Reading vs. Being Read To

I recently went on a vacation to a destination approximately 1,600 miles from where I live. If you do the math, that's roughly 27 hours of driving, each way. (Somehow it felt twice as long on the way home than it did on the way going!) That's a LOT of time in the car! Between the time I spent as the driver and my inability to read in the car due to motion sickness, audio books have been a godsend to my family for years!

If you find yourself in a position where reading, whether a paper copy of a book or your trusty e-reader, is not an option, why not consider listening to a story or book???

Most book sellers have a variety of books on CD available for purchase. There are also sources for downloading audio books to your i-Pod or smartphone.

One source many people overlook is their public library! Mine (I live in the middle of the country, in a small "city" of 25,000 people) has a superb selection of books on CD! My husband and I went down to peruse the choices together and found several options we thought we would enjoy during our six days of solid driving. We thoroughly enjoyed listening to Neil Gaiman read his novel, Neverwhere, to us!

[If you've never read it, it's a wonderful fantasy story of a man who encounters an injured girl on the streets of London one night and finds his life turned upside-down when he discovers the realm of London Below. If you've never read Neil Gaiman, shame on you! His stories are AMAZING!]

My library stocks not only fiction audiobooks, but a wide selection of non-fiction options as well. Biographies, humor, how-to, spirituality and religion, history.....the choices might surprise you! I always think it's a special treat when you find an audio edition read by the author him or herself. One note: be sure to check whether the audiobook you have in hand is an adaptation or unabridged. This can save disappointment if you're expecting the full story!

The Ocean At the End of the Lane

Gaiman's novel tugs at the edges of your primordial memory.

There are certain times in my life when the slightest scent on the breeze or the way the light falls through the trees to caress my skin can spark a flash of memory so powerful it disorients me. It happened once when I looked up at a street light and saw snowflakes falling from the night sky. Silently, without warning I was overwhelmed by memories of emotions from childhood.

I have often wondered exactly what it is that is trying to surface from the deep recesses of my mind at such times. Something intervenes between childhood and adulthood and blurs the boundaries between reality and imagination, facts and memories. Why does this happen? Is it part of being human? Is it for our own good or survival? Is there a way to reconnect with those moments?

Gaiman's novel masterfully portrays one man's encounter with this phenomenon.

I just finished the novel and I can tell it will hang with me for many days to come. It will be a book I return to!