Audio books in the car

At the weekend, I spent too many hours stuck on the nation's motorways for comfort, but I'd borrowed the library's audio book of the influential Long Tail.  If you've not come across the author, Chris Anderson, before, he's the editor of Wired magazine and gives funny and inspiring talks about technology and the web all over the place.  Lots are published as podcasts by American universities.

Anyway, the Long Tail is a great read/listen if you're interested in how the economics of 'infinite' bookshelves and jukeboxes like Amazon and iTunes (amongst other companies) work.  And my husband and I chewed over Anderson's arguments through the queues of several coffee emporia as we progressed up and down the country.  Admittedly we were both economics geeks a long way back but it's not heavy on market theory or statistics so don't let that put you off...  Basically, it really made us think about how Generation 2.0 differ from Generation X and baby boomers etc in their habits and literacies.

I'm a big fan of audiobooks but I generally listen to fiction or history books.  This was my first attempt at listening for my academic studies and several differences struck me which I thought I'd share with you in case you attempt the same thing

•  Next time, I would get the Table of Contents (which is usually available on the catalogue - by clicking on the image of the book - or from Amazon or the publisher's site) so I can orient myself
• That said, being able to keep an eye on the track listing and timer helped me understand how it was flowing.  And, easy access to the pause button is important to let you take notes as you go.
• In a more boring book, the ToC would have helped with skipping to the "required" reading chapters.
• A good reader/communicator will signpost the chapter and section headings clearly.  So, if I'm purchasing an audio file for a non-fiction book, I'll pay more attention to the reviews of the reader's voice so I can chose the best version.  
• Also, differences between American and British English become more prominent and - for this listener - problematic.  By the 20th "niche" I was starting to hyperventilate.  Rapid consumption of a brownie helped restore equilibrium.  Again, if this is an issue for you - listen in chunks or choose a different narrator when you buy.
• Listening with another person meant I wasn't as passive as a on-the-page reader.  I absorbed more of the argument because the reading was actually social - we kept breaking to chew over points (or purchase more caffeine) - so the new information was being tested, synthesised and filed for later use as we progressed.  Much more fun than note taking or drawing mind maps.
• Footnotes are a problem when you are listening.  I have no idea if this book has any.  It felt like there should.  This book probably has citations which I can't "hear" and follow up.  Also, I suspect points might have been explored more deeply in a footnote.  (Like when you have an audio guide in a museum and you get the option to dial an extra number to learn more about the "revolutionary" bucket you're staring at.)  If I was studying the book more seriously, I'd probably still want to have the opportunity to scan a visual version to catch up on that missing texture.  Perhaps, as audio file delivery becomes more sophisticated there will be easier ways to mop-up this problem.  

Luton's public library service has a fantastic range of audio books which you can download as a loan.  It only has 307 non-fiction titles at the moment but there are some interesting history and popular psychology titles in there.  But the fiction section is much better including over 200 children's books (with classics like Pullman and Tolkein).