Audio Books

When my sister and I were little, my mother used to read us books almost every night.  I especially loved it when she acted out all the parts.  She made up a song for “The Best Nest” that still haunts me, lo these many years later.

That’s probably one reason I love audio books so much.  It takes me back to when I was a little girl and my mom was reading (or singing) to us before bedtime.

I didn’t start listening to audio books until after I read Stephen King’s “On Writing”.  He said that many of the books he read each year were audio books and I thought – “Hey!  That’s a good idea.”  I started checking them out of the library, and I was hooked.  Now, between my Audible account and other direct download sources, my iPod is jammed packed full of audio goodness.

There are several other reasons why I think audio books are wonderful.  For one thing, listening to them means that you can read while you are doing other things.  With the way my life goes, that is a huge plus.  In fact, I have to say that most of my reading is done with audio books these days.  I listen to them in the car, at home, even at work, if the task permits.

Another big advantage of audio books for me is that they force you to listen to every word.  When I read, I tend to skim in certain passages.  You don’t skim an audio book.  I’ve listened to books that I had already read, and realized I’d missed a great deal just because I was reading the paper book too quickly.

As a writer, listening to audio books is good training for dialogue and pacing – the pop and snap of a story.  We are told to read our books out loud as we are writing them for just such a reason.  Listening gives you the music that is inside a book.

In other words, I love me my audio books.  If you’ve never listened to one, why not turn off the radio or the television and give it a try?

And if you see me wearing my headphones (earbuds hurt my ears), apparently laughing or crying for no good reason, you’ll know what I’m doing.  I’m reading a book!