Squeeze in Another Book

I just discovered that June was National Audiobook Month. Like many people who love to read, I also love audiobooks because they give me the chance to sneak in at least one or two more books each month.  I listen to one on CD in the car on my commute to and from work, and I also listen to one on either my MP3 player or on a Playaway when I walk or work out at the gym.  You can get audiobooks in all these formats at the library.

The library has books on CD and Playaway and even in the old school format of cassette.  What is a Playaway, you might ask?  It’s a book recorded on a device that looks almost like an MP3 player; you just pop in a triple A battery and connect your headphones and listen to your book.  You can even hang it on a lanyard around your neck.  If you have an iPod or MP3 player, you can download audiobooks to your player at the Connecticut State Library’s web site www.iconn.org

What makes a good audiobook is the story.  What makes a great audiobook is the narrator.  I recently listened to a few audiobooks that I really enjoyed because the narrators were so good: The Widower’s Tale by Julia Glass, narrated by Mark Bramhall, and The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, narrated by Jesse Bernstein.

The Widower’s Tale is the story of a widower, seventy-year-old Percy Darling, his family and friends.  Percy, a retired Harvard librarian, lives a solitary life in a farmhouse in a town near Boston until he permits a progressive preschool to move into the barn on his property in an effort to help his eldest daughter, Clover, through a crisis.  The changes wrought in his life by the lively preschool community force him to examine the life he has led since the accidental drowning of his wife three decades ago.  He finds he can no longer stay detached from his family, his neighbors or, most surprisingly, the dangerous delight of falling in love again.  As much as I love Julia Glass’ insight into human behavior and relationships, I loved hearing the novel read by Mark Bramhall even more.  He voiced Percy’s old crotchety, Boston accented tones exactly right.  Each character in the book had his or her own distinct voice, but I especially loved Percy Darling’s part.

The Lightning Thief is the first in the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series by Rick Riordan.  Although the series is aimed at teens and tweens, adults find it very enjoyable as well.  The Lightning Thief introduces us to Percy Jackson, a twelve-year-old with some very thorny problems.  Not only does Percy have ADHD and dyslexia, but he also keeps getting expelled from schools for fighting mythological monsters only he can see.  Try explaining that one to the principal and your mom and repulsive stepdad!  Only when he is sent to Camp Half-Blood does Percy learn the astonishing truth – he is a demigod, half human, half immortal.  Even more astounding, his father is Poseidon, god of the sea, making Percy one of the most powerful living half-bloods.  But no sooner does Percy learn the truth about himself than a prophecy from the Oracle sends him on a quest to the Underworld to prevent a war between the gods of Olympus.  What a great way to recall all those Greek myths I learned in my younger days!  But better yet is the narration by Jesse Bernstein; he gets Percy’s twelve-year-old voice perfectly and those of the other characters are well defined, each unique to the character.  I liked the first audiobook so much that I’m now listening to the fourth, The Battle of the Labyrinth.

So, slap on those headphones or slide in that CD in the car player and squeeze in another book this month.  You will enjoy the experience of being read to by talented narrators.