I’ve never been one for audiobooks. No reason really. I’ve tried them, liked them even but unless I’m in a car for a very long period of time, I find it hard to listen for only a few minutes and then stop. My interest wanes, I have trouble remembering characters and what they’ve done, settings, plots, etc. However, I haven’t given up entirely and have found an activity that might fit perfectly.
Swimming. I know, electronics and water not a good mixer, but hear me out. The gym we belong to has a pool, and in an effort to have my jeans not fit so snuggly, I’m attempting to go regularly. I’ve always loved swimming and to be honest, it’s really the only exercise I don’t loathe. My husband had the idea to get me a waterproof case for the iPod so I could listen to music while doing laps. Whole-heartedly agreeing this was an excellent idea, we bought all the things needed to make the iPod useable for total water immersion which as it turns out is not really much. Now I am ready to be entertained while exercising.
Then I had an idea. I would put audiobooks on the iPod. My husband, the music person he is, looked horrified at my announcement then shrugged and walked away. Now, a few days later, I’m still wondering what audiobooks to get. Should I go with a book I’ve read since I will actually be occupied while listening at first? Should I try something completely new? What I need is a recommendation…so have any recommendations for me?
Interesting links this week —
In case you can’t get enough Harry Potter related stuff, you can now follow the Dark Lord on Twitter. As a warning, he’s prone to using four letter words and isn’t nice. So what I’m trying to say here is you need a dark sense of humor to appreciate some of the 140 character musings. Not all of it’s funny to everyone and I wanted to put that out there so no unhappy reader reports she/he showed this to a child. It’s not child friendly, in some case NSFW either. Just puttin’ it out there. Disclaimer end. Thanks for listening.
Last words in literature.
Finally, being a dog person, I couldn’t pass up a link to authors and their dogs.
Just Book Reading 
I’ve never gotten into audio books, either, for the reasons you mentioned. If I am reading, I can page back to check on things, since I tend to forget the minor characters if I haven’t read in awhile…audio books don’t really suffice.
But for car trips, I think I could do it.
Sounds like you have a plan for getting through yours. Hope it works out.
Here’s MY SUNDAY SALON POST
In a car you’re trapped to a degree so listening becomes much easier. When I’m doing something else, I tend to miss facts. Going back (or reading the end in my case!) are not options.
I’m not an aural learner at all—I absorb texts best visually. So I always make sure my audiobooks are rereads; then I focus on the performance and interpretation rather than keeping up in a medium I just can’t keep up in. (I wonder if my tonedeafness has anything to do with it?)
I’m the same. A reader first, listener second which I think has sort of been a holdup with audiobooks for me but that’s an entirely different post!
I say start with a book you already know to see if you can focus on it while you’re swimming. Then you’ll know if you’ve missed important details or if you’ve completely glossed over the whole thing. I’ve wondered about audiobooks myself but just haven’t given them a chance. It would be good for the train ride to work although I think I might fall asleep easier since I tend to block out noises. Hope it works out!
This is one of the reasons I’m thinking about starting with a book I know — if I get caught up in counting laps and forget I’m supposed to be listening, then I’ll probably still be able to keep up with the story since it’ll be something I know.