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  • The Audiobook Accessories I Want

    By Joshua Kim December 16, 2010 8:45 pm EST

    Have you become an Audible Platinum listener yet? 24 books for $229.50, which works out to $9.56 per book. If the average book is about 10 hours, then you are only paying a buck an hour. Libraries are still the best deal (plus you get to hang out with librarians who will recommend the perfect book), but the Audible Platinum plan is the next best thing.

    The main problem with audiobooks is not the format (although Audible's DRM is colossally stupid), the cost (which seems reasonable), or the Audible website (which still is atrocious compared to its parent, Amazon.com). The main problem with audiobooks isn't even the fact that too many books are not available in this format (although the absence of an audio version of Kaplan's "Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power" is driving me nuts).

    The main problem with audiobooks is that people keep wanting to talk to me while I'm listening.

    I'll be walking across campus, happily listening to my book (I'm now reading Mukherjee's amazing "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer") and I'll meet someone I know. To converse politely requires a fumbling in my jacket find my iPod to pause the audio, and an awkward yanking of the earbuds from my ears.

    At home, I'll be doing the dishes or folding laundry or something, and my kids or spouse will decide they want to talk with me. First they get frustrated that I have the audiobook going, and then once I go through the effort of pausing my book they no longer want to converse.

    So here are the audiobook accessories that I want:

    Discreet Bluetooth Headphone: I'm thinking something bigger than a Secret Service earpiece, but smaller than a standard bluetooth headset. Audiobooks are fine in one ear, so a regular bluetooth headset (without the voice pickup feature) would be great. I can't find the right one. Any ideas?

    Discreet But Accessible Pause Button: I need a fast way but discrete way to pause my audiobook. A very simple remote control that I can put in my pocket. Pause and play will work. What about this one?

    I'm thinking that once I'm set-up with these audiobook accessories that my reading time can dramatically increase.

    What audiobook accessories do you want?

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Comments on The Audiobook Accessories I Want

  • Audible system that works pretty well
  • Posted by B. Price Kerfoot on December 17, 2010 at 7:00am EST
  • I too am an Audible addict, and my small bluetooth Jabra BT530 ear-piece works well with my iPhone.

    You quickly can get the the audio controls on the iPhone by hitting the home button twice in a row. Even if the phone is locked, the audio controls (including pause) come up on the screen. This does not eliminate fumbling for the pause button, but it does make things simpler.
  • Audiobooking
  • Posted by Bryan Alexander , Senior fellow at NITLE on December 17, 2010 at 1:00pm EST
  • My suggestion is not to get accessories, but to arrange chunks of time to consume the goods. This is especially important for sustained audio, like novels; less so for lighter, interruptible podcasts.

    Driving, working on the land, doing housework: these are good times for my Sansa and I.
  • The headphone conundrum
  • Posted by Ray Nardelli , Director of Digital Media at Colgate University on December 28, 2010 at 9:45am EST
  • I love audio books and I would eagerly upgrade from my current Gold account up to the platinum plan with Audible, if I only had more time to listen.

    I am majorly conflicted because although I reap great benefits from my listening experiences, I don't want to shut myself off to all human contact. When I see someone walking around with headphones on or in their ears, I tend to leave that person alone. I don't want to be 'that guy' who is seen as aloof and cut off from the world around him.

    I only listen to audio books when I am alone - in the car, mowing the lawn, working out, stacking wood, ect. I can't bring myself to be 'plugged in' when at home where my wife and three kids are there and available for serendipitous interactions.

    Cell phones also put up the same invisible barrier to the people near you. Walking around with your head down thumbing out messages to people elsewhere prevent you from interacting with the people in the here and now.

    Believe me, I am the furthest thing from a technology luddite, but I think we need to be careful not to let technology interfere with some of the most basic of human needs: relationship building and face-to-face interaction.

    That being said, if there was a way to conceal the headphones to those around me and a method that would allow me to quickly pause the audio, I may be more inclined to experiment with listening to books in more situations.

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