APPS & BOTS
Books are magic, it’s as simple as that. Nothing has the power to transport us into another world quite like a story does. Books are there for us through good times and bad times, but you can’t exactly read them everywhere you go. Well at least not the physical copies anyways. That’s what audiobooks are good for. It’s true, nothing beats sitting at home with a good book and turning the pages all on your own but when all you need is an escape and you’ve only have your phone with you, audiobooks are perfect.
Here at The News we will give you a few reasons why you should give audiobooks a shot.
Commodity: Books are heavy, especially hardcover books, and they take up a lot of space which isn’t ideal for traveling. Let’s say you’re on a long plane ride or train ride; sometimes bringing a large book isn’t feasible. In the case of audiobooks, you just have to plug in your earphones and click play.
Experience: Audiobooks are a completely different experience, you don’t have to imagine the voices in your head like you do when you’re reading on your own. With a good narration, the reader can transport you into another world, another universe and it helps us escape our lives just for a little bit. You can hear the voices and the reactions more clearly and truly get into what it means to be the character. You can experience what they experience.
Timing: We never have enough time to do anything. That is truly the law of the land isn’t it? Actually sitting down with a book takes a lot of time and sometimes we just don’t have it, which means we get behind on our reading.
Thanks to audiobooks you can listen to your book while you do homework, chores or drive. Some have even said it’s helped with making working out easier for them. And since it’s on our phones we’ve got it available all the time.
What you need to know:
First of all you need to have a device to play said audiobook, just like with music.
Cost: Just like hardcover and paperback books, audiobooks can get costly. Some are a lot more expensive than the paperback or the hardcover versions. In that case, you’ve got to weigh all the options so to speak. Yes it costs a lot more to buy “A Storm of Swords” audiobook, but at the same time that is one heavy and large book. So maybe the audio version is worth it.
If you really like audiobooks or just want to try it out you can always check out Audible.com. They’ve got a 30 day free trial and you get x number of credits which you can trade for books. If at the end of the month you don’t want to pay the fee, you don’t have to, and you get to keep the free audiobook you chose. Audible is $15 per month and they’re an Amazon company so you know it’s good quality.
Narration: For me this is the most important part. If the narrator (or narrators) doesn’t work then the magic is broken. After all, it is their voice that will transport you into that different world (maybe it’s Hogwarts, maybe it’s Middle Earth or maybe it’s the grounds of Pemberley).
A plus here is that most places give you the ability to hear a sample of the reading, that way you can decide if you like it or not. You never know. Maybe your favorite actor or actress has narrated one of your favorite stories and this is your chance to hear it. Dan Stevens is particularly good at narrating audiobooks (as are Stephen Fry and Rosamund Pike).
Audiobooks are never going to replace actual books, and no one wants that, but they are particularly useful tool to help us escape reality even for just a minute.