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[CCBC-Net] Curious Incident
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From: Robin L. Gibson <gibsonr>
Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2008 12:38:19 -0500
Now I really want to listen to this book also! I didn't mean to suggest that audio books weren't valuable, or that listening isn't a valuable skill. Just that it is different than reading (and for some people, can be even harder), and it is fascinating to see where there are actual differences (other than abridgement) from the text. I love comparing movie versions with the text, seeing plays based on books, and enjoy book discussions for the same reason -- for me, they expand my understanding of a work.
As others have mentioned, our family enjoys audio books on car trips also. What I really like most though is after we have reached our destination and the conversation continues, as we talk about what we have heard, the children act it out, etc. My boys still talk about trying to play the "don't step on the floor" game from Pippi Longstocking, which we listened to last summer. The shared experience of an audio book can be a gift.
I'm happy to have the Odyssey award as a guide -- I'll certainly be referring to it in choosing our selections this year.
Robin
Quoting Connie Rockman <connie.rock at snet.net>:
> I've been so happy to see the enthusiastic response to audiobooks in
> this thread.
>
> I became a convert while serving on the ALSC Notable Recordings
> Committee a few years back, and was privileged to serve on the
> inaugural Odyssey committee. I'm interested in reactions to this
> year's Odyssey choices if anyone has listened to them, but the recent
> mention of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time prompted
> me to write.
>
> Curious Incident is one of my favorite audio experiences of all time -
> in between my years on audio committees. I, too, was unaware of the
> drawings and diagrams when I listened. I was just totally captivated
> by the voice of Christopher and the way narrator Jeff Woodman got into
> the head of that character. An accomplished actor, Jeff gave a
> distinct voice and local accent to each character, so that it's hard to
> believe he is not British himself. Some time later, I heard him speak
> about creating recordings at the Westport (CT) library when they used
> Curious Incident as a town-wide reading choice. It was amazing to
> watch Jeff talk about the process and then slip effortlessly into
> character and read a passage from the book.
>
> It's also a remarkable experience to be on site to watch and hear a
> recording being made. The attention to detail, the intense
> concentration of the director and engineer as well as the narrator, the
> stops and starts in the reading that, through digital magic, are
> seamlessly put together to create the final whole - Seeing that in
> action gives you a new appreciation for the art of audiobook
> production.
>
> Connie Rockman
>
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Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2008 12:38:19 -0500
Now I really want to listen to this book also! I didn't mean to suggest that audio books weren't valuable, or that listening isn't a valuable skill. Just that it is different than reading (and for some people, can be even harder), and it is fascinating to see where there are actual differences (other than abridgement) from the text. I love comparing movie versions with the text, seeing plays based on books, and enjoy book discussions for the same reason -- for me, they expand my understanding of a work.
As others have mentioned, our family enjoys audio books on car trips also. What I really like most though is after we have reached our destination and the conversation continues, as we talk about what we have heard, the children act it out, etc. My boys still talk about trying to play the "don't step on the floor" game from Pippi Longstocking, which we listened to last summer. The shared experience of an audio book can be a gift.
I'm happy to have the Odyssey award as a guide -- I'll certainly be referring to it in choosing our selections this year.
Robin
Quoting Connie Rockman <connie.rock at snet.net>:
> I've been so happy to see the enthusiastic response to audiobooks in
> this thread.
>
> I became a convert while serving on the ALSC Notable Recordings
> Committee a few years back, and was privileged to serve on the
> inaugural Odyssey committee. I'm interested in reactions to this
> year's Odyssey choices if anyone has listened to them, but the recent
> mention of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time prompted
> me to write.
>
> Curious Incident is one of my favorite audio experiences of all time -
> in between my years on audio committees. I, too, was unaware of the
> drawings and diagrams when I listened. I was just totally captivated
> by the voice of Christopher and the way narrator Jeff Woodman got into
> the head of that character. An accomplished actor, Jeff gave a
> distinct voice and local accent to each character, so that it's hard to
> believe he is not British himself. Some time later, I heard him speak
> about creating recordings at the Westport (CT) library when they used
> Curious Incident as a town-wide reading choice. It was amazing to
> watch Jeff talk about the process and then slip effortlessly into
> character and read a passage from the book.
>
> It's also a remarkable experience to be on site to watch and hear a
> recording being made. The attention to detail, the intense
> concentration of the director and engineer as well as the narrator, the
> stops and starts in the reading that, through digital magic, are
> seamlessly put together to create the final whole - Seeing that in
> action gives you a new appreciation for the art of audiobook
> production.
>
> Connie Rockman
>
> _______________________________________________
> CCBC-Net mailing list
> CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
> Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe...
> http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
>
-- Robin L. Gibson 55 Old Farm Road Granville, Ohio 43023 gibsonr at denison.eduReceived on Wed 05 Mar 2008 11:38:19 AM CST
