C
Cammeh
Guest
Original poster
I love a good story, but for a long while, until recently, I had a problem getting through a book.
I grew up reading. I would sit up for hours at night devouring a book, and buy up 5 books of a series at a time so I wouldn't have to wait once I finished the previous book. But when I moved to London a year and a half ago, I had to get rid of most of my books. I only brought the ones I loved the most, or that had personal significance to me. I figured, living in London and moving around a bit, that just ebooks on my iPad would be a good substitute. But as much as I love computers, and as much as I love to read, the two just weren't compatible for me.
First, I get eye fatigue very easily reading blocks of text on a screen, no matter how i try to adjust the text. Secondly, it just doesn't 'flow' like a book does for me. It feels disjointed. So, I could never read very long before I lost interest in the story. I really had to push myself to finish a story. Plus, with travelling on the bus and the tube, there's frequent interruptions and a lot of stopping and starting, and having to stop to flip back and forth between apps.
So, i reluctantly turned to audiobooks. I never thought I'd be able to do audiobooks, because I have a slight auditory processing issue. Basically, I sometimes have trouble taking in a lot of information if I don't have visual cues. I'm very much a visual learner. But, I had some credits piling up on the audible account I opened on a whim, so i figured I'd give it a try.
I finished my first 3-book series in the space of a week, and I am hooked. It took a while to get used to it, but by wearing my headphones and blocking out other auditory stimulation, it was very easy to focus on the story. And it helps if the narrator reads like a natural storyteller and not in a stiff, flat voice. And I could listen for blocks of time, despite moving around and travelling and such. And it's not dry information I'm listening to, it's a good story.
So what do you all think of audiobooks, traditional books and ebooks? Some people say audiobooks are 'not really reading' or 'lazy'. Other people say that ebooks steal from the 'experience' of holding a real book and turning the pages. This isn't a debate over the right or wrong way to read.
I just want to know, what are your preferences in reading style, and why?
I grew up reading. I would sit up for hours at night devouring a book, and buy up 5 books of a series at a time so I wouldn't have to wait once I finished the previous book. But when I moved to London a year and a half ago, I had to get rid of most of my books. I only brought the ones I loved the most, or that had personal significance to me. I figured, living in London and moving around a bit, that just ebooks on my iPad would be a good substitute. But as much as I love computers, and as much as I love to read, the two just weren't compatible for me.
First, I get eye fatigue very easily reading blocks of text on a screen, no matter how i try to adjust the text. Secondly, it just doesn't 'flow' like a book does for me. It feels disjointed. So, I could never read very long before I lost interest in the story. I really had to push myself to finish a story. Plus, with travelling on the bus and the tube, there's frequent interruptions and a lot of stopping and starting, and having to stop to flip back and forth between apps.
So, i reluctantly turned to audiobooks. I never thought I'd be able to do audiobooks, because I have a slight auditory processing issue. Basically, I sometimes have trouble taking in a lot of information if I don't have visual cues. I'm very much a visual learner. But, I had some credits piling up on the audible account I opened on a whim, so i figured I'd give it a try.
I finished my first 3-book series in the space of a week, and I am hooked. It took a while to get used to it, but by wearing my headphones and blocking out other auditory stimulation, it was very easy to focus on the story. And it helps if the narrator reads like a natural storyteller and not in a stiff, flat voice. And I could listen for blocks of time, despite moving around and travelling and such. And it's not dry information I'm listening to, it's a good story.
So what do you all think of audiobooks, traditional books and ebooks? Some people say audiobooks are 'not really reading' or 'lazy'. Other people say that ebooks steal from the 'experience' of holding a real book and turning the pages. This isn't a debate over the right or wrong way to read.
I just want to know, what are your preferences in reading style, and why?