What you're reading is a blog post by a writer noting a blog post by a blogger on a conversation between the blogger and the writer.

The Wired writer, Michael Erard, asked me why I like LibriVox, given that the recordings are of a quality that a commercial outfit such as Audible could fairly characterize as amateurish. It was a great question, and one I hadn't really considered. I realized that part of what I cherish is that these recordings aren't commercial products. They're pure expressions of a love of literature, and a desire to share that love.

Michael then made an observation that I think is exactly right. LibriVox, he suggested, taps a deep well of emotion. For those of us who were read to as children, and who have in turn read to our own children, there's just something special about reading aloud.

This past winter, while tramping through the snow, Gordon Mackenzie, Kristen McQuillen, Jean O'Sullivan, and Miette brought one of my childhood memories to life: Jack London's Call of the Wild. I would never have made time to revisit that book if it meant carving out a couple of hours of reading time. But on a winter hike it was the perfect companion.