Audio Books

Mesmerized by the narration of Lahiri's The Namesake I decided to immediately plow forward with a less serious audio iteration, Sophie Metropolis, a Greek American Gal Friday P.I. from Astoria, NY.

I'm convinced that I'm an auditory learner, not exclusively, perhaps, but it is a dominant preference. Experiencing a story this way is novel (no pun intended), but I'm convinced that this is a completely viable option for "reading" more books more quickly, for me. I love books--the physicality of them, the tactile experience of reading one, but being able to hear a book awakens my senses to the words in a whole new way--and I feel that I accomplish so much more. I am able to listen while I work, while I commute, while I work out... I feel like I've really gotten a lot done.

Of course there is the danger of zoning out and misunderstanding a crucial detail, but that's happened to me with the written word numerous times. Instead of going back a page or two, though, I just rewind. Or I just roll with it. For example, there's an Australian bounty hunter/vigilante type in the current story. For at least two and a half discs, I thought he was a mechanic. Whaddaya gonna do?

As someone who is a little wary of silence (I prefer there to be a base level of noise, white or otherwise, at all times in my surroundings), the steady stream of a human voice with me at all times is comforting to me. I always assumed that this was the case because of the unsettling climate of my childhood home--that sound was my talisman against unforeseen danger. And that may be true. But it's dawning on me right now that this could also be because hearing is so intimately tied to the retention of knowledge for me.

In any case, I'm really enjoying this. I've yet to get an iPod, but when I do, I'm wondering if books are available as podcasts? Could I download a book to an iPod? Those who know please let me know...