Audio Books

Jul. 24th, 2007 at 10:38 PM

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Huh... For a while, I couldn't figure out why the roar of spam just suddenly slowed way down.

Anyway, I now take the bus home from work. I carpool to work with the Husband but he leaves later than I do, so it's mostly for my convenience.

A whole gig on my phone and a bus ride home every day sounds like the perfect opportunity for some audio books. I've been getting Public Domain ones from Librivox and AudioBooks.net. I'll borrow from the library next. And if the one-hit wonders of today are still around in a few years, maybe I'll give them a second thought.

I had never had much success with audio books before, but I realized that it was because I tried to listen to them while I was doing something else. I can't do that because when I concentrate on something, I'll focus and completely tune out everything else. But I'm really enjoying a chapter a day while spacing out on a bus ride. It's an excellent way for me to unwind.

Comments

( 15 comments — Leave a comment )

canadianabroad

Jul. 25th, 2007 04:52 pm (UTC)

Nice...

A commute such as that was what led to my becoming an old-timey radio-detective obsessive. Looking for some way to kill a bit of time on an otherwise dull ride into work, I discovered sites such as http://detective.libsyn.com/ that ran podcasts of old radio detective serials. Great stuff - though some of it hilariously old-world - and always presented in an episodic format well suited for a ~25 - 30 min. commute.

It wasn't long afterwards that I had the entire Paul Temple BBC mysteries collection sitting on my shelf - which, incidentally, is friggin' fantastic.

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bride

Jul. 31st, 2007 06:02 am (UTC)

Re: Nice...

Ooo, I should check that out... someone told me about Poirot, recently. Is that any good?

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canadianabroad

Jul. 31st, 2007 04:24 pm (UTC)

Re: Nice...

David Suchet as Poirot is fabulous. After seeing him work his little grey cells, I can't watch anyone else in the role. Ditto for Jeremy Brett in the role of Sherlock Holmes.

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bride

Jul. 31st, 2007 11:13 pm (UTC)

Re: Nice...

And here I was too embarrassed to mention that I love Sherlock Holmes... =)

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highnez

Jul. 25th, 2007 05:12 pm (UTC)

Listening to Audiobooks was the only way I was able to drive across the country alone in 2003.

Just recently, I put some audiobooks on my MP3 player and listened to them while going for lunchtime walks. I have to do that again. It's hard to read and walk, so this is a great compromise!

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bride

Jul. 31st, 2007 06:00 am (UTC)

Nice =) It's safer than almost ramming into walls walking around with your face in a book =D

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sophia

Jul. 26th, 2007 06:26 am (UTC)

This is a cool accessory, will be easier to pause etc. Not sure if it supports your phone

planning to get it mainly for the comfy earphone (i hope!)

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bride

Jul. 26th, 2007 06:42 am (UTC)

Those are the same earphones as the ones that came with my phone, but I don't have the slim remote (I don't think I need it).

The earphones are excellent. They block out background noise really well, they don't slip out and are more comfortable than any earbud type earphones I've ever used.

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sophia

Jul. 26th, 2007 06:50 am (UTC)

wow that's nice, what i got with my phone is the crappy normal type (i guess that's cos it isn't the walkman series).

find it inconvenient to switch tracks currently (only listening to songs and not ebooks yet), as have to take phone out of bag etc etc.

not sure if i would pay just for a remote tho.

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sophia

Jul. 31st, 2007 05:37 am (UTC)

any book recommendations?

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bride

Jul. 31st, 2007 05:58 am (UTC)

I'm listening to Lady Chatterley's Lover (read by Jan McLaughlin) right now. I quite like her voice. I tend to like one narrator doing all the roles but I should try getting some that have a group of different people all reading different roles.

A long time ago, I borrowed someone's CD with Patrick Stewart's award winning performance of A Christmas Carol and lovedlovedloved it. But I've long since made an audio cassette tape out of it and returned the CD =( If you can find it, it's WELL worth it.

I also have Pride and Prejudice, Gulliver's Travels, Huckleberry Finn.

I specifically wanted Moby Dick and The Mysterious Stranger (Mark Twain), but I have tons to choose from if I don't find them. There are lots of Jane Austen ones, for example =)

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sophia

Jul. 31st, 2007 06:01 am (UTC)

coincidence! i wanted to get Lady Chatterley's Lover on audiobooks but somehow it doesn't seem to be working . will try from home

thanks!

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bride

Jul. 31st, 2007 06:05 am (UTC)

Ha, I could probably send it to you, if you continue to have difficulty... I think GMail might grind a little, but should be okay. =)

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sophia

Aug. 5th, 2007 02:56 pm (UTC)

managed to download after emailing them, thanks!