From: Mary Burkey <mburkey>
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:16:06 -0400

I have been loving the Odyssey Award discussion - especially the comments from my fellow members of the 2008 Odyssey committee! I thought I'd share how I became an audiobook addict. Throughout my life, I was NEVER an auditory learner, never listened to a teacher, just read the text book. I can't even sit and watch TV - my eyes drift, I pick up any printed material, and start reading. When I was working on my school librarian National Board Certification, I wanted to experience the feeling of those reluctant readers who must come to the library to check out a book. But for me, that meant I had to leave my reading comfort zone and force myself to listen to audiobooks. Knowing I would never finish one unless I HAD to, I started reviewing audiobooks for SLJ. And lo and behold, I found I could learn how to listen. As Teri Lesesne mentioned, movement is key for me - I listen at the gym, walking the dog, cooking, commuting (yes, I do have a long drive!) and such. If I try to listen when sitting still, it is still an effort - unless I'm engrossed in a marvelous title like Pratchett's Nation or The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian. I have friends who listen best while playing a computer game such as Bejeweled or Solitaire. Many of my students listen best in a dark room, or while drawing. If you have never really been able to listen to an audiobook, perhaps you haven't yet discovered your listening style!

And if you are interested in audiobooks, you may want to stop by my Audiobooker blog, where I've been posting recently on listening with a critical ear. Here's a link: http://tinyurl.com/ckes47 Or you might enjoy this article http://tinyurl.com/cmu5pn or my Audiobook Lexicon http://tinyurl.com/2ud9bm.

Happy listening!

Mary Burkey Book Links Magazine columnist "Voices in My Head" mburkey at columbus.rr.com http://audiobooker.booklistonline.com/


 
Received on Tue 14 Apr 2009 08:16:06 PM CDT