Sometimes, I just want to stop and see if I can be a writer of such compelling stories! Then I stop my delusions and feel quite grateful that I have access to a well stocked public library - which is now offering me an option to read using the internet. I have yet to download a book, still preferring paper.
Being read to - this is an activity that has long been lost to me. When did my mother/father stop reading to me? Soon after I learnt to read myself or much later? Why do most parents stop this reading at this time? Is it because we encourage independence when children learn new skills? Is reading equivalent to feeding oneself, or crawling and learning to walk without help? I last remember reading the first Harry Potter to Gita, when she must've been about 9 or 10 years old. All memories of reading to my children conjure up the big King size bed with them huddled about me listening intently, not wanting to me to stop or save the remainder of the novel for the next day.
Audio books have filled in this gap, espcially during the vacation-by-car. A good story made the journey pleasant and shorter than the long distances we covered - from northern illinois to Nebraska, to Los Angeles, to Florida, to Washington D.C. and to Boston to name a few! I am sure that the traffic was a bane for the driver, though. Haven't we all found ourselves in the garage after a long journey still listening to an intriguing interview or newstory a few minutes after we arrived home, but loathe to turn off the car radio? This reminds me of the young adult book by Avi about a young girl and pirate ships held Sheena and I spellbound during the drive to and from Evanston for the summer enrichment classes during her early teens!
I have however, been seduced by the mp3 audio book format. I didn't really read 'My Antonia'. I was read to during the one-hour train rides to the city, the shorter drives to my appointments in the car, but mostly sitting in bed (my favorite spot) with my feet under covers, with the player propped up - just like my posture when reading an paper and ink book! It was over 8 hours of reading. It is wonderful to be read to in a rich, expressive voice in without distractions.
This new format of audio book - with headphones eliminating all extraneous sound for the person plugged in was at first a novel experience - listening to a story and not music - but like most new gadgets we own, I have not only learned to use it, but come to like it as well. This will give me impetus to load books along with music on my ipod!
However, I have yet to read a book from front cover to back cover using the internet. Up until last year, I had only a desktop and to to sit and read a book in a work-like situation did not excite me at all. Having purchased a notebook last year, I could easily try it, but the small laptop still does not permit me to be as comfortable as with a book propped up on my lap.
I am intrigued with the idea of Kindle2 or the sony reader as an alternative to reading an ink and paper or even the audio book, especially as they advertise the number of titles that this format can hold and which can be loaded ahead of time.
