That 1952 Tolkien recording shows why audiobooks feel wrong to me
So I finally listened to that half-hour recording of Tolkien reading The Hobbit from 1952, and... it kind of proves my point about audiobooks? Don't get me wrong - hearing the actual author read his own work is incredible from a historical perspective. But his pacing is so deliberate, almost ponderous. Every word gets the same careful weight. Which makes sense - he's performing for a microphone in the early 50s, probably worried about clarity. But it's the opposite of how I experience books in my head. When I read, some paragraphs fly by in seconds while others take minutes because I'm unpacking every detail. With audio, you're locked into someone else's rhythm. Even Tolkien's. The real value here is hearing how he pronounced all those names - that's canon in a way nothing else can be. But for actual story consumption? Give me the page. At least then I can reread the description of Bag End three times without feeling weird about it.