I was planning on writing a book review of Thomas Frank’s Listen Liberal. While I own a physical copy of the book, I decided that because I had a six hour drive for work, I could be “efficient” and listen to the audiobook as I trekked across the interstate.
I’ve only listened to audiobooks twice in my life; both times I was driving and it was snowing. Turns out it’s more important to pay attention to the road – when I can see it – than listen to the book.
I’m not posting a review right now because when I was discussing with a coworker one of the arguments Frank makes in his book, I wasn’t able to defend it. In the back of my mind, I could only think that it was because during that chapter I was in white out conditions on I-80/94. Because the exchange left my pride a little wounded, I decided that I would read the physical copy of the book so I could retain the information better.
I listen to a lot of NPR – which is predominantly talk – and can retain information from stories rather well. It might be because when I drive and listen to NPR it’s usually doing errands. Also, I never do errands when it’s snowing. The key difference between the two is that NPR stories are only several minutes long. Compared to audiobooks, NPR stories are bite size.
While comparing audiobooks to NPR may be like comparing apples and oranges, I do find it interesting that while both formats are primarily spoken word, my retention is apparently better when it’s shorter in duration. I do not think that listening to a book in say n-many five minute chunks would help with my retention. In fact, I’d find it rather annoying.
I think audiobooks are a great idea. However, they might best be suited for autobiographies or fiction. Based on my soft defense of the author’s argument, I realized that when I “read”, especially in an extended format, it’s not beneficial for me to be multitasking. I bet even if there wasn’t precipitation I would be in the same predicament. From now on I’m going to keep my focus on the road and worry about whether or not I know the lyrics to whatever mixtape I’m listening to instead of comprehending something as complex as NAFTA.