Thread: What have you read recently? 2nd chapter.

There are plenty of books that have come to life for me by hearing the words spoken outloud. Especially when it comes to books with slang in the writing such as Huckleberry Finn.

Retaining the information is the important thing. Saying that you can only get something out of a book with your eyes and not your ears (or hell, your fingers if you read braille) is retarded.

It is totally different though. Go "listen" to Nabakov and DFW and see how that works out.
It might work for some things but saying it is on par with, if not better than reading is just wrong IMO.

It is also damn near impossible to reference.

I like both, just prefer reading. I'd only use an audiobook in a time when I couldn't read, like in the car. I've heard some audiobooks that have terrible narrators though, such boring voices!

Originally Posted by Dane

It is totally different though. Go "listen" to Nabakov and DFW and see how that works out.
It might work for some things but saying it is on par with, if not better than reading is just wrong IMO.

It is also damn near impossible to reference.

didn't say that it was as good for reference. it depends on the book and it depends on the individual.

That is why I said it works for some things and not others. I don't want to sound like a faggot by listing heaps of overly complex literature to prove a point. And I 100% don't want to say something that appears to look down on honest story-telling in books because that is the point at the end of the day and I won't argue against that for a single second. But honestly, I just don't think it works for a lot of books. I don't want to engage in a debate about something like this, but I just don't think it works for many books.

They're good for people who aren't able to read very well. There are a lot of dyslexic students at my University and some lecturers actually record their lectures vocally because they know reading the notes is difficult for some people. I think they're a very good idea to keep people interested in books even if they're unable to be confident in reading.

I agree with you Dane. I just hate that there is this stigma that listening to a book on audio is about as good as not reading it at all which is completely untrue. I'm not a purist, I simply think that whatever the most effective way of enjoying a book is is the right way to do it.

At work I've tried reading books on PDF on my phone and listened to audio books, and even though I'd lose my postition either way when I have to do something the audio books were much easier for clear reasons.

Not that I do much reading at home but reading print or PDF while listening to music instead of just listening to audiobook is ideal for me.

Originally Posted by About2Crash

I agree with you Dane. I just hate that there is this stigma that listening to a book on audio is about as good as not reading it at all which is completely untrue. I'm not a purist, I simply think that whatever the most effective way of enjoying a book is is the right way to do it.

This is so true. That's why I can't stand the way people are having a go at people who use kindles and e-readers. The story is the same, at least they're reading!

Originally Posted by MotorAmarth

This is so true. That's why I can't stand the way people are having a go at people who use kindles and e-readers. The story is the same, at least they're reading!

There are people that have a problem with others using e-readers? People are so stupid... Personally I prefer physical copies and if I didn't live on campus I'd subscribe to a physical news paper. I don't like reading on computers and the info is so much better organized with all the important(ish) articles relatively easy to find as opposed to a site for news.

Yeah I definitely prefer physical books, but sometimes they're not practical for everyone. Lots of books take up room (which is what we have found with our library haha). Also, I have the understanding that some of these e-readers have a system where they can give definitions of words and make the text size bigger etc? I can see why that is an attractive prospect for some people, like my brother started reading once he had an e-reader because he could get the definition of words without having to find a dictionary or go online. He never read books much before, so that's a good thing. The message is still the same but I've seen a huge rise in "book elitests" online lately. It's pretty laughable.

I think an I-reader can be nice, as I nearly only reed in bed or in the train. I am often nearly too late to get out of the train in time, stash my book/Voetbal International in my rucksack and yeah... the books don't really get better this way...
Fuck Apple though. I don't want anything related to Apple in my house, just can't get used to the fact design is more important than 'ordinary use' usage.

Currently reading Thinner by Stephen King

Thinner... awesome book, great movie. Reading Patriot Games now (Tom Clancy)

Reading The Darkness compendium Volume 1. So far the story isn't nearly as compelling as the games. It kind of just jumps right into things, rather than giving time to develop the ideas and characters. The darkness also so far isn't really a living, thinking thing just a power. Not sure if that changes later, but its only "talked" to him once and that was when he first got it.

Still reading Moby Dick. . .man it's taking forever! Only about 50 pages left and we just got to the chase. Excellent writing, and now I know more about whales than I ever thought I would, but damn! Can't wait to finish it and get on with a new book.

Finished Dissolution, it was great.
Taking a break from that series and started reading The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchet. His writing style is quite odd and it's sometimes hard to read because his punctuation is way off, but it seems like a good enough story.