Listen While You Work

Last night while working the front desk at the library, a patron who was checking out some audiobooks commented to me that audiobooks had helped them get through some remodeling projects in their kitchen.

Do you have a project coming up?  Spring is the time when people start thinking about their DIY home improvements.  My own project is to paint the living room, if it ever warms up enough to open the windows.  Or maybe you are in the mood for some Spring cleaning.  Perhaps you spend a lot of time commuting.  Whatever the situation, these activities can get monotonous.  Listening to something while you work or travel can make the time fly by.

The library has over 900 books on CD and cassette in adult, young adult and children's titles.  Something is sure to appeal to you.  

For all ages I recommend "The Lord of the Rings".  It is available as a straight read-thru in three books, but my personal favorite is the BBC radio production starring Sir Ian Holm. Not everyone know that before he played Bilbo Baggins in the movies, Sir Ian played Frodo Baggins in the radio dramatization.

Sir Ian Holm

Another family friendly one is "A Series of Unfortunate Events" by Lemony Snicket.  The books are read by Tim Curry, who you may know as Dr. Frank-n-Furter from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show".  He does a completely marvelous performance of this darkly comic children's series.

Tim Curry

Dr. Frank-n-Furter

The" Harry Potte"r series performed by Jim Dale is another wonderful series to listen to. A friend of mine who "never reads children's book" listened to these and totally enjoyed them.

I rarely read non-fiction, but I will listen to it.  David Sedaris is a great humorist and he reads his own stories.  "Me Talk Pretty One Day" is funny to read but listening to Mr. Sedaris read it is hilarious. Garrison Keillor has lots of different books on CD, from biography to fiction to stories of Lake Wobegon from his  "A Prairie Home Companion" radio show.  Many authors will read their own autobiographies on CD.  Hearing someone read their own story adds to my understanding and enjoyment of their stories. 

Maybe you want get some education while your are doing your manual labor. Parlez-vous francais?  Non?  We can help with that.  French, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and many more languages are available on CD.  Or maybe you want to catch up on the Shakespeare you found so boring in high school.  The library has over 30 of his most popular plays performed on CD.

So after you hit Menard's or Home Depot or Campbell's Lumber for your home improvement supplies, stop by the Library for some other supplies.  You'll be done before you know it, and ready to start on a  new project so you can finish that last chapter. Happy listening.

The Thrill of Victory, the Agony of Defeat

 I felt it coming on last Thursday. Just a touch of something.  By Friday night I was on the couch all evening.  I know from past experience that this will go on for two weeks. I will be taking my meals in the living room.  I will not be able to  answer my phone.  I will get obsessive and only have one topic of conversation.  I  will even start reading the sports pages.  I have Olympic Fever.

In keeping with the old adage of starve a cold,  feed a fever, I offer the following remedies.

'Hitler's Games: The 1936 Olympics' by Duff Hart-Davis.  We all know the story of how Jesse Owens performed at these Games, but there is so much more. Germany built a 100,000 seat stadium for the games and
installed a closed-circuit TV system and a radio network that carried the games to 41 countries. This was high-tech stuff at the time.  The Olympic hymn for that year was composed by Richard Strauss. Fun fact: the venue chosen for the 1940 Olympics? Tokyo. They never happened.


 The next Olympics to be held were after the War, in London in 1948.  That story is told in  'Austerity Olympics' by Janie Hampton.  '.... the 1948 Olympics took place in war-weary London during an economic crisis. Competitors brought their own towels, travelled to venues by bus and shared rationed food'. Keep Calm and Carry On.

And of course who can forget the hockey miracle of the 1980 Winter Olympics?  'The Boys of Winter' by Wayne Coffey takes you behind the scenes of the Miracle on Ice.  I still remember being in church that Sunday when I heard that the U.S. had won.  You would have thought we won the war.

For biographies try  'A Skating Life' by Dorothy Hamill ( I myself sported the 'Dorothy' hair cut that summer) or  'Breaking the Surface' by Greg Louganis.  If you are interested in listening to some Olympic music, check out the CD 'Summon the Heroes' by John Williams with the Boston Pops. Want to learn how to improve your swimming strokes?Try  'The Mark Spitz Complete Book of Swimming'.

Afterwards, if you are suffering from withdrawal symptoms, 'Chariots of Fire' or 'Miracle' are good substitutes for the real thing. But you must realize, once you have caught Olympic Fever you are not immune.  Expect to relapse every 2 to 4 years, depending on the severity of your symptoms.  And it's not covered by insurance.