As a person who loves reading but recently has little time for it, I tried to switch to audiobooks. However, I keep catching myself losing attention while trying to concentrate on the audiobook. I find myself scrolling back on the recording to catch up on things I missed, and it’s highly frustrating. It puzzles me because I can easily read a physical book in a public place, but I can’t seem to listen to an audiobook in a public setting.
Has anyone else experienced this problem with audiobooks? Do you consider it a good alternative to a physical book when there’s no possibility or time to read a book?
I found that for each book there is a speed setting that matches my brain and that it can change during the book. Also it helps if you are doing something active like walking or doing simple chores.
I can’t just sit still and listen without my mind wandering.
Same, I find that I need to do something mindless to keep my hands busy.
Came here to say this!
The sweet spot is usually around 1.6-1.75 x normal speed for me (1.75 for something like Pride & Prejudice; a book I know very well and is usually narrated at a sedate pace).
Yeah, speeding it up helped me a lot. If it’s too slow, I have too much time to process it and that’s when my mind starts to wander.
This is a great tip, thanks!
For me audiobooks are specifically for when I’m doing chores like cleaning the house or walking dog. I always get the audible + kindle versions for whispersync. I can listen to a chapter while doing the dishes as a way to placate myself. And I’ll read a couple of chapters at night on the kindle before bed. It automatically syncs my place between the two. Just listening to a book as its own activity just wouldn’t work for me.