The sound of silence

For as long as I can remember a book was the prelude to sleep. When I started university this habit died out. Instead the habit became listening to audio-books.

I can no longer stand silence. Any situation that would usually be done in silence, e.g. washing dishes, becomes a brief expedition on the H. M. S. Surprise, or more recently, a discourse on tobacco in 221b Baker Street.

In the past few years dozens of novels have been conquered whilst walking from A to B. Many of these would normally seem too time-consuming or even tedious to be enjoyed.

It has been interesting for me to compare books with their motion picture counterparts. As far as I am aware no opera, movie or play can compete with the joys of a good book. This means that films such as Les Miserables or Life of Pi cannot be watched until the book has been completed. Usually this is a good thing as a knowledge of the book will fill in the gaps in a movie.

The key to a good audio-book is the narrator. My personal favourites include Patrick Tull, William Gaminara and David Timson amongst many others.

Unfortunately audio-books aren't cheap. Amazon now owns Audible, and for £7.99 one audio-book per month is yours.

Until you have spent years listening to audio-books in your spare time you may not realise the opportunity granted by silence. This opportunity could also be used to learn a language using the Pimsleur method; unfortunately I enjoy novels far too much to try this.