I have mentioned before that I do most of my reading on my commute to work. I haven’t been commuting as often since I have moved to a hybrid schedule. I have also recently cancelled my Audible premiere subscription. I only got it because Comic Con a couple of years ago I got a free month to download Part 1 of The Sandman comic. Totally worth it but I haven’t really used it much since then. I did listen to Britney Spears memoirs, which honestly I think it’s the best way to read because Michelle Williams did such a great job of brining Britney’s voice to life. I’ve been holding out cancelling because I’ve been waiting for Part 4 The Sandman but since there is still not a release date. I don’t want to keep paying for something that I don’t use. Well I had a bunch of credits to use before cancelling. I have already listened to Love, Theoretically and I’m going to listen to Yellowface next. There are a lot of benefits I’ve noticed to listening but also some drawbacks. Let’s go through them.

PROS

• I can listen faster then I can read.
• I can start listening from the moment I leave my apartment. I haven’t figured out how to read and walk at the same time.
• I can also listen while I’m at work. No one knows what I’m listening too when I have my earbuds at my desk.
• The narrator can sometimes bring the book to life in ways that I cannot.

Cons

• On the train, without a book or my e-reader to hold, I have keep my eyes down to avoid eye contact
• Reading a book and having earbuds in invites less people (mostly men) from talking to me. Only have earbuds, men still think I have a chance.
• It’s much easier for me to tune out while listening to an audiobook then I do with a physical books. And not as easy to back up to figure out where I stop paying attention.
• Bad narration can really take you out of the book and effect how I feel about it.

What’s the conclusion? I think I do prefer to read physical books then I do listening to it. I like feel of a book in my hand. The smell of the paper. I like having a book not only gives me something to do and look out at the train because while most days go by without incident there are a lot weirdos out there and they always seem to find me on days I’m already in bad mood so anything I can do make myself less interesting to them is a benefit.

That being said, I do like the freedom that audio books give me. It is one less thing I have to carry in my bag. I don’t have to worry about having space to hold up my book in a crowded train. I really do believe there are some books that really benefit from being listened to. A good example is Britney memoir I mentioned earlier. So while I think I’ll keep reading physical copies I think I’ll be adding more audio books in the mix too.