The post on the books you HAVE to listen to is coming, just for you! (It might be a little while. But it’s coming.)

Oh yes, I would be very interested to know which audio-books you think are worth listening to!

Okay, an audio-novice. No worries. There are pros and cons. (One major pro is that it greatly increases my “reading” time to listen to books on my commute and while I work out or clean the house [when I clean which is infrequent].) And you’re right, a good reader makes all the difference. I think this reader is good so far: atmospheric, and yes, we have the accents. It comes alive. We shall see. Of course, I generally either read or listen, so it’s rare that one gets to make a direct comparison of the two formats. But for a book that needs lots of going back and checking that earlier part, print is better. For atmosphere, and if I don’t need to be extremely particular in terms of detail, audio can be nice. (Because I can sometimes zone out a little.) And when there’s a truly remarkable reader, audio becomes the only way to go. I should do a post on the books I’ve listened to that simply must be audio. Hm. To come.

To be honest, I have never listened to an audio reading of a novel before but upon further reflection, I would be curious to see how Faulkner’s prose and different Southern dialects are conveyed by the speaker(s). I’m still on the fence as to whether or not the audio format would be effective or detrimental to the actual novel–guess it depends on the quality of the person doing the reading and how true they are to the text.

I really appreciate your help! Stay tuned.

Don’t feel silly for not being able to fully grasp everything going on in “The Sound and the Fury” — the writing tends to be so incredibly difficult to slog through and its not for the faint of heart. Hell, I’ve read it twice still fail to understand it all; there is so much more to discover but I did find that the second reading was a lot more rewarding since instead of focusing on plot, I was able to better perceive the way Faulkner’s style evokes a dream narrative, the way he explores the concept of time and its relation to the fall of the noble South. Ok, I digress.

I have read “Light and August” and it is definitely a lot more accessible than some of his other works but its waaaaaaaaay too long for its own good. The characterizations, symbolism, biblical allusions and the prose is all top notch (as to be expected) but if this novel was trimmed down a few hundred pages, it would easily be a masterpiece. The story tends to drag and can be a chore to get through. Also, this is probably one of the most grim, violent and depressing books that I have ever read. Don’t expect to find any smiles or happy endings in this one. It’s definitely worth reading but I just get a feeling that it might turn you off completely from Faulkner. Might I recommend “As I lay Dying” instead? It is much shorter in length (not to imply that it lacks depth), very accessible, funny, heart-breaking, beautiful prose, easily my favorite novel by him so far. I have a review on my blog about it that you can read later if you want (contains spoilers). Well, that’s my two cents worth. Happy reading Julia!