My First Audiobook Experience
I finally did it. I completed my first audiobook. Considering I’m an audio addict and book lover you’d think that I would have jumped on the audiobook trend years ago. But I’m so old school, I’ve always appreciated picking up a book, holding it and turning the pages.
I’m still undecided if I’m going to make audiobooks a regular thing. I have so many questions… I mean are great audiobook experiences genre specific? What genres are audiobook gold? And what audiobooks should I abort the mission on?
My first time had to be special, so I listened to a novel by Toni Morrison. Toni Morrison was an American novelist, book editor and University professor. She was also the first Black woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Cue in her novel… Beloved. The book was narrated by her, which I thought was extra special because she’s no longer alive. That’s the beauty of audio, it’s timeless. Anyway, go hard or go home, so I needed to start strong with a literary legend. I can feel the magic in listening to an audiobook written by an author. They know the story, they know what parts to emphasize. Where you need to pause and take a breather. And I felt that with Toni’s narration. Plus her voice and tone matched the book really setting the tone.
10 +hours of the audio seemed like a big commitment though and still does. Even though it probably takes the same amount of time to read a book I definitely felt more aware of the time. I like to read at my own pace, and I’m generally a fast reader, so audiobooks take away that freedom from me. Also, I noticed my mind drifting to other thoughts as I was listening to the book. “What is for dinner?” “I know people with the name of the people mentioned in the book.” With a physical book, my mind is so focused on reading and mentally I’m in the book.
With audio, I flip in and out of concentration after 30 minutes, whereas I can read for hours. For example, I’m writing this post now and listening to an RnB playlist. I can hear the music in the background. But only when I pause typing does the music come to the front of my mind and I start singing the lyrics.
I enjoyed Toni Morrison’s Beloved but I don’t recommend it as the best book to start your audiobook experience with. The plot is supposed to set you into a sense of confusion, and it took me a while to settle into what was going on. I’d recommend something lighter like Michelle Obama’s Becoming. Hearing her narrate is surely only a bonus as her memoir book is a fully seasoned read. You can find my full review here of Becoming as a warm up.
Are you an audiobook fan? Should I give audiobooks another try?
