Read All the Things: Audiobook Adventures, Part 1

A very good friend of mine swears by audiobooks and has been recommending them to me for years.

While I am no stranger to the idea of audiobooks, the only ones I have listened to and enjoyed have, unsurprisingly, been the Harry Potter books as narrated by Stephen Fry. Having thoroughly enjoyed reading A Short History of Nearly Everything and At Home I have, in the past, tried listening to Bill Bryson's Made in America but gave up after only half an hour as I wasn't enjoying the subject matter. After finishing A Game of Thrones, and because I like the HBO adaptation, I also tried listening to A Clash of Kings but found the narrator's voice highly annoying and so stopped that as well after only a few chapters.

But, following a late-night conversation over an excellent (if I do say so myself) glass of vodka martini during which I was yet again urged to subscribe to Audible, I acquiesced and downloaded a book I have been wanting to read for a while.

The first audiobook I decided to try is one that wouldn't usually fall into the category of books I enjoy reading. I like modern books, current best-sellers and generally crime fiction such as the Cormoran Strike series or The Millenium Trilogy. I am not so much a fan of the classics and always found them tedious in school. The only book I remember enjoying was Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.

I have not read a single book by Jane Austen, have only seen Anna Karenina as a movie, have tried and failed reading Dracula despite my interest in vampire fiction, and found The Count of Monte Cristo unbelievably dull.

I have always wondered what all the fuss is about with books that are considered classics - who ever decided that these works of fiction are such important literary works that children are still forced to read them hundreds of years after first being published?

On the other hand, I always feel like admitting to not liking classical literature is something to be ashamed of. Terribly clever people read such books and hold them in high esteem. Saying I like modern fiction often leads to people rolling their eyes at me. But that is a rant for another day.

The British Library with King's Cross Station in the background

A few weeks ago I visited the British Library, in London, for the first time and perused their Treasures of the British Library exhibition (open everyday and free to enter). Their collection boasts such treasures as the Gutenberg Bible, the Magna Carta and pages from Leonardo Da Vinci's notebook, among others.

It also has some audio extracts from books. And this is how I came upon the story of an orphaned girl who falls in love with the mysterious Mr. Rochester.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I had, of course, heard of both Jane Eyre and Charlotte Bronte before and was vaguely aware of the story-line, but had never felt an urge to read it. Still holding on to my childhood prejudices, I dismissed it out of hand because it is a classic and, therefore, surely boring.

I'm kicking myself now, because I don't actually remember what the extract I listened to was about. Whatever it was, it caught my interest and I made a mental note to come back to the book at some point in the future. I had enjoyed the narration as well and since I don't have enough time these days to be reading physical books in parallel, it made sense to use this particular book as a testing ground for this audiobook business.

Wordsworth Edition

The version I decided to listen to is narrated by Juliet Stevenson, a British actress I know by sight, and was released in 2006 by BBC Audiobooks. It totals 19 hours and 13 minutes and I managed to finish it in exactly one week.

I don't want to go too deeply into the plot, so will keep the summary brief - the story is told by Jane Eyre, an orphaned girl who is being raised by her cruel aunt. We follow Jane as she is sent to a boarding school for girls, where she excels and eventually becomes a teacher; as she receives the post of governess for the ward of Mr. Rochester, with whom she falls in love. There is intrigue, too, as their romance faces many obstacles.

Overall, I liked the book a great deal. The narration was excellent and the plot moved fairly quickly. I was, of course, most interested in the love story but actually found it to be the most annoying part of the story. It really upset me how Rochester manipulated Jane from the moment they met and it upset me even more that she so easily forgave him for his behaviour! The majority of the things he told her were lies and I honestly cannot fathom how she could ever truly trust him after he confessed to her. Some other parts of the plot were also quite naive and predictable, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the rest of the book.

Does it warrant still being studied today? I honestly don't know - it's moments like these I wish I could do a degree in English Literature to find out more about such things. I suppose, as with all classics, it needs to be considered in the context of the historical period it was written in and is portraying. Jane Eyre was published in 1847, a time when women were not allowed the same rights as men and when women's education consisted of learning skills required of a young lady, such as music, singing, drawing and dancing. Showing an interest in acquiring knowledge was seen as an off-putting characteristic and, apparently, some doctors even went so far as to say that too much study had a damaging effect on the ovaries [Gender roles in the 19th century]. It truly boggles the mind.

In that sense, the character of Jane Eyre was truly progressive - she was very interested in reading and learning. She resented Rochester's insistence in buying her new clothes and jewellery, feeling he saw her as a doll. She maintained that if they were to marry, she should continue to act as governess to his ward and that he should pay her as such. These were aspects of her character that I appreciated and, in a way, could relate to.

With all that in mind, I would give the book a rating of 8/10 - which, I am realizing, is higher than what I assigned to Philosopher's Stone! Not that that really means much, comparing the two books would be like comparing apples and oranges, but I still find it interesting.

I really liked listening to a book and so will keep it up. It seems audiobooks will keep me company during the day, while I tinker around in the lab, while I will continue reading Harry Potter in the evenings and on the bus - I find listening to podcasts or audiobooks outside difficult because of all the noise. I could buy better headphones, I guess...something to think about.

All that's left now is to give another shout-out to Sam - thanks for insisting I should listen, as well as read. Sam also bought me a book (can't remember the last time I got a book as a present without specifically requesting one):