Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Act like an adult

Guests on the ABC's The Book Club have been known to give audio books a spray. I remember particularly Lawrence Mooney's contribution, which made me hopping mad at the time.

Will Self launched into this familiar territory in the September show claiming that listening to an audio book is an anathema to literature, which is by definition words on a page. The popularity of audio books is a sign that adults don't want to grow up and act like adults.

It's very simple. Eyes to get words good. Ears to get words bad. People who listen to audio books need to grow up and/or grow a brain. (If you're visually impaired? I guess you just have to accept that you can never really access literature.)

The exception to this is if you've come along to a public event where Will Self has been invited to read aloud from his own works, like in this video. That's okay. In that case, he's following in the grand literary tradition of Dickens or something.

OR maybe he looks down on everyone in the audience for being so infantile as to listen to words and then to further demonstrate their stupidity at the end by clapping. (Toddlers clap, if you're over 18 you need to snap out of it.)

AND he doesn't like adult colouring in books either. He thinks they're another sign of immaturity. As if! Check this out! I did it last night while listening to a podcast.