I am not a fan of books on tape. I have tried a few, and I don’t like them. So much is lost from the printed page to the recorded story. I have friends who love audio books because they can listen to them while driving. These busy people have no other time to actually read the book, so audio books satisfy them. I don’t agree with that logic, but I can understand that and respect their opinion. However, on a recent flight to New York, I encountered something that made no sense to me at all.

ID 14084331 © Ensuper | Dreamstime.com

My seatmate was listening to a book on tape while reading a magazine! Eliminating some of your questions right off the bat — I know it was an audio book because I could hear it through his crummy headphones. I also know he was reading the magazine (as opposed to just thumbing through) because his head kept moving, following the text. First, I don’t understand listening to a book on tape when he could have easily read during the flight. I can even get by that, since he might have started the audio book earlier and really wanted to finish it. Multi-tasking by reading the magazine while listening was just ridiculous (unless he was reading Global Traveler magazine, which I wouldn’t condemn under any circumstance).

Maybe this guy utilized his brain more than I ever could. I wouldn’t be able to properly comprehend either the audio book or the magazine. Listening to music while reading is one thing. Scanning an article mindlessly is one thing. Reading an article, listening to an audio book and fully understanding and following both is out of the question.

After several minutes of contemplating this absurdity, I shifted my attention to my screen and settled in to watch episodes of Cash Cab and Mythbusters. I barely even noticed when he ate his in-flight snack without skipping a beat on either of his other activities. I probably would have forgotten the whole thing, but he pushed me over the edge while we were waiting to disembark.

He added texting to his repertoire. This wasn’t just a quick text either. It was a continual stream of texts — an actual conversation of sorts. Now this guy was reading, listening and carrying on at least one active conversation. Fortunately, the plane emptied quickly and I left my seatmate behind, still seemingly engrossed in his trifecta of activities.

-John Wroblewski