I was never a big fan of reading growing up. My parents are both avid readers (my mom a die-hard fan of Stephen King, and anything dealing with vampires, ghosts, witches, and mystery. My dad opts for WWII history, preferably on the Japanese end of the war) so it’s not like books were not available to me as a kid, I just found the act of reading laborious and boring. I used to dread the first day of school after I had avoided my summer reading book like the plague. But as I got older I discovered a love for reading I thought I never find.
It came in the form of an Oprah Book Club book of all places. She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb was the first book I remember reading for pleasure. I was a sophomore at college and spending up to 2 hours (collectively) on public transportation a day. There was only so much music I could listen to during the course of the day (this was right before the iPod boom).
Today I average about a book every month to a month and a half, depending on how much I am in love with it. And thanks to swaptree.com, I have a stack of books waist high that are yearning to be opened.
One day, a few weeks ago, my mother and I were going to this giant book sale at the Free Library of Philadelphia. When I left, I asked the Captain if he would like me pick him up any books for the summer. He smiled and said, “No thanks. I have a lot of audio books to go through.” And that is when our audio book vs. physical book debate started. Although I am glad that he is expanding his mind with the Classics (he doesn’t seem to be interested in new pieces of literature), I find it hard to take him serious when he says he “read” The Sound and the Fury, when in fact he means he “listened” to it. I know when I read, I like to get into a comfortable position with a nice drink (usually coffee) and settle down. Is he doing the same with his iPod? I find it amusing picturing him sitting on the sofa staring straight ahead (like David Puddy) while an ominous voice reads aloud to him. When I tell him my vision, he informs me, that he does the bulk of his “reading” in the car on his 1-hour commute to work.
I asked the Captain to explain to me why he considers listening to a book the same as reading a book. His response (which let me add, I do find quite amusing) was “I know how to read, I don’t need to practice.”
But is it really that simple?
Ok, I can’t blame him for listening while he is driving. I openly admit to having a few audio books on my iPod. The audio books I have are copies of my favorite books that don’t have intricate plot lines and sudden twists. But I don’t use them as my first introduction to the book. I find the act of reading as not “practice,” but rather as a way to further your education. Through reading one builds better vocabulary, grammar, problem solving, writing, and yes, even reading skills.
Earlier this week, I asked the Captain if he enjoyed The Sound and the Fury (which I read many moons ago in while at student at WTHS), he replied, “I couldn’t finish it. There was this one character that spoke funny and I found it annoying, so I turned it off.” I smiled at him and said “Perhaps it wasn’t the fault of the narrator but, in fact, that of the author. Maybe was how the character was written. You would never know because you have never actually read the book.
Boo-yah! Score one.
Your Daily Barista
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