Musing Mondays (4)

Musing Mondays is hosted by Rebecca at Just One More Page...

What is your preferred method of listening to audio books? Where and when do you listen to them?

I haven't listened to many audio books, to be honest. In fact, I can only think of a few.

The very first was as a toddler. I had The Tale of Peter Rabbit on a record. As a result, I had the whole text memorized at around the age of two.

The next one I can remember was a cassette recording of Catherine, Called Birdy, narrated by Kate Maberly. I absolutely loved it. I actually listened to the audio book before I read the printed version. Miss Maberly's voice and accent really brought the character to life. To this day, I can still remember Birdy's amusing references to Shaggy Beard and her frequent exclamations of "God's thumbs!"

The most recent audio book I've listened to was a CD version of Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth. It was recommended to me long before Oprah's endorsement made it hugely popular. I got about halfway through and found it pretty interesting, although Tolle's voice bothered me at times. And then my CD player balked at one of the discs... so I never finished.

My mind tends to wander when I try to listen to books rather than read them. I guess it's a matter of listening being more passive than actually having to hold the book and turn the pages. So I'm not a huge fan... especially since so many audio books tend to be abridged (and what's the point if you're not going to get the complete story?).