Heard Any Good Books Lately?

Recently I have read several blogs asking readers about their preferences between the traditional format of “real” books and electronic version (both PDF and Kindle). The electronic formats definitely had an audience, but readers responding to these questions still seemed to prefer the feel of a traditional book in hand as they read.

Probably like many of you, I often find myself over-extended with all the things that need to be done in a day. There are occasions when it is very difficult to find as much time to read as I would like. One way I have found around this problem is listening to the audio version of books. When I am on my commute or going to be in the car for an extended period of time I have discovered audio books can help me satisfy my urge to read. I have to admit, there are some audio books that are head and shoulders above the rest. Jim Dale, for instance, is the narrator in the Harry Potter series and he truly makes the books come to life. He actually does voices for the characters (there are literally hundreds of characters throughout the series). It reminds me of tapes I have heard of the old radio shows before the age of television. You can virtually see the story as it is narrated for you.

Unfortunately, not all books are recorded in this manner. There are many that recorded with a narrator that simply reads the book…in a v-e-r-y monotone voice. I do not recommend listening to this while driving. There is even one book I listened to that the narrator tried to do voices. Unfortunately he only had two voices besides his own…Elmer Fudd and Bill Clinton. I ended up going to the library to check out the traditional paper book of Prey by Michael Crichton. Elmer Fudd narrating a book on nanotechnology just doesn’t do it for me.

What are your feelings about audio books? From an authoring point of view, I would definitely want approval rights on anyone narrating my book. Just a thought...

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RIP Michael Crichton

Sometimes life comes at you fast. Sounds like a commercial. It also sounds like my life lately - busy with the Muse Conference, which was fantabulous by the way, (except in the midst of it my computer crashed and burned...grrrrr...thank goodness for flash drives.), lots of things going on in my personal world and writing projects, this year's Nano project...and then tonight I heard some very sad news.

Michael Crichton lost his brave personal battle with cancer. He will be definitely be missed. His work and contributions to the general field of entertainment (writing, film and television) has touched so many lives. He has been a favorite author of mine for years. His work has definitely inspired me - what an impressive list of credits:

Jurassic Park, The Lost World, Congo, Sphere, Prey, Andromeda Strain, and my personal favorite Timeline.

"Michael's talent out-scaled even his own dinosaurs of ..Jurassic Park,'" said "Jurassic Park" director Steven Spielberg, a friend of Crichton's for 40 years. "He was the greatest at blending science with big theatrical concepts, which is what gave credibility to dinosaurs again walking the Earth. ... Michael was a gentle soul who reserved his flamboyant side for his novels. There is no one in the wings that will ever take his place."

John Wells, executive producer of "ER" called the author "an extraordinary man. Brilliant, funny, erudite, gracious, exceptionally inquisitive and always thoughtful.

Wow - what an amazing legacy. My thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and fans. This is indeed a great loss.

I'm going to go curl up with Timeline, a cup of cocoa, and wonderful memories of a great author....just a thought