I remember being in my twenties, and a colleague of mine said at lunch one day that she was in a “non-fiction book club” to which another co-worker responded, “What do you guys talk about–whether or not it’s true?”
Back then, I primarily read fiction, so I laughed. Now I look back at the last five years, and I probably consume something like 2 or 3 non-fiction books a month. Tonight at a local gathering, I met a member of my obscure tribe and he stated he reads 40 books a year, all non-fiction, all on audiobook. So I had to ask, “what speed?” because clearly you can’t get through all that material at just 1x. He said, “2x or 3x.”
My mind was blown. I listen at podcasts at 1.5x (unless they’re British or UK folks because they speak too fast for me to understand unless they are at 1x). But I always listen to audiobooks at 1.25x to preserve the sound quality of the narrator’s voices.
I have another friend who listens to books at 2x speed as well. Between her and this evening’s convo, they’ve got me wondering if I could get over my hangup about the narrator’s voice at 2x speed. Afterall, maybe since it is not like a fiction work where I am really getting into the voice actor’s delivery I will be able to tune out the Minnie Mouse quality of the voice at high speeds.
The next question would be whether not I could even comprehend enough of the material at 2x speed. Perhaps I will test out some material at 1.5x speed this week for the non-fiction books and see how it goes. Wish me luck!
Julia M. Wei 