Storytelling has been an integral part of human cultures for thousands of years…
The month of June sees us celebrating the power of audiobooks!
‘Podcasts’ and ‘audiobooks’ sound new and modern, but in fact, they’re just the latest embodiment of an oral tradition that’s as old as time itself.
Stories: connecting us through time
Thousands of years ago, before humans had developed a way to write, oral storytelling was the only way to hand over important information from one generation to the next – to entertain, educate and ensure cultural traditions were passed on.
Some cultures excelled in telling stories. Among these is Irish culture, which, for thousands of years, has seen storytellers travel to different places, taking their tales, poems, folklore, and legends with them. In a world without all the modern-day distractions, these people’s stories would have been a welcome slice of entertainment.
The storytelling tradition in Ireland was such a vital part of everyday life that it crept into modern language and, if you visit today, you can still hear people ask, “What’s the story?” when they greet each other, which translates as “What’s happening?” or “What’s the latest?” 1
Recreating the magic with audiobooks
Most of us can probably remember the wonder of ‘story time’ when we were at nursery or primary school. The teacher would read to us all as we sat cross-legged on the floor in a circle, bringing the tale to life with different voices, showing us the pictures and enabling us to experience the complete joy of the story, rather than struggling to read it word for word by ourselves.
Of course, we know that literacy is important, but (for this writer, at least!) experiencing the delight of being immersed in a story had to come first. Otherwise, what incentive was there to read by ourselves? As adults listening to audiobooks, we can flip this around and go back to that happiness of the reading circle, getting immersed in stories all over again – just in a more ‘grown-up’ kind of way!
Get into audiobooks
If you’re yet to give audiobooks a try, here are a few free options you can investigate.
- Free audiobooks and podcasts from Audible
- 30 days of free reading at BookBeat
- Read books from your local library in the BorrowBox app
