Listen To Me Very Carefully...

Okay, listen up, because this post will be all about audiobooks. I thought about recording this rather than writing it, just to fit the general ‘theme’, but that seemed a bit excessive, and I know that many people don’t like audiobooks anyway.

My decision at the beginning of the challenge that audiobooks would be acceptable and count was one that raised a few eyebrows when I mentioned it to a few people. I was pretty adamant that they should be counted, firstly because they were an integral part of the crazy challenge that inspired this one, but also because - why not? 

One argument that I’ve heard is that you’re not getting the same 'reading' experience as you do from reading a book (ie. it's not reading). Fair enough; I agree that the relationship with the text is different, but, though with audiobooks you can drift slightly in and out of listening, with written text, you can end up skimming sections or pages depending on what, when, and where you’re reading (and I know that I’m not the only person that does this!). 

In any case, I was never much of a fan of audiobooks, which is surprising, given the rate that I go through podcasts. Well, now, I must say, I’m totally converted. So - onto the books.

I finally finished the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson. If you’ve been following the blog to date, you’ve probably seen it cropping up on the ‘stuff I’m reading’ at the bottom of posts since the beginning. The audiobook clocks it at around 24 hours, and took me more than two months to complete, listening to it mostly when walking on my commute. 

The second Google autocomplete was 'Steve Jobs was a dick'

The book itself was pretty great. I’ve not generally been a fan of biography as a genre; I’ve never found it particularly enjoyable to read and have never really stuck with it. Taking on this reasonably-sized book as an audiobook was a sensible strategy (though I have the hardcover at home, which was great to flip back through, and for the pictures). 

Regardless of your opinions of him or his products, it’s difficult not to concede that Jobs was a fascinating man, deeply talented and deeply flawed, who achieved some incredible things. If you have any sort of sustained interest, I’d definitely think about picking this one up. It’s not light reading, but it’s very well written (and read! (by Dylan Baker)), which manages to balance the colour, facts, and mythos of Jobs’ life to paint a very interesting picture of the man. 

I'm aware my blog has been a bit image-light lately, but I've been having finding pictures to illustrate things well; so in the mean time, here is a picture of my hero, grumpy cat.

The second audiobook took me less than a week. It was two thirds of the lengths of ‘Steve Jobs’, and was significantly lighter, which should explain how I got through it so much faster. This was ‘Ready Player One’ by Ernest Cline, and if you’ve got even the slightest geeky leanings, I highly recommend picking this up. This came as a suggestion from Will at work, and when I saw that Wil Wheaton read the audiobook, it was a snap choice. This was a rip-roaring romp through a collection of extreme pop-culture references (mostly from the 80s), hung together by a highly enjoyable plot set in a dystopian near-future, heavily dominated by an MMO-style virtual reality called the Oasis. 

As I said, I’m now a real audiobook convert, and am somewhat distressed that my Audible membership plan only gives me one book a month! For the skeptics among you, I’d urge you to give it another try (perhaps sign up for an Audible account, seeing as you can get at least one book free without any payment required), and see if you come around to the idea. It depends a lot on the book and who’s reading it. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts, for and against, in the comments.

Amongst these two, I actually ‘read’ a book (with my eyes), which I’ll update on next time for the sake of space (ie. not boring you to death with another compendious post). Seeing as it’s been asked for a lot, I’m also going to be putting up my current reading list, with the recommendations/additions so far. 

Until next time, keep on listening!

Week 12

13/52

Fragile Things - Neil Gaiman (2006)

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern (2011)

The Revolution of Saint Jone - Lorna Mitchell (1988)

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - John Le Carré (1974)

I Can Make You Hate - Charlie Brooker (2012)

Looking For Jake and Other Stories - China Miéville (2005)

The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett (1989)

The Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter (1979)

Jobs - Walter Isaacson (2012)

The Plague - Albert Camus (1947)

Ready Player One - Ernest Cline (2011)

Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut (1969)
The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ - Phillip Pullman (2010)

Currently Reading:

Brave New World - Aldous Huxley (1931)