Reading while listening

Spring time has hit in Basel. It’s been lovely weather the whole week, and I’ve regularly been getting off the tram stop two stations earlier to enjoy the long walk home.

After having spent whole of January reading non-fiction — especially books on the topic of writing — it feels very good to finally delve into some fiction again. This week I decided to pick up a book I read many years ago: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein.

Robert Heinlein is up there as my absolute favorite science fiction writer. I love his characters, their wits and cleverness. I also find the topic on “social science fiction” fascinating. He’s not just able to set up an enjoyable story with good characters in it, he also creates an alternative social structure that I find so interesting to explore.

In addition to reading it on the Kindle, this time I also decided to get the audio version. Listening to books while reading them is something I’ve been playing around with lately. And I discovered that I like it. A lot.

While I’m at home I prefer reading on the Kindle. It’s a great experience, a very distraction free environment, and I like the ability to easily highlight sections that I find interesting. There’s nothing like sprawling out on the floor and enjoying a good book on the Kindle.

But while I’m out walking, or commuting to work, I prefer listening to a book.

And Amazon has made this experience so seamless.

When I put down the Kindle, it syncs the furthest page I’ve read, so when I open the book on my phone, I’m on the exact spot where I left off. And from there I can continue listening while I’m underway.

I love using both these “reading” methods because they’re complimentary to each other, allowing to delve deeper into the book.

Using a Kindle allows me to highlight, look up words I don’t know, and focus a bit more on the text.

While listening allows me to continue the book when I’m underway, and I hear the words spoken out, which helps me with pronunciation and accent.