I wish I'd known this time last year of the wonderful invention that is Audible. Kate told me about it recently after hearing of its advantages on one of the many podcasts she listens to as she walks her dog. Audible is basically an online store that lets you subscribe to buy audio books, and it is a wonderful, exciting find!
It's 'reading' for when you can't actually read. Such as when you are driving (lord knows I've tried), vomiting, in labour, or simply when you have your hands full of cake, which I know is a problem we all face.
Audible's audio books aren't just a substitute for actual books, though. The pleasure of being read to is one that is rich and valuable in itself, and regrettably rare when you are an adult. I find nothing more soothing than being read to, although I can't remember the last time someone in my actual life did this for me. Just saying, the position is open for volunteers!
I'm clearly an aurally-oriented person as even in general life I am very sensitive to people's tones of voices and accents, for example. My first download from Audible was over 40 hours worth of Charles Dickens' Our Mutual Friend (unabridged), read by a professional voice actor which a gloriously pommy English accent. Sometimes I love listening to it so much that it lulls me into some kind of reverie and when I emerge I realise I've missed two chapters of plot happenings. In the case of Our Mutual Friend this is quite problematic as it is a book I have been trying to get through for about five years, to no avail. I thought listening to it in audio form was the answer, but it seems I'm doomed never to find out what's really hiding in Harmon's dust heaps.
Audible is a subsidiary of Amazon, so it is no surprise that the breadth of its offerings is quite impressive. According to Wikipedia, Audible holds over 100,000 titles, which is a hell of a hours spent in boring car trips that can now be spent productively. And it's not just the classics that are catered for. You can get all the latest bestsellers, including The Hunger Games, which all the school children are talking about. Kate's first purchase was Tina Fey's autobiography, Bossypants, read by none other than Tina Fey herself, which is reason enough to buy it in my opinion. I don't know how often authors narrate their own work, but I like it. I've recently downloaded Toni Morrison's Beloved, even though I've already read it, just because Toni Morrison has narrated it herself. I feel there must be something extra to get from a story when it is read by the person who dreamed its rhythms, and I can't wait to listen to it.
Audible have a number of very attractive membership plans (and no, I'm not being paid to say this), and you can sign up to a special free trial as a new subscriber, after which they offer you three months at half price, which is the deal I am currently taking advantage of.
So, get ye to Audible and download yourself a tome for your next road trip, I say.
And to finish, here is a very interesting article I recently read in the New York Times about the pleasures and sorrows of reading in the car. Enjoy!
