Digital or Physical Book?

nheather

Some feedback and a tip.

I have used audible before - worth hanging around for the 3 month free trials that come around every now and then.

One thing I don’t particularly like about audible is that they deliver books in a small number of parts.  I’m into unabridged heavy-weight sci-fi and fantasy so the books are around 30-40 hours each.  When this is delivered as two files make sure you have a pretty robust reader app.  The ones in cars (I’ve tried many through regular car hire on business) are particularly flakey - they are really only geared up for short music tracks.  They will sometimes reset back to the beginning of the track for no apparent reason, often don’t have a quick way of winding through a track that is 20 hours long and sonetimes can’t even display a track that long - like the maximum displayed length is 59 min 59 secs.

I’ve found that playing from my phone over bluetooth is much more reliable.

The other problem with long tracks is when you fall asleep listening (on the sofa or in bed - not driving) and finding your place can be a mare.

Tip: many kindle books have whispersync meaning that you can add the audio track for about £3 when you buy the kindle book - this audio track is the same one you get from audible.  Often you will find that you can get the kindle book and the audible track for the same price as the audible monthly subscription.

Another Tip:  If you really want audible, wait for a 3 month free trial.  At the end, cancel and they will usually offer you 3 further months at half price if you stay - so 6 months for £12.

Cheers,

Nigel

imightbewrong

We use the audible app on our phone in the car - never had an issue on the 40 hour Potter books.

nheather

Yep that is what I said I do.  Try using the car itself rather than the phone - like an ipod interface, or putting the audio file on a CD or SD card - you probably won’t find that as stable.

The worst I encountered was in a 2014 Mazda 6 - had an iPod inerface which had been implemented so that it reset back to start of the track everytime you turned off the ignition.  And then all you could do to reposition was to hold down the fast forward which gave you 6x speed - so if you were 2 hours into a book you would have to hold it down for 20 minutes.

The app in my phone is great, but in my experience the car apps are useless.

Cheers,

Nigel

When In Rome

I really like the idea of audiobooks. But I think it's lazy of me not to bother with books and turning over a page.

nheather

They work for me when driving on commutes.  I used to do between 1 and 1.5 hours each way depending on traffic.  I found it quite stressful and my driving was aggressive as a result.  I then started listening to audiobooks and not only did it mean I got to hear a load of great books which I would never have got round to reading but it destressed my drive.

If I try and listen to an audiobook in bed, on the sofa or as a passenger then I just fall asleep.  In fact I use that if I want to sleep on a plane.

Cheers,

Nigel

hippy240980

I do a bit of both.
At the moment im reading a physical book. Sometimes i do find myself tapping the side of the page to turn it.
I do the same on a computer though, i read a few textbooks at the computer and sometimes i caught myself grabbing my mouse and using the scroll wheel to move down the page.

I read a lot of kindle books as they are easier at night before bed when i usually read, i have my phone set up for less blue light so can sleep easier. With paper books, that friends and family buy me, i need the light on.

Doug the D

Strangely in our house, my wife and I read daily on our Kindles, but my daughter prefers a paperback, and is often found lounging somewhere with her nose stuck in one. She also has a Kindle, but some of the books she reads, like  the Tom Gates books by Liz Pichon are quite picture heavy (not photos, or even colour, just pencil scribbles really), and didn't translate as well onto Kindle for some reason.

I'm normally not without my Kindle either, I'll take it anywhere that I might be sat for more than a few minutes.

imightbewrong

It doesn't surprise me - any car apps I've seen have been pale clunky imitations of similar phone apps.

The Dark Horse

Thank you, I don’t tend to read huge novels so I guess I won’t have that problem. You get a 3 month free trial if you have Amazon Prime.

Lancia34

Have never read a book in my life, bits of books (mainly for school essays etc...) but never a whole book as I just don't get them...but...I read books all the time to my 3yr old and actually really enjoy it - not enough to read a book myself though
He has an iPad but loves real books and will hopefully continue to read them for the near future.

We might get him a Kindle in years to come (when he can read!), if he wants one as the wife has one but I can't believe this thing about kids trying to swipe real books, what a load of tosh!