Audio books - yea or nay? by Amy Andrews

So I've been walking (grumble grumble....) to try and get fitter and lose weight (again. Grumble grumble....) The thing is I really HATE exercise. And not the tough hard slog of it - although that doesn't exactly set my world on fire - but the sheer utter B.O.R.E.D.O.M. of it!

I swear, it's what puts me off the most. I know people who listen to music to help them through - never worked for me. I know authors who nut out all their plot issues and dream up new ideas while exercising. Not me. I spend the entire time thinking - god, this is boring, god this is soooo boring, dear god this is soooooo boooooring.

Yes. I am like a petulant teenager whilst exercising.

And then..... (I feel like I need a harp sound here)

Oh look....I found one!

I got myself an Audible subscription.

Best. Decision. Ever.

I've only downloaded one book (so far, but it is 64 hours!!) It's a book I've been meaning to read for about a decade mainly because my bestie has been nagging me about it for that long. And everyone in romancelandia adores it and now there's the TV series...well, I couldn't watch that without at least reading the first book in the series, right?

So - Outlander it was.

 And because it was a much anticipated read, I made a pact with myself. Its my walking only book. I am NOT allowed to listen to it unless I'm walking. I figured if I liked the book enough it will help with motivation. And, its worked a treat! Because I'm enjoying it very much.

Now, when I go for a walk, I tell the hubs, I'm off to Scotland.

Yes, I literally feel like I'm in Scotland! Much more so, I think, than if I'd been reading it myself which has been an absolute revelation. I  wasn't prepared for it to be such an immersive experience. I think its the passivity of it all. Being read to like this has completely freed my mind to go into the world of the book. Of course, I do this when I'm reading to myself too, but I realise now, that it's nowhere near as vivid. I think the process of reading itself occupies my brain just enough to make it an active experience and therefore roots me, even if only a little, in my own world. But with nothing else to do other than listen? I am right in the room as Claire meets Jamie for the first time and tends to his dislocated shoulder. I can see him and her (thanks to the TV series, its those characters I see). I can really feel the earthen floor under my feet, smell the fire and the stench of unwashed men and raw whiskey, feel the nip in the air outside and the palpable air of comrades in arms.

Of course I have to give kudos to the excellent narrator. Davina Porter is fabulous. Who knew a person could do so many distinct Scottish accents - male and female?? Maybe if she wasn't so good, I'd feel differently about the whole audiobook experience but, as it is, she's initiated this virgin with a very skilled hand! Or should I say voice?

The best thing? The walk goes so quickly and I don't even feel like I've been exercising at all. I just feel like I've been whisked away to Scotland!

I am a complete convert! Both to Outlander and audiobooks. Exercise not so much.... But I've found a way to make it bearable and that is something I NEVER thought possible.


What about you guys out there in the blogosphere? Have you tried audiobooks? What's been your experience? Do you think they're more immersive than reading yourself? Or is that narrator dependent?