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    Books

    How fast do you listen to audiobooks?

    I’ve been listening to some audiobooks at 3.5x to 4x speed, and while I know that’s super fast, I can still follow along without an issue for a lot of books (less so in super dense books – biographies, histories, high fantasy, or deep sci fi). My husband thinks I’m crazy and that no one else listens that fast.

    Now I’m curious—what speed do you listen at? Am I alone in this, or are there others who prefer the turbo-speed approach to audiobooks?

    by LastSuccess6796

    View 14 Comments

    14 Comments

    1. OpeningSort4826 on

      I listen to most books at 1.5. I think it would just about drive me insane to listen at your speed! I want the speed of the narrator to sound at least somewhat natural. 

    2. OpeningSort4826 on

      I listen to most books at 1.5. I think it would just about drive me insane to listen at your speed! I want the speed of the narrator to sound at least somewhat natural. 

    5. state_of_euphemia on

      I’d say I usually do 2x, but sometimes faster and sometimes slower. I absolutely cannot focus at all of it’s on 1x because it’s too slow. But 2x and higher doesn’t even sound fast once you get used to it!

    6. Simon_Hans on

      Holy hell. 3.5-4x is wild. 

      Is that an exaggeration? Or just a really slow narrator? I just tried it on audible for a couple of minutes on Words of Radiance (which has a pretty slow default narration speed) and you can’t even make out the words. I fully don’t believe there’s anyway you are meaningfully capturing the content of the book at that speed. 

      I usually bounce between 1.25x and 1.5x depending on how fast the narrator speaks. I don’t really find myself ever going over 1.5x. 

    7. pnpsrs on

      I listen to most books at 2.0. I go down to 1.75 for dense nonfiction or beautiful literature, and up to 2.1 or 2.2 if I’m skimming.

    8. TheYellowBot on

      I listen at 1.25-1.5 depending on the book. No way in hell could I actually process any information that fast. Good on you if you’re actually able to retain most if not all that information

    10. CatTaxAuditor on

      1.3-1.5x 

      I have a friend who listens at the speed you do, insists he retains it all, and definitely does not.

    13. No-Strawberry-5804 on

      3.5-4 is insane. Are you able to absorb any emotional impact that way?

      Side note, do you have ADHD lol

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