Why I Don't Like Audiobooks

   

In theory, audiobooks sound like a wonderful creation. Hearing a story and its characters’ voices can make it all come alive, at a level only just below that of a movie. What is more, you can listen to them at pretty much any time of day, like while exercising, commuting, eating, drawing, or even while taking a bath. You can ‘read’ far more material than ever before, all while accomplishing your other day to day tasks. But the problem is, almost all audiobooks, at least in my experience, are read by people who cannot voice act. Some of them read in monotone, and others don’t even try differentiating between the narrator’s and individual character’s voices. I would really like audiobooks, if they were actually read naturally and with expression. 

Another issue I have with audiobooks is that most of the time they are read too fast or the readers mumble a few of the important words. Since I’m multitasking, my hands are often too occupied to skip back a few seconds each time I miss something. So I’m often left reeling, trying to piece together what I missed while missing out on even more. Whenever I read a book, I can pause to picture the scenes and action and to imagine the characters’ face expressions and other details. With the book in hand, I can think for as long as I want in between paragraphs without complications, but with audio, if I get so caught up on a few words or description, before I know it I’ve missed entire paragraphs of information and nothing makes sense anymore. I love to read, but audiobooks just don’t fit my leisurely reading style, and rather than enhance my reading experience, they hinder it. 

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