Any occasional listener to audio books should be familiar with this phrase; those of us fully enthralled with this media avoid any examples not read by the author.

I don't listen to audiobooks to become enlightened in the car on the way to work, nor do I listen to them because listening is 'easier' than reading. I listen to this stuff because I'm in love with the interaction between the author and the word. There's a tenderness there that a hired voice can't possibly have, an intimacy with the material and its linguistic rhythms; a sonic interpretation of a written interpretation of thought. I view these albums as a cast recording of sorts, a final sendoff to the work that proves the trial was worth it.

I see them as a thank you to the die hard fans, to the elite. If an author is in touch with his writing and smart enough to pull off an effective reading they deserve to be listened to. Maybe the book's good, maybe it's not, but an intriguing voice can raise a forgettable book to a pleasant piece of theatre; a truly wonderful book can become an heirloom, passed down for generations.

Recommended Authors

/msg me with suggestions

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