top of page
  • Writer's pictureA.K. Lee

On Audiobooks



For the most part, I don't process auditory input very well. It's a matter of attention and retention: I can't listen to one single thing for more than fifteen minutes at my most focused, and I find it difficult to remember what I've heard. I can listen to radio plays adapted from books that I've read prior, because I know what to expect, but taking in a narrative purely through listening is nigh-impossible for me. Therefore, while there are many great audiobooks, I have not really explored them.


Recently, because I had some mind-numbing data entry work to do, I decided to put on an audiobook in place of my usual music playlist or variety shows which are distracting. Knowing that I was using it as background noise for the most part, I opted for a non-fiction title, and ended up listening to Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism by Fumio Sasaki. (My review is in a separate post.)


The experience was a revelation.


It turns out that I can enjoy audiobooks that don't require me to follow every word and retain every nuance. With clear chapters and sections, it was very easy to absorb the audiobook even as I was keying in numbers and making edits. I have since listened to a couple more audiobooks and, while I cannot claim to have taken in all that was said, I did get the gist of each section and even managed to focus on a few select passages.


Audiobooks are a great accessibility tool for people who may not be able to get physical copies of the books they're interested in. I'm still hopeful for an audiobook of a novel that I can enjoy. Fingers crossed!



9 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

"No crisis in a people's history leaves the previous equilibrium undisturbed." This is how Léon Blum introduced this book. In his cold and lonely cell, when Allied forces of WWII were struggling to ga

bottom of page