Audiobooks FTW?

Woohoo! The news came in just today - Promise is now available as an audiobook! It's on Audible.com, anyway. It's coming to Audible.co.uk, Amazon and iTunes soon.

The talented Erin Mallon has taken on Alexis's voice as the narrator and Brick Shop Audiobooks is the producer. They've done a fabulous job, and I can't wait to hear what everyone thinks.

This is exciting news for some people (like those who have been asking me for years when the audiobook would come out), while others are probably like, "Meh. Who cares." Some people love audiobooks and some don't.

Audiobook lovers subscribe to Audible's membership service, download several books a month and get to enjoy books while doing all sorts of things. Many listen to an audiobook of something they've already read, particularly favorites, and some re-listen just as much (if not more) than they re-read. If they have it available and there's nothing else to listen to, they can always play an audiobook, even in the middle, and know what's going on. Good background noise, especially while driving.

Then there are some people who just can't stand to listen and would rather read. They say listening changes the story experience, which can be true. If the narrator doesn't have the right voice or use the right inflections, if the pacing is off or the tone doesn't reflect the right mood, the story can sound very different when "read" through the ears rather than through the mind. Some people say they just have a harder time imagining the world when the story is read to them.

I'm not much of an audiobook listener myself, but I don't dislike them, either. I listen to books while giving myself a mani/pedi, sometimes while cleaning and only occasionally while driving. When I can only listen, though, I usually prefer music. Music gets the voices in my head talking - you know, those characters who want me to write their stories. With music, I can let my mind wander, discovering new ideas for my current work in progress. With an audiobook, I have to concentrate too much. However, sometimes there's something I really want to "read," but for whatever reason, it doesn't get priority when I'm ready to sit down and read. So yeah, I do get the occasional audiobook.

So what do you think? Do you listen to audiobooks? Love 'em or hate 'em?