MS. B: Growing up, I had lots of those "read-along" picture books, where you put a cassette tape into your tape player and then listened to the narrator read while you followed along in the book. I'm a member of the Teddy Ruxpin generation, too -- a toy that was, in hindsight, pretty much the stuffed-animal version of an audiobook. (And yes, I had a Teddy Ruxpin.)
But I vividly remember my first real audiobook. It was The Golden Compass, the first book in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. Nowadays, you can listen to The Golden Compass narrated by Philip Pullman himself, with dialogue recorded by a variety of British actors.
But my copy was a two-cassette abridged version read by actress Natasha Richardson, and came to me as a Christmas gift from my grandmother. Every year, after Christmas, my family and I would drive down from Pennsylvania to Georgia to visit my aunt and uncle -- and, as a pre-teen kid prone to carsickness, that meant a twelve-hour car trip with nothing to do but stare out the window and sulk. My grandmother's Christmas gift that year was her attempt to help me find a way of alleviating the boredom.
I'll never forget that trip. It was the first long car ride that didn't seem like a chore. I still remember sitting in the backseat, clutching the tape recorder in my lap, completely spellbound. Pullman's story -- and Richardson's performance -- had pulled me miles away from the family car, and sucked me into a world of talking animals, stately scholars, armored bears, and mystical witches. I fell in love with Lyra Belacqua, the little orphan girl who was the story's protagonist, because she was clever and brash and brave -- but I also fell in love with her because Richardson's reading of Lyra made me believe in her as a character. My grandmother hadn't just given me an audiobook -- she'd given me my own personal, portable storyteller.
Audiobooks got me through the next few years of family car trips. In college, having opted out of dorm life to drive the fifty-eight mile round trip from home every day, frequent trips to the local public library kept me well-supplied with audiobooks from authors like Dave Barry, Stephen King, and Douglas Adams. By the time I was in grad school, I'd discovered another wonderful type of audiobook: the recorded radio play. It might be rare nowadays to run across a radio play being performed live on the actual radio -- but CD collections of audio plays are easy to find, with new plays being constantly produced. I could drive from Pittsburgh to visit my family while listening to cast members from Star Trek perform The War of the Worlds.
Living now in the age of the iPod and mp3 file format, my love of audiobooks has thrived. In between the hundreds of songs on my iPod, I've managed to squeeze on a not-inconsiderable number of audiobooks and radio plays. I've done dishes and dusted shelves while listening to the adventures of Percy Jackson. I've sat in airports and listened to Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce perform Sherlock Holmes plays. I've gone hiking with actor David Tennant -- the Doctor himself! -- telling me a Doctor Who story.
Oral storytelling used to be the sole way in which we humans told each other our stories. Nowadays, the art of storytelling is growing comparatively rare. I'm grateful, then, for the audiobook -- which lets us hear the music of Story whatever we do, wherever we go.
TRACY: According to the Audio Publishers Association (APA), 25% of Americans have listened to an audiobook in the last year. That means about 7 million people are listening! And the average listener spends about 5 hours a week listening to audiobooks. Audiobook listeners are avid readers who use audiobooks as a way of enjoying an author's work when they are not able to read.
94% of audiobook listeners had read a book in the past year, vs. 70% of non-audiobook listeners. Between 2007 and 2010, the total number of audiobook sales doubled from 3,073 to 6,200. The biggest growth has been in downloadable books.
Playaways
While the most popular format is a book on Compact Disc, there are a few other formats worth mentioning. One of the newest ways to listen is with the Playaway. This is a small device (half the size of a deck of cards) that can hold up to 80 hours of content. It’s much more convenient than CDs because there are no discs to mess with. The story can be paused at any point and be picked up in the same spot when it is turned on again. All you need is a battery and headphones.
Another alternative is downloading books to your computer, which then can be transferred to an mp3 device (i.e., iPod). There are a couple of ways of doing this through the library. One, is to download audiobooks through OverDrive (they also provide ebooks and evideo). The books can be downloaded to your computer and then to a listening device, or you can download directly to your smartphone. The other option is OneClickDigital, which works in the same way as OverDrive. (To use either of these services all you need is a valid Allegheny County Library card.)
While the above formats are the most popular, many library still have audiobooks on cassette tape for those that prefer them. For some people, they find it easier to change tapes instead of compact discs while in their car. Also, some people don’t have a CD player in their car or at home.
However you choose to listen, be sure to try an audiobook this month. Happy Listening!
Ten Audiobook Suggestions for You:
The Alphabet Series by Sue Grafton
This mystery series -- starring Kinsey Millhone, private eye -- takes place in the fictional California town of Santa Teresa.
The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
You know what the books are about. We've got the whole trilogy in CD and Playaway!
Lunatics by Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel.
The collision of the world's greatest optimist -- and the world's worst pessimist -- in one impossibly bizarre day in New York City.
Love in a Nutshell by Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly.
Kate Appleton's got dreams of running her very own B&B. Too bad she's gotta take an undercover gig as a small-town spy.
The Rope by Nevada Barr.
A gritty thriller about a woman who wakes up at the bottom of a dry well -- without her clothes, hiking supplies, and any idea of who's trapped her there.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.
A fantasy novel about the magic and mystery behind life in the circus. (Read by Jim Dale -- the same performer for the Harry Potter novels!)
2030: The Real Story of What Happens to America by Albert Brooks.
A dystopian novel of a possible future by actor Albert Brooks.
The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory.
Gregory's latest historical novel about the Tudors family.
The Border Lords by T. Jefferson Parker.
An officier of the LAPD must decide if his ATF agent friend has merely gone deeper undercover -- or if he's disappeared into his role entirely.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith.
Hear the original novel before you go see the movie!
Gregory's latest historical novel about the Tudors family.
The Border Lords by T. Jefferson Parker.
An officier of the LAPD must decide if his ATF agent friend has merely gone deeper undercover -- or if he's disappeared into his role entirely.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith.
Hear the original novel before you go see the movie!
Check out the rest of Monroeville Public Library's audiobooks here!
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