Audio killed the Kindle Book Star
Up until recently, I had disregarded audio books. I did not think they fulfilled the sensory experience that came from reading a book visually or having it physically there in front of you. They were too modern, like Kindles, but without the novelty of holding something concrete in your hands. The words could so easily slip out of your mind like a caught fish thrashing and sliding from your grip. And they required too much concentration - I have ‘read’ one too many books that, upon closing the back cover, have realised I haven’t taken any of it in and really have absolutely no idea what I just read. This was how I felt about audio. That was until I listened to Career of Evil.
My role at Little, Brown involves a lot of data cleansing, and one way to help pass the time is by listening to something. Before I’d discovered audio, I had listened to music, blasting the Disney’s Greatest Hits on repeat and trying to resist the urge to sing-along out loud. But then, my friend and colleague recommended Career of Evil and not the hardback or paperback copy, but the audio version.
Maybe it was Robert Glenister’s voice or maybe it was Robert Galbraith, AKA J. K Rowling’s excellent storytelling and punchy plotting, but I was completely hooked. Robert Glenister had a way of luring you into what was going to happen and what J.K had shocked me with, particularly with his Hagrid-like Cornish accent for depicting Strike. I found that I absorbed the story really clearly, and, just like when I would read an ordinary book, the images of characters and scenes emerged like ghosts in my mind.
Now, I always have an audio book on the go. I’ve read numerous books from The Danish Girl right through to The Girl with All the Gifts. They’re addictive and SO easy; I remember when everyone was going on and on about Kindles and how they would be the next generation of reading, but for me, audio has sneakily and silently captured the Kindle audience in this respect. They’re excellent when you’re a commuter and don’t fancy falling over everywhere on the tube as you clutch your book close to you and try not to elbow the person to your left in the crowded underground train, because you don’t have to carry anything – you can hold onto the railings or sides and still absorb a book.
I think any platform that promotes reading and makes more people want to read is a good thing. Whether that be netgalley or spritz or audible, there will always be readers who stick to their guns and will not step away from their beloved paperback copy of War and Peace or Bleak House. And whilst I completely understand this logic, as I too adore reading from a physical copy (there is something so wonderful about curling up with a book on a winter Sunday afternoon), I would highly recommend listening to audio books. If you haven’t already given audio a go, Audible (a part of Amazon) have a 30 day free trial where you can get a free audio book too (link) and there are plenty of other places, if you shop around on Google, where you can get hold of other copies. Apart from the expense of audio, I recently tried to download a copy of A Little Life and was shocked to discover that it cost £34.00, I think this is one of the best of the newest forms of reading and I look forward to seeing this platform grow in the not too distant future.
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