Audiobooks

S.L. asks, "Why is there a stigma about audio books not being "as good" as actually "reading" the book yourself as opposed to just listening to somebody else read it aloud.

I mean - come on...

Thanks,
Storytime lover"

Well, "Storytime lover," this "stigma" is the result of something fairly "simple" that actually goes back to our "collective childhood."

Sorry, the quote key was stuck. Anyway.

When you're a kid, your parents probably read to you at night to try to get you to fall asleep, yes? If they didn't, CPS probably came and knocked on your door one day and made your mother cry until she finally went out and bought a copy of "Hop on Pop," didn't they? "It's so tragic the way they hopped on pop." So sayeth Homer Simpson and so say I. Regardless, we have a question to answer and should probably get to it.

Anyway, let's presume your parents read to you. It was lovely, wasn't it? I know my mom used to make up voices for the different Winnie the Pooh characters as she read us those stories and they are still some of my absolute all-time favorite books. I'm guessing that this is a large part of the appeal of audiobooks in the first place - it takes us back to those warm moments when our parents would tuck us in and read a story and we could go to sleep warm and safe in the knowledge that all was right in the world.

Except audiobooks are not your mom. Unless your mom records audiobooks, which is something probably not a lot of people can truthfully say.

See, the thing about children is, they get older. And as they grow up, they continue to get more and more energetic (until about the age of fourteen when all they want to do is sleep all weekend). Whereas the parents, being forced to entertain said children day in and day out for years on end while maintaining a career, household, and pleasant social life, get increasingly tired as the children get older. And at some point, the parents no longer have the energy to stay up and read three chapters of Harry Potter before bed, so they task the kids with doing the reading themselves. Because look at how grown up you are now that you can read it for yourself!

In short, reading something for yourself means you're a big boy now. Having someone read it to you means you're a mama's boy. If you are okay with being a mama's boy, enjoy your audiobooks! Otherwise, man up and listen to J-Diddy or P-Love and His Special Sauce while you drive and save the books for those quiet nights at home when you just can't bear the thought of talking to your spouse.

Thank you, S.L. (B.K.) for your question! Keep 'em coming, guys! askmisskittyanything@gmail.com