Changed my mind about audiobooks after a road trip with my sister

I used to think audiobooks were cheating, like you weren't really reading the book. But my sister convinced me to try one during our drive from Portland to Seattle last month. We listened to "Project Hail Mary" and I got so into it that I finished the rest on my own the next week. The narrator's voice acting actually added something I didn't expect, like hearing the character's panic during tense scenes. Now I get why people listen during commutes or chores, it's just a different way to experience the story. Anyone else find that a specific narrator changed their mind about audiobooks?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_ryan1mo ago

That road trip connection is real, I find it's the same with podcasts and even music. There's something about being in a car with someone, locked into the same soundscape, that makes the experience stick way more than just putting headphones on alone at home. My buddy and I had that with the Harry Potter audiobooks on a cross country drive, and now every time I hear Jim Dale's voice it feels like being back on I-80 with the windows down and gas station coffee in hand.

wyatt_ross271mo ago

Dude, the Jim Dale thing is SO real. I had the exact same thing with my cousin on a trip down to Florida. We listened to the whole first season of "Limetown" and now I can't hear that podcast music without smelling stale McDonald's fries and seeing the South of the Border exit signs. It's wild how the car just becomes this time machine for those moments.