Immersion Reading

Amazon has this new thing called “Immersion reading” for some of its books.  The basic deal is if you buy a book, you have the option of buying an accompanying audiobook for a very small fee and then reading along with the book as it is narrated.  The syncing mechanism will sync the narration with the text, so you can switch between audiobook and written word with ease.

Me?  I like the concept but it’s more of a way to get cheap audiobooks than it is a different way to read a book.  I read, quite literally, over ten times faster than people speak. To follow along in a book with a narration would be a serious irritant.  I’m more likely to use it switching between listening and reading.  Or would, if I didn’t download audiobooks and physically add them to an iPod that doesn’t use an Audible app, and won’t sync in any case.  Listening to a book on my smartphone means a heavy device that has too little battery.  I listen for hours at a time while I’m doing housework and stuff.

I still like the concept.  A book in French?  It’d help immensely with my language comprehension.  For someone trying to bring reading skills up to scratch (child or adult), it’s a great idea.  But since it works on Kindle Fires and the smartphone apps, I’m dubious that it will be used much except among the affluent, and maybe I’m wrong, but I’m going to have to assume that most adults who can afford to buy this stuff read just fine.

Has anyone else tried this and what do you think of it?

Tablets

I bought a tablet a couple of weeks ago.   I’d dithered for quite awhile because it was hard for me to justify the expense when I had a perfectly good laptop.

Tell ya what, though…

I love this thing.  I broke down and bought a Kindle Fire HD because I felt like tablets were really consumption devices and I am already rather far into the Amazon ecosphere. I’ve read three or four books on it since I got it, and that’s cool.  I watch Blackadder in the morning on Netflix when I get ready for work.  Yes, I use it to shop just like I used my computer, and when I’m screwing around on the Internet, I am more likely to use the tablet because it’s convenient.

What surprised me was that I actually use mine at work. I’m an independent consultant and I go to a lot of meetings.  I take a lot of meeting notes with my tablet.   I use it for spreadsheets to analyze data at these meetings.   I did not expect this to be a productivity machine.

I wouldn’t want it as my main computer by any means, even if I could limp through my job using it.  But my goodness do I love it on the go.

And yes, of course I am writing this article on my tablet.