Intimate

 “Being read to is a really intimate thing: a human connection at a time when a lot of people are feeling isolated.” (Duncan Honeyman)

The way I do pleasure reading has changed a lot over the years.  From my childhood to young adulthood, I read hardback and paperback books (from a variety of authors) as well as all kinds of magazines. In my thirties and beyond, audiobooks came into use for me. I learned I enjoyed this alternate form of reading.

I could get through a book much faster by listening to it while I was being entertained by some of the best narrators available. With the right reader your mind could take you to different places in time that it would never be possible to visit. Listening to an audiobook could help you multitask as you exercised, drove your car, or add excitement (and reading time) to any mundane chore all by just listening.  

Over the years, audiobooks have also gone through a variety of appearance changes. The audiobook craze began with the tape cassette audiobook. That was eventually phased out to the compact disc audiobook. The reinvention of this wonderful invention is the audiobook app on your smart phone. I use the free OverDrive app (that only requires a library card number)

I love using Over Drive.  It keeps me safe when I’m speeding down a major freeway (by not having to change discs to continue a story when I’m also trying to maneuver a car). It’s easy to use as I look and explore for my favorite and new authors to enjoy.

Daniel Willingham said, “The point of reading is to appreciate the narrative, appreciate the beauty of the language, and the particulars of how you got to that point of appreciation really doesn’t matter so much.”  If reading is not something you have time to do, or enjoying doing (for whatever reason), it is never too late to allow your ears to read for you. I think you’ll be surprised just how much you’ll enjoy it. (If you need author suggestions, let me know.)