Audiobooks

I only subscribe to a few hours of weekly podcasts (Radiolab, Wait Wait, This Life) but I've been enjoying them. The next step: audiobooks. I don't read as much as I want to, but I do spend and inordinate amount of time in the car, grocery shopping and walking the dog.

So, I'm diving into the world of audiobooks. First up, Born Standing Up by Steve Martin. His memoir about his life up through the end of his stand up career (i.e. the only movies he discusses are The Jerk and Pennies From Heaven), is pretty good. I read a review somewhere that suggested listening to the audiobook rather than reading it so that you can hear him do his routines. It was great! And went by very quickly. And I feel like I read a book. Oh, that was just about the experience; the book itself: okay. Interesting for Steve Martin fans, and fun to hear some of the old routines (and the inspiration for some of them, like Happy Feet) but it's neither hilarious nor deeply moving. More like chucklesome and sweet.

I'm also getting some audiobooks from the library for the kids. At school, Austin likes the book listening station and these kids could listen to us read all night. Instead, we've now got an audiobook of The Wizard of Oz and I've requested Charlotte's Web next. Any other suggestions?