Audiobooks and Newborns

I have discovered audiobooks. Meaning, I listened to my very first audiobook last month and am slightly enamored with them already. I don’t regularly read more than one book at a time, unless they are dramatically different. For instance, if one is non-fiction. But now that I’ve discovered audiobooks, I will probably always be reading two books at the same time, one on my kindle, one as an audiobook.

Point 1: Audiobooks ARE books!

I was uncertain at first if listening to audiobooks counted as reading. Because of this, my first two audiobooks were ones I knew I would probably never read otherwise, in the traditional way. I’m still sort of following that rule, partially to keep the audiobook different from whatever ebook I’m reading, but also to broaden my horizons.

It was my third choice of an audiobook that affirmed to me that listening to audiobooks DOES count as reading. I chose The Fellowship of the Ring because I hadn’t been able to finish the book before but knew I would definitely be able to finish the audiobook. Wow, was I wrong! Turns out, the audiobook was actually the first third of the BBC’s 1981 radio adaption of The Lord of the Rings. It was the strangest thing to listen to before I knew that bit of information. A full cast of people voiced the dialogue, setting noises like rushing water sounded in the background, and the action moved forward much faster than it does in the book. I should clarify that I have started reading The Fellowship of the Ring before but never finished it. Knowing that the last book I audiobook-read had been nineteen hours long and that what I was listening to was only THREE hours long, I chose to not waste my time on it. The radio adaptation was interesting enough, but it was like listening to a play, not at all like listening to someone read a book.

 

I’ve read books aloud with my husband before, taking turns reading so we could experience it together. Parents, including myself, read books to their children at bedtime. Do these experiences of listening while someone else reads not count as reading? Of course not! Keeping that in mind, and experiencing firsthand how very different is the radio (abridged) version of The Fellowship of the Rings, I now wholeheartedly believe that listening to audiobooks counts as reading. Plus, it’s slightly boring. It isn’t like listening to a podcast or music. It’s more one-note. It requires your brain’s attention just like reading does.

Point 2: Audiobooks allow for multitasking

Okay, okay, I know I just said that listening to an audiobook requires your full attention, but it doesn’t really. Reading a physical book usually requires both hands, your eyes, and your brain. Reading an ebook on a tablet requires at least one hand, your eyes, and your brain. Listening to an audiobook only requires your ears and your brain. This frees up your body for doing other things like cooking, cleaning, or jogging. And that is the wonderful reason why I will always be reading two books at a time now, one an audiobook. Because I can finally, gloriously, keep reading when I do menial chores such as changing poop diapers.

Life with a Newborn

My little boy is one month old already! I’ve been taking a break from writing as part of my maternity leave. Things were rather busy for the first two weeks after his arrival with naps and checkups and diaper changes.

Everything has settled down since though, and baby still sleeps a lot during the day. So I’ve got plenty of time to read. I’ve read seven books in the last three weeks and am nearly done with another (I might finish it tonight if this post doesn’t take too long).

The ebooks I’ve read: The Unseen by Jacob Devlin, Some Assistance Required by C.L. Ogilvie, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, and The Fire Queen by Emily R. King. After I finish the book I’m currently reading, I plan to start The Maze Runner by James Dashner.

Audiobooks: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. I’m about to start Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders.

I’m not actually going to talk about life with a newborn. I’m more than glad to, but this blog of mine is about writing and reading not family. I do keep a vegan family blog called The Vegan Bird if you’re interested in recipes and labor and delivery stories though. I’m not going to add the link because it’s more fun to make you feel like a stalker for finding it on your own 🙂

I will probably be less active in the coming months in the blogosphere than I have been. The reason is not just that I have kiddos to attend to, but also that if I have free time to spend sitting in front of the computer typing, I hope I’ll be spending that time finishing my current manuscript or editing. I would still like to participate in NaNoWriMo in November with a new story idea of mine, but we’ll see if that is feasible or not as the time gets nearer.