Each time Ms. Obie Joe drives through the tunnel under the Baltimore Harbor, on her way South, she thinks of Haven Kimmel. Now while any thoughts of Ms. Kimmel are welcome, rather it's the memory of Ms. Kimmel's audiobooks. The distinctive voice of Ms. Kimmel (think combination of North Carolina twang, stretched by Indiana flats) read She Got Up Off the Couch, and A Girl Named Zippy. There's this one story in She Got Up the Couch, where Haven's mother races to a university President's Tea, dressed in clothes 20 sizes too large, and on a bike not her own. As we listened to it, whatever we were looking at become seared with the memory of that passage.
Now that's what a good audiobook is capable of. And given that the sales of audiobooks are one of the few sectors in publishing with huge gains, there'll be more of us appreciating the vivid ride. Except, those audiobooks that fall short. Or cringe. I guess, when in doubt, go with the Read by Author designation.
What is your favorite audio book? And how can we inspire Mr. Obie Joe to lend his fine voice to the same?
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