Audible Part 2

So my second audiobook experience is Dune by Frank Herbert. I began reading this book when I was in middle school, but never managed to get through it. I loved the made-for-tv movie, though. I'm definitely into a sci-fi/fantasy kick right now, so this seemed a perfect bet for my audible experiement.

This particular audiobook is far more exciting than The Screwtape Letters. For one, the narrator is better;  Dune includes a whole cast of narrators to help move the story along and to differientiate between characters. There's also some well-composed mood music that plays behind the narrators. Overall the effect is one of listening to a radio broadcast as opposed to a lecture. I also found that, if I get in a comfortable seat and take up my knitting, I can listen for hours on end, which is quite beneficial considering this book is more than 20 hours long!

I must mention as a sidebar: I find it quite facinating that Audible is a part of the Amazon family. It seems that Amazon is finding all sorts of ways of taking my money. I keep getting emails about the Kindle and it's starting to drive me batty. I have to tell myself that it's simply an expense I can't afford, now or in the near future. I told myself I would cancel my Audible subscription once the "trial" was over, but like so many things, I've let it linger on, despite the fact that I'm so unsure about it. The only excuse I can come up with is that it does give me space to knit for extended periods of time, without the distraction that watcing TV brings. But, really Amazon? Why do you insist on taking my money? They should have perks for loyal customers, because loyal I am. I truly am.

Going back to the topic of reading, now that I've started Dune, I have a worrisome number of books I'm reading at once: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin, On Writing by Stephen King and Steering the Craft by Ursula Le Guin. I generally like all of these books, and I don't know why I kept picking up new ones even though I'm not even halfway through any of them. I'm honestly feeling oversaturated by reading these days. It's a pastime I heartily enjoy and I truly believe it helps with my writing, but honestly when am I supposed to write if I'm reading all the time? I've decided that I need to cut back and focus on one book at a time. I think that I don't want to focus too much on the advise books until I have made significant progress with The Education of Gareth. I really enjoy The Dispossessed, and Le Guin is one of my favorite authors, so I think that one's the winner.

I have a lot of books in my queue for after this first group is done. I bought the Jan/Feb edition of Science Fiction and Fantasy Literary Magazine which I wanted to read through. I also have The Drawing of the Two, the second part of the Dark Tower Series.

Next time I'll give an update re: the last writer's meeting I attended and progress with EoG.