Book musings

Much as I love reading in the traditional sense, I actually do a majority of my reading on audiobooks. That's because I have about a 25 minute commute each way every day, and my day job involves frequent drives of as much as two hours each way. Years ago, I realized that listening to a good book in the car drastically reduces the stress of driving. So I read, on average, four to eight books a month in the car, via audiobook.

This week, something very unusual happened. I bailed on a book because of the voice actor. And it wasn't that she was reading badly. I just found her voice singularly ill-suited to the book. So ill-suited, in fact, that I decided it was going to ruin the book for me.

Normally, I am amazed at what a great job these voice actors do. And really, this one wasn't doing a bad job. It was just the quality of her voice. The protagonist, in whose voice the story was told, was supposed to be an experienced, nationally known broadcaster. This actor's voice had a sexy, almost purring quality. It sounded absolutely unlike a trained broadcaster. After about two chapters, I decided the incongruity was going to ruin the book for me. And since it was by Kate White, an author I always enjoy, I felt it was in my best interest to wait until I get time to read this one the old fashioned way.

In other book news, I've had a minor quandary. I've been working on re-reading Kincaid and James series by Deborah Crombie, and writing reviews of them here. But life got busy and so far, I'm only through book seven. Now she has released book 16. I had hoped to get through all 15 before this one came out, but I didn't. There is some part of me that feels like withholding the treat of the new book until I re-read the rest. But I am going to overcome that urge. I absolutely love these books, and care about the characters like they are real people. As soon as things calm down enough that I have the time, I will devour the new one. In fact, I can hardly wait!