by Tracy Briseño

I love to read books. I love having old favorites lined up on a shelf ready to open. I love the feel of the paper and the fun of using a special bookmark to mark my progress. I love being able to lend a favorite to a friend.

I also love e-books. I enjoy having a selection of items ready to read depending on my whim. I love the convenience of reading while eating with my phone propped up. I love being able to check out the next book in the series from the library at 11pm when I must know what happens next.

But, I have to say, there is something special about audiobooks. I read audiobooks differently. I can’t skim along, I have to listen to every word. This is great for books that I really want to absorb. It can feel like a conversation with the author as I listen to them lay out the information. There is also something particularly special about getting to hear an author read their own work to you. Getting to hear their tone, inflection, and the nuance that they bring to the work makes for a unique experience. This experience takes on an even greater enjoyment for me, when the book I’m listening to is an autobiography. Whether I’m listening to Michelle Obama (Becoming), Julie Andrews (Home), or Neil Patrick Harris (Choose Your Own Autobiography) there is a joy to getting to hear the words and stories straight from their mouths.

There are some books that I adore in audiobook format because of the marriage of the skill of the writer and the performance of the narrator. Two of my absolute favorite examples of this are Jim Dale reading the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling and Stephen Briggs reading anything by Terry Pratchett. Both of these amazing narrators have become synonymous with the books they have narrated for me. I can’t think of Harry Potter without hearing Jim Dale in my head voicing the characters and the Nac Mac Feegle from Wee Free Men will forever be in the voice of Stephen Briggs.  In these cases the narrator brings a new dimension to the story that can bring it to life in a whole new way.

Audiobooks are interwoven into my family’s experiences with reading. I have been known to check out audiobooks of stories that I think my family will enjoy, but that they haven’t jumped at the chance to read, when we are about to embark upon a family road trip. Sometimes this works wonderfully – like my spouse discovering an enjoyment of Harry Potter and my kids not wanting me to stop driving so they could hear the end of Clementine’s story. (Clementine by Sara Pennypacker narrated by Jessica Almassy) Sometimes, my family figures out my ruse and declines my sneaky assistance.

My youngest has been enjoying the library’s new read along books, where with a push of a button she can have favorite stories read aloud to her as she examines the pages, whenever and wherever she likes and as many times as she prefers. My middle child, who is gaining reading proficiency, enjoys audiobooks as it lets her experience stories a little out of her comfortable reading level. Audiobooks let her get lost in the storytelling in a way that she can’t just yet with reading herself. She likes listening before bed, enjoying the calming way to end her day.

As for myself, I always have an audiobook at play. I jump around between non-fiction and biography titles and old fiction favorites. I enjoy settling in and having a gifted narrator share a story with me.

If you’re looking for a great book to listen to on your next road trip—or while you’re running, gardening, cooking dinner, or just hanging out—ask a librarian! We can help you navigate the options and start (or add to) your list of favorite narrators.