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Month: December 2019

Wow, people love/hate podcasts

Posted on December 18, 2019February 27, 2020 by Oceanic

I’m not much of a podcast person, but I’m surprised to see the extremes of opinion when it comes to the subject.

Guy Kawasaki created an audio version of a chapter of one of his books, and the comments range from something like “I hate you for making me listen instead of reading”, to “I hate people who listen while they drive”, to “I hate people who hate podcasts”… you get the idea.

The fact is, podcasts are here to stay. We’ve even started putting audiobook reviews on podcasts. I’m pretty sure people who like audiobooks will like podcasts, but who knows?

Our own research shows that people who love books are the WORST in terms of audiobook consumption – it seems that they prefer the purity of licking fingers and turning pages. Give me an iPod and an audio-in jack in my car any day. I hate licking my fingers.

I do like podcasts/radio while driving and I like reading when my eyes are free, for the simple reason that nuance, background music, sound effects, and all the lovely benefits podcasts offer are less important to me than my ability to read as carefully or as swiftly as the material warrants and my schedule allows.

What’s driving me nuts lately is this trendy, slavish, contagious editorial policy that dictates selected content be available only as an audio file. WTF? Is transcription too costly?

I don’t have 15 minutes to listen to every last loving detail of your vision or your author interview. I’m busy — let me skim and see if the piece is even worth my attention.

Tease the podcast’s unique features in the accompanying text, but don’t give up on readers.…

1776 audiobook

1776–Concluded

Posted on December 7, 2019February 27, 2020 by Oceanic

There was no surprise ending, but there were a number of unexpected twists in McCullough’s non-fiction account of the American Revolution. I have a decent grasp of US history, but McCullough went into far more detail than I’d previously been aware of.

The book relied heavily on characterizations of historical figures, sometimes truly humanizing them (as in the case of British General Howe), and sometimes giving a glimpse of how national mythology is born (as with Washington). Perhaps because it was the abridged edition, there was a sense at times of ricocheting between character sketches and battle scenes.

It’s eminently listenable, even for those less inclined toward history. McCullough’s narration sounds like a favorite university professor–confidant and convinced of the importance of his subject. In fact, I his performance so soothing that I had to stop listening in the car. …

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