TV is the New Reading

Enjoy the nice weather

with a good story

The weather is starting to be more consistently pleasant and venturing beyond our televisions and walking outdoors just gets nicer every day.

For those looking to augment their walkabout with some good storytelling, podiobooks are a wonderful way to expand the mind.

Along with the private audio releases available through podcasting, podiobooks get their name from the popular line of Apple iPods. But most work with any brand of mp3 player. Anyone with a PC and an Internet connection can log on at (www.podiobooks.com) and discover a wide variety of stories and authors with many downloads available free of charge, at least for a sample chapter or two.

Length of episodes and production qualities vary widely, but authors have been releasing podiobooks through that site and through Apple iTunes for a few years now, and some of the presentations are quite high-quality.

As for the storytelling, it varies widely. There’s a good selection of fantasy/sci fi out there, for example, and it’s just as good (and as bad) as anything you encounter in any other format.

One really cool thing about podiobooks, however, is that a lot of them are available for free. If you enjoy the work, you can make a contribution and support it, but if you don’t you’re not out anything, and you can stop at any time.

‘Chasing the Bard’

I’ve only been listening to podiobooks for about a year, myself. A friend of mine puts together a podcast called “Grailwolf’s Geek Life,” (www.grailwolf.com) focused on fantasy/sci fi and speculative fiction television and movies and DVD releases, and occasionally he promotes a podiobook author he enjoys.

I’ve listened to a few of them, and they’ve been a little bit hit-and-miss, but one that I’m thoroughly enjoying at the moment is called “Chasing the Bard,” by Philippa “Pip” Ballantine in New Zealand.

The story traces a developing power struggle in the Land of the Fey, driven by the disappearance of the Queen and a mysterious illness afflicting the fairies. One shining hope lies in the birth of a human child with the bardic arts – William Shakespeare himself – who might save them all if he can survive. Forces align against him and it’s all that his mischievous watcher, Puck, can do to fend off the dangers in the human world, let alone the dark magic brewing in the fairy realm.

With battle scenes and seduction spells, the storytelling might be a little advanced for younger listeners and there is a content advisory, but generally “Chasing the Bard” is an engaging adventure novel in a mystically Elizabethan setting without too many “thees” and “thous” to get in the way.

“Chasing the Bard,” Ballantine’s incredibly promising debut work, is available as a free subscription through iTunes or in other formats through (www.chasingthebard.com).

Check out this or other stories and authors and enjoy a nice story with the nice weather..

Features Editor Terry J. Aman compiles the Best Bets for The Minot Daily News.

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