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I don't doubt that Amazon's practices are shady. Creating obscure and complex pricing plans out of seemingly straightforward fees has become something of an art

I don't doubt that Amazon's practices are shady. Creating obscure and complex pricing plans out of seemingly straightforward fees has become something of an art-form on AWS. Who here has not been hit with an unexpected charge? What I honestly find hard to believe though, is the popularity of audio-books. How do you all focus on the material if you're doing other things? Or am I mistakenly assuming the mode of consumption i.e. the audio-books are primarily listened to by those who don't have the time to read?

alar44 5y ago
Are you seriously asking how someone can listen to something and do another thing at the same time?
- phs318u 5y ago
  I'm asking how people can focus on two things at a time. I assume that an audiobook (or podcast) requires focus - otherwise are you really "getting it" or just getting a sense of it? I can certainly understand during a commute (especially on public transport, or if most of your commute is a traffic jam) because the level of conscious attention required on the non-listening task is close to zero. I admit to listening to music while doing other stuff - but I'm not focusing on the music. It's just a soundtrack - no need to remember plot lines, or make sure I don't miss critical story elements.
jjulius 5y ago
>How do you all focus on the material if you're doing other things? Or am I mistakenly assuming the mode of consumption i.e. the audio-books are primarily listened to by those who don't have the time to read? I'm not an audiobook person, but I know quite a few people who listen to them during their commutes.
anyfoo 5y ago
I'm of the variety where I consciously listen to every word, thinking it wouldn't be in the book if it was irrelevant. That may seem extreme, but the difference between missing a word and missing entire sentences is tiny when it comes to audiobooks and podcasts. There's a lot of rewinding. So when do I listen to them? When driving, when eating, when exercising, when doing chores that don't require much thought (laundry, folding, dishes, cleaning, ...), brushing teeth, walking to somewhere... there's a lot of time to listen to books and podcasts, even though it becomes pretty much infeasible the moment something requires actual thought, and even though I don't commute anymore.
jacksonkmarley 5y ago
> How do you all focus on the material if you're doing other things? I listen when what I am doing does not require conscious thought. Driving a car, going for a walk, repetitive exercise. Also, I can actually focus on a somewhat dry topic better if I have something mentally undemanding going on in the background, I don't get bored as easily. In fact in many cases listening to an audio book while e.g. driving makes both pastimes better than they would be alone.
wildzzz 5y ago
I listen to lots of novels and podcasts during my long commute or when I'm doing chores, the types of mindless activities you are normally doing idle thinking. It's more difficult to pay attention to them when I'm driving in heavy city traffic but it's easy on the highway. It's really easy to wash dishes, fold laundry, or vacuum when listening to something. I mostly like doing novels with lots of narrative prose because it's hard to listen to something like a self-help or technical subject audiobook when you can't easily reread a sentence or quickly look at a diagram. Having long blocks of narrative prose let you miss some things when your attention wanders rather than missing dialogue where you may miss some important part of the story. Books that do rely on visual aids include PDFs for you to browse but that's very difficult to do unless you are just sitting down doing absolutely nothing. When I was working from home everyday at the start of the pandemic, I was building up a large backlog of podcasts and was not able to keep up with audiobooks I had rented from my local library through Overdrive.
riffraff 5y ago
I listen to them during walks and commute, or while cooking. I live with the fact that I may miss some bits because of lack of focus. It's not so much lack of time to read as much as enjoying a book-like experience while doing other things: I also read normal books. It's also worth saying that some audio productions are not just dronish narration. Multiple voices actors, effects, music etc make for a different experience than the book itself. E.g. the "Sandman" audio production on audible is pretty great (although I hate the voice of Death).
boobsbr 5y ago
I just listen to then when I'm doing menial work, like doing the dishes, or folding clothes; or when I'm lying in bed.
marcus_holmes 5y ago
My mum was a textile artist, which means she spent a lot of her time looping bits of string through other bits of string. She listened to audio books because her hands could do all the looping by themselves with minimal required attention.
ramchip 5y ago
Isn't it the same as podcasts? I listen while exercising, folding laundry, standing in a commuter train, etc.
- phs318u 5y ago
  Haha, I guess, though I confess - I don't/can't do podcasts for the same reason.
deleted 5y ago
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alar44 5y ago

