My previous disappointing experiences with audio books have been because of bad readers. They may have had pleasant and easily understood voices, but there was no life or spirit in the performance--and no restraint when it was required.

Its a subject I have a personal stake in. You will recall my grandfather was a professional reader, a lector, a man who read aloud to cigar factory workers while they handrolled cigars in the early decades of the twentieth century. He read classic novels, newspapers, even soap operas and political tracts, whatever his audience wanted. He was paid by the workers, so he had to audition against others and be able to thoroughly entertain and inform his audiences, and they were highly demanding and expert listeners. He also worked as a stage actor in classical Spanish theater, dubbing English-language films into Spanish, and as a broadcaster of some note back when radio was really big in the 30s and 40s. My paternal grandfather was also a lector, (my parents met because their fathers were colleagues and competitors), so its in my genes.

My first job after college also involved getting up in front of audiences and giving lectures on science and atomic energy to students. I was thoroughly trained in public speaking techniques by my employers, although I believe I inherited some of the aptitude from my grandfathers. I know it is a demanding and subtle art. I was pretty good at it too, I'm told I put on quite a show!

I once saw a TV documentary about the bards of Afghanistan, illiterate old men who had memorized the tribe's stories from long ago. One told a long tale of how the foreign warrior-king Iskander and his mighty armies had swept through their country, thousands of years before, on his way to conquer India.

It is an ancient and honorable craft, Men have huddled about the campfire and in smoky halls, listening to tales of gods and ancient heroes, Beowulf and Homer indeed. I am honored to have glimpsed just a bit of that ancient heritage.