So many books, so little time

I mentioned earlier that I was listening to Ruth Reichl’s Garlic and Sapphires. I really enjoyed it. The person reading the book, Bernadette Dunne, does a great job of changing voice and inflection to capture the personalities of different characters. And Reichl is as entertaining as ever, with funny and interesting stories about her family, friends, and people she meets through her work. But there’s even more… this is a story about the choices we make in our lives, about taking risks, and being willing to change things when the choices turn out to be wrong. The only problem with listening, rather than reading, is that I don’t have a copy of all the recipes. Fortunately, Josh has the book and will make me photocopies so I can try them out.

Since I was listening to Garlic and Sapphires in my car (on CD), I started listening to another book on my iPod. Nick Hornby’s A Long Way Down is read by three actors (performing four voices): Scott Brick, Simon Vance, and Kate Reading. I thoroughly enjoyed their performances. The book itself, however, I thought was just okay. Four people meet on the rooftop of a London house on New Year’s Eve, all of them preparing to commit suicide. They change their minds, and then continue to meet over the next few months as they try to find reasons to live. The characters are interesting, but none of them are particularly likable. And the story doesn’t really go anywhere.

The process of listening rather than reading is interesting. Based on my limited experience, I suspect it works for some books and not others. Of course, there are many many books that aren’t available in audio format, so I will always be reading even when I’m listening. Because I am a writer, when I read I pay a lot of attention to the written words, and I often read sentences that I like over and over. Listening is a completely different experience, where I get a lot more involved in the story without paying nearly as much attention to the writing. Garrett and I often read out loud to one another, which in some ways is the best of both worlds; but even then I experience the same book differently depending on whether I am reading or listening. The best thing about listening, I think, is that I can consume even more books than I could before because I can listen while walking, driving, etc.