Just listen! Books can speak too!

The audiobook is an invention that can become any student’s best friend in almost all situations. The very concept of the audiobook came into being all the way back in 1932 from The American Foundation for the Blind, where each side of a vinyl record had a recording of books that could hold up to 15 minutes (Thoet). One of a college student’s most handy tools that helps a student catch up with reading if they were behind all started for people who struggled first on not being able to see the text. The audiobook seems to be the format that can save anyones life especially when archaic reading texts like Shakespeare. For instance, as of this day, I’m taking a Shakespeare class where we explore a couple of his plays, analyzing the different techniques and formulas he uses as they go hand in hand with the concepts and ideas of Tragedy and Comedy. However, if anyone knows Shakespeare they have experienced the way he writes can be difficult to cram him to read in less than a week, especially when you have a paper or more to do for other different classes. So, how does one cure the dilemma Shakespeare creates for a college student? The answer happens to be the audiobook in most cases. 

    Though it may be considered to eluding the instructor’s requirements by some people because one isn’t fully embracing Shakespeare by listening to an auditory version of the play; or even ignoring the idea of dissecting what Shakespeare is explaining. However, Greg Osborn Librarian from Heights Library begs to differ behind this idea as he remarks in a post he makes about Audiobooks:

"I know some people may disparage listening to audiobooks, and call the act cheating when compared to reading. In the two years since my epiphany, I know I’ve listened to more books than I would have read otherwise. This may sound like cheating, but what am I really cheating against? I’m not being evaluated, and there is no judge keeping score. I’ve simply been able to enjoy more stories. […] By some findings, I’ve even been working my brain in the same manner as reading, as well."

    What Osborn brings to attention is valid because there is truly no judge who controls this “hypothetical” score of people using audiobooks to read. The only judge in this room is one’s own self if they are hesitant about the idea of using an audiobook. The audiobook has been a great tool to make the most of their commute. I say this because the student can play the audiobook in the background when they drive to school to catch up on some extra chapters while heading to class and they don’t even need to risk getting a paper cut. 

    However, it must be acknowledged on an idea that there is still a risk in using an audiobook while driving. By this idea, I mean if you tend to listen to an audiobook on a long car drive as there can be many issues that can arise from this idea. The phone or device you’re using to listen to the audiobook. As you can get distracted easily if you’re the one driving and either a.) get caught by a cop for speeding or b.) in a ditch on the side of the road wondering what on earth just happened. That is just the dark side of the audiobook. I’m not here to ruin the experience I’m only here to provide ideas and situations that can happen while driving. However, if it is a short drive for instance from Boise, ID to Nampa, ID then that can be a safe moment to listen to the audiobook if you don’t get easily distracted. Though allow me to give you a word of warning if you plan to do that kind of exact drive don’t do it around 3 pm to 5 pm for that drive because you will be in the longest traffic jam you might fall asleep and get so many honks from people trying to wake you up and maybe a nice little ticket of distracted driving. 

    I know I’ve called out a big reason why audiobooks shouldn’t be used, though it is necessary to think about the bad side of things since with every pro there is going to be a con. I won’t deny that the audiobook is an amazing concept that has come a long way as this invention has helped me out of my own tight pickles of if I needed to read a book fast to write an analysis paper on in it in such a limited amount of time or even helping me better understand the text that Shakespeare lays down all throughout his writing because Shakespeare is not elementary. 

    In fact, if there are still some doubts about ideas that are totally understandable audiobooks aren’t for everyone even some Professors aren’t interested in the idea of picking up an audiobook there is nothing wrong with that. Though if you need more thoughts and opinions on the decision if you should or shouldn’t pick up an audiobook then here are some comments from a Senior Capstone class on their own opinions about the audiobook:

• “I find reading more immersive than listening to an audio book because I can go at my own pace, examining the text in detail and spending time on passages.”
• “I use lending services (Libby/OneDrive) and I bulk reserve books and when they come into my inbox I never have time to read them. By reading the audiobook versions I can listen to them during my pre-existing downtime (driving to campus, answering emails, waiting for classes to start, etc.). I find them very useful!”
• “Audio makes me less car sick”
• “I find that audio books force me to stay focused in a very good way. I like to read along with the book and that keeps me on track with the reading. I have trouble some times staying focused on the reading and I might pick up my phone or something where as if I am listening to the book then it will just keep going.”
• “I feel like audiobooks can be a useful tool if you can't read a physical book for whatever reason. I use audiobooks when I have trouble focusing on a physical text, for example.”
• “Audiobooks, when not coupled with the written text, shorten attention spans and limit the possible value of a text, they are, however, great for reading quickly.”

    Now these were just thoughts from other students who have used or haven’t used the audiobook in any form of class study. Everyone has their own preferences for reading the purpose of this was to help give you a variety of ways the audiobook can help you while also giving you some of the downfalls behind the audiobook as everything in this world isn’t perfect. There are bound to be faults in everything you look at. Hopefully, this article will help you be able to shine more light on the audiobook to allow yourself to be the judge in the room for only yourself if you should or shouldn’t use the audiobook.

Work Cited 

Osborn, Greg. “A Case for Audiobooks.” Heights Libraries, Heights Libraries, 23 Oct. 2019, 

https://heightslibrary.org/a-case-for-audiobooks/.

Thoet, Alison. “A Short History of the Audiobook, 20 Years after the First Portable Digital Audio  

Device.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 22 Nov. 2017, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/a-short-history-of-the-audiobook-20-years-after-the-first-portable-digital-audio-device#:~:text=Audiobooks%20first%20emerged%20in%201932,about%2015%20minutes%20of%20speech.

By Austin