There are people who take pleasure in actual reading. There are more people who actually take pleasure from listening to what is read. Perhaps, this has got to do with childhood rituals when parents will take the time to read bedtime stories to their children. The advent of books on tape, audio books, and aural literature seems like a way of going back, to a time and place where everything was much simpler. Where stories were read and people take time to listen. But this did not happen; in fact, the books on tape, audio books, and aural literature added to people's hunger for mobility. Even in listening, people are distracted; the pleasure of listening to stories are driven away. There is still a solution to change all of these. Truly listen to a narrative or story during a quiet time. Listening means more than recognizing the words but understanding them and their relationship to each other. This restores an almost palpable need to dig deeper under the superficiality of sounds and arrive at a meaning. There is keen pleasure and joy in reading, but the pleasure is different and somewhat heightened when a person is read to. The sound of spoken words has sharper edges and is capable of etching pictures and vivid images in the minds of the listeners. Books on tape, audio books, and aural literature give listeners this advantage of being lead into the story. If a quiet time is difficult to find, and being always on the go is the way of life, enjoying this aural pleasure is still possible. Avoid listening to books on tape, audio books, and aural literature while doing heavy work; instead do it when there's no pressure -- during gardening or doing a favorite hobby. Being relaxed lets the words penetrate deeper, giving a more pronounced understanding of the stories told. People say that joining book clubs is a blessing. They get to read a variety of books and discuss with other persons, who are intellectually stimulated. But reading takes much time and in the present society, nobody has time to read books properly anymore. It's either they read the summary or skim through the interesting passages in the book. They get the gist of the texts but nothing more, no pleasure and no understanding. For those who want something more, books on tape, audio books, and aural literature are advantages waiting to be used. Start a club where members listen to aural books individually then discuss it among themselves during meetings. It's a great way to practice listening to people and absorb the nuances in the story that was missed during the listening process. An added bonus? Listening to the books on tape, audio books, and aural literature do not even interfere with routine. |
