The Pleasures of Someone Reading Aloud to You

I haven't partaken and if I did I might change my mind, but people reading aloud to me would be annoying.

Just like movies for your ears ... if you happen to get the right actor/narrator to pull off the job.

David McCullough, the famous historian and talking head on so many history documentaries was kind of marginal fair to listen to. He has/had a great and notable voice in the documentaries. It could be his advanced age that he seems to have a considerable difficulty in tackling the narrator role in his work, 1776.

I remain recalcitrant.

But, I'm a reader, not an audio person. I have memories of early days narrators, now like vomitville.

Many years ago, when I was in the middle of my divorce, several people recommended some self-help book to me. I simply can't read those things. I found I could listen to it. Damn if I remember which one it was and whether it helped me.

Not long after that, the year I chaired the book group, I was obligated to read all of the books. The first was Gloria Naylor's Bailey's Cafe which I couldn't get in print . . . the library copies were loaned out and the local bookstore had sold was sold out. I listened to it. The man who read Bailey was terrific.

I had hoped to have a man in my life who would read to me. Sigh.

My two year old loves being read to, even more than tv. Probably because it's more interactive and she can touch the book.

you know my feelings on the subject, i rarely think of good readers (although gaiman is one of my faves too), but a bad reader is a definite deterrent

the women who've read the Miss Read books, have all been wonderful, with Gwen Watford being the best

I have a couple waiting for me, but they are pretty expensive compared with Kindle prices, and I seem to just not get round to them.

You aint even close there.
Its daddy and mummy just for me time.

Tsar, I discovered audio books within the last 6 months, and I absolutely LOVE them.

It is all I listen to in the car now.

osso...I was very reluctant to try them also, thinking they were a "cheat" on reading a book.
In fact, listening to audio books has actually increased my reading of print.

I'll be listenting to a book in the car, and my brain is in "book gear" when I get in the house. I find myself looking forward to settling down with a regular book as soon into the evening as I can, which is about 8pm.

Right now I'm listening to "The Stolen Child" and I'm reading "The Bells"

For a moment before listening or reading, I have to think for a moment which story I'm going to jump into. I think "ok, is this the book about the hobgoblins/changlings, or the one about the boy that was made a castrati without him knowing what was happening?"

I've only gotten them from the library, free.

There are companies similar to Netflix where you choose your plan, and pay a fixed price each month.

by themselves they are quite pricey, i belong to Audible, for 23 bucks a month i get two credits, for the most part 1 credit equals i book (some cost 2)

this puts the books at about the same price as an ebook or paperback

i also use 5 credits each year to get annual subscriptions to a couple of radio shows broadcast on Sirius/XM satellite radio, a big savings over a $100+ subscription to the service (plus cost of radio)

And she sits next to you and you have your arm around her and you are a living person who's paying attention to her.

Thanks for cluing us in to the name of a service. I tried to find a service on line when I started my ridiculous 70 mile commute to work. After tiring myself of my CD collection, I found that WUMB, an acoustic focused radio station, broadcasts almost to the entire state as well as online. I do tire of music.

Yep...I tried that. Because we live in a different copyright zone, you can't get most of the books I wanted here.

ah, bummer

Succinct but sincere.

Bummer indeed.

a couple of times i've run into UK copyright blocks on the site, still can't get a copy of Gaiman & Pratchett's Good Omens, and the worst thing is, they advertise how it's finally available, i follow the link and then get told, sorry wrong country

Audio books were a lifesaver on road trips (three or four days out and three or four days back) when our children were young, beginning with the old Disney Listen and Look books before they were old enough to read. Then they graduated to audio books. We accumulated quite a collection of the children's classics and more that kept them happy in the car for years. They'd listen to them only in the car and only on vacation and looked forward to it every year.

Now that Mr. M and I are alone on our road trips we listen, too, but only on vacation. We listened to several this year, over the 6000 miles ...

The rest of the time I prefer curling up with a good book.

I sit with her the same way when watching TV.