Finally convinced my book club to try audiobooks vs physical copies and the winner was clear

Been in my book club for 3 years now and we always did physical books. Last month I suggested we all listen to the same audiobook instead for our November pick. Half the group fought it hard, said they couldn't focus without paper. Well we did it anyway and the discussion was way better. People actually finished on time for once and the narrator's voice added stuff to the story we never talked about before. Our December meeting is in 2 weeks and 6 out of 8 people voted to keep doing audiobooks. Has your group ever switched formats mid year?

2 comments

2 Comments

wyatt_ross279d ago

So did the people who initially fought it end up being the ones voting for audiobooks now, or are they still holding out? I'm curious how big of a shift that was. Our group actually tried swapping to e-readers one summer and it was a total disaster because three people refused to buy a kindle, but audiobooks seem like less of a money commitment upfront. Was the narrator thing a big surprise for everyone, or did one person just pick a really good one that sealed the deal for the whole club?

jesse_barnes379d agoTop Commenter

Well actually @wyatt_ross27 the upfront cost thing is more complicated than it looks. A lot of people forget you need a library card and the Libby app to make audiobooks truly affordable, otherwise you're dropping $15-20 per book which adds up fast. The holdouts in our group weren't against the format itself, they just hated the idea of borrowing a physical device from someone else, like a phone or tablet, to listen. That first narrator pick was a total gamble and it paid off because she had this dry, sarcastic tone that made a boring historical nonfiction book actually funny. Now those same holdouts are the ones pushing for audiobooks every month, but they still won't admit they were wrong. The real shift happened when everyone realized you can multitask, like folding laundry or driving, and still feel like you read the book, which was the main selling point nobody saw coming.