Switched from audiobooks to text-only for book club discussions

Used to listen to audiobooks during my commute. Thought I was getting the whole story. Then at our meetup in Denver last week, I kept missing character names and plot points everyone else caught. Realized my brain zones out during audio. Now I read the physical book with a highlighter. Made notes on page 47 about the foreshadowing twist. Has anyone else noticed they retain less from audiobooks than print?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_lucas1mo ago

It's like how I can't remember a podcast episode I listened to yesterday.

ninal911mo ago

Yeah but I gotta push back on the "page 47" thing a little. I've seen people say they remember print better but it's not that simple for everyone. Some people just need to be more ACTIVE when they listen, like taking notes while they hear the book. I do audio while driving and I pause it to say key names out loud. That helps a lot more than just zoning out. Also you gotta remember that not all audiobooks are created equal. The narrator matters a TON. A bad narrator makes the story disappear. A good one makes the foreshadowing land harder than print ever could. So maybe the issue isn't audio vs text, it's how you're using it.