Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for October 02, 2024

It took a long time, but GOAT STRIKES AGAIN!

Goat must be a Librarian! Or my English Teacher…

Did Goat borrow Rat’s baseball bat?

It’s called being a voracious reader. So far this year I’ve read 110 books. Full length novels or nonfiction books. That’s considerably lower than pre-pandemic. In those days I suffered from terrible insomnia and only slept 4-5 hrs a night, max. The pandemic killed my job but I learned to sleep again, so even though I have a lot more free time I sleep more and read less.

I call BS pig.

Meanwhile, Rat is visiting Dark Side of the Horse, sans bat.

Good work, Goat.

Don’t see why it isn’t. It’s the same information and in audio book form it’s delivered in a way that I can retain easier.

Text-based books (paper or digital) are best for using your imagination. The tools (search, dictionary, etc.) that come with e-readers make them a better choice than paper, IMHO. Audiobooks are best for reading in bed — no light to keep you up. Some of the narrators are great — real performers. That makes audiobooks a collaborative art form, like movies.

I had the captioning on on a TV show so I wouldn’t mistake certain words. This toon brings to an audio book with closed captioning, which would basically be…a book

Goat finally channeled Rat! Good show!

Pig gets it right!

Print is dead.

Goat is jealous that there aren’t in Pearls Before Swine audio books.

The satisfaction of being able to read printed copy of a book or magazine is hugely satisfying, in a way that I cannot see how looking at a screen could ever be.How does a person know, or find a book that one once read, a book that was printed long before the ‘electronic version’ was even thought of.The books I read were written and published by authors long dead, or haven’t written in years, OR, like some, John Grisham comes to mind, have found that repetition, with only slight changes in plot, or storyline, will still sell. Tom Clancy was another whose later writings were basically the same, with only the “names changed to protect the innocent”.

Goat is right; definitely does not count.

If my eyes get much worse I’m going to have to go with audio books.

Some people hav no time to read, so audio books in the car on commute is the only way they can get to know about them!

Book him!

I wonder how a scenario like Fahrenheit 451 would play in this with books on tape.

No matter the pastime, someone, somewhere, will be a snob over it.

I love my audible while driving

One advantage of printed books over audiobooks is: when you fall asleep, at least you know where you last part you read is. If you fall asleep while you listen to an audio book, you could be chapters and chapters away from what you last remember.

I can’t believe that Rat donated his bat to Goat?

I’d expect this type of behavior from Rat but not Goat

Wow! Violence from Goat. I always thought he was the calm, rational, pensive type.

This time me is with Goat. Goat is 100% correct about it.

That’s like saying you read a book by watching the movie! No, you did not! You were passive, you did not participate, you made no effort. The only person reading here is the narrator! Listening is NOT reading!

It does count goat. Since my eyesight has deteriorated, I can’t read books like I used too. I listen to audio books on the way to work and on the way home.

Goat chose violence! Goat chose violence! Wow!

is that Rat’s bat? just curious…

What if, when you read a book, you read it out loud in your head? Some people say that indicates a poor reader, others say that it greatly adds to the experience.

I’m quite a bit older than Stephan Pastis, and I immediately thought, “Tape?” Books on tape haven’t been a thing for what, a couple of decades? I’m sure someone still has a cassette player for their books, but in the USA it can’t be many.

I wonder if Bob’s ear is bleeding?

Though nothing will ever take the place of reading a physical book, open your mind (and ears) to all the wonderful books on audio out there. I’m a librarian, and my opinion has always been – books in any form – THEY’RE ALL GOOD! And, as long as you’re listening to an unabridged audiobook – why shouldn’t it “count”? My husband and I commute together, and we’re listening to the Orphan X series by Greg Hurwitz. We cringe, gasp, and laugh together at Evan Smoak’s exploits. There’s something very special about this shared experience. It would not be the same if we had to take turns reading the book.

downsized the house, gave away the books

Books on tape? Pfft! Where’s the fun in that?

30 years ago I had a long road trip ahead of me, by myself, and a friend recommended books on tape. I first reaction was “how lame,” but I tried it. I was amazed at how time seemed to fly and the trip was way less boring (across Kansas even). Now I’m hooked.

Give him a break, Goat! (Oops! Sorry!) He’s listening to books…on cassette tape! He’s still charmingly retro!

morning commute? i thought we all telework

An audiobook is no substitute for the real thing.

Goat is the one with the bat and yet he???

Goat went a little batty here.

So Goat is no better than Jeff the Cyclist when it comes to elitism. Who knew?

I have almost 1500 physical books, and I can’t BELIEVE that any sane person opposes audio books or Kindle. They’re great. So are paper books.

Three ways to do this: reading, reading out loud to someone, and listening. These are all different forms. Not a neurologist, but my experience is that these each engage different regions of the brain. Someone reading braille might get still another experience. None of these are objectively best or worst. They are different.

If someone asks you if you read a book and you say yes, that’s gonna be about the end of it. No one knows how or much cares. It’s not like they’re going to hit you with the ‘God knows’ thing.

Listening to a book takes five times as long as reading it – BORING!

Someone needs to get Neighbor Bob to read Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”, and not on tape, but actually read it.

even goat can get violent. :j

The thing is LISTENING to a story being told is not actually READING the story. Just not the same. If the grid ever goes down I will be thankful for my very large stash of hard copy books. Ah, “time enough at last”.

I definitely prefer bound books to E-books. However, I think audio books are a wonderful option that I can see myself using as I and my eyes get older.

What if the author never read the book, such as, “The Art of the Deal?”