Listen Up: Reading for a Lifetime

On By Margie.MercIn Book Review, Communication, PostADay2011, Psychology

I adore books. I love the stories within and the travels they take me on. I appreciate authors. They write and hand off the story to a willing audience. I receive and am delivered to another place and time.

audiobooks at my libraryIn the past two month I’ve read the following books:

  • The Sweet Potato Queens by Jill Conner Browne
  • The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman
  • Room by Emma Donoghue
  • Not My Daughter by Barbara Delinsky
  • Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
  • The 6th Man by David Balduci
  • One Amazing Thing by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
  • The Unlikely Disciple: A sinner’s semester at America’s holiest university by Kevin Roose

Ok, in actuality, I listened to most of them on cd while I drove to work, cleaned my house, took walks or worked out. I was handed The Unlikely Disciple in paperback format and it took forever to read. I don’t have time to sit still.

But while I’m in motion – oh my, let me have my way with them.

In a recent blog post titled “Audio books are not cheating” the author contents that by the time she has the freedom to relax and read, it’s the end of the day and she’s exhausted. I agree.

What I most love about audio books is that I can’t cheat. If I’m reading a book and the author expounds on the drapery, gets too deep into philosophy or the scene is too creepy, I usually skim the page and get to a new section with more dialogue and less description.

When listening to an audio book, I never fast forward because I could miss something important and regret it and then have to backtrack. I’ve found that I remember an audio book with a clarity and awareness that I don’t have with a book. I welcome stop signs, red lights and going slow so I can hear just one more chapter or tale.

When I check out audio books from the library, I often check out 4-5 books just in case I don’t like the 1) bo0k, 2) reader’s voice 3) the cds have scratches and tend to skip and 4) in case I’ve already heard it before.

So, that’s my story – and I’m sticking to it!

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12 thoughts on “Listen Up: Reading for a Lifetime”

  1. That’s wonderful, how many books you’ve ‘consumed’.. To tell you the truth, I’ve never tried audio-book! I should, and I think I will … just for the sake of having tried. I have all the time I could wish for, for reading and basically I do it at night before falling asleep.

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  2. Wow, I’m impressed! I was just thinking in two months, I read three books and I felt so good ’cause I haven’t been able to read as much as I used to since I started posting everyday. Then I noticed that these were audiobooks. I guess if you can get that much listening done, you’re on to something there. Good for you!

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  3. mkmercurio

    Hi Rebekah – Audiobooks don’t work for some people but of the way they learn but for me — I hear and best of all, I remember. In fact, I remember books that I read years ago because I was so tuned in at the time!

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  4. mkmercurio

    I am on to something! I’ve recently begun downloading audiobooks from the library right to my computer. I’m connected … and in traffic at the same time!

    Like

  10. mkmercurio

    Thanks! I read State of Wonder but want to suggest a few of the others for my bookgroup.
    I just finished One Amazing Thing and Let the Great World Spin. I adored “The Red Garden” by Alice Hoffman too!
    What about you?

    Like

  11. Pingback: Libraries, Lessons and Learning | Inside Out Cafe

  12. Pingback: Read with me | Marge Katherine

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