Your Opinion on Audiobooks? (2025)

Serah

Back then I was looking forward for J-Novel Club doing audiobooks, as I imagined they would increase the overall interest for Japanese light novels altogether.

Nowadays I feel more sobered up about the topic, as the audiobooks I have listened to so far did not convince me and actually made me dislike audiobooks altogether. Mostly because the way they are read and the voices seem not to fit at all. That point is rather hard to describe for me ~ like how I dislike dubs of anime very much.

What do you think of audiobooks? Are you using them for light novels?

I love those where the authors are actually reading them out loud an I use them a lot for ... what is the English term for it... books about science and such.

If you use them for light novels - why or rather what makes them likable for you?

Rahul Balaggan

With audiobooks, while there are many factors. I believe the most important are:

Is this a book I want to experience
Is the speaker capable of bringing the story to life

There are many audiobooks and many speakers. Not all will blend seamlessly. Some will shine more in certain roles and stories than others.

Just like our personal lives can influence if we enjoy a story or not.

I do believe there is a large merit in audiobooks. Especially for people who like me, can’t read in moving vehicles of any kind without headaches. Or for long drives or other activities where your hands are preoccupied.

Rather than start with any speaker. I recommend starting with an experienced veteran speaker. Then you can see if the speaker can even make you appreciate a story that you previously had little to no interest in.

Listen to the sample audiobooks from

Andrea Parsneau
Micheal Kramer
Kate Reading

For Andreas she has a wide range, extremely wide. Listen to the sample for The Wandering Inn to get a feel for how wide.

Lastly, audiobooks, just like books, won’t be for everyone.

HarmlessDave

Audiobooks in general are not for me, mostly because I can read much faster than normal speech, but also because the voices aren't what I'm expecting.

I have the same problem with a fair amount of YouTube instructional content. Videos are good for showing some things like setting up a computer in a specific case, but I'd much rather read text than wait for someone to slowly explain something.