*yawn* “Oh, Doug,” sez you with that first-world ennui that plagues all’a us from time to time, “What can you do to stir my loins mind? I’m sooo tired of slogging through the same old TV pablum, and the same old talking heads, the same old mind-numbing horrors, and the same old rants served up in the blogosphere. Where can I go for some fresh, good-old timeless inspiration? I’ve memorized the Bible and the Koran, and my porn drives’re full. Where can I reconnect with my mission? What can I do to soak-up something to make me want to fight the good fight? You know, something safer than whittlin’?”
“Wellp … can’t go wrong readin’ the classics,” sez I, tappin’ my pipe.
“Sure, but you’re retired. You can afforrrd the time to sit back and re-read your library,” sez you.
“What the sam hill are you talkin’ about?” sez I. “You got any idea how busy retirement is? Do ya? Tell you what. The secret is audiobooks. I buy 2-5 current books a month and listen to ‘em on my iPod micro on the road, in the shop, and doin’ chores; but you don’t hafta buyyy the classics. You can get ‘em fer free, if y’know where to find ‘em, and you can listen to ‘em on your computer while you do something useful, if you’ve a mind t’. Heck, I’m doin’ that right now. YouTube’s a start. Here, let me get you started with that ol’ gut-wrenchin’ standard, Nineteen Eighty-Four. That ought’a getcher totalitarian-fightin’ juices flowin’. I know dang well you haven’t read it for a long time. Give ‘er a shot. In the words of the venerable Bluto, ‘Don’t cost nuthin’.'”
Both comments and trackbacks are currently closed.
5 Comments!
Doug, I do the same thing. I am listening to Atlas Shrugged read by Christopher Hurt. 55 hours. Got it for free for signing up. Audible has a great library of books to download. Highly recommended.
I like audible books too, by not as much as I like reading a classic from a book.
For instance, if I am reading a novel a hundred years old or older, I like to pause at times and mentally try to visualize the scene the writer is laying out. Everything, in detail, from the clothes, the houses, the road, the woods, pastures, their fences, the livestock, etc……..Seems to me that doing that adds to what and why people`s conversations go the way they go.
HOw many peeps were given that as a ‘book report’ in school? I remember doing that Doug and I know I still have it in my thinned out ‘scrool’ archives of things I just couldn’t throw away. That and Animal Farm. I was blown away by both of them and damn if we havn’t been living them for the last 4 years.
Librivox has more books than you can ever listen to, all free, as they are in the public domain. Choose mp3 or ogg format. Conan Doyle, Jules Verne, Pohl, Simak for you sci-fi buffs, plus loads of classics, some in French should you be so inclined. Not saying anything bad about Audible – just want to add a huge source of legally free material to the discussion.
^ Thanks, Jimmy [LRPOTA*]
Good man!
Some time back, I was considering narrating “Grant’s Memoirs” for them, but life intervened.
* locker-room pat on the ass