I was watching a video about The Spear Cuts Through Water and the reviewer mentioned that she feels that the reader's opinion about the book will depend on how they feel about the framing narrative. She loved it, but acknowledged that she listened to it on audio, and that had she read it, she probably would not have liked the framing narrative. Which, to me implies that had she read the book, she probably would not have liked it as much. That got me thinking, should book reviews mention if it was read or listened? Would that be helpful? I want to make it clear, as someone who both read and listen to books (it's about 50/50 for me), when it comes to retention, and comprehension of themes and characters, there is no difference. If you disagree, cool. Agree to disagree. I'm not interested in the "Is audio book reading" discussion. That said, I do think one's opinion of the book can be influenced based on if it was read or listened. For example, I didn't really like Black Leopard, Red Wolf as audio. The narrator was good but I found it kind of hard to follow. Decided to read it instead and loved it, found it very easy to follow. It was the opposite for Night Watch by Jayne Ann Phillip. I couldn't understand why many people found it hard to follow and difficult to read... until I found out that Phillip didn't use quotation marks. I didn't know because I listened to it. When I read reviews complaining about things like, "All the characters sounded the same" it would helpful to know if it was listened to or read. Maybe the author can't write well, maybe the narrator can't narrate well. Maybe both. Even the tone the narrator uses when reading the dialogs can sway how a listener feels about a character. I know reviews are subjective, but if a lot of the listened reviews says the characters are flat, but the read reviews don't mention it, I can assume it's a book best read and not heard. Narrator can play a big impact on how enjoyable the book feels. I think the most famous example is Dungeon Crawler Carl. I read it and found it surprisingly underwhelming given the hype and then I saw a comment saying that they are convinced that DCC lovers are the ones who listened to it and the haters are the ones who read it. I don't know if that's true but it is undeniable that the narrator, Jeff Hays, has played a big role in making the series as popular as it is. Personally, I do wish that reviewers disclose if it was read or listened to. Again, not because I think one method is superior to the other. But, as someone who enjoys both mediums, I do understand how certain aspects (the good and bad) of a book can be heightened in the audio form. Knowing what format the reviewer used could help me better decide about the book. What about you? Does it matter? Should it matter? submitted by /u/Anxious-Fun8829 [link] [comments]