I work 55 to 60+ hour weeks and listen to audio books for over 85% of that time, that's my trick. I feel like increasing play speed has to impact absorption of the material

Another idea is... Read the book while listening to audiobook... Worked well for me to complete 5 books

I get through ~150 books a year, so about three per week. (And I write and post online reviews of all of them.) But there's no special technique or anything, and I don't skim. I'm just a fast reader, and have been since before I started school. My eyes take in blocks of text rather than individual words and I retain whet I read better than most people. In other words, it's natural talent (which was very useful in school). I can't throw a football worth a damn and I've never been able to read music, but I have this. It all balances out.

I’m an avid reader but no matter how many times I’ve tried audiobooks….I just can’t. I zone out or just stop paying attention and miss everything. I’ve come to conclusion that audiobooks just aren’t for everyone.

That's pretty impressive, I've never read so much in a year. Do you use physical books or e-readers?

I know for a fact I miss plenty of the content of audiobooks while driving or doing anything really. Attention can't be split well, so something is gonna suffer

That being said, I listen to them all the time. Currently listening to Foundation's Edge while driving or working, and missing bits, but still enjoying the book. I often play them at 1.1x speed for minimal distortion but a slightly faster pace

If you want to catch every detail, you can't be doing anything else, but you can always rewind if you missed something

[deleted]

I'm pushing 80 so I'm thankful for the invention of the Kindle, which allows me to enlarge the font easily. It's becoming very difficult to read most paper books these days. And I've never cared for audiobooks. I have to read with my eyes, not my ears.

I listen between 2x-3x, depending on the accent. You get used to it with time and the 1x sounds frustratingly slow.

I listen probably 4+ hrs a day, which is almost a book. I do it while exercising, drawing, gardening, or cleaning. I average another 2 hrs a day of physical reading, which is also almost a 300 page book. I'm guessing on the times though. I finish ~500 books a year and about 10-20% are audiobooks.

[deleted]

I've found that while I can sit still and read for any length of time, I can't sit still and listen for more than like a minute. Meetings, phone calls, conversations... If I can't get up and walk around, I go insane. I solve this in meetings by bringing a notepad and covering page after page with doodles. It's something for the physical half of my brain to do, so it stays out of the way and lets the mental half focus on what's being said.

For phone calls and in-person conversations, I just get up and walk around.

For audiobooks, I go for a (long) walk, or do some menial task that doesn't involve a lot of mental focus - doing the dishes, sweeping and vacuuming, folding laundry, etc. Anything to keep my body busy so my mind can focus on the book.

I have no problem sitting in one place. And I typically tried listening while in car or while riding my bike. Doesn’t matter. It’s like I have selective hearing lol

Audiobooks have radically increased the amount of chores I get done for exactly that reason. Oh no, I'm really enjoying this book, but I've finished everything I needed to do. I suppose I've been meaning to wash all the blankets, or shampoo the carpets or something, why don't I start on that so I can keep listening.

It really depends on how you process information and what type of book it is.

I'm a tactile learner, which means I learn best with hands on activities. I when I was in school I needed to be taking notes to remember anything from lectures, I never needed to look at my notes again, but doing something with my hands made it easier for me to remember what I was hearing. If I just sit and listen to a book, my mind drifts off within minutes.

I primarily listen to things like cozy mysteries or other "light" nonfiction on audiobooks. I'm also listening to them in English, the only language I speak fluently. These are not books with unfamiliar words or phrases, so I'm not trying to learn new words or figure out subtexts. I've been told I speak fast and when I taught I would have to try to slow down my normal rate of speech. I find it annoying when people talk slowly, so I love speeding up the playback on everything that I can.

I also have a lot more time than the average person, I'm retired, and where we moved puts me in the car for long periods of time, I and I walk a lot.

Try not to compare your reading to other people's. If you read a lot, you will likely increase your speed, especially if you are reading in another language. You may want to research if your dominant learning style is visual, audio, or tactile and figure out what the best format is for you.

I listen to lots of audiobooks. Typically I listen while I'm doing rather mundane things that don't detract my attention. If I do lose track, it's not a big deal to go back a chapter or rewind a few minutes. I also listen to most of them at 1.5 speed depending on the narrator. If a book is complex, I'll save it for listening in the car or bedtime, some occasion where I have less to distract me.

It takes more concentration to follow audio in a second language even if you can understand it all. I don't know why it works that way but I'm a native English speaker and went through the same thing with French podcasts. Start with audiobooks of books you've read before so if you miss a chunk you won't be lost, it'll get easier to follow as you go.

I never speed up audiobooks. I can't concentrate if I do. I do a simple task while listening like going for a walk or doing the dishes so that my mind doesn't wander.

I listen at 1.3 speed, and I often use the rewind button, which goes back 15 seconds, if I miss something. I can exercise, drive and do mundane household chores like laundry and dusting while listening to audiobooks, but not much else. I need to pay attention.

Listening to normal speed is just way too slow for me. Feels like the book is crawling. It has nothing to do with finishing the book faster, the faster speed simply sounds more natural to the way I read.

[deleted]

As you get used to it you can listen to audiobooks faster and faster while understanding the story (many blind people can easily go as high as 5-6×, sighted people tend to cap lower).

