Stories told and read

I love a good book. I don’t mind reading on an e-reader, but being able to hold the physical book in your hands can really add another dimension of enjoyment when reading a story. Bookworms (myself included) and aficionados are always quick to tell you about how much they love the smell of a used book store, and equally quick to regale you with their opinions on whether or not to break the spines on paperbacks. Nothing we haven’t all heard a million times. Books are hard to beat, but I think that there might be a strong contender for my favorite way to enjoy a story. I first became aware of audiobooks as CDs or ‘books on tape’ sold in interstate truck stops. It seemed like a niche market, people trying to stay awake on road trips listening to John Grisham novels. Fast forward a decade or two and audiobooks are easy to get digitally and I find myself with a long enough commute to find a daily listen worthwhile. My first foray into audiobooks might have spoiled me forever as I made a lucky choice and picked Patrick Tull’s reading of Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series. Tull’s skill is unparalleled, and bringing a written book into audio form is different than just character voice acting or narration. I had taken a first step into a media that was new to me, and Tull had really provided solid footing to take another. Now several years on in my listening habit and I’ve come to face the obvious truth that a skillful narrator can enrich any novel. William Hurt reading “The Sun Also Rises” gives the protagonist Jake Barnes a voice that has more pathos that I read it as having on the page, and the story is all the better for it. Jeremy Irons reading “Lolita” is perhaps one of the best acting performances that I’ve ever taken in, visually or aurally. To be honest, when Tim Curry or Nick Offerman reads a book to me through my headphones, they often do a better job than the voice inside my head would if I read the story off the page.

Books are our history, but storytelling predates those books and predates our history. The spoken word has captivated our ancestors around campfires for countless millennia, and in the 21st century, it’s easy to forget the intoxicating allure of just listening to a masterful storyteller. Ink on paper has its advantages, but don’t discount audiobooks as a second rate substitute for sitting down with a ‘real’ book. When done well, audiobooks can be storytelling at it’s apogee.