photo by Corey Blaz
Top 10 Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
I started listening to
audio books on my freshman year in college. I had a long commute and an even
longer reading list. Between work and classes, I had very little time and knew
I had to step up my game if I wanted to cross off every single title on my
courses’ required reading list.
That's when I discovered Librivox. I can’t tell
you how grateful I am this site exists. They produce audio recordings of books
in the public domain. That is, all the old books I love reading. The readers
are so talented and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were either professional
readers or actors.
Below are some of my
favorite titles:
The Waste Land by T. S.
Eliot
The Waste Land is possibly
the most difficult poem ever written. When we were studying it in college, I listened to this recording several times. Even today I can't read this poem without hearing this reader's voice in my head.
Since we are talking
about poetry, let me add an audio book that is not an online recording.
Poetry Speaks is a poetry anthology that comes with 3 CDs of authors reading
their poems. This was a Christmas present I got from my mom years ago and it
has helped me not only to appreciate poetry even more but also to discover great
poets (looking at you, Ogden Nash)
I’m not as big a fan of Poe as I used to be, but his short stories are very entertaining and worth revisiting. My absolute favorite is The Cask of Amontillado. Ooh, no. The Tell-Tale Heart. Ok, it's a tie.
photo by Oscar Nilsson
A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen
Drama is another genre that translates very well to audio. I try as much as I can to see plays but that can be difficult for a number of reasons. My solution has always been audio books.
The man who wasThursday by G. K. Chesterton
So far I spoke only
about poetry, drama and short stories for a reason. I believe these are the
best genres for audio books. I usually listen to audio books while doing
something else (driving or doing chores) so for me a long novel wouldn’t really
work. With that being said, I listened to The Man Who was Thursday during a road trip to D.C. It is a fairly short novel and so
captivating that I listened to it during the trip and while I was
commuting in the city. This was the only novel I ever heard on audio, but novels can be a good option for people with long commutes and good focus.
Shakespeare's plays (and
poems)
Back to plays! I'm sad to say I've never seen a Shakespeare play on stage. I try to make up for it with audio books and my imagination. My favorite recording from
Librivox is Much ado about Nothing.
Chekhov’s plays (and
short stories)
Oh, Chekhov. You’re so
good I had to put two of your plays on my list. The recordings of The Cherry Orchard and Ivanov were made
by the same group of talented readers and they do a great job of helping us understand the characters’ personalities and emotions.
Now, podcasts belong to
my post-college years. I usually listen to them while doing chores and sometimes
even at work. Boredom is real when you live and (mostly) work by yourself.
photo by Felipe Belluco
First I got hooked on this podcast, then I was sad to discover that it ended in 2015. I love the premise: each episode, the host H. G. Wells (comedian Paul F. Tompkins) travels in time and talks to a famous dead author about their lives and books. The episodes are definitely NSFW and two that made me laugh out loud are the ones with Albert Camus (Steve Agee) and Gore Vidal (Marc Evan Jackson)
Bookworm is an LA radio
program more on the highbrow spectrum. Host Michael Silverblatt has very intellectual conversations with contemporary authors about their latest books. I don't listen to this show as much as I wanted because I don't read that many contemporary books. But Bookworm has been on the air for 17 years so you are bound to find an interview with an author you like. The interview with David Foster Wallace about Infinite Jest is worth checking out.
This BBC Radio 4 show is on the very highbrow spectrum but it's possibly my favorite. Readers
from the UK know the format: host Melvyn Bragg and three guests discuss a range of topics in culture. Their archive is impressive and the shows are always very informative. My favorite episodes about books are the
ones talking about Jane Austen's Emma, Kafka's The Trial, Alexander Pope, Chekhov, Camus and Taste.
I hope this list offers some interesting listening material. I know I read twice as much since I discovered
audio books. Why not wash the dishes while learning about the druids?
Do you listen to
audio books and book podcasts? What are your favorites? I’m always looking for recommendations!