You can try bumping up speed by 0.25 increments, some people find it easier to understand audiobooks slightly faster [edit: you can try slowing it, too]. But I think it's more more important to find something that has a good narrator who matches the book, speaks clearly, and emotes well. (English as a second language here, the narrator makes a huge difference for me.)

Have you tried an audiobook in your 1st language? Do you still have this problem?

SAME. I get impatient with how much slower it is than just reading and I get distracted so easily. They just aren't my thing and I'm done trying to make it happen.

I can't always do audiobooks either. I miss things and have to go back, and if I just sit and listen I fall asleep. Some people are just better at listening while others are better at reading, and you can keep trying but it might never be the right fit for you.

I do use audiobooks when I am going for a walk or a run, and maybe folding the laundry.

Never tried that , I just assumed things might get lost in translation. But maybe I'll try them...

Yeah this is me, I only managed to finish the Hobbit audiobooks (by Rob Inglis ) and I really enjoyed them . So I tried to give other audiobooks a shot and nope can't concentrate or keep up...

>I get through ~150 books a year, so about three per week. (And I write and post online reviews of all of them.)

Damn, that's impressive...

I hope to read that many books a year someday lol. I have like 5 different series on my currently reading list. I have completed 6 books this year...

Reading comprehension and listening comprehension are two totally different things, and have to be built up independently.

When I first tried audiobooks, I couldn't follow them either (I'm not a native English speaker either). I had to work my way up from conversational podcasts --> history podcasts where I already know the broad strokes --> audiobooks of stuff like Pride & Prejudice, things I basically have memorized by heart at this point --> other podcasts where I don't know the material --> simpler audiobooks or books on topics I already know about (light sci-fi, greek mythology) --> more complex audiobooks. This whole process took about 3 years for me. Then there was another 18 months or so of listening to audiobooks at 1x speed (which is so much slower than my reading speed, but eh, I listened to audiobooks only in situations I couldn't read anyway - so something is better than nothing) before I increased my default listening speed to 1.5x (still slow it back to 1x or 1.2x for some narrators, and increase to 2x for others). But even after nearly half a dozen years, audiobooks still take me longer than reading the same book, and I am still much better at processing complexity in text than on audio (so I would always choose to read some books on text). Which is to be expected, I have been reading for much longer!

It feels like people just expect to pick up a complex book on audio and immediately listen at 2x speed. That's like a 13 year old picking up Tolstoy and expecting to get through it in a week. It's unrealistic for the average human being - you gotta start smaller!

3x speed all the way!

Same, my biggest issue is that since there is only one person reading the book ( there might be more for different audiobooks) all characters feel... the same. Even when they try to change their voice, most of the time it just comes out as cringey and weird.

[deleted]

I always listen a second time if I liked it to pick up those details. It's an extra adventure!

I don't know if a more paced narrator would help, but Davina Porter and Scott Brick are clear, enunciate well, and have a pretty steady pace. There are others, but my brain can't hold that catalog.

If you have audible, read the reviews. Somebody always reviews the narrators. See what they say.

There are a ton of great ones. I pointed out these two specifically as they have a lot of material to choose from, and with a stable voice, it might be a bit easier on you.

Well, I've been retired for 20 years, which makes it easier, but really, I've always read that much. My fixation on books and reading led to a long career in a very large public library system -- but you'd be surprised how much time busy librarians DON'T have to read.

I keep up with a number of series, too, mostly via a directory of checklist text files where I can keep track of whee I am with each one and what's about to be published next. When you read this much, you have to be organized about it, or you miss things.

Ive read 71 books this year, but I am NOT a fast reader. just someone with a lot of downtime. I wouldn't stress your speed. just enjoy the book however long it takes

I use audiobooks to help me concentrate on reading books I didn't particularly care about. I listen while reading alongside text because I hate rewinding. It keeps me from browsing the internet or getting distracted with something else.

I would just want to figure out if the issue was a personal one you had with audiobooks or just a problem with listening in a 2nd language

Processing in a second language is not at all the same as listening to your first language. I'm a massive book addict, both text and audio. But when I try to read text in my second language (Spanish) it's really hard work. I can't keep it up for long at a stretch.

I haven't even attempted an audio book in Spanish. I love them in English, but 125% is the very most I can speed things up and enjoy them. I'd say, give yourself a break on this one. Accept that for now, English is work for your brain and don't expect 100% fluency instantly.

I love using long audio books on long car trips. I feel more alert. This may be an after effect of my childhood ADHD, but if I don't have something keeping my brain busy enough I'm liable to get lost in thought. And when driving, in some cases actually lost.

Haha it's honestly astounding what details you pick up on second or third reads once you already have the characters in your mind and can actually remember/combine all the information.

Probably listened to the Dune series thru Chapterhouse 4 or 5 times😅and I see myself doing Isaac Asimov's robot novels and foundation series a few times

I read in the evenings, but listen for an hour or two during the work day, and another 20-30 minutes during my daily lunch walks. I finished each 1000+ page book of the Stormlight Archive in 15-18 days each this way.

I don't listen to audio books, but it's surprising how much a lot of practice can help with things. I used to have trouble reading subtitles, now I can watch stuff at 8x speed and still read all the subtitles (only did this for shows that I watched a while ago that are now getting a new season or something, and I wanted to refresh my midn about it).