Books on Tape, Not so Great

I luvs me some readin. I've always been a greedy bookworm from long before I can remember. I think it stems from seeing my mom always with a book (now i know she was probably trying to block out the incessant sounds of mi familia). The one thing I have refused to alter upon Bum's arrival to our family is my reading time. I usually read at night, but I've been known to read pretty much anywhere I can prop up a book. I've heard that a parent's level of reading is a good indicator of a child's interest in reading. Even with Rob's lack of love for the medium, I think my obsession will tip the scale in favor of Colin being a worm just like mom.

I like all kinds of books, biographies, novels, historical, sci-fi, Oprah approved, etc. Owing to a family member's OCD quirk of keeping every book ever owned, I tend to pass books along once I've read them to share the wealth and to keep my bookshelves svelte. I do keep two cherished series that I re-read constantly. One is Earth's Children (Clan of the Cave Bear) and the other is the Outlander series by Diane Gabaldon.

Some will say the Outlander books are romance. Scoff at that! It's a HISTORICAL series that happens to have a lot of the good stuff in it. I recently treated myself to a set of hard-cover books, since I read the paperbacks into shreds. I also have purchased the unabridged audio version of the first book for kicks. I've heard that the book is even better when it's read aloud. I'm not so sure. 14 hours in and I'm having a hard time hearing the characters speak in a voice that's outside my head (bibliophiles will know what i mean). Plus, I read to unwind and remove myself from my present surroundings, and the audio book just isn't doing the trick. I think there is a tangible something that happens when your eyes scan the page, absorb the words, and your brain translates them to language. I can usually visualize what's going on when I'm reading, but with audio, it's just kind of...flat.

I'll stick to paper and print for my literary fixation. I was able to zoom through the Harry Potter in three days, a sure sign that I got my hands on some premium, grade A book-smack.