Betty

Accents you wouldn't think attract the ladies but probably do:

• David Attenborough's



..Moving on,
Not really sure what to write, something occurred to me a while ago but I've forgotten.....


Listening to audio books is a great way to achieve something, even when you're not doing a whole lot. By this I mean that if you're engaged in something, a task/chore/unpleasantness, that doesn't demand a large portion of your brain's power, you can listen to an audio book and absorb something useful at the same time.

I've been unaware of the marvelous benefits of audio books until now: I used to argue that they couldn't ever compare to the level of involvement and retention you get from actually reading the words, but I see that I was putting audio books in the wrong category. They're not a substitute for books, they're like a more extreme sport version of books. A similar relationship exists between skiing and the Skeleton luge: both sports involve sliding head first down a mountain but each sport does so in a very different way.

Skeleton luge is all exhilaration and immersion whereas skiing is relaxing and satisfying. I postulate that this is also true of audio books and actual books: audio books feel like that scene in The Matrix, where Neo is learning martial arts via cognitive osmosis: a shorter, more full-on version of the real thing.


P.S. They're also a great way to appreciate the oratory talents of the chosen 'reader-outer'.