Over the last little while I have developed what I like to term "book attention deficit disorder". What usually happens is that I move on to another book without finishing the one I'm reading, because I get bored. It has taken me a while to figure out why this has started happening to me. Then I thought about how much I want to re-read Harry Potter. I've only read the Harry Potter series twice, which to some of you hardcore fans might not seem like very many times, but hey, I'm a busy guy. Anyway, I came to realize that the Harry Potter Series has ruined pretty much every other book for me. Ok, that's going a little overboard, but what I mean is this: Harry Potter is so good, that every time I start reading anything else, I have trouble finishing it because it isn't as good as Harry Potter. And now that I have realized that this is the reason for my book ADD, the nature of the disorder has changed. Now, when I'm reading a book, I have trouble finishing it because all I want to do is read Harry Potter again!
Luckily, I have found a solution, at least for now. I checked out the Harry Potter books from the library on compact disc, and I listen to them while I am driving. Currently, I am almost done with The Chamber of Secrets. They are read by Jim Dale, who is famous in England for stuff I've never heard of. He does an amazing job. He has a different voice for every character, and he adds a new dimension to the books that makes listening to him great. I have tried to read other books on CD, and I could never get through them because I couldn't stand the way the reader was portraying the book. This is another reason I am glad that they chose someone to read the Harry Potter Series that has the ability to do such a phenominal job (He did the audio version of all seven books). I would have hated it if I had started listening to the books on CD, only to have the reader's voice make me like the books a little less (although if that had happened, maybe I would start liking other books again a little more? JK!)
So, for now, because of Jim Dale, I am able to read other books with less distraction. The audiobooks are like the nicotine patch to my Harry Potter addiction. My cravings for the Harry Potter books are temporarily lessened slightly.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
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3 comments:
I've never listened to the audio series all thr way through, but when I went to UVSC for a year, the shuttle driver (that I had to take because I was far too cheap to pay for parking) would always have them on. They sounded great to me.
You should write a book about Literary ADD.
I have listened to them all read by Jim Dale. I think my favorite thing is how he makes the characters call Harry "Hawrrwry". If you don't understand what I'm talking about, I'll tell you next time on the phone.
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