Wednesday 8 August 2007

TIME TO LISTEN...


The advent of audio books, and the ever increasing choices available covering all possible interests, fiction and non-fiction, is a boon to those of us who love books - but do not have time to read them. The selection is wide and the prices affordable, so no excuse for not keeping up with the latest best-sellers!

Remember those good old days when you had to wake-up to an angry alarm clock, climb to your feet and eat breakfast before the school bus arrived? Uhh, actually now that I think about it, that’s pretty much everyday. The only difference is you now have a car, as opposed to riding the big yellow limo. Anyway, we all recall our younger years. The days of annoying teachers, tests, oodles of homework and the occasional book reports. Yep, it’s pretty great to be done with all that! On the other hand, I wish it would have been as simple as it is for children now days. I tell you, they’ve got it easy with the constant Internet access.

So this is what I used to rely on; when ever I had to concoct book reports for English or History class, I’d attempt to skim through Clif Notes and attain as much data as possible. O come on, I know I’m not the only one. However, herein lies the dilemma. To acquire such Clif Notes, I always had to venture outside of my home to a bookstore or library. Then I had to search endlessly to find them. In retrospect, it would have probably been a tad easier just to read the darn books. I guess I was no poster child for academic achievements. Anyway, this whole routine is gone with the wind. Cyberspace has changed the ritual of writing book reports forever. You want to know why? Because everything is online now. Kids of all ages can simply punch in a book title on Google, Yahoo, or MSN, and come up with countless results. They can access the book itself or a variety of reviews and quality notes. This makes writing these book reports rather easy, wouldn’t you say?

I admit, I’m a bit jealous of children now days. I merely wish that I had the access back in school that they take for granted now.

For all children who need to produce book reports and to all adults who love books - or need to bone up on the latest business - but do not have time to read them here is the answer.

Enjoy!

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