More information than you require
17/03/10 Have you ever longed for the golden days of radio, when the family would crowd around that massive wooden crate and listen to whatever classic radio play would be airing that night?
No? Me neither, I like TV and I’m glad it was invented.
But I’ve been really drawn to audio books lately, and that has everything to do with making something old, new again.
Now I’m not talking about your parent’s audio books. You know that endless collection of cassette tapes or CDs of a Dale Carnegie book for that person who’s always “on the go” or the perpetually lazy. I’m talking about the new breed of audio books featuring actors, music and scripts.
Calling them mere audio books seems unfair. Consider the last one I listened to – John Hodgman’s More Information Than You Require – featuring the talents of Paul Rudd, Ricky Gervais, Jonothan Coulton and Zack Galifinakis. It was packed with skits, musical performances and names that could easily sell a movie let alone an audio book.
And let’s be clear, this isn’t a strict rereading of the original work. If you want proof, listen to Tracy Morgan’s I Am The New Black and tell me he’s not making up half that stuff on the spot (to hilarious results). I can picture the publisher listening incredulously thinking – this is not the book we published.
But if humour or fiction isn’t your bag, there are some great instructional books as read by the author that lend insight, meaning, context and endless layers to what would otherwise be someone talking at you.
I recommend Mitch Joel’s Six Pixels of Separation as read by…Mitch Joel. What better way to understand his ideas and thoughts, than by hearing him tell you first hand. This isn’t someone’s interpretation of his thoughts - he’s speaking to you exactly how he intended to.
So how about you - heard any good books lately?
PS - You can thank Audible for taking this format and completely re imagining it for a new time.
