Have you listened to a book lately?

I confess, seeing many here on LJ discuss their book lists has gotten me feeling a bit down. I was a voracious reader of fiction through college. Now my interests are primarily non-fiction (science, macroeconomics, spirituality, art, government, etc). While I can speed-read fiction, good non-fiction needs to be savoured. Enjoy well written sentences, re-read certain paragraphs, and look-up difficult words. Then I sit back, test and absorb the concepts before moving on. No doubt I only read a few pages each day. There are at least eight books around the house with bookmarks sticking out. During my daily train rides, I usually read any of about a dozen magazine subscriptions. When then do I squeeze in fiction and keep the rest of my life going?

So last week I joined an online service for audio books, Audible.com, and downloaded the near 16 hours unabridged rendition of Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code.

I see some obvious advantages and disadvantages. Considering printing presses were only invented in the late 16th century, and millenia old oral traditions, does listening make more sense? What say you?