Are you seriously asking how someone can listen to something and do another thing at the same time?

phs318u 5y ago
I'm asking how people can focus on two things at a time. I assume that an audiobook (or podcast) requires focus - otherwise are you really "getting it" or just getting a sense of it? I can certainly understand during a commute (especially on public transport, or if most of your commute is a traffic jam) because the level of conscious attention required on the non-listening task is close to zero. I admit to listening to music while doing other stuff - but I'm not focusing on the music. It's just a soundtrack - no need to remember plot lines, or make sure I don't miss critical story elements.

jjulius 5y ago

>How do you all focus on the material if you're doing other things? Or am I mistakenly assuming the mode of consumption i.e. the audio-books are primarily listened to by those who don't have the time to read? I'm not an audiobook person, but I know quite a few people who listen to them during their commutes.

anyfoo 5y ago

I'm of the variety where I consciously listen to every word, thinking it wouldn't be in the book if it was irrelevant. That may seem extreme, but the difference between missing a word and missing entire sentences is tiny when it comes to audiobooks and podcasts. There's a lot of rewinding. So when do I listen to them? When driving, when eating, when exercising, when doing chores that don't require much thought (laundry, folding, dishes, cleaning, ...), brushing teeth, walking to somewhere... there's a lot of time to listen to books and podcasts, even though it becomes pretty much infeasible the moment something requires actual thought, and even though I don't commute anymore.

jacksonkmarley 5y ago

> How do you all focus on the material if you're doing other things? I listen when what I am doing does not require conscious thought. Driving a car, going for a walk, repetitive exercise. Also, I can actually focus on a somewhat dry topic better if I have something mentally undemanding going on in the background, I don't get bored as easily. In fact in many cases listening to an audio book while e.g. driving makes both pastimes better than they would be alone.

wildzzz 5y ago

I listen to lots of novels and podcasts during my long commute or when I'm doing chores, the types of mindless activities you are normally doing idle thinking. It's more difficult to pay attention to them when I'm driving in heavy city traffic but it's easy on the highway. It's really easy to wash dishes, fold laundry, or vacuum when listening to something. I mostly like doing novels with lots of narrative prose because it's hard to listen to something like a self-help or technical subject audiobook when you can't easily reread a sentence or quickly look at a diagram. Having long blocks of narrative prose let you miss some things when your attention wanders rather than missing dialogue where you may miss some important part of the story. Books that do rely on visual aids include PDFs for you to browse but that's very difficult to do unless you are just sitting down doing absolutely nothing. When I was working from home everyday at the start of the pandemic, I was building up a large backlog of podcasts and was not able to keep up with audiobooks I had rented from my local library through Overdrive.

riffraff 5y ago

I listen to them during walks and commute, or while cooking. I live with the fact that I may miss some bits because of lack of focus. It's not so much lack of time to read as much as enjoying a book-like experience while doing other things: I also read normal books. It's also worth saying that some audio productions are not just dronish narration. Multiple voices actors, effects, music etc make for a different experience than the book itself. E.g. the "Sandman" audio production on audible is pretty great (although I hate the voice of Death).

boobsbr 5y ago

I just listen to then when I'm doing menial work, like doing the dishes, or folding clothes; or when I'm lying in bed.

marcus_holmes 5y ago

My mum was a textile artist, which means she spent a lot of her time looping bits of string through other bits of string. She listened to audio books because her hands could do all the looping by themselves with minimal required attention.

ramchip 5y ago

Isn't it the same as podcasts? I listen while exercising, folding laundry, standing in a commuter train, etc.

phs318u 5y ago
Haha, I guess, though I confess - I don't/can't do podcasts for the same reason.

deleted 5y ago

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