier to operate, so I guess it’s a matter of finding what kind of device is more suitable to our needs. What I also like about this new selection of audio books is that on one side it has all the play buttons, while the other has a book cover (so cute) – and it fits perfectly into the palm of my hand.
So, why audio? As I am currently working on re-writes of two of my own novels, as well as outlining and researching for a new short story which will pan out to become something bigger, I felt I needed to read a book that was easier on my time. With audio, I can either sit and listen, listen to it while I go for a walk or listen in while doing household chores. I enjoy the flexibility of audio, and as a writer there is also the added bonus of actually hearing the book being read. Using our sense of hearing, rather than continually seeing the written word helps with our own use of words, especially when it comes to imagery.
At the moment, I am still at the experimental stage when it comes to audio books, but so far I have found them to be a great alternative to physically reading a book. After all, Frank Zappa did say:
Do you listen to audio books? What do you like about them? As a writer, do you find listening to books helps with your own writing?
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Interesting. I’m not a fan of headphones (probably something to do with loud noises triggering headaches), but I find the idea of listening to a book for “Using our sense of hearing, rather than continually seeing the written word helps with our own use of words, especially when it comes to imagery.” an intriguing concept.
Hi Ronel. Sorry to hear you have issues with headphones. As I said, I’m still in the experimental stage with audio books, but I’m finding that I can picture the story a bit better in my head while I’m listening. Usually when I put a book down between chapters, I have to think about what I’ve read and process it for a bit. Just by closing my eyes and listening to the words I find helpful with imagery, both for the picture in my mind’s eye and hearing the use of particular words. Hearing the author’s use of description is like someone talking to me directly – sort of like a movie where you have only sound and you provide the imagery. But what works for me may not work for you. At the moment, I’m just having fun experimenting. 😉