Between the NY Times Book review and blogs I enjoy reading regularly, I discover wonderful books that I want to get lost in. But I have a big problem: I have very little time for reading.
I have never been one who thought about listening to books, because I love to really read. But last summer my friend Janee Trasler told me about audible.com and it sounded enticing and like a great way to read books I can't fit into my schedule. I joined up right away, downloaded a good number of books and then proceeded to get sidetracked and forget all about them. Honestly, I think it did have something to do with the fact that I ALWAYS fell asleep everytime I tried to listen to Steve Martin read his own book, SHOPGIRL. Why is it that someone I never get tired of watching in a movie or seeing on TV, can lull me off to sleep with his reading voice? Sadly, I watched the movie, instead, and it made me realize that sometimes you can't listen to a book--you have to read it--or settle for the film.
But today I visited the audible site again, inspired by an offer to give me more credits, if I just used some of the ones I still haven't used. So off I went to download some more titles--this time a whole armload of books. I got everything from a three part bio of Charlie Chaplin to a two part bio of Dorothy Parker, plus a few YA's.
One of my downloads was Calvin Trillin's ABOUT ALICE, read by Mr. Trillin himself. It is a quick listen, and a loving portrait of a beloved wife. AND, best of all--I stayed awake! It successfully captured my mind while I worked on my artwork. I thought: so maybe if I listen to the right things I won't start sleeping.
In all fairness, Steve Martin isn't the only voice that makes me nod off. A couple of on-line courses I have tried to follow on lynda.com have done the same thing to me. And certain old boyfriends used to. And sometimes my husband still does. Sorry, Honey. Hey--maybe it is a male voice thing....
Now on to the remaining 20 books....
I wonder how many of them are read by women?
Oh, you shouldn't have told me that! You should have not! Now, i'm off to download more books.
Posted by: Don | March 28, 2007 at 11:03 PM
I've been hooked on Audible.com for a while (though my rate of consumption varies according to how much I'm exercising in a given period, because I listen mostly when I'm out walking). I find that listening instead of reading polarizes things for me. Some books I can't stand, and have to stop listening early, though I might have given them more of a chance in print. By contrast, books I love I really love, because I get into them so deeply (most recently Life As We Knew It, which literally made hungry just from listening).
Posted by: Jen Robinson | March 29, 2007 at 01:14 AM