I like audio books. The same desire to read just one more page before I turn off the light is what makes me take a little longer to find a parking spot while I listen to the rest of a chapter in the car.
My family used to camp a lot. My dad, a fan of the old time radio broadcast, would bring along a cassette recorder and we would sit around the campfire or in the tent and listen to "The Shadow" and "Mystery Theater." I loved them. Audio books are reminiscent of those old broadcasts. And, depending on the skill of the narrator, they can be just as theatrical.
They are also a great resource for that reluctant reader, the ELL student, and the struggling child. An audio book reveals the magic of J.K. Rowling and Cornelia Funke to the 5th grader who is still at a third grade reading level. It lures a child who only checks out Goosebumps books to the worlds of Poppy & Rye and Henry & Ribsy. And once you've got them...you've got them!
eBooks are another story. I checked several different eBook sites. I noticed The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards on eBooks.com and it made me a little sad. This was a book I truly devoured and I thought how much I enjoyed turning those pages, carrying the book around with me and passing it along to a friend that I thought might also enjoy it.
You trade that away with an ebook, I think. I want to feel the cover in my hands, see it sitting on the table silently urging me to finish the task at hand so that I can pick it up and see what's going to happen next. I found one of my childhood favorites at Project Gutenberg, Five Little Peppers Grown Up. ( http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=7498 ). The good thing I can say about an ebook is that you very well might find a book that is out of print. But still, I'd rather find it in a used book store or on ebay.
So if I was casting a vote, audio books would be the hands down winner. (I know there are eBook fans out there...I'm just not one of them.)
The Desk
So many projects . . . so little time!
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Keep piling up more and more audio books as you don't need even a book shelf to keep.
Hey,I read a mind blowing book called An American Life This is a richly detailed, definitive account of a great and historic presidency and of a unique American Life from the man who restored America’s confidence and strength and shaped the future of the world. Read it.
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