Sep 05 2008
Should Writers Read or Listen to Books?
The other day a friend of mine told me he had just finished reading a good book. Then he stopped and, almost apologetically, said, “Well, actually, I didn’t read it. I just listened to it.”
Just listened to it. It’s interesting that many people feel that listening to an audio book is a less genuine experience than reading it in printed form. And yet more and more of us are listening to audio books. Ask the people at Audible.com or at libraries where books on CDs are available.
The question is, if you are (or want to be) a writer, which form of book consumption is best: reading or listening? Which will help you become a better writer?
The literary critic Harold Bloom said, “Deep reading really demands the inner ear as well as the outer ear. You need the whole cognitive process, that part of you which is open to wisdom. You need the text in front of you.”
Granted, hunkering down with a good, physical book is a close and cozy experience. The fact that you are sitting down and holding a book in your hands means you will likely be able to focus on what you are reading better than if you were, say, listening to a book while you’re catching a cab, cleaning your house, exercising in a noisy gym, etc.
The Realities of Modern Life
But here’s the rub: How often do you have time to sit down with a good book and focus on it with no distractions? Life is lamentably busy, and getting more hectic all the time. I have hear people who consider themselves to be “avid readers” admit that in reality they have had the time and space to read only one or two printed books in the past year. So is it better to listen to 20, 30 or 40 audio books a year while you’re on a treadmill or spend that time listening to the man next to you describe his hemorrhoidectomy?
I think it’s better to listen to audio books when you can’t read a printed book, but to carve time out of your life to read printed books regularly, even if you’re reading much less than you’re listening.
Actually, as a writer, you can benefit from both mediums. A good, well-narrated audio book can help you get a sense of the cadence and flow of good writing. A printed book will allow you to see how the author moved what was in his mind onto the page. The first is a valuable experience for a writer. The second is an essential one.
Many people have trouble concentrating on audiobooks. Their minds wander and soon they realize their books have been playing and they have missed a big chunk of them. This is all too common. If you have problems with the “wandering mind syndrome,” you must train yourself to concentrate. Listen – really listen – to the narrator and visualize what he or she is reading.
Don’t Give Up Your “Think and Observe” Time
Caution: Listening to audio books can be addicting. When you get into a good one, you’ll want to listen to it every spare moment you have. If you succumb, you will deprive yourself of the quiet stillness of mind writers need to be creative. From that stillness, important thoughts and ideas come and insightful observations are made. For the writer, being deprived of this time results in consequences that are as real as sleep deprivation. Discipline yourself to listen to audio books only at certain times and in certain situations. If you don’t, you’ll soon be in a 12-Step program for audio book addicts.
A Free Source of Audio Books
Here’s a tip: iPods in their various versions, including the iPhone, have become the 800-pound gorilla in the realm of audio book listening. You can buy iPod-ready books from sources such as www.Audible.com and iTunes that are ready to play on an iPod, but numerous audio books are also available at most public libraries at no cost. However, most of these are on CDs, which of course can’t be played directly on iPods. The solution is to transfer them to your computer and then to your iPod. Michael Alderete offers an easy-to-follow procedure for doing this in a way that is optimized for audio books. You’ll find it here. Thank you, Michael.
PS. I’d love you to weigh in on the “read vs. listen” question. Let me know whether you prefer print or audio books, and under what circumstances. What are the problems and benefits of the two formats? Do you have any suggestions for the rest of us? Thanks.
I prefer to read rather than listen.
Most listeners of audio books that I know listen while driving or doing something else. I do not think that the level of concentration needed is given when doing so. Moreover, listening while driving is also quite dangerous as at times one needs to pay attention to passages being read and can take the concentration off from the road.
Generally, I prefer to read the actual book rather than listen to one, but I gave up any negative feelings I had about audio books long ago. Oral storytelling is a grand tradition; an audio book is merely the modern equivalent.
I have “read” audio books mostly while driving; I find I have too many distractions at home to listen there. (So now that I no longer have a commute, I haven’t read a good audio book in a long time.) Listening to a book is not that much different from listening to a CD or the radio, but if you want to really concentrate on the book, then it’s not a good idea to listen while driving, and probably a better idea to read it in print.
I have listened to many books I might not have otherwise ever read: classics or genres I had never explored. Sometimes, the act of being in the car adds to the vividness of the book: When I think of listening to “Cold Sassy Tree” or “Canticle for Leibowitz,” I recall sitting in my refrigerated car on a hot summer day as I made my way to visit out-of-state family, or the particularly dark night as I listened to a Dean Koontz novel.
I find an audio book immerses me in the richness of the language, the ebb and flow of the words, and requires different skills to follow the story. The printed words let me savor the construct of a sentence, to re-read it when I want, and requires no additional equipment (other than my reading glasses).
One thing I do not like is reading electronic books. I’m no Luddite, but the printed word for me is best enjoyed without the flicker of the screen, where I need to turn the page, not scroll the mouse to move forward. (Yet, except for my journal, I prefer to do all my writing on computer. Go figure.)
I don’t think something can replace reading a book but also listening to an audio book can be done at an in-depth level. I have done so numerous times, but i find myself being able to concentrate listening to a book only when i am driving. I do drive a lot daily to get to work and caught myself slowing down and really enjoying a good book. At times i even get to the parking lot and stay in the car a few minutes longer to finish a chapter or so. With the right book and once the listener is willing and can concentrate it can be a very rewarding experience
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Perhaps the utmost experience of “reading” a book or hearing a story is listening to the author him/herself read it. Like Neil Gaiman reading Coraline.
As a writer myself, knowing that he was able to put in his own little pauses, stops, accents to the character’s voices, and spin upon the narrative of Coraline….it just made it all the more special.
For a university project, that’s what I’m doing for one of the books I’m submitting . I’m recording myself reading it, and thus relating the story in the exact manner that I picture it in my head.
On the other hand, I don’t think it’s possible to get a full range of the experience without a hard copy of a book in your hands…there’s just something lack for me, at least. So the preferred method is a book, and then the CD to go along with it.
And one of these days they will make an e-reader that doesn’t cost a firstborn and I can give my opinions on that as well….