Just was thinking about this yesterday and I was wondering if anybody else had some thoughts on the subject. I had a coupon for a few free downloads at a place called audible.com, so I surfed over there the other day to check it out. They have a super wide variety of books, magazines and newspapers available as audio for download. Since I had 3 freebees, I decided to download some books and put them on the old i-pod.
I have only had a few experiences with audio books and honestly they have not been too great. I guess I have a really low attention span. Both times I have tried listening to books were during long rides from Dallas to Philly (or viceversa I can't remember). I listened to Hemmingway's complete short stories and Joseph Campbell's "The Hero with a Thousand Faces". Please don't ask me any questions about either...I didn't retain a gosh darn thing. Not only that, but the experience did not have the desired effect I had hoped for: staying awake during a long 24 hour drive. Not to worry, I didn't fall asleep or anything, but I did have to turn the books off and listen to some loud music instead.
Anyway...I was wondering if anybody has had success with audio books and would share some of the secrets to their success with me.
Happy MLK Day.
1 comment:
Dan,
I have lots of trouble concentrating when listening to non-musical audio stuff. I think it has to do with the format. It's easy for me to listen to NPR news or call-in shows because the segments are fairly short, nothing usually longer than ten minutes. But when I play lectures or fiction, I have to constantly rewind sections because my thoughts were drifting.
I also notice that I rewind less these days than I used to, so perhaps experience does improve attention span.
Also, try smoking while listening, especially a pipe. It's much easier to concentrate while smoking.
Your smoking advocate,
Ed
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