Prompt #5 - Ebooks and Audiobooks Experience

I personally haven't had much experience with either ebooks or audiobooks just because I’m too much of a traditionalist when it comes to reading.  It’s not that I haven’t tried either; I have, but don’t enjoy it as much as having the actual book in my hand. I will say that even having to have a physical book, I’m particular as to what kind.  It has to be paperback and regular print because the large print hardcover ones won't fit in my bag. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still read large print and hardcovers - if that’s the only choice available.

The first time I tried ebooks was in 2016 when I traveled to Egypt to join my sister on our first (and last) “sisters only” trip.  My daughter saw me pack a bunch of books (as usual) to read and she was flabbergasted I wasn’t using the Kindle I just received as a gift.  Per my preferences, she downloaded a few books and I left with a much lighter carryon. Needless to say, on this trip I didn’t even finish one book!!  (I’m usually able to finish at least 3-5 depending on the duration of the flights, transits, and downtime on the trip.) From the beginning I had trouble.  I needed internet and at the time Frankfurt airport only allowed one hour of free WiFi (I found this out too late); what was I going to do for the other 3 hours?  Plus, the wire wasn’t long enough so I needed to stay ridiculously close to an outlet to charge the Kindle; for that I needed to keep my international adapter close by (try finding an empty outlet for 4 hours at Frankfurt).  Then in Egypt, there was no WiFi on the Nile cruise, except in the lounge. I had no problem at the hotel in Cairo. Once I was able to start reading, the novel’s appearance wasn’t appealing; it was a pdf version, the pages were not straight, and I couldn’t tell where one chapter ended and the next began.  Since then I have read only short novels I can get done within an hour or two. I believe my first experience has scarred me from reading a full length novel again on any device. I know since my first attempt to read ebooks, there have been many improvements to the platforms and various devices. However, a phone screen is just too small for me, a laptop can get pretty cumbersome in bed (I’ve tried both several times), and a new reading device is not worth it when what I want to read is free at my library.

As for audiobooks, there are too many obstacles for me to be able to successfully listen to a complete novel.  I wear the hijab (Muslim headcover) which makes it uncomfortable with AirPods and wired earbuds; I have yet to find a durable, lightweight headphone set.  Any suggestions? Plus with four kids and the hubby at home now, it’s impossible (but ideal) to have one’s ears ‘plugged’ even for a short while. I can’t openly listen to audiobooks because we all have different genre tastes, hence we never used this on our many long road trips when the kids were younger.  I work less than five minutes from home, so listening to a book while driving to work is pretty impractical. When I go on solitary walks, I try to find podcasts or listen to NPR; but again I can’t listen for too long. I recently tried audiobooks for this assignment. I listened to the first chapter of a romance novel, which was a mistake because I had read it when it first came out. I already had formed the voices and characters in my head.  Listening to the narrator voice the two main characters in different voices and with their mannerisms than what I had imagined them to be was not something I enjoyed. I also noticed that the ‘reading’ was over ten hours long. I couldn’t listen for that long. Needless to say, I stopped that and listened to Little House on the Prairie.  The novel started out with music in the background but only until the first chapter began.  I found it slightly confusing to follow because the narrator didn’t alter her voice for the various characters.  I would like to try to listen to more audiobooks once I find a suitable headset, especially as the weather gets nicer and as long as we can still go out for walks.