Saturday, August 09, 2008

Audiobooks

I do not know if it is because I am so busy right now or maybe it is because I need new reading glasses, but, I seem to be listening to more books than I am reading right now.
I can accomplish other things while I am listening. I can drive to camp to pick up the entling, I can sew, I can cook, I can knit, I can work in the yard.

(Entlings: "When do you ever work in the yard? It is summer in Texas. People, she does NOT work in the yard")

Well, what ever.

I can clean up MARC cataloging records and I can shop for bridesmaid dresses, wedding invitations and study wedding sites for winter wedding ideas while listening to a book.

Certainly, I cannot blog, I cannot read blogs or the newspaper, I cannot carry on a conversation. I cannot do anything that requires word crafting or interpretive text handling. (I can "watch" television and do these things, though.) I am aware that I am having a different experience with the book than if I were reading it.

Many, many of the school libraries where I work are building wonderful audiobook collections. If you are considering these materials for your library, do check out Audiobooker, who is taking notes on the benefits of audiobooks.

Do read:
International Association of School Librarians Conference: Beyond the Book Session Notes

and International Association of School Librarians Conference Session: Beyond the Book Resource List.

4 comments:

tanita✿davis said...

It's weird -- I can't "do" audiobooks, unless I'm in the car, unable to DO anything else. I can still stand being read to, but for some reason, if I try listening to anything over ten or fifteen minutes, I need to multitask. I'm hyper, I guess, I can't just sit still and knit and listen.

Must try harder... because I'm pretty sure the secret to Zen is somewhere in learning to just sit and listen. Conversewith not doing yard work when it's hot...

Camille said...

I am like you. I cannot sit and only listen to a book. I have to do something else.

Yesterday, I sat at my sewing machine (first time all summer) and put together a quilt top and listened to a book while I worked. Very satisfying.

Mary Burkey said...

We sometimes think that we should "do" reading and listening in the same way. But the activities of reading and listening are very different, and work the brain in a different way. One of the most important steps in enjoying audiobook is learning how YOU listen best - there is no right & wrong way! And for many people, having some sort of "automatic" activity going on helps them listen better.

And thanks for mentioning my Audiobooker blog!

Mary Burkey

Anonymous said...

For just now I think we just watch the video from internet to save the time if we are everytime too busy.