I know our blog on the
Annie Dillard piece is for the first six chapters, but I listened to the audio
book at the beginning of the semester and at this point I can’t remember what
was what or when was when.
If I remember correctly, it
doesn’t matter. I don’t remember the
book actually having a plot, just bunches of observations poetically shared.
As the book started, I took
a deep breath and relaxed. The prose was
beautifully descriptive. I loved, loved,
loved it!!! As I listened, I could
actually see the woods Annie was tromping through, heard the chirping birds,
and inhaled the fragrant scents of the forest.
Perhaps that’s a bit dangerous to be so distracted as I drive up and
down the canyon, but all ended well.
Listening to a book is SUCH
a different experience than reading a book.
There’s no skimming the paragraphs or skipping pages. Every word floats past your ears and into
your brain. The person reading the book makes
or breaks the book. There’s been books I
don’t think I would have enjoyed reading, but the reader was a performer who
brought the characters to life to such an extent that I fell in love with
them.
The first time I listened
to a scary book was intense. I couldn’t
just flip the pages quickly to get past the gruesome parts. Every syllable I had to listen to. I pick those books carefully. Stephen King’s Duma Key is incredibly
performed. I can still hear that man’s
voice in my head sometimes. That was
three years ago.
Listening to books has
another perk. Sometimes a phrase is
uttered and my jaw drops. The combination
of words is PERFECT! My entire being
becomes engaged in the phrase. Dean
Koontz’s Innocence is that way. I
would listen to some of the sections over and over in utter appreciation of the
brilliance.
Well, I haven’t written
much about Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.
There’s a reason for that. If I
write what I remember in this blog, I won’t have anything to say for the next
one. So, please forgive my digression. I’ll
share what I ultimately thought next time.
I overheard you talking in class about listening to this book on tape. I wonder if I would have enjoyed it more that way. I wrote my post mostly on how this book irritates me. How, so far, it seems to have no point. The language and style really turned me off. But, I did think as I read some passages, that this could be slam poetry. Read out loud and emphasized in certain areas. There were beautiful moments in the book. I just think she though that she could have 700 beautiful moments when really, she has about five.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the first part of Dillard’s book, I think I would have also really enjoyed listening to it on CD over reading it. I did enjoy how descriptive her style was, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I was listening. Like you said, when you listen to a book you are not allowed to skim or skip - you listen to every word the reader says, and I think this would have helped me imagine the things she was talking about better. As much as I try not to, sometimes I have a habit of skimming sections of books that don’t keep me captivated and I usually have to reread those parts. I have never been a huge fan of listening to books - I would rather read them. This is probably because my mom is a huge fan of them and growing up I listened to them a lot, and they usually made me fall asleep. However, I wanted to hear Dilllard’s book read because I thought it would enhance it for me. I did get a little annoyed while reading this book because some parts felt (to me) that she was trying too hard to add every part of nature in the space of one book. Like you said, the book doesn’t really have a plot, just observations - sometimes Dillard would jump to four different subjects in the space of four paragraphs.
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