I have always been an avid reader. Kindle was a hard transition for me as I had prided myself on being a traditionalist. Paper & ink. It took me even longer to transition to audiobooks. Why pay a premium to listen to someone else read a book that I can read myself? A lot of time in the car turned out to be the perfect impetus to start.
My interest in audiobooks really began as I was toying with trying my hand at audio book narration. Predictably, I wanted to research popular pros to hear how it should be done. I started with Scott Brick.
I had seen an interview with him on VO Buzz Weekly where he mentioned one of his favorite book characters named John Corey from a series authored by Nelson DeMille. Corey is a former NY police detective with a penchant for irritating others with smart-ass comments. Sensing a kindred spirit, I dove in.
I listened to the first two books in the series and enjoyed them immensely. Then I decided to read the third one, old style. This is where Scott broke everything.
Honestly, I also enjoyed this book. The problem was I could never get Scott’s voice out of my head! Scott’s voice had become John Corey’s voice. The book flowed at Scott’s pace. His soft, hinting-at-a-whisper narration had become the narrator in my head. My internal voice was on vacation. Scott’s had settled in for the weekend.
I confess my headline is a bit of an exaggeration because my reading experience wasn’t ruined. It was altered. Scott had simply done such a good job telling these stories and personifying Corey that I couldn’t imagine the character any other way. I couldn’t create this character from scratch in my head the way I normally would.
This really is not a criticism at all, but rather a backhanded compliment. Scott did his job . . . too well? I can’t seem to get his voice out of my head.
I wonder if other people have experienced this, where the voice of a favorite narrator becomes the voice in your head? And if I continue to listen to these books, where will it end? Will the influence of his voice continue to grow in my head? I’m now wondering what other things Scott is going to start voicing for me. Food labels? Email? This is getting scary, so I need to quit writing. If I go to bed, pull the covers up over my head and turn the flashlight on I am sure everything will be fine..
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