One way I like to read is by using my computer as the world’s most expensive radio, and listening to podcasts. A lot of podcasts are ways to listen to radio programs on your own time, and Chapter a Day has been around practically since the start of radio. Like it says, they pick out books that sound interesting and read for a half an hour at a time.
I usually prefer the non-fiction. For example, I found Death in a Prarie House, by William R. Drennan gripping. It’s about Frank Lloyd Wright, and why he was brilliant and why he was hated, but no one knows why one of his employees murdered his family and burned his house down. I also enjoyed Thunderstruck, by Erik Larsen. It was fascinating to hear how Marconi developed and promoted the radio, and hilarious when a murderer, Crippen, is completely blindsided when that dang newfangled radio helps track him down.
As I said before, I enjoyed their reading of The Final Solution, but I have to admit I skip most of the fiction. Every now and then one sucks me in. The one that haunts me is God of Animals, by Aryn Kyle. At first it seemed just an unusually vivid coming-of-age story about a young girl growing up with her horse-handling father. Times are hard, and I found myself really rooting for Alice and the unbreakable horse Darling, but the ending just tore my heart out and gently put the pieces back. It was so depressing, I think I would have totally loved it as a teenager.
Tomorrow: back to the garden
Writing Every Day 