Does Veeky Forums have an official stance on audio-books?

>when nobody takes your shitty bait

Have a pity (you)

they're nice for when you can't physically sit and read a book, like driving or working around the house.

i think they're comparable to translations. an audiobook is an intermediary between the reader and the original work which inevitably affects the relation between reader/work. the audiobook narrator sets the pace and tone for you, instead of leaving that in your hands if you were reading. in most cases, i like avoiding that.

Ulysses, bbc anniversary edition is quite good. Especially while driving.

i see 2 situations in which they are very good

>listening to the audiobook of a work you kind of want to read but don't want to 'waste' your 'reading time' on while you are doing something boring, eg slow cardio

>doing basically the same thing but listening to the audiobook in a language you are currently learning. Did this with art of war in italian, for instance

would never listen to an audiobook of a classic or big novel.

Who is the narrator?

The medium matters. Listening to audiobooks, like watching TV, is a passive activity, and the narrator doesn't stop speaking when the listener tunes out. So as a rule I say audiobooks are fine for cheap entertaining novels, or if your attention is already divided, such as when you're driving; but otherwise I would say avoid them.

I used to do tedious lab work that involved only a little bit of attention, which was a perfect time to listen to audiobooks. I still do similar work and listen to audiobooks, but not nearly as much as when I was finishing my PhD.

I usually listen to sci-fi, short stories, and basically any light fiction. I downloaded via torrents but the selection was often limited by availability or me not knowing what I wanted to listen to. So I would often download popular authors' work, like Stephen King, Ray Bradbury etc. As a result, I've listened to almost all of King's work (sometimes repeatedly when I had nothing new to listen to).

There are multiple voice actors which keeps the recording dynamic. Bloom's interior monologue is performed incredibly well. Originally broadcast on RTE actually, not BBC, 1982. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_(broadcast)

I had a suspicion you were talking about the one I was thinking of.

here it is youtube.com/watch?v=qY1E-NqPcP0

haven't heard the whole thing but its very nice

I like it, just not for the first time reading.

I love them

...

yeah, it does nothing for training verbal intelligence or reading comprehension. kids who read prolifically are learning constantly how to express notions, feeings, ideas in a clever way. people who abandon the interactive dynamic between author-reader are stupid. they have no desire to write, speak, think more clearly. you’re also coloring the vignettes the author is drawing in your mind’s eye with another humans inflections, tone, affections. This is inexcusable, you are not reading, you are listening to someone tell a story. Which is infantile, debased even. You’ve taken away the confessional booth, you’ve exposed the silent prayer to an audience. The stance of this board doesn’t matter, these things should be obvious to you.

The problem long-term in listening is that you are bound by the narrator's skills of oratory.

Shakespeare should be seen on stage/performed and dissecting it's prose is literally taking away half the point.

>t. faggot

l'arte della guerra

My stance is good for horror and sci-fi, not good for literature or non-fiction.