Finding Audible

Historically, I have been a book snob. For as long as I can remember, I have loved books. Not just the content but also the hefty weight of a daunting hardcover or the smooth arch the pages of a paperback made when thumbed. I love the smell of the pages (new or old) and the anticipation that comes with turning every thin paper leaf. I love books.

When I started college in my mid-thirties, I still had to work full-time and thus, all of my classes were online- and so were the books. I grumbled at first but became accustomed to reading text off of a screen. I even explored a Kindle membership and found some fun reads but my heart was still with “the real thing”.

If there was a hierarchy to books, in my opinion, it would have been: physical books, followed by e-books, and bringing up the rear would have been audio books. Audio books were tantamount to cheating in my opinion. It wasn’t even reading. It was an affront to all things literary.

And then.

Then I became a teacher.

I became a Kindergarten teacher.

I can see where you may be puzzled here but bare with me.

Then it actually became my job to teach human beings how to decode the mess of graphemes that make up our English language. I love it. I love it with every ounce of my being and to watch them grow and become readers is the most fantastic feeling in the entire world.

However, I also learned that not all children learn in the same way. Some students struggle because of a learning disability or some have vision abnormalities or some just (gasp) don’t like the act of sitting still. Some people have a difficult time processing information visually. However, they might just process information more easily when said information is presented audibly.

While, yes, my job as a Kindergarten (and then 1st grade) teacher included establishing the foundation of reading skills, there are other objectives in Kindergarten and especially older grades where the goal is to simply to learn information. As a teacher, I had to recognize that I want students to learn one way or another. Therefore, I began to soften my stance regarding audiobooks in a general sense. I could see their value. I could even encourage their use within the educational setting.

I also began to realize that just because someone does not enjoy the act of reading, does not mean that they do not enjoy literature. They can still love the stories, the information, the drama, and the history without liking to sit still, Therefore, audiobooks would be a good fit for them.

Them, not me. My snobbery was still in effect.

Until a friend of mine, who I honestly thought shared my point of view, was incredulous, “What?!” asked Sara one day amid a Facebook conversation about my dislike of audiobooks, “Oh my God. That is LITERALLY the only way I can get any of my housework done!” I absently lol’d a response but it did get me to thinking- and looking around my house at the mess of chores I always ignore in favor of a good book.

I tried it out. I found a book I had been wanting to read, “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” by Michelle McNamara, loaded it into my ipad, and set to work on the dishes. Then came “Rage” by Bob Woodward. Soon, my dishes were getting done every day- sometimes twice! With no dishwasher and only me and my son in the house we had previously been able to get away with a few days at a time. Then I started listening while I worked on needlepoint (a hobby I picked up during Covid). Before I knew it, I had to have an Audible Unlimited membership to survive Covid.

Don’t get me wrong, the hierarchy still stands as before, but the disdain of other non-physical forms of reading is gone.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have some laundry that needs folding and some Jojo Moyes’ “The Giver of Stars'' to listen to. Good day.