Hodgepodge 10/365 - Listening to Words

Yesterday I shared on Facebook a story about podcasts having to do with books and literature: author interviews, readings of short stories, book reviews, round table discussions, etc. I will definitely be checking out these podcasts, maybe all ten of them.

A friend then asked if I listen to audiobooks. I did listen to two this year, rather forgettably. I only listen to books when I'm on a road trip. But . . . I get distracted: by my thoughts, my goals for the trip, my goals in life generally. Then I have to rewind, and I realize that I was sort of listening, but in the meantime I have to listen again, because of course it always strikes me that I wasn't paying attention just at the end of a track. This happens frequently. It's a little tedious. But eventually I get through the book.

I strongly prefer the written word, the leisure of my eyes moving over the page and savoring the language. I can't savor by ear. I also prefer to read the old-fashioned way—with a paper book. Though an e-book will do in a pinch.

Twenty-seven years ago when I drove alone from Chicago to Monterey on my last big move, I listened to two books on tape: Evan S. Connell's Son of the Morning Star: Custer and Little Bighorn and one of Dick Francis's many mysteries centering on horse racing.  

Son of the Morning Star was perfect as I drove across the interminable plains, because I could drift in and out of the nonfiction account—of Indian life is what I remember best—and not feel like I'd "missed" something. I never did finish that book (there were something like thirty cassettes), and I couldn't tell you what I actually learned, but it was an enjoyable, educational experience—in that place, at that time, as I was filled with anticipation about the new phase of my life that was about to begin.

As for the Dick Francis, I still vividly remember driving over Highway 17, from San Jose to Santa Cruz—on the home stretch to my new home forty miles south of SC—through thick fog and dripping trees, even as the book's narrator was describing a tense moment in thick fog and dripping trees somewhere back east, with a murderer on the loose. I don't remember anything else about the book, but that: that was perfect too.

I do, however, enjoy listening to podcasts, especially when I'm cooking. Here are some that I either already listen to or would like to check out:

Dear Sugars (writers Cheryl Strayed and Steve Almond as advice columnists)
How Stuff Works
The Q & A with Jeff Goldsmith (about film)
Stuff You Missed in History Class
Backstory with the American History Guys
99% Invisible (architecture and design and the unnoticed world)
/Film (current film and television)
Freakonomics (society and culture)
Fresh Air with Terry Gross (art, society, culture)
Mystery Show (general-life mysteries solved)
Revisionist History (with Malcolm Gladwell)
This American Life
Serial (true crime)
Undisclosed (true crime)
Code Switch (considering racism)
Longform (conversations with nonfiction writers about how they got their start and how they tell stories)
Out There (about the human spirit and the great outdoors)
S-town (John despises his Alabama town and decides to do something about it. He asks a reporter to investigate the son of a wealthy family who’s allegedly been bragging that he got away with murder. But then someone else ends up dead, sparking a nasty feud, a hunt for hidden treasure, and an unearthing of the mysteries of one man’s life. [added to this list 7/16/17])

There. That ought to keep me cooking up a storm! I might have to take my podcasts out into the garden with me as the fall cleanup and spring planting occur. A story at a time, and I'll get that yard whipped into shape in no time.

(I got this list from an October 13, 2016, posting, "The 30 Best Podcasts Right Now." It also included sports, comedy, pop culture, etc., which I'm not interested in, but if you are, check it out: it's a good list. And, for that matter, if you have a podcast that you especially enjoy that I haven't mentioned, please share it! I'm all ears!)