What interesting jobs some people have. Quoting the press:

Scott Brick has uttered many uncommon words – "rapine," "retributive" and "circumvallated" among them – on his way to becoming an invisible star in a growing business: audio books. In has five-year career, the 38-year-old has narrated about 200 books.

Wouldn't you love to have that job?

Several years ago there was a program on NPR called "The Radio Reader" that introduced me to several good books. I often thought how I'd like to do his job!

Oh, I love reading aloud! As someone who also loves to listen to audio books, I can tell you that it takes a real gift to do it well. Sometimes I will look for good books by searching for a reader I really enjoy. I've found one or two "new" authors with this method.

My favorite, though, is Jim Dale, the reader of the Harry Potter books. Talk about talent! Throughout the 5 books, he's done hundreds of voices . . . and he even keeps them straight from one book to the next! Amazing! Funny story: you know, as a Children's Librarian, I read aloud and tell stories for a living. I'm pretty good, actually (IMHO). My family was listening to the first Harry Potter book in the car on a trip. When we got home, my son wanted to read the Second book, but we only had the book. I started reading it aloud. After the first chapter my son said "Mommy, can't we just wait for the book on tape?" Sigh.

Sometimes they have the authors read their own works. Sometimes it is marvelous, but sometimes it is really lousy!

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Originally posted by Asa Lovejoy:
... "The Radio Reader" ...

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Yes, that was Dick Estell. He was great! Apparently you can still get him in some places ... but not in Oregon or in the Seattle area. I had never heard of Jim Dale, but I'll have to check him out sometime. You can find wonderful books on tape and CD at your local library. You can listen to them while you're relaxed at home or when you're stuck in traffic or on your daily commute to and from work. It helps relieve stress.

Tinman

I wonder if this is the same Jim Dale who starred in the movie, "Pete's Dragon." Could easily be!

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Originally posted by Asa Lovejoy:
I wonder if this is the same Jim Dale who starred in the movie, "Pete's Dragon."

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Yep! He's got an impressive biography.

Tinman

When I was a professor, our medical center was about 25 miles from the university. Many faculty would listen to books on tape when driving between campuses, and we would even exchange the tapes. Sometimes I even listened to conference tapes while driving, though that wasn't nearly as fun!

However, at least in Chicago, books on tape are very popular.

I probably remember Jim Dale best for being a regular cast member of the "Carry On" films in the 60s and 70s. Richard has mentioned those films in the past.

My husband is a photographer. He listens to books while in the dark room, as well as while he's travelling to "shoots".

Can't pass up the opportunity to recommend Polly Horvath's The Canning Season read by Julie Dretzin. Great book, great reader.

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Originally posted by neveu:
_The Canning Season_

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You remind me of girlfriend Sue's former carreer at Ball Corp, the makers of the famous Ball Mason jars. But why do we call it "canning" when it's really "jarring?"

But why do we call it "canning" when it's really "jarring?"

Maybe the cans predated the jars. I seem to remember canning to be a by-product of the Napoleonic war machine. And why do we still dial numbers on a cell phone?

Sorry, I was wrong. Nicolas Appert did it with glass jars first.

Actually I've just written an audio book called, excitingly, "Effective Public Speaking". I'd have liked to have recorded it too but the deal with the publishers was that they did this part of the job and I will (hopefully) get royalties.

That's great, Richard! Will it be sold in The States, do you know?

There is a great tape, _Read It Again!_ by Patrick Fraley . . . no longer in print, but you can get copies used, it looks like. I recommend it to all new children's librarians I mentor/train. It is a fabulous source for practical tips on doing voices, etc.

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Originally posted by neveu:
Can't pass up the opportunity to recommend Polly Horvath's The Canning Season read by Julie Dretzin. Great book, great reader.

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Damn! You guys keep recommending all these books! Now I'll have to check it out! Something else to do when I should be working.

Tinman

Quote "...That's great, Richard! Will it be sold in The States, do you know?..."

I don't know. That will be up to the publishers, Journey Learning, I imagine. I hope it is since the more it sells the more rayalties I get!

Well - keep us all posted, RE!