xkcd #2834: Book Podcasts
xkcd #2834: Book Podcasts
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I've been working my way through this 1950s podcast by someone named John Tolkien called 'Lord of the Rings'--it's a deep dive into this fictional world he created. Good stuff, really bingeable!
Once while listening to an audiobook I thought they should release subtitles for them, quickly realising that's the book.
I already listened to/read a few books by jumping between the audiobook and the actual book. An app that would make both match both so you can resume in any form you want would be nice.
Kindle has this, it's called Whispersync. Of course you need to buy both the book and the audiobook so it's not cheap.
I just finished listening to Duma Key by Stephen King. For some reason, the narrator thought it was a good idea to lower the volume of their voice and nearly whisper the really dramatic parts. It'd be like "**Her father was a **^smdfprhfjs"
I had to rewind so many times that I was ready to quit. Fantastic book otherwise, but having an option to jump to text real quick would've been a life saver.
And while you’re at it, you could add some pictures. Maybe something like a grid of 6-8 pictures on each page. The dialogue could be in a bubble close to the speaker’s head.
Some audiobooks will have an included PDF file for the occasional illustration. The Stormlight Archive does them for folios, and Shallan's sketchbook
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If it were synced to the narrators pace I could dig it. I like reading but my ADHD is terrible and it's hard to keep my attention on books for very long. I have an easier time with audiobooks but sometimes things are hard to hear or my mind wanders for a second and rewinding doesn't always do the trick. My brain will drift right at the moment I missed several times in a row, so having something on the screen that can grab my attention would come in handy
Audiobooks are themselves “rediscovering”/part of the tradition of oral storytelling, an art that books themselves had somewhat overtaken. Oral storytelling is probably one of the oldest art forms out there apart from fingerpainting and banging rocks together.
There's also audio dramas. Niche but good. They're a narration like books, but they are made for the audio medium.
The problem I've found with audio books is that they were made to be read - and it shows. It requires a lot of focus to listen to an audio book even if it was done well, and it feels "clunky" and "janky" in a way. I can't white put my finger on what's wrong with it but it feels wrong to me. Audio dramas are generally easier to listen to, sometimes they use epistolary formats to make them easier to separate into episodes, and they have a lot more attention on things like the background music and conveying parts of the narration through audio itself, rather than "writing" (so just reading something aloud). I find them fascinating, because they're really fun to listen to and they seem like the compromise between a book and a movie.
"The Magnus Archives" is great.
You know what I found pretty enjoyable? Descriptive audio versions of movies, intended for the blind. Someone posted an open directory with tons back at the old place once, found it a nice change of pace. With the right movie it's an audio drama with Hollywood actors.
Thanks you!! This looks fun, I didn't know this was a thing
'Limetown' made one of our 6 hour roadtrip memorable.
having someone else pick a tone and voice and pacing ruins the intimacy of the book; some prose was meant to be seen and reread, or pause after and let your mind wander. having the voice keep going endlessly feels wrong.
it's also always terrible when they put on voices for the characters
Nightvale is fun
I've found that occasionally audiobooks read by the author can go around this, but it's sometimes hard to find an author that can write well and also has good narrative skills so these are few and far between. Quiet by Susan Cain and Daring Greatly by Brene Brown were quite enjoyable to me for this reason.
Another good way around the problem you describe is audiobooks with ensemble casts so it sort of sounds like the reading of a screenplay. Ender's Game and American Gods come to mind as standouts in this area.
Podcast audio books were a thing at one point! You could download free, serialized audiobooks, usually read by the author! They were called podiobooks (and was a website of the same name) and I really miss that time. Some of my favorite authors and books come from that time.
I still have the creative common copies of a bunch of them and can share if anyone wants. Not all were CC, but you could freely share.
There's still some that exist! I'm currently listening to a pod cast version of The Icewind Dale Trilogy on Spotify.
ABC iListen has audiobooks as podcasts. Not bad, all Aussie books. And their podcasts are great too, been listening to backissues of If You're Listening and The History Lesson podcasts.
On the local news, there once was a short report about a local artist - some hippie-like old man. He drew pictures, but also played music.
He talked about this fantastic idea of his: presenting his pictures with his music. As an extra gimmick, he produced little slideshows or animations from his pictures, accompanied by his music.
He was so was proud, like he basically invented moving pictures with sound - which is just a fucking video, isn't it?
The news also praised him, like he was being soo creative and a such an innovative artist - for making videos. Great!
That man's name? MTV
Phoebe Reads A Mystery
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