Audible.com sent out an email today listing some of their best sellers over the past 20 years. I often give talks about books that have been valuable to me but earlier this year, I talked about audiobooks. Wisconsin has a popular radio program called "Chapter a Day" where an excellent reader reads aloud. That program introduced me to "Staggerford" by Jon Hassler and other moving books.
To me, there is a big difference between having a trained actor or reader read a book and listening to an untrained or computer voice reading. One of the most moving audiobooks I have ever heard was "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" by Rachel Joyce. I am confident the reader's ability to communicate the feelings and tensions was more than half of my experience. Audible.com (now a branch of Amazon) and Great Courses are the sources I use for 95% or more of my listening.
I read to Lynn about 30-60 minutes a day in the evening while she does jigsaw puzzles. Once we continued an audiobook started on a trip listening together but usually I listen in the car while driving and she listens while working with clay. I haven't found another space in my day for listening. I tend to listen to classical music while working in the kitchen and I don't want to give that up.
Both Audible and Great Courses send me far too many notices about great material and great prices. Listening in the car for maybe 30 minutes a day, most days, it takes a while to finish a story or something non-fiction such as Native Peoples of North America by Prof. Daniel Cobb. At the rate of maybe 17 books a year, I have a full slate very quickly. Just walking into a store and buying an audiobook on CD might cost $35. With a $149 membership in Audible, I get 12 books of my choosing and a discount on additional books. That comes to $12.46 per book, a very good price.
I will send along the email from Audible listening their most popular titles later. If you are not interested, just delete it. No, I am not profiting from this sending beyond the pleasure of a good story or gained knowledge.
