Some years ago, listening to books on tape became quite popular. The idea being that while you’re driving, you really can’t get anything else done or it may end up being the last thing you do. But popping a cassette into the car tape player would allow you to keep your hands on the wheel, but your mind could be taken away.

So, I tried this by buying Prince of Tides on tape. If you haven’t read the book, you may have seen the movie starring Barbra Streisand and Nick Nolte. So, over the course of a few weeks, I played my audio book. Here’s what I surmised: the man on the tape had a nice calming voice and it was almost too calming for driving. I ended up listening to the tape before I went to bed. It was like having a story read to me before falling asleep. I think this could be a cure for insomnia, or at least a little nudge towards dreamland.

It stated on my audio book cover that this was not a complete word-for-word reading; that the main parts of the story were read, but not every single paragraph. That was a draw-back to me. I needed to know the whole story. So, after I had heard it 2 or 3 times, I bought the book. The book was incredible. I loved it. I could imagine all of the characters and the detailed beauty of the Carolinas that were the written word just did not come across as well on audio.

My opinion now is that perhaps audio tapes are best for learning something, like a foreign language or a speech. The medium lends itself well to repetition. But nothing beats cozying up on the couch with a good book in your hands, and the anticipation of page-turning. The sense of touch is just more intimate, ultimately, than merely the sense of sound.