Listening Books - Audio Books

Bill Bryson Gets Date for Thanksgiving Wrong

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 15:04:00 +0000

I caught Bill Bryson slipping a little today. I was listening to the audiobook and he said that Thanksgiving was the last Thursday in November. Surely an American should know that it's actually the fourth Thursday in November, whether that happens to be the last Thursday or not.

Notes from a Big Country

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:57:00 +0000

I downloaded a new audiobook last night. It’s Notes from a Big Country by Bill Bryson. I’ve become a real fan of Bill Bryson and I think William Roberts is just perfect once again as the narrator.

I’ve just noticed that of all three books that I have already listened to – A Short History of Nearly Everything, Made in America and The Lost Continent – William Roberts has done the narration in all of them. There are other versions out there with other narrators and other people may have their own favorites but I think it is well worth keeping an eye on who the narrator is when you’re picking an audio book. It’s nearly as important as who wrote it.

I’ve listened to about three hours of Notes from a Big Country so far. The full running time is around nine and a half hours. It’s very easy listening. The book is based on a series of newspaper columns that Byrson wrote in the 1990s which were about his everyday life after he moved back to America after having lived in Britain for years. Bryson basically just has a good rant at everyday things which annoy him which is fun to listen to.

Listening to books and watching trees

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 21:38:00 +0000

I often find that the time when there are the least distractions to listen to a book are also the times when you are more likely to fall asleep. I think a lot of it is to do with the old memories of being read to in bed but lying in bed listening to a book often has me nodding off within minutes – in a good way! The downside is that you lose your place in the story and you have to rewind and backtrack the next time.

Apart from lying in bed, the second most popular place for me to listen to a book is on the bus going to and from work. It’s not as comfortable as being in bed but I can concentrate more on the content as I’m not tempted to nod off.

But I’ve found a new favorite tonight. I bought a bonsai tree yesterday and I’m still new fangled with it. After I came home from work and got a couple of my everyday chores out of the way I sat down with Made in America on my MP3 and watched my tree for almost an hour. I only realized it was an hour by the passage of time on the MP3s digital display; I myself had completely lost track of time. I suppose a fancier way to say it would be that I contemplated or mediated upon the tree for an hour but whatever you call it, it certainly was a very relaxing way to spend my time and I felt refreshed afterwards!

I am now onto part two of the three part audio of Bill Brysons book. He is currently looking at the impact of the different waves of immigrants to the United States in the 19th century. The history of the development of English in America is still only a side show compared to the real business of the book which is to give a popular history of the United States. Personally I’m glad of this because that is what I really wanted to hear and I enjoy Bill Brysons style of writing.

Made in America. Author: Bill Bryson; Narrator: William Roberts

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 20:42:00 +0000

What the Blurb Says:
“In Made in America, Bryson de-mythologizes his native land, explaining how a dusty hamlet with neither woods nor holly became Hollywood, how the Wild West wasn't won, why Americans say 'lootenant' and 'Toosday', how Americans were eating junk food long before the word itself was cooked up, as well as exposing the true origins of the G-string, the original $64,000 question, and Dr Kellogg of cornflakes fame.”

This unabridged book by Bill Bryson weighs in at a little over 18 hours. Narration is by William Roberts.

I am re-listening to this book for the third time now. It is the combination of wonderful narration and excellent writing that makes it so good.

It is a history of the English language in America, which along the way manages to tell a good part of the history of the United States. As usual Bill Bryson’s writing is humorous and full of asides and the narration by William Roberts gets into the spirit of things wonderfully. The evolution of the English language takes a back seat on many occasions to colorful stories about Americas founding fathers, such as Benjamin Franklins womanizing, George Washington’s tendancy to burst into tears and the sad end of Thomas Paine.

Throughout the book we come across fascinating snippets of history. Such as the settlers from the Mayflower being saved from starvation by an English-speaking American-Indian, or the 2nd of July being Americas real independence day.

Me and Audio books

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 14:18:00 +0000

I got into audio books less than a year ago. I bought an MP3 player last November. At the time I was working nights and I primarily wanted this particular player because you could watch movies on it. One of the pieces of software that came bundled with the player was an audio book manager which linked to Audible.com.

Before this I hadn’t really thought much about audiobooks. I hadn’t gotten into the whole MP3 revolution at all and I didn’t see what the fuss was about. However Audible had a good introductory offer; sign up and get two free audiobooks. That was enough for me! I signed up and downloaded my first books.

Since then my MP3 player has become one of my most important possessions. I don’t work nights anymore so I don’t use it so much for watching tv programs or movies. I do listen to a lot of music and talk radio on it. But I spend an almost equal amount of time listening to books on it.

Audiobooks partly appeal to me because it reminds me of having stories read to me in bed as a child. There is a bit of a laziness factor too in that it’s easier to listen to a book than to sit down and concentrate on reading. It’s also possible to do other things when listening to a book whereas reading takes your full attention.

I have almost completely ceased reading books since I got started on audiobooks. I don’t consider this a good thing but it is definitely a noticeable side-effect. To balance this out I doubt if I would have read the number of books in the last 11 months that I have listened to – about 20 or so, not including podcasts and other types of audio that I have downloaded from Audible.

On the other hand the disadvantage of listening as opposed to reading is that it is easier for the mind to wander. The book will be playing away in the background and after some time you will realize that your mind is on other things and you haven’t really been listening to it at all. I find that I usually have to listen to a book several times before I feel I have absorbed it in the same way that reading it once would achieve. But this isn’t a bad thing since I enjoy listening to them!

I am something of an ‘unabridged’ snob! I usually only choose to listen to unabridged books. I have made a couple of exceptions, but I usually look for the unabridged version.

Another of my interests is blogging. I currently have other blogs on growing bonsai, overcoming shyness, a personal blog and, of course, a blog about blogging!

This blog is the bringing together of my interests in audiobooks and blogging. I genuinely encourage booklovers to try them out.