Last week, my radio show conducted an episode on Audio Arts. We didn’t realize how broad this topic was and it definitely spiraled. We started with ASMR, podcasts, and audio editing, but by the end of the show we realized we had ignored music, audio books, and movie audio completely.
This sparked my curiosity about the format audio books as well as podcasts. Is this a type of literacy? How do people go about acquiring this literary skill?
I personally don’t have the ability to sit and listen to a book, unless I’m on a road trip. Yet many people prefer being able to have a book read to them rather than read it themselves. Why? Is it that being read to evokes a sense of being young again, before you could read on your own? Is it nice to hear a story while doing something else? Is it just more portable than a physical book or e-reader? Is it cheaper? Do hearing disembodied voices make it easier to pay attention to? Are audio book listeners retaining as much information as someone who read the physical book? What are the benefits of listening versus reading? What’s the difference?
Someday I will find the answer to these questions. It would have been a good final project. Alas.
