Audio Books

           Audio books are a great thing and I’m seeing a lot more authors putting them out. For those of us who have a long commute, audio books are a life saver! I’ve tried a couple, but for some reason, they just don’t work for me. You see, when I read, I hear the voices of the characters in my head. A western and I’m hearing Sam Elliot (LOVE his voice), a romance in the Highlands of Scotland, and I’m hearing Sean Connery (oh, be still my heart).

            So what do I do in my car if I don’t listen to audio books? Well, my commute to and from work isn’t really that long and seriously, it’s where I do my best thinking and yes, I am guilty of coming up with some great snippets of dialogue or description for my latest WIP and repeating it over and over in my head with the hopes I’ll remember it when I get to my destination and can write it down….this doesn’t always work, as you can imagine. Once upon a time, I had a little handheld recorder and I tried using that, but well….it didn’t work so great for me…..there were a lot of long pauses in between short bursts of my voice and quite a few ‘ums’ thrown in, which doesn’t happen when I’m speaking normally. The other thing? Back ground noises—the other cars on the road and the radio, but worse of all? My voice! I sounded like Mickey Mouse on helium!

            What else do I do in my car on my commute? Should I admit this? Okay, I’ll admit it…..I sing! Yes, sing!  Generally at the top of my lungs and most certainly off key despite singing in my high school choir many, many, MANY years ago. I recently purchased Barbra Streisand’s Broadway CD (LOVE her!) and you can bet I’m toolin’ down the highway just singing away!

            And I might, if it’s a really good song, car dance (tell the truth now, when you hear Footloose or Walking on Sunshine or my new favorite Happy come on the radio, can you resist bustin’ a move?). Have I been caught doing this car dance? Oh yes. Too many times to count. Once by my DH, who just happened to be driving behind me. Did he laugh? Oh, you bet! But I couldn’t help myself. It was a great song!

            Sorry. I digressed once again. Back to my original subject: Audio books…..do you listen? Or would you rather read the stories yourself and hear the voices in your head?

As always, happy reading (or listening).

Marie