Day Three.....

and I almost forgot to post. I suppose it really is too early to assume this is a habit. The first year I participated in NaBloPoMo it started something like a 16 or 17 month run of daily posts.

Yeah, I have nothing to add to that.

Read any good books lately? I ask everybody that question, I love books. I've read a few this year, more than most, but so many fewer than some people. I'm in a Ravelry group, 52 Books in 52 Weeks, the point is obviously to read on average a book a week during the year. There is a thread where I keep track of and list all the books I'm reading as the year goes on and a monthly thread to which participants post their progress for that month. Some people read a lot. Like more than 25 books in a month. IN. A. MONTH!

I have a lot of words in my head about that, but they don't really matter. The one purpose this truth has in my life is to keep my competitive nature in check. I probably could read more than I do, but reading as competitive sport? Tempting, but no. (Full disclosure: I do have to talk myself down every month while reading other people's totals. Seriously. It's a problem.) (Another disclosure: I have to talk myself down every month from asking if it is true, if they remember anything about the books, if they really listen while working or miss half of what they hear, if they have a life....OOOPS, see? That. That could be insulting and I wouldn't mean it, but my filter might disappear it really isn't any of my business, is it? The only person whose reading/listening habits I should be worried about are mine. Oh, this blogging thing. It's like a therapy session in my head and shared with the WWW. I could probably use a real therapy session, but that's for another post.)

After years of primarily listening to audiobooks (another long story-slight brain injury, hard to read, listening kept me in literature) I have lately, thanks to the purchase of a kindle, been combining listening with reading. On the kindle I can control the number of words on a page which helps eliminate the buzzy, confused feeling I would get in my brain reading a book with a billion tiny words on a single page. I wish someone would have pointed out how that would help me years ago. Part of the reason I can get through so many books now is the Amazon-Audible collaboration that gives me Whispersync for Voice. Books that are 'Whispersync for Voice ready' are matched, the kindle version to the audible version and progress between the books is tracked in the 'cloud'. When it is working (it mostly is) you can leave off on one device and pick up where you left off on another. Listen in the car then open the book on the kindle at bedtime and start reading at the right spot. It never occurred to me before that I could do this myself and am now with books that are not WFV enabled and tracking my progress myself. (Duh.) I love real books as much as the next person, but the e-reader has saved my reading life. Some book pairings have narrators that are so good, and writing that is so beautiful that I reread what I've listened to and listen to what I've already read. That isn't often, but having the kindle version can save a book from a bad narrator, that is for sure. I have also learned that while I get a lot from audiobooks, I get it in a different way when I read the words. Some words are meant to be read, some listened to and some both.

Whispersync audiobooks are often deeply discounted if you purchase the kindle version first. OR if you check out the kindle book from your library's Overdrive digital download service. Or, you might find the audio version on OD as well. This is where my own OCD (not overdrive!) kicks in. So much research goes into the most economical way to read/listen to a book. Between daily deals, monthly deals, library check outs.....

With that time back I could probably get through 25 books in a month.

 

Twenty-two. The last book I finished was Olive Kitteridge, I loved it. Frances McDormand is the title character in an HBO mini-series and she nails it. I didn't know about the show as I was reading it, I'm glad because McDormand would have been in my head and as perfect as she is in the role (Emmy award winning performance in my mind), I'm glad I had my own picture of Olive bloom with the story. The narrator in the audiobook version left me flat, so I read most of the book.

Comments

[Ruth]

I think she's likely to win the Emmy too, which would mean she just needs the "G" for an EGOT! Can she sing, I wonder?

[Carole]

I've thought about trying Whisper Sync but I hate the idea of paying for a back twice. If they are discounted, though, then perhaps it's worth it. I mostly read books on my iPad or Kindle Paperwhite and I get them through OverDrive.

[etherknitter]

I know....does anyone really read to retain anymore? Does it matter? No, I don't regulate other people's fun, but, yeah, how come I can't do that? I would have no knitting. No spinning. No cooking. etc.

[Manise]

I couldn't even compete with that kind of reading. Sadly I don't read that much anymore. I get distracted and re-reading sections gets old. However, if it's a really good book, I get sucked in and read for long stretches. I am a tangible hold a book in my hand type of person, but maybe I should give audiobooks a try again. I used to when I was a visiting nurse and I had a long commute between patient's homes.

[margene]

Usually, the books aren't discounted enough for me to buy both copies for Whispersyncing. I listen much more than I read, even with my Kindle. I'm so behind in my count for the year and have it just to see how many books I read, not for any competitive reason.