Winter Day Reading and Audio Books

It's my favorite time of year to read books.

It's absolutely freezing in Norman, Oklahoma, and the thought of getting out of bed and walking to class is almost unbearable. However, there is always a silver lining to potentially bad things, and winter's silver lining is Christmas, and (in a close second place finish) good reading weather. I always prepare for those inevitable days of possible boredom by stacking up a pile of books beside my nightstand.

Why is it that I love to read when it's cold? Not because the snuggie was invented and now I can read on the couch and have free arm movement. Not because I usually get away with making the fattening kind of hot chocolate and chai tea when I read. And not because I can't get out of my house and do anything else. There is a certain something in the air that comes with cold weather. Maybe it's my brain telling me that I need to be more intelligent.

On these upcoming wintery days, I've decided on where I'm going to set up my reading station (by the window in the living room, on the side of the couch with the more plump cushions) what I'm going to wear (sweatpants: all day, every day. My mother would be thrilled) and what I'm going to ravenously consume during my intense reading sessions (a mix between chicken tortilla soup and mashed potatoes, and maybe some bagel bites to keep things interesting).

I know it sounds lame, but things like this excite me. I love the idea of doing nothing but being lazy. Even though I need to clean a lot, study quite a bit, and certainly work, I am filled with happiness that I get to enjoy some time to myself and fall in love with more books.

Judging by what I normally read or reread in the winter, I tend to gravitate towards the classics, like Pride & Prejudice and Wuthering Heights. I'm all about the 19th century chick literature. Do you like reading in the winter, and if so, what books do you like to read?

Another topic that I wanted to briefly discuss is audio books. Honestly, I don't particularly care to listen to books on audio, especially if the voice that the reader has doesn't match the main character's voice in my head. It takes a really long time to get through, and the only place that I would maybe see audio books being useful is in on long car trips if you have the unfortunate luck to be the driver.

Regardless of how I personally feel about audio books though, I think they can be a great tool for people who don't like to read. Especially in cases where disabilities can be a prominent factor, audio books might be the way to get the person to slowly get into reading. If listening to books is what it takes to get someone interested in reading, than so be it. I don't know if audio books are popular anymore, or even remotely trendy like they were a few years ago, but books on audio can always be a useful tool. Maybe I'll branch out and listen to a book on audio on my couch this winter.

But probably not.

Change of Heart

So, I totally hate E readers. We all know this. I wrote a long-winded blog post about why E readers are stupid and mundane and I hate them.

Well. I happened to be perusing through my roommate's items and saw that she had a kindle fire. You know that feeling when you're supposed to hate something and then all of the sudden you want it? I had that feeling.

Now I can't stop looking at these things online. I almost broke down and bought one when I got my paycheck from work. What has happened to me?

Consumerism? Maybe. I love to buy things.

But my point is, maybe E readers aren't such a bad thing anymore. I really don't have a lot of space left on my bookshelf, and I don't need to cram another bookshelf in my room. Of course, all of my favorite books will still be in hardback and not downloaded from the internet, but I maybe be very interested in keeping all of my books in one place. That's pretty handy when I'm on vacation and don't know what book to bring, or when I need to find a book fast.

I hate abandoning my morals though. I do suffer from a nasty bout of pride when I'm wrong about things. I might not buy a kindle just out of spite.

The important thing that I finally realized is that, in my quest for people to read more, I've stopped thinking about how E readers like the Kindle, the Sony reader, the Nook and the Ipad can promote and encourage kids and adults that reading can be fun. So what if it's not a cracked paperback book and instead on a 500 dollar piece of aluminum? That is not my decision to make. I can't be judgmental, because at the end of the day, the results that I so desperately want from people are the same.

It's like people reading magazines like Cosmopolitan or Glamour. Yes, the content within the magazine is often vapid and shallow, but fact of the matter is that these people are reading. Well, hopefully. Some people just pick up magazines to look at the pictures.

So if and when I choose to buy an E reader, I'll understand that I'm both encouraging reading and simultaneously throw away every evil and prideful thought that I've had about the heinous E reader.

I think that my whole reasoning about why I don't want E readers to become the next big thing is that I love the feeling of a book in my hands, and I love that magical feeling of reading something and being completely caught off guard by a book, or loving a book so much that after finishing it I go back and reread the parts that I like again. Yes, of course you can have those same feelings and be reading the book on a kindle, but the magic of holding the paper book in your hands has no comparison. I could never read Harry Potter on a kindle. I'm old school I guess, but at least I'm making strides on the technology front.