"Babies are born with the instinct to speak, the way spiders are born with the instinct to spin webs. You don't need to train babies to speak; they just do. But reading is different."
— Steven Pinker
Today's list is courtesy of the fabulous Anne, Libraries Advisor Youth Service Development. Take it away, Anne :)
We had a discussion earlier this year about whether or not reading was natural. Like we all know from experience – babies make noise. It comes to them as naturally as some of their other bodily functions. In fairness there is an element of learning as they pick up the sounds and make sense of them, but in much the same way I believe movement is a babies first language, sound (or speaking) comes in a very close second. However reading is something that they have to learn to do.
And that may be one of the reasons why the joy of listening to a story never grows old. I am a fan of stories, storytelling and, by extension, this year have become a fan of the audio book. It may be something to do with an increasing commute and disillusionment with some of the random radio stations my car tuner picks up. It may just be one way to read a book without having to turn a page. It certainly does have its up side as while I am still number well down the list waiting my turn for a copy of J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy, I have already read it... on audio book. There might not be as many copies available through the library system, but as many people have not yet discovered the advantages of the audio book, they still come through much quicker.
So for those of you about to embark on the traditional long holiday haul to other parts of the country, here are my Top 5 to make the drive more bearable (and with something for everyone).
