Audiobook vs Reading - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

This is a general ramble on my part, a little bit about the pros and cons of listening to audiobooks over reading, it's not specifically about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy but as that's the audiobook I've just finished I'll mention it here.

First off, let me say, I loved The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Even though I'd never fully read it before I grew up knowing large parts of it because my Dad quoted it all the time

"The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't."

I quite often thought he was mad, going on about depressed robots and whales falling through the air, but all becomes clear once you read it, or listen to it.

That's what this is, it's not a review, I'll tell you right now that I gave it four and a half stars, I'd give it five but I only give it to my very favourite books and this didn't quite make it.
But part of me wonders if this is because I listened to it on Audible instead of reading it. Did I miss out on something? Or did I gain more by having it read to me by the wonderful Stephen Fry?

This is quite a rambling post about my own experience with audiobooks, if you want you can skip to the bottom where there's a simple pros and cons summary of audiobooks vs 'real' books.

When I was a child I listened to books on tape all the time, and they really were books on tape; cassettes as you'd call them now (like that cassette in Guardians of the Galaxy, kids). I remember The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark, Harry's Mad and Irene and the Goblins to name just a few. I loved these and I'm pretty sure there was a period of my childhood where I couldn't go to sleep without listening to them.

When I got older I had all of the Harry Potters on tape, also read my Stephen Fry, he should just read everything, shouldn't he?

But here's the thing; I tended to listen to books that I'd already read/listened to before and knew that I liked, and I have a feeling that that's how I like to do audiobooks. It took me months to finish listening to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy where normally reading it would have taken me a few days if I'm into a book. I think it's partly because I only really listened to it in the car on the way to work. With a book I'd be reading in down time, but it felt odd to listen to an audiobook while not doing anything else. I did try listening to it while I was tidying up or cooking and it was nice having it as background but I found I was missing bits.

When I read, that's all I'm doing (apart from possibly biting my nails) and that's why I like reading because I'm entirely focused on it. But when I'm listening to an audiobook I feel like I need to do something with my hands or I want to be looking at something, and I'm not as involved.
This is why, I think, I enjoy listening to books I've already read. I'd happily listen to Harry Potter while doing various chores, and I listened to Murder on the Orient Express a few weeks ago while mowing the lawn. I concentrate, but not entirely, but it's OK because I know the gist. And quite often I listen again and again to a book that I particularly like.

I suspect if I'd read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy I would have had a different experience. Similarly, I listened to The Eyre Affair a few months ago and, while I enjoyed it, I think I would have enjoyed it more if I'd read it. The voices would be mine, I wouldn't miss parts if I had to negotiate a roundabout or untangle my dog from another one.

So, in short, my rambling and probably really dull post leads me to the point that I'll read new releases and audiobooks will be saved for old favourites and re-reads/listens.

What is the point of this post? I'm not sure. It's probably very dull and narcissistic well don'e if you've got this far. Here are some pros and cons to make things a bit easier.

Pros of Audiobooks

• Listen anywhere - unlike reading traditional books you can do other things while listening, making them ideal for driving, walks, chores and the like, getting in reading when you wouldn't normally do.
• Hands free - Similar to listen anywhere, your hands are free to do chores or other things.
• Good narrators - The narrator can really make or break an audio book, so this point goes in both pros and cons. Good narrators like Stephen Fry, and Tony Robinson of Terry Pratchett's books, can really bring them alive.
• Multiple listeners - many people can listen to one audiobook, where as only one person can read a book at a time. This is ideal for kids and families.

Cons of Audiobooks

• Distraction - If someone talks to you in the middle it's a bit of a faff getting back to that point, whereas with a book you can just skip back a few sentences.
• Not completely absorbed - this can be a pro in a way, but if you love reading and being absorbed in books, listening is not always the same as actually reading the words on the page.
• Bad narrator - OK, not necessarily bad, just maybe not quite right. Maybe they get the voices slightly wrong, or you hear it differently to how you would when your reading. Or, an irritating voice can put you right off.
• No book smell - self explanatory, right

What do you think of audiobooks? Let me know in the comments.

"So long, and thanks for all the fish."

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