Books-On-Tape

I love books-on-tape (or, these days, actually on CD). I listen to them in my car while driving to work, or while doing errands, or while on a longer trip, such as visiting my mom 3.5 hours away. It is such a treat to have someone read wonderful stories to you while you are driving. And it makes the stories come alive. I especially (but not only) like to listen to the "classics" -- including my beloved Jane Austen's novels -- on tape, luxuriating in hearing the much-read stories one more time. Fortunately these are available at my local library, so listening to tapes/CDs is not expensive. Usually the novels are read by professional actors, or occasionally by the author herself/himself. I sometimes recognize certain readers who read often. One in particular who has recorded hundreds of tapes over the years is Flo Gibson. At first I didn't really like her gravelly voice, but I soon grew quite fond of it, and admired her skill at conveying the different voices of the characters. After a while, she sounded like an old friend unexpectedly re-encountered from time to time. I guess that even as adults, we never completely outgrow wanting to have stories read to us!