Dear LPG,

Now that we have both grown, married and ended up alone in our old age, my brother and I have decided to house-share.  He is the one who always loved to read and fiction has always been his reading fodder of choice, while I am no reader; I only ever picked up a book if I needed to learn something from it.  Ever since we were in primary school a good book had much more of an impact on him while films and television were always my preference.  He was always the one who  was disappointed after watching many a film that had been adapted from a book because he would have read that first.

We often have differences of opinion about the merits of the paperback as opposed to the hard back and It hardly seems as though it has been seven years since the Kindle was released on the English public and I remember the two of us being really critical.  There was something unnatural about reading with all that light on the page in the background.  We were given one each as a present a few years ago though, and he soon realised how useful they are when the light starts to fade and you are in the middle of a really good chapter.  I have to admit to not using mine much.  

Recently my brother’s eyesight has started to fail and even reading electronic books is becoming a challenge.  I am hapless at reading out loud so he has turned to Audio books, but since then I have discovered a new liking for hearing the written word.

Though he still follows his passion on his own, I really enjoy listening to audio fact and fiction with him.  There is something special about being able to hear a story while doing a bit of tidying up or cooking and, after listening to a chapter or two, we two men can often be heard discussing the plot of one of the stories we are immersed in with as much gusto as ladies do with their soap operas. 

So in spite of all the ways that one can now read a book, and even though my sight is not impaired, listening to audio books has given us two brothers another common hobby.  

EB, Bromley

LPG has found a website that has more information about audio books that are available online and we have also added the website of the Lewisham Talking Newspaper for those more interested in local and current affairs.  If you are up to it LPG has also found some suggestions as to other activities that can be taken on while listening too.

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