On World Book Day (UK edition) *

* The UN declared the 23rd of April as World Book Day, but the UK celebrates it on the first Thursday in March due to other holiday's happening in April.

I'm 'reading' an audiobook. I'm actually re-reading "Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)". And once again I feel like writing in the style of Jerome K Jerome... It's contagious.

As I was researching whether or not we can walk on the Thames Path in Oxford, preparing for an upcoming trip there, I remembered that George, Harris, Jerome, and (of course) Montmorency the dog were going there as well. My parents have been telling me stories of how their friends would all gather at one's house and read this book out loud and laugh and laugh and laugh. So, re-reading it as an audiobook seemed like the right thing to do. Indeed, it is much funnier to hear it - there's plenty of audible humour.

This is the first time I'm listening to an audiobook, after having taken onto podcasts a little while ago. I find my mind drifting away more often, but at the same time I'm somehow more aware of important moments because the narrator's voice changes. You also can't skip through descriptive bits by scanning them, but they're not as boring when someone else is reading them to you, they're easier to imagine. It's a different experience to reading-reading, but it's a book nonetheless.

On this World Book Day, I wish for people to stop judging others for the medium through which they choose to consume books. Digital, physical, or audio, a book is a book. Happy reading!