My Audiobook (Only) Journey

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audiobook
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I've been wanting to improve my listening skills for a while, so, inspired by the Natively forum's 2024 August Listening Challenge, I've started to listen to more audiobooks sans the text. I'm putting together this list partially as a reference for myself and partially to give suggestions to those who are also looking to break more into audiobook territory. Note that when I started this, I could comfortably read at L30+ but had barely worked at all on my listening, so a lot of this is going to be attempting to bring my listening somewhat up to par.

All books are listed in the order I listened to them, not necessarily by difficulty. I might also list personal notes and thoughts next to each.

(Read Aug 1, 2024 - Aug 2, 2024)
ふしぎ駄菓子屋 銭天堂 1
Children's book
Level 24
Each chapter shifts to a new protagonist and mini-story. Comprehension fluctuated because of this. (Read Aug 3, 2024 - Aug 5, 2024)
Each chapter shifts to a new protagonist and mini-story. Comprehension fluctuated because of this. (Read Aug 3, 2024 - Aug 5, 2024)
レンタルロボット
Children's book
Level 18
Easiest of these first couple of audiobooks by far so far. (Read Aug 6, 2024 - Aug 7, 2024)
Easiest of these first couple of audiobooks by far so far. (Read Aug 6, 2024 - Aug 7, 2024)
Feels more "grown-up" in terms of complex ideas presented so far from these early audiobooks. I want to enjoy the story, and feel sad that my limited listening is preventing me from really getting the most out of it. (Read Aug 11, 2024 - Aug 13, 2024)
Feels more "grown-up" in terms of complex ideas presented so far from these early audiobooks. I want to enjoy the story, and feel sad that my limited listening is preventing me from really getting the most out of it. (Read Aug 11, 2024 - Aug 13, 2024)

This one's a bit irregular; I started it when it was way higher than my listening level would normally be, but I had two advantages going in: I know the original story back to front, and I'd listened to the audiobook while reading along a year or two previously. Took me about 5 months of listening to on and off whenever the mood struck me, and I definitely noticed that I was picking up more of the story by the end. I would not normally attempt something this high level this early, since my comprehension would be way too low, but it worked out here.

I started this book before any of the others listed here, but I'm going to put it in this spot on the list since it fits here in terms of when I finished it. (Read Apr 10, 2024 - Aug 21, 2024)

This one's a bit irregular; I started it when it was way higher than my listening level would normally be, but I had two advantages going in: I know the original story back to front, and I'd listened to the audiobook while reading along a year or two previously. Took me about 5 months of listening to on and off whenever the mood struck me, and I definitely noticed that I was picking up more of the story by the end. I would not normally attempt something this high level this early, since my comprehension would be way too low, but it worked out here.

I started this book before any of the others listed here, but I'm going to put it in this spot on the list since it fits here in terms of when I finished it. (Read Apr 10, 2024 - Aug 21, 2024)

Trying something a bit different with this one. I'm going to listen to a chapter, then re-listen to the chapter while reading along, then listen to the chapter one last time audio-only.

(After finishing my listen) That strategy worked pretty well for me! It's really intense in terms of time taken, so I'd have to make sure my schedule's nice and clear if I wanted to do something like this again, but I noticed definite improvements in my comprehension by the end of the book. (Read Aug 13, 2024 - Aug 28, 2024)

Trying something a bit different with this one. I'm going to listen to a chapter, then re-listen to the chapter while reading along, then listen to the chapter one last time audio-only.

(After finishing my listen) That strategy worked pretty well for me! It's really intense in terms of time taken, so I'd have to make sure my schedule's nice and clear if I wanted to do something like this again, but I noticed definite improvements in my comprehension by the end of the book. (Read Aug 13, 2024 - Aug 28, 2024)

I've become a bit burnt out listening-wise after listening to all the previous books in one month (my stamina's not great), so in order to keep some tiny bit of momentum but not worry myself over something completely new, I decided to start HP #2. Will see how I feel after finishing this book. (Read Sep 3, 2024 - )
I've become a bit burnt out listening-wise after listening to all the previous books in one month (my stamina's not great), so in order to keep some tiny bit of momentum but not worry myself over something completely new, I decided to start HP #2. Will see how I feel after finishing this book. (Read Sep 3, 2024 - )