A Love For Audiobooks
Where did it come from?
Audiobooks used to not be my thing. At all. Listening without a visual could be difficult. Back in the late 1900s and early 2000s, I would flip through radio stations to skip the talking. In the 21st century, I realized I could barely do a 15-minute podcast.
Maybe that was my younger brain, changing as I got older. At some point, I noticed that if an audiobook was non-fiction, I could listen to and enjoy it, especially if I was doing a long drive. My family and I listened to Becoming on a road trip, then A Promised Land on the next. For me, it helped that the Obamas recorded their own audiobooks. It was as though they were telling us their stories. The experience led me to listen to Dave Grohl’s memoir, The Storyteller. For a while, it was one or two audiobooks a year, typically non-fiction. When it wasn’t a memoir of someone I admired or was interested in, read by the author, it was something science-y, like Astrophysics for People in A Hurry.
I was still consuming my fiction in paper or ebook formats. Paper is still my preferred way to escape into stories.
Life gets busy, though, and sometimes an audiobook production is wonderfully, dramatically constructed. I started re-reading classics via audiobook. It began with Jane Austen. Then Mary Shelley. I could do what needed to be done while imagining those stories again. For newer stories, the deep appreciation of a good audiobook started with A Ruin of Kings, by Jenn Lyons. The audiobook is a Five-Star, audio production — I LOVED it. There are three different narrators performing the three different points of view, and I don’t know if they could have done a better job. They captured the voices of the characters perfectly. I actually looked up other audiobooks they’ve done and checked to see if they narrate other books in the A Chorus of Dragons series (which I still need to finish.)
Which brings me to now and the difficulties I’ve had lately. I’m doing some research and might write about said difficulties, but when it comes to reading, my ability to focus is fluctuating, and I LOVE reading. I’m looking at A Mirror Mended and I want to read it, but for some reason, I can’t bring myself to pick up the book. Scythe & Sparrow and Nettle & Bone are RIGHT THERE. Yet, I’m listening to Broken Throne. I’m wondering if it’s because I can do something else while listening (wash dishes, build Lego). Do I have to rewind the audio sometimes because I missed something important? Yes. Is that stopping me from continuing to listen? Nope.
When maybe 10 years ago, I couldn’t really absorb an audiobook (or podcast), now I do. I’m enjoying audiobooks in a way I didn’t think I could when I was younger. It amazes me that my options for escaping into stories has expanded.
If you’ve been having trouble reading, finding yourself in a slump, pick up an audiobook. Play it in the car on your commute. While you’re doing the dishes. While you’re relaxing on the back deck watching the sunset. If you’re like me and you previously couldn’t concentrate on an audiobook, don’t be afraid to try again. Brains change. I know mine has.
What I’ve Been Reading:
A Spindle Splintered, by Alix E. Harrow
Broken Throne, by Victoria Aveyard
The Philosophy Book
What I’ve Been Watching:
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
The Mandolorian and Grogu
Star Wars, Episodes 4, 5, 6, 1 & 2 (After watching The Mandolorian and Grogu, I decided to do a Star Wars re-watch for the shows and movies I’ve seen, and catch up for what I haven’t seen yet. I plan on using the view order found here: https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-movies-and-series-guide)
Josh Johnson: Symphony
Wanda Sykes: Legacy
What I’ve Been Listening To:
The Great Divide, Noah Kahan
Prizefighter, Mumford and Sons
Learn about the land on which we reside: