Ever since I first tried Audible, I am a big fan of audiobooks. Audiobooks are an excellent expansion of your book or e-book collection.
However, not every book will suit as an audio version. Why is that so?
Well, in general, 90% of all my books and audiobooks are non-fiction at the moment. There are – in fact – books which you should read and others which you should listen.
Memoires, biographies, autobiographies, and other books which tell a story are great as audiobooks. Usually, these books have many pages, and it takes a lot of time to read them. I find it great to listen to these kinds of books as an audio version. I listen to them either while I’m commuting or even when I am cooking or cleaning the house. They are great as audiobooks because they don’t require your full attention. If you overheard the last sentence, you don’t necessarily need to skip back. But maybe that’s a thing only men struggle with. Examples in my audiobook collection are for instance the biographies of Elon Musk, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Warren Buffett, Jerry Weintraub, or books of Yanis Varoufakis.
On the other hand, books which provide a lot of practical advice and scientific books must be read. These books offer a lot of facts and life advice which you want to remember. Otherwise, the book will not pay off. Then you can use the book to take notes, mark relevant passages, and come back to a section whenever you need it. This is the problem with audiobooks, you cannot quickly go back to a specific part merely to listen to it once again. If you have the advice from the book in printed form, it will be easier to learn or revise them.
One example is “Never Split the Difference” a book I originally bought an Audible audiobook, but after I listened to it, I went straight to Amazon to order a hard copy. Other examples are books on investing or very practical business books or life-advice books from, e.g., Tony Robbins which include a lot of must-do practical exercises.
Next on my Audible wish list is the autobiography of Ray Dalio: “Principles: Life and Work.”
I am currently working myself through different books on value investing, right now: “Investing Like A Guru” by Charlie Tian.
Do you agree and prefer some books as hardcopy and others as an audio version? And which books are you currently reading and listening to?
