Last summer I started painting the trim on our garden shed but, before I could finish, the rains came (every day for the rest of the summer, it seems) and I lost momentum.
I really need to get that finished so I checked two audio books out of the library yesterday. Audio books are my companions while I paint, scrub, or pull weeds and sometimes while driving on a long trip by myself.
I just finished listening to The Fault In Our Stars by John Green.
I'd heard much about it and figured I'd need a box of tissues to get me through. I did like the book. I especially enjoyed paying attention to how Green developed the relationship between the two teens. Maybe my mind was on the mechanics of his writing and storytelling because I did not cry. But I also wonder if listening made the difference. Would I have entered the story in a different way if I'd been reading? I haven't really analyzed whether listening makes a difference for me.
Either way, the book got me out of my computer chair and through some hot, dirty gardening and yard clean up. And yes, the story gave me lots to ponder on the meaning of life, how it might feel to know one is dying, and also how we respond to people who are ill. I do resonate with these themes. Why else would I write about polio,disability, and leprosy?
Audio Book Bonus: There's a cool interview with Green on his audio. It's hard not to like that guy!
Now, I'm counting on getting lots of work done while listening to Forge by Laurie Halse Andersen
and Hokey Pokey by Jerry Spinelli.
By the time I'm through these two audio books I hope to have painted the deck & some lawn furniture, and to have weeded quite a few veggie and flower gardens.
And, oh yeah, the garden shed needs to be finished. I have a feeling I'll leave it for last on account of -you know - ladders and cobwebs. Or rain.
Question: How do you feel about listening versus reading?
