Listen Up!

by Christine Wells

There's been a bit of debate in recent years about romance novels being made into movies. Some people say they'd love to see their favourite novels brought to the screen. Others have pointed out the 'interiority'--if that is a word--of the romance novel. So much of the good stuff goes on inside the characters' heads that it doesn't translate well to drama.

I happen to think all many romance novels need to be effective on the screen is a good script and decent actors. After all, there are various dramatized versions of Pride and Prejudice, a love story without car chases or a tragic ending (or written by a man but let's not go there!)

However, it seems that few movie makers agree with me:) Recently, I rediscovered an interesting compromise between a movie and the written word--talking books.

Now that I have an iPod (a cute little hot pink iPod shuffle) I can listen to books being read to me wherever I go. Driving, exercising, doing housework. I love being able to 'read' while doing mundane chores. Plus, if the narrator is talented, it often brings a new dimension to the reading experience.

For some reason, I seem to gravitate toward books I've already read: Georgette Heyer (three of which are read by the wonderful Richard Armitage), Elizabeth Peters (Barbara Rosenblatt reading these books is not to be missed) Jennifer Crusie and Susan Elizabeth Phillips, to name a few. If you're thinking of downloading Crusie's books, I recommend "Faking It" -- the voice of Clea alone is enough to give you your money's worth.

Sadly, not every book makes it to audio but I think that as the popularity of listening to books grows, more and more books will be made into audio versions.

So what about you? Do you like audio books and do you have any recommendations? What romance novel would you like to see made into a movie?