Audiobook

Upon my word, Master and Commander is a capital book! Capital! But reading via audio is new to me. I find that my mind wanders too easily. My mind wanders when I read a book in my hand, too, but then I just lift my eyes from the page and stare off in the distance. To someone nearby, I look as if I am serenely considering what I’ve just read, savoring a moment. More likely, I’m thinking about what to make for dinner. When my mind wanders when I’m supposed to be listening to an audiobook, I’ll snap back suddenly and wonder how many seconds of it I missed. A minute? A whole three-minute track? Also, it’s not as at-the-ready as a bound book is. I truck a bound book around the house with me. Maybe read a few pages on the back porch so I’m near while the girls are in the backyard. Then stand in the front room, reading just one more page before putting it down to make lunch. And wherever I stop, the book stops. I use more Kleenex for bookmarks than bookmarks, even though I have a tin full of them to choose from. Starting and stopping the cd player and monkeying with the headphones just slow things down a little for me. And reading in bed? Sure, a bound book in bed can be a struggle to settle in with. Flip to my right side while I read the left-hand page. Turn over to my left to read the right-hand page. Flip to my back until my arms are tired of holding the book in the air. But an audiobook in bed is sure to put me to sleep with the cadence of the human voice. And if the reader is British, it’s even more beautiful and song-like to me, and I’ll be asleep in half the time. Is it any wonder I’m only on disc 3?