There is a lot to love about an actual book that you can hold, and smell, feel in your hands, make notes in, dog ear pages, and pass on to friends. However, there is a lot to be said for audio books as well. Audio books take a lot of guesswork out of reading. How is that person’s name pronounced? How do you pronounce this word the author made up? How do you say that word in a foreign language that isn’t familiar to me?
I first discovered audio books when a friend who was blind mentioned that had books on tape for the blind. I was immediately interested, and asked to borrow some. Although the original experience left a lot to be desired, the idea of audio books was of great interest to me, and I could instantly see the appeal and the market for such an idea.
Audio books live and die with a good or bad narrator. In audio books a good narrator will add a lot of feeling, or nuance, to each individual character to make it easier to follow along with who is speaking and which character they are, since many people process things audibly. Some narrators do such an amazing job with the voices that directors will use their voices as the structure for the characters when a movie is made about the book, like Chris Columbus did with the Harry Potter series using Jim Dale’s voice as a guide. On the same note however, a bad or dry narrator can make even the most interesting book feel like a chore to listen to, and ruin the experience for the listener.
One of the best reasons, in my humble opinion, to go with an audio book over a printed book is that you can listen to an audio book while performing other mundane tasks without being distracted enough to interfere with your understanding and enjoyment of the book. I personally used to have to drive 5 – 6 hours on a regular basis each week for work. I was able to burn through a LOT of books while on the road. That time would have otherwise been filled only with music and uninteresting scenery. Instead, on each trip I was learning about psychology, or living vicariously through such great characters as Harry Potter, Ender, or some of history’s greatest minds.
Most of the books I will recommend on this site will be available as an audio book. As time allows I will dedicate articles and reviews to authors, series, or books that I think are excellent, enlightening, and well worth the time to listen to them. I hope you enjoy my recommendations, and will explore some of them through Audible or other audio book platforms like Libby or Hoopla, or your local library.