✨ Welcome back to another week of LTB! ✨
Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and co-hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits and myself! In this discussion meme, participants get to talk about certain topics, share opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! Learn more about LTB, past topics and future topics HERE.
This week’s topic is:
Immersive Reading
Suggested by: Leslie @ Books Are the New Black
Prompts: Immersive reading is when you simultaneously listen to an audiobook while reading the physical or digital book. Do you do any immersive reading? Do you prefer it or is it not for you? Do you think it’s a good way to get everything from a book? Is there a genre that is better to do this with? What are your recommendations for immersive reading?
Do you do any immersive reading? Do you prefer it or is it not for you?
In the last few years, immersive reading has become a massive part of how I consume my stories. Immersive reading is actually how I began my audiobook journey because I tend to struggle with listening to audiobooks on their own without having something for my eyeballs to track, lol. 👀 This is entirely because my mind so easily drifts off into the stratosphere, and before I know it, I’ve completely lost track of where I am in the book or what’s even going on anymore. This is where having a physical or digital copy to following along with helps immensely.
I definitely prefer to do the immersive reading experience if I can get my hands on the audiobook, as I’m more likely to own the physical or digital book already. I feel like I tend to read faster if I’m following along with an audiobook because of how immersed I become in a story—this is particularly the case when the narrator or cast does a fantastic job of bringing the story to life. I think immersive reading is also a great way to re-experience books that you’ve already read. I’ve done a few immersive re-reads and the audiobooks just added that extra special something to the story, especially if they’re done really well! It honestly made me love the stories even more the second (and even third) time around.
Do you think it’s a good way to get everything from a book?
I don’t know if it’s necessarily a good way to get everything but I do think it’s a good way to get more from a book. I think in a way it does feel more complete sometimes when you do the immersive read—it just feels like there’s more to the story, if that makes sense?
It’s also great for understanding (mostly) correct pronunciations or if there are portions in a different language (even made up ones), it’s nice to hear it be read out because I’m either skipping over it as I read or totally frankenstein-ing the language in an attempt to read it, haha (does anyone else also attempt to read other languages that are phonetically spelled out or is that just a weirdo me thing?). 😂
Is there a genre that is better to do this with?
There are three genres that I tend to immersive read with: fantasy/sci-fi, literary fiction, and non-fiction. I find that I gravitate towards immersive reading with these genres because they’re the ones with the books that intimidate me the most—and I don’t necessarily mean that in a negative way. 😂 It could be that the book is intimidating because it’s chonky AF, but sometimes it’s also because I’m unsure about the writing style or because I don’t tend to read non-fiction often and have the most trouble with focusing and not getting bored while reading it.
Having the audiobook accompany me as I start a new book often helps to get the ball rolling, and more often than not, it kicks the story off on a high-note. I don’t know what or why it is that having the audiobook makes it easier to sink into a story, but it just works for me! There have even been times when I struggled to get into a book and decided to buy the audio to help me keep going, and it has often worked out well and has even saved reads from being DNFs or rated much lower.
What are your recommendations for immersive reading?
This isn’t a complete list—at least for the fiction reads—but these are some of the books that I’ve done immersive reads (and re-reads) with and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend!
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Don’t forget to check out the other bloggers who joined the discussion this week! 👇🏽
Leslie @ Books Are the New Black
Yolanda @ Past Midnight
Elle @ Unwrapping Words
Kyles @ Bookish Me
Raji @ Worlds Unlike Our Own
Abyssal Librarian
Lin @ Lin’s Perspective
If I’ve missed your post this week, don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments, and I’ll add you to this week’s list of community posts ASAP!
Have you tried immersive reading? Did you enjoy it or was it not for you? What books do you find work best for immersive reading? What are some of your favourites to recommend?
dinipandareads 