This week I want to introduce you to the joy of spoken books. As a fledgling writer, I found wonderful nuances in listening to a book that I never got from reading them. There are lots of reasons, of course. When you read, you can skim over long narrative passages or even whole pages to get to a juicy part. With audio books, that’s a lot harder to do. I enjoy unabridged versions, because I want to hear every word. The person reading the book can make or break the experience and, unfortunately, a bad book can’t be made better by listening to it out loud. But if you take the time to listen to a book while driving, for example, or while knitting, you can discover all sorts of differences between reading with your eyes and reading with your ears. Details take on new meaning. The characters move and talk differently. 
Writers especially will hear things they never even considered before.
Right now I’m listening to two different audio books. Fearless Fourteen is the latest installment in Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series. It’s read by Lorelei King and she brings the story to life in vivid Technicolor detail all by the inflections of her voice. Now I can’t help but hear Lula’s voice in my head. And frankly, the way she does Ranger’s “Baaaaaaabe” and Morelli’s “Cupcake” is enough to make you swoon.
Audible.com has also made Nora Roberts’ JD Robb “In Death” series available and the first three of those (Naked In Death, Glory In Death, and Immortal in Death) are loaded up on my cell phone. I’ve been listening to them during my lunch hour at work. Even though I know these 
characters like my own best friends, it’s been a joy to revisit their early days and listen to a different interpretation of their voices in my head. I’ve been sucked right back into their stories and I found that knowing what their future is doesn’t diminish the story at all.
Audio books don’t come cheap and there isn’t the selection of paper books, but they are a refreshing change of pace. (One deal is joining Audible.com’s Gold Listener program. For one monthly low price, you get to download one book a month. Works for me.) Enjoy one today!
