Filipino Friday #4: This is Still Reading Right?

Do you read (or have at least tried to read) books in other formats aside from print? How was your experience with these different book formats?


I used to think that I would never like reading e-books, and thus would never consider investing on an e-reader. But my sister convinced me for some reason, to give it a shot. She said that a friend of hers is coming over from the States, and now was our shot to have the friend bring us both a Kindle. And so, we did. I guess, I had to eat my words because I love my Kindle, River, and I love e-books now. Although, there is absolutely nothing that beats actually flipping through pages of physical books, the smell, and the feel of it. Still, I think e-books are pretty great. Well, I think e-readers are the ones that's pretty great because I don't think I would take much to e-books if I had to read them on a laptop or a desktop computer.    

Aside from e-books, I have tried audiobooks. My first one was an audiobook recording of  The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The one you get from the free public domain sites. It was not exactly a great first experience. The narration was a tad too breathy and thin and the audio quality was a bit poor, which was expected since these recordings are made by volunteers and not the professional narrators and perhaps they lack advanced audio equipment as well. 

 My second foray into this format was Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay. That, I thought was pretty darned good. The narrator's voice was crisp, clear and moving. He was able to create different voices per character, and with an awesome accent to boot. It also had this swelling music at the end of the last chapter, which was perfect for a music related book like Tigana. Plus, I also loved the author's afterword (in his voice) included in the recording.

 The audiobook format is something that I look forward to trying out more. When my eyes are tired, I can still make a dent on my reading plan with audiobooks. Or if I have chores to do, I can just pop my earphones on and make progress with my book. On the downside though, there have been many a time when my mind wandered, and I did not catch a phrase or a sentence or a whole chunk of a chapter. As a result, I had to backtrack. And sometimes it's annoying, having to rewind the clip on my mp3 player. What, I think would be perfect is, to also have a printed or a digital copy at hand, along side the audiobook. So I can consult that one for things that I may have missed. Geez, this is all sounding so complicated already. I have to stop now. So....yes, I am all for auiobooks. But narration and audio quality is key.   

 That's about it. I would love to hear about your own experience with other formats besides the printed ones. And don't forget to mark your calendars for the 3RD FILIPINO READERCON on November 9, 2013, 8:00am to 6:00pm at the Rizal Library – Ateneo de Manila University. 

Comments

  1. Louize DGNovember 1, 2013 at 8:49 PM

    My first experience with an audiobook, Eat Pray Love, I dozed off! hahahaha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TinNovember 2, 2013 at 8:04 PM

      Lol! Perhaps it's because of the narrator's voice? Or the content itself? I am guilty of having done that once or thrice too, but mostly I have the tendency to stare out in space and forget I have an audiobook plugged in my ear. Hence I had to do a lot of rewinding of the audio clip. :D

      Delete
    2. katherineNovember 3, 2013 at 5:43 PM

      I could never finish an audiobook, too. Not even Harry Potter. Maybe when I'm on vacation and traveling for hours I'd have a greater chance of finishing an audiobook. But I'd probably end up dozing off, too. hehe

      Delete
    3. TinNovember 3, 2013 at 6:19 PM

      They do seem to have a lullaby effect. Hihi. So, you really have to be quite concentrated, and/or not too tired. Now that you mentioned travelling, I feel woozy whenever I read inside a moving car. So I think, I got the most progress on my last audiobook during the commutes. :)

      Delete
  2. MoniqueNovember 3, 2013 at 6:10 PM

    Oh I love your Kindle's name: River! It's so cute! :)

    Are you attending the ReaderCon? Hope to see you there (and meet you finally)! ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TinNovember 3, 2013 at 7:37 PM

      Sadly, I won't be attending the ReaderCon! :( This is one of those times when I wish I live in Manila or some place nearer. And getting to attend an F2F has always been on my must do list. It'll really be great to see you guys in da flesh. :D

      Delete

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