Book Thread: May 24th, 2026[Sabrina Chase]

Welcome to the Book Thread, Guest Poster edition! I will be your host as we explore all sorts of book-related topics. All usual Book Thread rules are incorporated by reference (pets, beverage, clothing covering the lower limbs, etc.) with the special Sabrina Chase exemption for those stylish persons preferring kilts. Now let us proceed to today's topic, which is ...

Last post we explored the various physical forms a book can take, and for this one, books in non-physical form. Audiobooks, spoken word, or simply reading aloud, to yourself or an audience. The act of speaking, of hearing instead of seeing the words, creates a different mental process. It slows things down, forces you to really think about the words instead of skimming to the next exciting bit. Which is why new authors are encouraged to read their own works aloud when doing the final polish. Your humble poster is embarassed to admit how many missing verbs were detected with this process! Or realizing the hero's hair had changed color somewhere between Chapter 3 and Chapter 5, or...

It's also a good way to get the love of reading started in kids who haven't learned how yet. You realize there are all kinds of fun stories in those paper things, and when no adult has time to read your favorite book another eleventy-billion times, you learn how your own self! This happened to me. I was read to by my father when I was a very small Moron-in-training. We went through the entire Little House on the Prarie series. I suspect I learned to read rather than wait for Dad to get home to find out what happened next.

The next step is for the young reader to practice by reading aloud themselves, but some kids worry about making mistakes or stumbling over new words. The good news is pets don't care if you make mistakes, and there are several programs that have kids read to shelter pets, which also helps the animals adjust to humans! The picture at the top comes from one of these programs. Some libraries have Reading Cats that can be requested to help young readers.

Audiobooks are increasing in popularity, and with the advent of AI voice generation, MUCH cheaper to produce! (Especially for us indie authors who don't have corporate backing.) A human-narrated book, average paperback length, runs about 11 hours of recording and around $4000 for a middling narrator. Doing it yourself is cheaper but takes a long time and you might not have the right voice. Readers like audiobooks for long drives, or doing chores, or going to sleep to. Some even switch from print to ebook to audio in the same book, depending on what is convenient at the time. Amazon caters to this by offering audiobook versions as a low cost add-on if a different version is purchased, and I've seen an increase in this kind of sale in my own books lately. Our motto is, the Reader is Always Right! So whatever option they want, I try to offer it.

Another version of audiobooks are radio programs. Back in the ancient times when NPR was not quite as rancidly woke as it is now, they had a program called The Radio Reader that started in 1964. Half an hour a day, the producer Dick Estell (who had a wonderful gravelly voice) would read popular novels. I listened to All Creatures Great and Small with that show.

Did the Horde have similar experiences learning to read? Any special first book memories?

(Currently reading: Sarah Hoyt's latest book Witch's Daughter (and enjoying it...))

posted by Open Blogger at 09:00 AM

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