Everyone knows I am in love with efficiency. No, I'm not Fredrick Taylor, but I do love the idea of being efficient at all times (great reference by the way). In fact, I've toyed with a book titled The Efficiency Doctrine in which I give guidelines on how to be more efficient (only watch the last five minutes of an NBA game, one line e-mails, etc.). The idea has been on hold ever since my wife and I had a son (who just turned two), but recently I came upon what I consider the most efficient activity I have ever engaged in: books on CD. Now I am able to get to the books I haven't found the time to read and I'm doing it while driving. Usually I commute with my wife and child to work, but with tennis season in full force I've had to drive alone. There is nothing more efficient than using that time to listen to a book I've wanted to read. I love books on CD! They are quasi-performances just for the listener.
With that said, I'm now concerned that I won't receive credit for reading books if I listen to them on CD. Can I claim I've read the book if I've listened to it? Can I, at a dinner conversation, claim I've read Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison if I listened to the last half on CD (especially if one of the attendees happens to be a frequent Barnes & Noble visitor who makes remarks such as, "Hey, they have Kafka on the mural here. They don't have Kafka on the mural in Prescott, ha, ha".)? This is a controversy and I'm interested in hearing opinions from my readers (all three of you).
You don't get credit for reading a book by listening to it. That's like saying you had sex with a porn star because you beat off to her.
ReplyDeleteWow. That's pretty extreme. It's more like seeing the actress in the flesh then beating off then claiming you had sex with her.
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