Where’s Deborah?

You may have noticed that I’ve been posting less frequently,especially my book reviews. Fear not, I have not departed for illiterateclimes. I value our community. And I do have things to say about the books I’vebeen enjoying. I just have been reading and writing much less.

In mid-May, I experienced a sudden, severe decrease in thevisual acuity of my dominant eye. I’ve been to three doctors so far, includinga retinal specialist, and they can’t find the cause. The good news is thatthey’ve been able to rule out the Big Bads, which is reassuring butfrustrating. I’ve tried wearing an eye patch, which gives me better visionthrough my non-dominant eye, but the loss of depth perception drives me crazy.(Who knew how much depth perception matters when reaching for a mouse?)Meanwhile, my time at the computer is limited (ditto piano, unless I’m playingfrom memory). Eyestrain headaches set in after only a short time. Hence…

Audiobooks to the rescue!

I discovered the delights of recorded books when they cameon reel-to-reel and then cassettes. And then CDs. I still have a collection ofmy favorite novels and classes. Fast forward a number of years to oh joy! I cannot only check out physical audiobooks from my local library, I can borrowdigital editions, too! I got into borrowing through the discovery of manypodcasts featuring stories read aloud (my favorite was “Phoebe Reads AMystery”). Alas, these were usually one chapter per episode, liberally lacedwith ads. Not so the library editions (which also pay royalties to the authorand narrator through the price the library pays for its copies).

I’ve worked my way through most of Alexander McCall Smith’sbooks (especially the “Lady Detective Agency” series), Tony Hillerman’smysteries, and Anne Perry’s Thomas and Charlotte Pitt mysteries.

What have I been listening to recently? Read my most recentaudiobook reviews this Friday for the scoop!