Take audiobooks as an example. To rely solely on audiobooks as a means of consuming either fiction or nonfiction is increasingly an unsatisfying and potentially harmful strategy for people who want to educate themselves. (That word "consuming" is unfortunate, but right now I'm tired, it's past my bedtime, and I can't think of a better word...) I'm not too much of a fan of Google's generative AI (or anyone else's generative AI, for that matter), but when just now I typed "shortcomings 'audiobook industry' 'lack of variety'" into Google Search, I got a highly satisfying summary of some suspicions which have been growing in my mind recently. The Google AI overview of my search results says "The audiobook industry faces a lack of variety due to publishers focusing mainly on bestsellers and popular genres, leaving niche subjects, indie authors, and translated works underrepresented. Production costs also limit smaller books from getting audio versions..." I would also say that an increasing number of nonfiction audiobooks in the business genre are turning out to be subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) cheerleading pieces designed to prop up a harmful status quo. There seems to be a dearth of voices questioning that status quo.
So, because there are writers who are not well-known, yet whose writing interests me, and these writers are not part of the audiobook market, I'm switching back to running my eyes over a set of printed pages instead of just letting the sounds of spoken words hit my eardrums. I also understand that making the switch will do my brain some good. Now if only I can find the time...
