Dear readers, This past weekend my colleague Elisabeth Egan wrote with characteristic verve about her enthusiasm for audiobooks. “I love the way an audiobook brings me one step closer to a story, removing the middleman of paper or a screen,” she said. “I’m not just hovering over the action, I’m in it.” I read her essay with a convert’s zeal. It wasn’t until this year that I actually enjoyed the experience of listening to a book (thank you, Juliet Stevenson and George Eliot!). Previously, my reaction to audiobooks was akin to that of a tabby cat tossed into a bath — I understood the necessity on some level, but that didn’t mean I looked forward to them. Now I embrace the benefits of walking or washing dishes or folding laundry while “reading.” Forgive me the woo-woo language, but logging endless loops around Prospect Park this summer with a skilled narrator in my ear was close to transformative. If you’ve had any standout audiobook experiences, or even any reading epiphanies, I’d love to hear about them. Please feel free to drop me a note by emailing books@nytimes.com, and I’ll see you next week. We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. Love this email? Forward to a friend. Want this email? Sign-up here. Have a suggestion for this email? Then send us a note at books@nytimes.com.
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