Friends & Books

I used to have this idea that having a friend within walking distance that you could just show up on their porch and have a cup of coffee with was the epitome of friendship. I still think that. And tonight, I did show up on my good friend Kelly's porch (more to return her crock pots that I used in my mad-meal prep day than to drink coffee) with Natalie and her wagon behind me.

If she didn't want me there, she was gracious enough not to show and we discussed our days and she gave me a glass of water, and it was great. She also gave me a book.



Now, let me say this: I've always been a humongous reader and by that I mean, an avid reader :). But recently, within the past 6 months, I've discovered audio books that I can download to my iPod...and my horizons have expanded! I now actually ENJOY housework, weeding my garden, & other completely menial tasks around my house - all because I can listen to these books while I putter around. The other week when I drove to my sister's house, it was like a 5 hour drive which felt more like 1 hour because I got to listen to a book the entire way. I've "read" (term used loosely here) a ton of books this way and haven't actually cracked a single "real" book since I learned to download free library books to my computer and into my iPod. It's so amazing!



But...when Kelly handed me this book, first of all she was very excited. If you read her post, you'll get the feeling of what she was saying. I heard all she said and I have to say, I sort of have a unique affinity with her mind anyway so if she find something riveting (and it's not a cookbook) then chances are, I will too. However...she handed me a "real" book with "real" words to read with my actual eyes. She told me I'd be up all night reading it and honestly, for all my audiobook bliss...I'm excited to do just that. I am actually looking forward to feeling the pages, the satisfaction of turning another page and feeling the left get bigger as the right gets smaller, absorbing all of the black & white, holding its weight in my lap as it sucks me in (or not whatever the case may be) but enjoying the whole process of a real book. And I had forgotten, or taken for granted the whole process.



It reminds me of something though. I'm undertaking the Harry Potter series right now which I'll address in another post however I went looking for Book 7 on audiobook - and while it is available on CD's, the author, supposedly, has not consented to release it as an "audio book" in Audible format or whatever. Which means it can't be downloaded from Audible or iTunes yet. Her reasoning is really similar to what I was talking about before and when I read her reasoning, I thought it was total bunk. What gives her the right to say how she wants her books "experienced"? Well, perhaps she's right. A real book is a very different experience than an audiobook, not that one is better than another, but she has a valid point and it's hers to sell. I, for one, find value in both experiences.