26 May 2009--Audiobooks

I love the idea of listening to a book while driving to work. I still remember the wonder I had the first time I listened to an audio book on my over-an-hour commute to work. It was the BBC recording of the Chronicles of Narnia. I thought that the audio book would be distracting or that I would zone out and miss an important plot piece, or dialogue, almost when I skim a page while reading a book, and would need to reread the passage. Ah, but all my fears were needless, considering that I felt like I was watching a movie, but not actually seeing what it was. Enchanted with the experience, I proceeded to listen to finish the Chronicles of Narnia, and graduated to Harry Potter's adventures, and eventually branched out to more voluminous works, such as Jean Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear series, Pillars of the Earth, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Those books, and countless others, have helped me overcome the drudgery of a long commute or traffic, and at times have made me want to get in my car and create errands for myself so that I'm able to "read" just a little bit more.
Of course, through this, I have discovered that books that were otherwise unreadable in print, I can tolerate, and even grow to love, while listening to it as an audio book. For example, Eragon, The Thirteenth Tale and The Fountainhead are all great books that I am proud to have read, but I would never have finished them if it weren't for audio books.
I guess I've been thinking about my audio book discovery since it was around this time two years ago when I pushed The Magician's Nephew into my car's CD player and was introduced to a whole new dimension of reading. And maybe it's because I've really enjoyed my last few "reads". Either way, I've renewed my love for audio books, and am conscious about the types of books that I will choose, namely, that I need to strengthen my nonfiction base. I really enjoyed Eat Pray Love, as an audio book, and I think I'll be able to read more nonfiction books this way rather than the traditional paperback or hardcover. I'm happy to say that I'm currently listening to In Defense of Food (and enjoying it immensely!) and hope to enjoy more nonfiction books this way. I really liked reading Gladwell's Blink, and I wonder now if he has any of his other books on CD.
Though I will never get over the idea that I am reading a book while driving, the one thing I miss out on is the tactile sensation of reading: the textures of the pages and cover, the smell of the paper, and the unconscious indicator of the story's pace as the pages in my right hand slowly thin out. So, I will never replace traditional books with their convenience counterparts of audio books or ebooks, but they definitely have their place/role in my life.