Amazon Audible

I'm trying this free for 30 days. So far I'm
not really liking it. In the regular speed
of it being read it's too slow, takes way
too long to read a book.

So I speed it up to 1.5 times regular
speed and it's fast enough, but harder
to pay attention then when reading
at that speed. It's like my eyes can
take in more and understand more
at that speed than my hearing can.

So I listened at 1.25 and it's OK at that
speed, but it takes so long to do
a chapter that it's not worth it to
me. $14.95 a month & all you get for
that is one book? I can buy 2 Kindle
books for that price and read instead
of listen.

Audio books, firsthand, are too expensive , so it doesn't surprise me this deal blows.

It may be that you could find what you want on ebay; just not sure about the selection .

I tried one audio book one time at the library. Was not so keen on it. I have heard people like them on long drives but I have podcasts for that. Actually I rarely read books anymore, I read my how-to online. There are few business books worth it to me at my age as after reading so many there is little new there. I just bought a used book about the last days of the Stardust Sports Book. I have yet to read it, probably will when I can relax outside or at the open-air coffee house. Or if I take a trip.

After listening to 2 books, I canceled the
free trial. It's just not the same as reading.
With reading, I'm more engaged and it's
faster going than listening. I can see where
audible would be OK in a car or plane, but
for $14.95 a month, and that doesn't include
the cost of the over priced audible books,
it's just not worth it.

Perhaps its some crackpot MBA's idea or a way to capitalize on some Disability Laws that require such things to be available, but the notion seems absurd to me. Particularly when fund raising group readings go so badly. Narrators change, pronunciation varies, pace varies. Ever try to listen to those readings of War and Peace or of that awful novel written by the man who Ayatolla Homeinii put a bounty on?

I think it is driven by market demand, not disability laws.

I have listened to a few audio books while driving on long trips, and I think they are good for that.

The people reading the books now tend to be professional narrators and actors.

They aren't giving away work to fundraising groups that need money, they are trying to build a successful product that people find enjoyable to use.

Quote: Dalex64

I have listened to a few audio books while driving on long trips, and I think they are good for that.
.

The problem is, some things don't sound
well spoken out loud and not read. It
sounds clumsy and poorly written.

Story telling to an audience is not the
same as reading a story. You can make
a movie that is totally true to the book,
and half the people will hate it 'because
the book was better'. It really wasn't
better, it's that reading engages you more,
you can get lost in the imagery in a book.
Movies aren't like that.