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Comment by HereBeBeasties | Hacker News Reader

> I hate wasting time, so last year I gave audio books a try

Interesting. I have exactly the opposite reaction to audio books. I hate wasting time, and audio books don't let you skim sections that aren't of much interest (essential if you want to read a lot of non-fiction IMO), and generally take massively longer. I can read a good deal quicker than people talk. I dunno, maybe 5x speed or something?

Treating reading the printed word as a waste of time is madness.

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The big time advantage audiobooks have over the printed word is that can listen while doing something visual but relatively mindless (e.g., driving, cleaning, yard work, etc.).

Honestly the more I read I find this attitude to be exactly the opposite of how I feel. When I'm trying to read a book, I need to be immersed in it. I don't want it to be a mindless distraction, because I am putting 100% of my focus into driving, or cleaning, or yard work. Driving perhaps is the one that gets me the most, I can't appreciate fiction at all while driving because I have to keep my imagination in check so I don't kill someone veering off into space. And non-fiction, well, I have never been able to digest hard topics if I'm distracted by wistful activities.

I had to stop trying to listen to a couple books last year because they were too immersive to be safe driving accompaniments. I specifically seek out mediocre books to make driving bearable (my commute would drive me insane otherwise)

Sorry I think you got me wrong. Wasting time was referring to the mindless chores /errands I need to do every day. Reading physical words from a book is something I can't physically tolerate (but it is not a waste of time). So the best of both worlds is audio books for me - In the portion of time that I believe I'm wasting (chores, commute etc.) I get to read books that I won't otherwise sit down and read. I agree that it might not be as efficient as how a habitual reader reads physical books - but that is not happening to me anyways (I don't sit down and read) - the efficiency gains for me come from the fact that I still get to "read" the books while I'm doing mindless tasks. It actually got me more motivated to run errands (since I don't see them as a time sink now) so I don't procrastinate as much.

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