I have recently been getting back into audiobooks and was discussing them with a friend when this question came up. Obviously picture/comic books, manga and the like would not work in the format, but what other kind of books would not work in an audio format?
I was thinking House of Leaves for the obvious reasons, but is there a book you can think of that narratively or otherwise would not be well translated to audiobook?
OR a book that would need to be read in a certain way in order for an audio format to work?
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Enders Game of all things is just a better read on paper. I mean the audiobook is fine but the paper read has so much more depth to it.
House of Leaves is exactly what came to mind when I saw the question.
The Dictionary would be boring as fuck.
Anything with smut in it tbh. SO awkward read aloud imo.
Idk I think it makes great audiobooks lmao 😂
Lincoln on the Bardo by George saunders. I believe there is an audiobook but for me the formatting really adds to the tone.
Formatting seems to be a common theme, I wonder what kind of attempts have been made at similar books in the past.
Finnegan’s wake
I think complex non-linear narratives, like House of Leaves, might not work well as audiobooks. Additionally, reference-heavy books, intricate visual novels, or those requiring frequent flipping back and forth might pose challenges. I believe the experience could be compromised for books requiring a specific reading pace or engagement with visual elements.
Personally, anything really dense and thought provoking. I like being able to more easily kind of stop and think for a moment, and I think this really often allows me to understand and follow the story in a deeper way. Like rather than just waves landing on the beach, I can get a better idea of the water beyond the waves, out in the ocean, and following what’s happening out in the ocean makes the waves hitting the beach much more meaningful and I better appreciate them.
To me it’s the exact opposite. If I stop to think about stuff, I lose where I am in the book and make myself more confused. Plus, if it’s words on a screen, it feels much more passive to me.
With audiobooks, it feels like it’s someone talking or explaining something to me, and I naturally pay more attention to that than to stuff I read, so even if I do have to pause to reflect a bit, it’s much easier for me to pick up where I left off with an audiobook.
This is a very thoughtful answer. Being able to take your time often makes the book more engaging for me. Letting myself read lines multiple times and think of them multiple ways without having them structured by narration.
I also like to make note and underline things, and mark off certain pages to get back to that. Listening is more passive for me, that’s when I listen to comedy podcasts
Pygmy by chuck palahnuik
I recognize the authors name, doesn’t he write pretty messed up stuff…
S. by Doug Dorst and J.J. Abrams. Apart from the physical gimmicks, the book has a conversation of other readers with “hand written notes” on its pages, which are made at different times.
Anything footnote-heavy:
Some essays by David Foster Wallace, in particular the one on the radio show business.
Those parts of Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series where footnoterphones are used frequently.
Came here to say this. It barely worked as a book!
I’d be curious to see if an audiobook of The Road would be good
Their Eyes Were Watching God would be tough. The writing is so so good, but so idiomatic it would feel like a parody of recorded by most people. I think maybe an excellent actor could pull it off, but it would take some bravery.
Ooh I want to check it out now!! A good challenge
“Differential Equations for Engineers, Part I”.
Choose your own adventures wouldn’t work.
Books like Flowers for Algernon because the miss spelling and the way the writing changes as he changes would be lost.
I think philosophical texts are meant to be chewed over slowly. That being said, having them read out loud to you, like in an audible book, could help if one re-listens to portions and pauses as they go and such to give for that intended reader analysis.
Choose your own adventure audiobooks would be fun but more interactive than the medium allows :(
Where’s Waldo, House of Leaves