The Lady and The Unicorn.

I have recently realized that I love being read to. Currently, I listen every evening to one chapter of Tracy Chevalier’s novel “The Lady and the Unicorn”. Don’t misunderstand me; there is nothing better then the solitary action of curling up with a good book, getting lost in time and space. But – the experience of closing your eyes, shutting the outside world out and just getting consumed by the story as it is presented to you by someone else is not something to dismiss. This brings back the recollection of my childhood, when I fell asleep to the voice of my father, as he read to us from the book “The fairytales under the veil”. Or our teacher in preschool, reading from a favourite book in the afternoons. Never was the class so quiet and still as then. A similar experience can be gained by listening to the radio, or audio books. I recall - before the existence of cable TV with hundreds channels - then there were the Sunday afternoon radio shows that so often captured my attention and my imagination. As the sound kept transmitting into the aether, being the only source of input, I found it so relaxing and incredibly exciting to envision the story streaming from a small radio.
It is exactly like that today, when I have someone reading to me. Although perhaps it is slightly more personal and intimate, when only one particular person is sharing this experience. I simply close my eyes and enjoy the visual performance that plays out in my mind, imagery derived from a talented writers words, which a familiar, soothing voice, conveys to me.