Me, Books, and an Audible Milestone

 I can confidently boast that I am more receptive to technology than most 50 year olds. Right from learning how to use the Internet, to writing blogs, to doing online banking, to meeting friends from social media, and to reading books from an e-reader I have done it all.

Reading books is a pursuit I took to seriously after undergoing depression in 2009. I started with buying PG Wodehouse books at bookstores. When I found that all of his books were not available offline, I started buying them online. The inability of my dwelling to accommodate a vast collection of books lead to buying books through Kindle.

Much before I purchased a Kindle, I came to know that most of the classics were originally told orally. Knowing my lack of ability to concentrate, I thanked my stars that there were printed books.

It was during covid I got allured to Audible. They were making a juicy free offer and I took it up in the firm belief that this tryst with technology will be a short lived one. 

The first book I read err. heard on Audible was Ikigai, the book that makes living upto hundred years look like a cult practice. The next one was "The Alchemist" just to prepare for an online meet of Audible. This book opened my brain to the magic of an audio book. How one could visually open up to a book listening to an audio version of it became obvious to me. I vowed to stick on to Audible.

There were a few more books in the interim. I had never read Harry Potter and didn't intend to read it either, despite several friends reasoning against such obdurate behavior. The second wave of Covid had just begun and I was infected with it. At the beginning of the year I had resolved to read Harry Potter in 2021. I got infected with covid when I was alone in Dehradun. It was a harrowing time for my family, friends, and yours truly. Though I got away without any damage, I developed anxiety symptoms. I could not read even a single page without feeling irritated.

My good friend Dr Akshay Singh, a psychiatrist by profession suggested me various methods. He was one of those who used to be annoyed when I used to put up statuses that I don't intend to read HP. I thought I will listen to a bit of fantasy just to overcome the inertia of reading. I listened to a sample of the first part read by Stephen Fry, and I got hooked on to the book just for his voice.

Soon I was transferred back to Bangalore, and listening to HP in the traffic became a meaningful indulgence. I did complete HP. Subsequently, I listened to Poniyin Selvan in Tamil. This is the only way I could have read a book in my mother tongue.

Audible assigns proficiency levels based on the hours one has heard, and today I attained the "Master" status. Listening to an audiobook is not as easy as it seems, especially for a vagabond concentration like mine. It was tough to start with and has not become an easy thing to do even today. There are many times I have to go back and listen. Thus, my 500 hours of listening are to be discounted by at least 30%. 

Don't be stuck with this idea that only reading a book held in the hand, is reading a book. Hearing a book in Audible can help you with your pronunciation, imbibe various accents, and most importantly save your senses from the cacophony of traffic.

So go ahead and hear that familiar sentence "That was an Audible presentation. There are many more to come". You would have read a book and possibly improved your concentration too. I am interested in knowing what you are listening to.