Features | Re-reading Via Audio Books
Recently I've discovered that my library has access to Overdrive, which is an eBook and audio book borrowing system. In the past, I haven't really listened to many audio books (just the odd one here and there, including an excellent dramatised version of Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman) but these past few months I've been really enjoying listening to them at work if I'm doing a job that doesn't require much brain work. Having access to the Auckland Library Overdrive books has been amazing and if you haven't discovered it yet, then check out your local library website and see if they use it.
Anastasia has talked about her thoughts on audio books before (and you can find her feature post here), and I agree with her when she talks about not knowing what to do while you're listening, or zoning out and missing the story. I totally struggle with the same issues, and find that I don't really enjoy a lot of audio books I listen to if I don't know the story.
However! What I have discovered this year is that I love audio books for re-reading. There have been books I've read over the years that I have added to my 'must re-read these books' list, but haven't got around to them because of increasing amount of new books that come into our lives every week. I've discovered so many of the books I want to re-read on Overdrive, that that's exactly what I've been doing.
I'm learning that because I know the story already, it's much more enjoyable to listen to an audio book version and not lose track of what's happening. If I don't pause it in time to answer a question from someone and miss a few seconds, or if I zone out or have to use my brain for a few minutes, it's no big deal and I don't have to go back and find my spot, because I know what's happening.
This year I really wanted to try and re-read some of my favourite books, and so while I actually haven't done that physically, I've re-read four books via audio.
If you're not into audio books for the reasons both Anastasia and I have talked about, why not have a go at listening to one you already know? Check out our 2015 group post on the topic to see what some of the team and our readers think about audio books.
If you're an avid audio book listener, do you re-read books by listening to them, or just stick to ones you haven't read yet?
No comments
Post a Comment