In defense of Audio Books

Written in response to another writer's rant against audiobooks:

I respect your right to harbor such firm beliefs regarding audio books, but I have to disagree vehemently with some of your ideas! Unlike you, I don't greatly enjoy e-reading. I have a Kindle Fire and a Paperwhite, and I don't love either one of them although I do use them frequently. I find bookmarking where I am, to go back and search for an earlier section if I need to check something, tedious and awkward, and I hate bookmarking in general on a reader (especially the thought that bookmarks can be "seen" by techies and monitored, along with my reading speed, and just how much of a story I read. Yuck). I have loved "paper" books since before I could read, and God willing, I will die with a book in my hands. And I firmly believe that any book worth rereading is worth owning in paper. 

Now I know you are an extremely busy and active woman who never lets dust settle under her feet, and your work-ethic is truly inspiring. I, too, am very busy, with a family whom I insist on feeding nutritiously, a full-time job, a dog who needs frequent walks, an exercise routine I try to stick to, and a writing career of my own I'm trying to establish, not to mention a house that is in such a state of disarray that I stubbornly refuse entry to visitors.  I NEVER have time to sit down and read. Were I to try it, I would fall asleep within minutes. I do keep a real book by my bed and stubbornly read a few lines and sometimes even a few pages every night, but my progress is slow and painful as I so frequently fall asleep. Therefore, I have come to adore audio books. I do not try to do anything complicated while listening (such as open mail, follow a recipe, or even search for something in my freezer), but while I'm doing the dishes, the laundry, ironing (yes, I'm one of the few women in North America who still irons), running, and especially walking my dog, audio books are a Godsend. Truly. The story is in no way diminished by my listening to it instead of reading, but on the contrary, I sometimes feel I remember more of a story I've listened to than I might otherwise. And I truly believe it sharpens the mind. I listened to Kate Atkinson's Life After Life (look it up if you haven't read it- it's amazing), and I thought for a bit that my brain might actually explode. But audio books come with a "back" icon that allows you to go back in increments of 15 or 30 seconds, and once you get the hang of things, it becomes second nature to pause and go back if you've missed something or are confused. Epistolary books are particularly challenging (I listened to the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society - another fantastic book), and again, I felt a real sense of pride when I had finished it, as if my brain had been stretched. I sometimes listen to "literature," and I sometimes listen to wonderfully trashy romance. The latter is particularly helpful when I go for a run - sometimes I even make it to the top of a hill without realizing I've been struggling - the story has kept me so enthralled that I've forgotten the pain. (and when I've listened to a particularly racy passage, I find that sensory memory brings the words back when I cross that specific  geographical location again!) I ran a marathon last spring (and I'm an old, slow runner) and by the second half, when runners are more spread out and it starts to get lonely and painful, I put on the Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling) mystery I was in the middle of, and it kept me sufficiently engrossed that I got to the finish line. Sometimes I hear a word I don't know, and I don't bother to bookmark the spot, and thus I lose an opportunity to refine my vocabulary, and occasionally I hear a grammatical mistake and then feel the urge to search on paper to see if the author or the narrator was responsible, but those events are rare and certainly not a reason to forswear the treasure trove of books I'd otherwise miss out on. There ARE times when a particular narrator is annoying, but for those rare occasions I've actually developed the trick of imagining the printed words in my head, and this somehow diminishes the annoyance.  I am now "reading" (consuming? imbibing?) so many books I would otherwise have missed out on, and I am so very, very grateful that such technology is at my disposal. 

Far more than the penny's worth of thought you probably wanted, but there you have it. 

We need to think beyond the Trump/Hitler comparisons

Listening to the news this morning about the appt of the new Labor Secretary and the new head of the Small Business Administration made me think that Trump is far more similar to Stalin than he is to Hitler. He is a master at playing people off against each other and convincing the man on the street that he is on his side when all the time he is only out for himself and his crony of the moment. This may persist for years. The Dems are all excited about how they'll sweep back into power after four terrible years, but I see the possibility of a long-term takeover. And look how the man on the street wept - SINCERELY - when Uncle Joe died in '53 and how he is still revered my millions today. 

Review of Be Frank With Me A Novel by Julia Claiborne Johnson

I received an ARC of Be Frank With Me about a week ago and have had little quality reading time available to me since then. The story caught hold of me, though, right from the beginning, and I have found myself thinking about Frank and Alice (the narrator) at odd times throughout the week, anxious and worried about them both and hoping desperately that all would be well. I fell asleep holding the book about three nights ago and was dreaming about Frank when my alarm went off early the next morning. I don't really see the comparisons to other literary figures that I've read in other comments. Instead I see tiny glimpses of my own children whom I love utterly and of many of the high school children I work with each day, so many of them striving valiantly not to get lost in a world they often find overwhelming. Frank was center stage, but Alice, Mr. Vargas, Xander, and of course, Mimi, were all so lovingly and heart wrenchingly well presented, and with an economy of words, the lives of a beautiful circle of souls was created. One favorite line when Alice had fallen running to Frank's side: "'For once, it's a good thing you were wearing shorts, Alice,' he said. 'Because if you'd had on long pants, they'd be torn all to pieces. That would have been bad. Pants don't heal the way skin does.'" Julia Clairborne Johnson stole more than a bit of my heart with this book.

Wow. Never thought the blog I "created" years ago and then never wrote a word for still existed. But I'm so glad that it does. Horatio's Dreams. I picked it because there is so very much in this world that is beyond our understanding. And no one knew that better than the Bard. So this is my tribute to him and to this mostly incomprehensible existence we muddle through. I want to figure out how to ask the right questions and maybe, just maybe, find some answers.