Audiobooks and Reading Slumps

Fun fact I realized that if I post my excerpt on my blog there’s a chance it could get flagged for plagiarism on the final assignment, so I am going to email my lecturer and ask if that’s possible before posting it. I might just have to cite myself somehow, I’ll find out, but that’s why I haven’t posted the excerpt. 

Recently, I found out that with a Spotify Premium subscription you get access to a ton of audiobooks. I never really liked audiobooks, even when I was a kid I hated being read to and preferred to read at my pace. However, lately I’ve been in a little bit of a reading slump, and have been looking for a way out. This is when I discovered the beauty of audiobooks.

I had been wanting to read Jennette McCurdy’s book for a long time but just hadn’t gotten around to buying it until I realized it was included in the Spotify audiobook collection. I had a trip coming up and decided to download the audiobook to listen to on the way. Beyond just being convenient to access the book without having to go purchase it, I also found that it solved my age-old problem of not being able to read while traveling. I tend to get motion-sick which just becomes exacerbated by reading. Even using my phone while traveling can make me feel sick. 

Listening to Jennette McCurdy read her memoir I'm Glad My Mom Died was incredibly compelling. It was more powerful and emotionally devastating listening to her recount her story. It also allowed her writing style to really glow. While some lines in books can be read one way or the other, the tone of every sentence shone through her voice clearly and definitively. It was an incredible listen. 

While there definitely are downsides to audiobooks, I found them particularly compelling in regards to memoirs. It’s so fascinating to listen to a memoir being read to you by the author. They are intimately familiar with the work they’re reading, it’s their life. I realized you get a very different reading experience due to that, the personal story somehow becomes even more personalized.

I also listened to Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton on a 9-hour flight from London to the USA. It was another memoir that was about 8 hours long. I figured it was perfect. I had actually bought her book and had read a few chapters, but being in my slump, I had been struggling to finish it. So, I was particularly excited to listen to it. Again, I found it incredibly captivating to listen to this woman read her own life story. I even cried while listening to it, I'm sure the person sitting next to me thought something was wrong with me.

However, every time I’ve tried to listen to fictional prose I haven’t been able to get invested. I’m not entirely sure why. I think the memoirs being read to me by the author is so much more intriguing to me. They know the text so intimately, and they add a little extra just by being the narrator. I also think that when it comes to memoirs it is explicitly the author's story, it is theirs to tell and recite. With fiction I feel like I gain a little ownership, I immerse myself more in the story and examine the world and characters the author has created. Memoirs to me feel more like a friend on the phone telling me a story, it belongs solely to them. 

I really enjoy having audiobooks as an option, but I don’t think it’ll ever replace the real thing for me. I prefer to read at my own pace which can be rather quick, and I like to mark up my novels and write in the margins. Having the physical book in hand just makes it so much more special to me as well. In the age of everything being online, I love being able to own all my books and log off. I’m deeply grateful the age of the eBook isn’t so strong it replaces a physical book copy. I love having that physical media. 

Currently, I’m still working through my reading slump. People always make jokes that they’ll have a huge To-Be-Read pile at home and will still go to the bookstore and buy more–but I think it can actually be a good thing to do that. Sometimes you need something new to shake you out of a slump or excite you again when the books you have at home aren't.

This is all to say that none of the titles I have at home were calling to me, so I ordered a new book. That book is Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors. I’ve been reading 1-2 chapters every night before bed and am currently about 150 pages through. I also enlisted a friend to do a miniature book club with me to help stay on track. I find that the pressure can be incredibly helpful for self-motivation. I’ll do a review once I’m finished with the novel, but I’m really happy that I’m easing myself out of this slump.

I can be really picky with books. I like a writing style that is a little frenetic and moves through the narrative sharply. Slow books, while compelling, can sometimes lose me early on. This is something I’m working on, but when I’m in a reading slump I always find that it’s important to read something a little fast-paced and exciting to get back into the swing of things rather than reading something slower or more difficult. 

So, it was a little bit of a gamble when I picked Cleopatra and Frankenstein, because while I’d heard it was good, I didn’t really know what it would be like stylistically. Usually when I’m trying to ease back into things I get a popular or cheesy rom-com, but I had wanted to try and tick something off my prospective books list, so I chose to go a different route.

As of right now, I’m enjoying reading the novel and am really curious to see where it goes. After that I’m either going to read Wuthering Heights or buy another story. I am still gearing up for my WIP, so I am hoping to read something a little more horror themed after this. My lecturer did recommend Wuthering Heights though, so we’ll see. I need to conquer this slump first.