By Manjari Gupta
Do you listen to books? Nah! You are not mistaken. You have read that right. I just said ‘listen to books’ because audiobooks are witnessing an unprecedented demand. We hear a lot about different books but we never actually ‘listen’ to books. How wonderful would it be to listen to your favourite lines from your favourite book? Although the whole idea of looks overly romanticized, only an audiobook lover can make one understand the satisfaction of listening to your books.
Audio has been around for over years now but the past couple of years has been pathbreaking for audible books. With the advent of audible technology, book worms are reading………errrrrrrrr.. listening to more books than ever before. There is no stopping this new ‘book listening’ habit any time soon. Besides the passion and convenience, there are other reasons why audiobooks are thriving.
Hones language-speaking skills
English language is aesthetically pleasing but a lot of words may be puzzling to you, as non-native speakers. While listening to audiobooks, the narrator’s way of narrating the text in the book helps you understand the intonations. It also contributes to understanding the right pronunciation of some complicated vocabulary. Now, if you are Kuhm-fer-tuh-buh in pronouncing Cavalry, then congratulations. You have started your journey with audiobooks.
The prime perk – Time Management
We are all busy pursuing our majors in multi-tasking. For some avid readers, being able to choose between a big pile of laundry settled on the chair and that one amazing fiction trending on the tbr (to be read ) list of bookstagram influencers can be a major dilemma. Audiobooks come in handy in such critical situations. Plugging in your earbuds while preparing dinner and listening to your favourite books can be a real time-saver. The portability of audiobooks makes it easier for every reader to consume content of their choice while doing tasks that do not require undue attention. Reading physical books are usually the preferred choice of lifetime readers; but, one cannot overlook the possibility of time-saving audiobooks.
Enhances listening skills
Can you recollect your parents, grandparents, friends and even school teachers reading to you as young children?. According to a study, our brain is more capable of building imagery surrounding any story when we listen to it. Remember the time when you auditioned for a play based on ancient history in your college? The language in the text was usually difficult to understand. But, when you listen to it; the text becomes easier to understand. Listening to any story or text helps in analyzing different plot lines and intonation patterns associated with it. Thus, improving the listening skills.
The Transition from one world to another
Audio is most dominant in the media industry. It transforms text and words into beautiful images and visual representations for the listeners. Audiobooks spark the listener’s imagination.
The possibility to escape from the hustle and bustle of the real world with just the tap on a screen is as magical as it can get.
A Cue for our eyes to Relax
The constant consumption of content from early morning news to late-night last-minute reads can put a major strain on your eyes. Tracking screen time does not necessarily help in the present day. Especially, for readers. Audiobooks help in combating possible eye-related issues like nearsightedness and blurred vision.
Increase in attention span and focus
An average person has a short attention span. While listening to an audiobook, it is important to keep up with the plots, characters and the whole point of the story. Audiobook helps in holding the attention of the listener.
Affordability
Audiobooks Prevent burning a hole in the pocket. Audiobook services get right through every budget. Also; there is no need to build a huge bookshelf.
A common ground for sharing the love for stories
Reading a book is considered a source of solitary pleasure. While most of us like to get settled in one corner of our rooms wrapped in a cosy blanket like a burrito with our books. The joy of sharing the love of stories through audiobooks over coffee with your friends and family is unmatched. The listener reaps double benefits of listening to audiobooks in a group; quality time and entertainment.
Audiobooks hit you right in the feel
There are a lot of ironies and phrases in so many books that are fresh for non-natives. Listening to those phrases and stories through a regional narrator who is skilled in that language highlights the emotions. Audiobooks connect deeply even to people who struggle with English expression with the same intensity as the native folks. The learning and understanding emotional aspect of a story hits like a jackpot for listeners.
Audiobooks are a source of delight
Attaining knowledge is a pleasure in itself. It does not matter if you acquire information through paper-back books, surfing on the internet, audiobook or videos. The most fundamental aspect is the feeling of content one receives through learning. But most often than not listening to audiobooks gives more joy and satisfaction considering the added auditory cues to it.
The audiobook is a boon for visually impaired
Being visually impaired should not be an obstacle in entering the aesthetic world of books. Braille books through decades were the source of learning for people with visual disabilities. The emergence of audiobooks has played a significant role in the lives of people who suffer from ADHD, Dyslexia and other visual disabilities.
Audiobooks for Education
The new technology for people who love the transition from the real world to a magnificent world is also bringing a transformation for the literary and educational world. Audiobooks allow students to listen to explicit sounds of syllables and words, they also help students to gain exposure to more vocabulary, increasing the ability to comprehend things better. Also; learning a new language becomes all the easier through audiobooks
Effective for troubled sleepers
While there is no substantial study to prove that audiobooks treat insomnia, there are a lot of people who have switched their social media, televisions and videos with audiobooks for sound sleep. Audiobooks help to relax and wave off any sign of stress and disturbances, plus you get to read more through audiobooks
Audiobooks trades negative thoughts for mental peace
People suffering from depression and anxiety tend to overthink their everyday problems, which leads to excessive stress and escalation of mental disturbance in their cases. While listening to audiobooks, the negative thoughts are replaced with stories. The comfort of listening to someone else when under stress eliminates negative thoughts and replaces their sense of security
Availability of content is endless
Audiobooks are icing on the cake for readers who like to fit more reading into their schedule. When the reader is unable to find time to read a story, they can listen to it. Auto translation feature in audiobooks applications provides accessibility to all the books around the globe regardless of the language they were originally published.
Conclusion
Audiobooks are now a fundamental part of our modern-day lifestyle. There is no turning back. They cannot replace the good old fashion books, but, they are certainly here to increase our accessibility to more knowledge and beautiful content.
We can use these books when we are rushing in this fast-paced life without worrying about making more packing space for books.
We get to enhance our listening skills, vocabulary and sense of comprehending every story. Audiobooks are the most accommodating version of technology because they easily fit in our daily schedules without the hustle of running to the nearest library or even a bookshelf to grab our favourite story or even articles. Audiobooks are the future of mainstream content for readers.