Have you heard a good book lately?

Did you know that in Shakespeare’s time, people would ask each other

if they’d like to go across the Thames to “hear” a play?

In our television- and video-saturated age, we seem to be a

culture that has virtually gone deaf. The beauty and magic of words

is hard to come by in this fast-paced, on-the-go time we live in.

Many people are finding it difficult to take the time to sit down and

read an entire book.

The Audio Publishers Assn. has chosen the month of June as the

time to bring more awareness to that already hot craze -- the audio

book (or recorded book or book on tape or, nowadays, book on CD.)

The Braille Institute has been providing “Talking Books” to the

visually impaired since the 1930s. These had to be played on a

special machine provided by the Library of Congress and were only for

those with vision impairment. This later was revised to include

people who could see, but for physical reasons could not hold a book

or turn its pages.

Enter local entrepreneur Duvall Hecht, who was stuck in traffic on

the Santa Ana Freeway one morning. An avid reader, Hecht thought his

wasted commuting time could be better spent. When he discovered that

Talking Books were not available to the general public, he sold his

Porsche to start Books On Tape Inc. in 1972.

By 1975, he was up and running with recordings of George

Plimpton’s “Paper Lion,” Nancy Milford’s biography of Mrs. F. Scott

Fitzgerald, “Zelda;” “Happy Days,” the first volume of H. L.

Mencken’s autobiography; and the story of the first tanker disaster,

“Oil and Water,” by Edward Cowan.

Since then, the industry has proliferated. There are more than 100

companies involved in marketing abridged and unabridged versions of

books that are read aloud. Not only has this trend brought back the

art and pleasure of storytelling, it provides a busy person the

chance to keep up with the world of books and literature while

engaging in another activity. One can virtually read a book while

commuting, jogging, cleaning house, raking the lawn, driving with the

family on a vacation, etc.

And here is another bonus feature of the audio book: More than one

person can “read” a book at a time.

The kinds of books available on tape or compact disc are infinite.

From biographies to novels to mysteries to children’s books to

histories to language instruction, there are books for every taste.

The Newport Beach Public Library owns thousands of books on tape and

books on CD. They check out just like a book for three weeks and are

free to anyone with a library card.

And just to tantalize you further, look for upcoming information

on checking out iPods that have books already downloaded on them --

the listening aid and the book all in one. Oh, brave new world ...

And by the way, you can check out Huxley’s “Brave New World” read

by actor Peter Firth, on compact disc. You can reserve it online or

call the library and have it held for you. Not to mention, you can

also check out Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” (from which Huxley took

the title of his book) on cassette or compact disc.

* CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public

Library. This week’s column is by Sara Barnicle. All titles may be

reserved from home or office computers by accessing the catalog at

https://www.newportbeachlibrary.org. For more information on the

Central Library or any of the branches, please contact the Newport

Beach Public Library at (949) 717-3800, option 2.