Do you 'do' audio books?

"I don't do audio books," the woman said in a tone of voice implying audio books were a scourge on humanity. Even my sainted mother, who has macular degeneration, considers audio books as selling out. She intends to hang in with large-print books as long as she can.

Audio books have been around a lot longer than I've been listening to them.  I used to listen to NPR shows like "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered" because it made more sense to listen to news than music or books for my job as the chief information officer at a university. Then I got a new job, one with a longer commute, one that didn't require being up-to-date on current/world events. That's when I decided to listen to audio books instead. Now, I'm not saying the NPR news shows don't have value--they do. But as a writer of fiction, the more books I can know by reading them or listening to them, the better for me.

I didn't say anything to the woman who doesn't do audio books in defense of them. If you knew her, you'd know it was a hopeless cause trying to convince her otherwise. (She doesn't do Harry Potters books either.) Let's hope she doesn't do blogs.

I don't know about you, but there are only 24 hours in my day. I have a full-time job. I have two blogs--this one and an opera blog. I have WIPs and books I'm polishing to shop. I review live opera events on a regular basis--which involves traveling out of town. I can't afford to not to use every means at my disposal to expose myself to other books.

The value of audio books

By listening to audio books during my commute, I'm taking in roughly 25 more books a year than without listening to them. That's a significantly higher level of exposure to other writers' work. I'm hearing how other writers:

• use exposition, flashback, description
• develop character through dialogue
• build arcs for their characters as well as arcs for the book
• end chapters on hooks
• sustain suspense and elevate stakes

What novels and story collections have I listened to in the last year?

Here's a few titles off the top of my head:

• Drama city by George Pelecanos
• The year of secret assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty
• Man gone down by Michael Thomas
• The other Boleyn girl by Philippa Gregory,
• Ghost a novel by Alan P. Lightman
• The senator's wife by Sue Miller
• Life of Pi by Yann Martel
• The beautiful miscellaneous by Dominic Smith
• Our story begins [new and selected stories] by Tobias Wolff,
• People of the book by Geraldine Brooks
• Blasphemy by Douglas Preston
• Water for elephants by Sara Gruen
• All we ever wanted was everything by Janelle Brown
• Walking in circles before lying down by Merrill Markoe
• True evil by Greg Iles
• Run the risk by Scott Frost
• Last night at the Lobster Stewart O'Nan
• The invention of everything else by Samantha Hunt
• The time traveler's wife a novel by Audrey Niffenegger
• Fired up by Jayne Ann Krentz
• Oh, my stars by Lorna Landvik



my current audio book

• Castle in the Forest by Norman Mailer

Right now I am listening to In the moon of red ponies by James Lee Burke. It's so well done, I don't want to turn off the engine. Instead I linger at my destination a little longer just to hear more. The narrator is gifted--one of the best I've heard--bringing out all the nuances in Burke's writing.

The downside of audio books

The only downside is that I can't say I read the books, strictly speaking. "I heard that book," sounds dumb. So, I say I listened or was exposed to them.

The bottom line? I have the potential to be a richer writer, not to mention, better read, because of audio books. I do them and plan to keep doing them, thank you very much.