Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Any interest?
At a typical reading speed of 110WPM, I don't have the patience for audio books, so they're not on my radar.
Also, given the word count, this would be almost 100 hours of reading. And I have no idea how to handle the diagrams and equations which in many cases are integral to the book.
Now it is possible to do this without a publisher just like the book was done without one.
I don't have the voice, nor the editing skills for this, but I'd support the project.

My personal opinion...being almost done with the book is that it wouldn't be a good idea. Off the top of my head:
The book isn't necessarily an easy read. For example, I found myself rereading some section, particularly the systems section as I have limited experience with stuff like that. That would be difficult to do with an audio book.
Second, I look at this as more of a reference book (kind of anyways), therefore, I plan to go back to reread sections, take notes, etc. Again, that would also be hard with an audiobook.
I would be surprised if there was a market for an audiobook....again, that is just my own personal opinion.
By the way...the book is fantastic! I plan to get to a review soon....

That's kinda what I thought/think. It's more of a textbook than a biography. A biography/story would probably work as an audiobook because it's linear. This book is highly nonlinear. I even committed some editorial anathema and referenced future sections in some parts of the book.
I'm very much looking forward to the review. I'll link to your blog if you write it there. Also amazon reviews make me especially happy *hint hint*

100 hours!
I think your math is off... (for shame, Jacob!)
I listened to the unabridged Le Mis in 9 hours!
How long is this book, Tolstoy?
Seriously, I'd much prefer an audio book.

(long commute)
Reconsider. As many lecture series as there are

on tape, this could easily be converted into one.

You've got plenty of experience with that too,

right, Jacob?

I think an audio book/ lecture would have more

staying power and actually reach a wider audience, too, Jacob.
A CD/ audio file is much easier to pass around (and actually get someone to listen to) than to try to get someone to read a book.

For this subject material, I think the superior format would be a podcast--Q&As, an hourly focus on this aspect or that of ERE, etc. It would be a valuable thing unto itself, as well as an incidental marketing tool for the book.
The audiobook would be best conserved for your Suze Ormanification book--the mass paperback, pre-digested, 140-sparse-page volume--IMO.

@firefighter - For shame, indeed an error! It's more like 15 hours.
I think a lecture series is a great idea and an interesting way of formatting it. I got some experience in giving talks (done a few dozens during my career). The main problem is that it requires some practice before things start flowing well, so I can't just sit down and record it.
I also think the lecture format would work for my slightly alien accent as opposed to the audio book. There's a distinct difference between lecturing and reading aloud.

Jacob is you would like a professional reader/voice specialist to do this my younger brother does this for a living. He also charges VERY competitive prices and has a professional recording studio. Here is his website if you want to hear some samples and get in contact:
http://www.jimmyvoiceover.com/
Love the book by the way! On my way to ERE

This would have to be one of the most difficult books to smoothly read allowed. Just for kicks, I tried to read allowed the first paragraph in the About the book section. Even discounting the missing word in the second sentence, it was pretty challenging. Jacob says in the second paragraph that he's written the book as a textbook and I agree with him; it definitely reads as a textbook.

@Jacob the accent will just make you sound more professorial.

Ehh, what missing word is that?

"Like most philosophical books, it's voluminous compared to its content because much of *it* is dedicated ..."
wow, did I just spell aloud, allowed?

I'd be interested in recording this myself. I think with small modifications the lack of graphs could be compensated for, and it would be a boon to the many audiobook listeners out there.

Philip Frey wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 10, 2018 9:49 am

I'd be interested in recording this myself. I think with small modifications the lack of graphs could be compensated for, and it would be a boon to the many audiobook listeners out there.

Sorry, Off-Topic: Philip, a question / request for your podcast: Could you talk about the influence of structure on your days? I understood that having no structure/job made you kind of lose focus for other things to. Maybe you can find someone who has some deeper knowledge of this (even if you want to reduce the number of interviews you are doing). I'm very interested in this, especially on the psychological side: Effects on how you felt, your discipline / focus / ... How are you planning for structure over the next few years? What about the time you will be FI? Will you keep working some kind of job? Do you feel better working a few hours than not at all, or is it a purely productivity-improving thing? I may have missed a few of those points as I listened to your podcast doing something else.

Thanks for PN!

@PF - I'm not so convinced it could be done. I'm not an audiobook listener, but how many math audiobooks are there at the college level? (I'm particularly concerned about chapter 6). The other problem are the internal reference style. The book was meant as a textbook. Audiobooks seem better for narratives.

It would take some editorial work for sure. Less essential internal references would have to be removed, and important ones expanded out to be a short summary of the idea (some repetition is not an issue an audiobook, in fact it aids comprehension because people listen in a less focused state). It's been a while since I've read the book and I've only browsed through it quickly to answer this question, but it seems to me that the graphs and the math could be completely converted into a verbal explanation without losing the essence.

It's not something where you turn a microphone on and read it out loud, but it could be done.

Joshua Sheets took the smart approach and read out the part that lends itself best to the audio format, good move.

At the moment this is taking your search engine traffic: https://www.audible.com/pd/Self-Develop ... B0147LK4GM

I would appreciate the audiobook version of ERE book. I am an audiobook listener as it enables to dramatically raise the value of time which is otherwise almost lost such as commuting and walking. I have not read the book yet (exactly because there is no audiobook available) hence would not say definitively, but generally popular science level books read are fine in audio versions - such as A Brief History of Time, Selfish Gene, Sapiens, and so do actionable life philosophy books such as Mediations and 7 Habits etc. I have not tried listening to a math textbook the same way, but is the book that mathematical? The math behind ERE is pretty simple.

In my personal experience, the only audio books that I would listen to are fiction/sci-fi. Non-fiction audio books wouldn't work for me. When I'm reading material that requires logical synthesis, I need to pause and think about what I just read. I also double back and reread passages to be sure I understood the author correctly or to make notes. I don't see this process being easier with an audio book that you have to continually pause or rewind.

I'd rather listen to a lecture or a Q/A done by Jacob than read ERE in audio format - a book that requires rumination and not just a speed listen on audio. Just my 2 cents. My only counter argument is that users who don't like to read would be exposed to ERE and make it to this website and read Jacob's numerous blog posts and the content he has created on his forum; perhaps he would increase his audience and get the ERE message to a wider audience.

I think the ERE book is too deep and too complex for a narrative style. It's different from the normal "popular science" book in which everything turns into a narrative and an interview: "After my flight landed in JFK, I marveled at the ... coffee in the airport ... blabla... after ... I walked into the Hayden Plane'arium to meet up with Neil deGrasse Tyson because I wanted to ask him about space. "So what about space?", I asked him." That, I agree, would work in a set of headphones or around the campfire.

But try having someone read the following excerpt from the ERE book aloud to you to test your listening comprehension.

STOP READING NOW AND GO FIND SOMEONE TO READ IT ALOUD FOR YOU IN THEIR BEST AUDIOBOOK VOICE.

ERE book wrote:It’s obviously more expensive, both in time and money, for Person A and Person B to gain the required amount of knowledge in both fields X and Y than it is if A were to concentrate on X while B were to concentrate on Y. In this way, both can gain the same depth of knowledge in half of the fields, in half the time. Alternatively, they can get twice as much knowledge in the same field in the same time. It follows that the more a field is further split up into subfields, the less expensive this knowledge gets. These cost savings can be used to reach even deeper levels of competence (see this figure).

I'm thinking many listeners will fail miserably. I would too. The ERE book is densely concentrated complex information. It's written in layers so it's meant to be read more than once either by reference or by re-reading.