'Ivanhoe' by Sir Walter Scott (An Ode to Audiobooks!)

Penguin Classics cover of 'Ivanhoe' by Sir Walter Scott

I recently drove from Texas to Minnesota, and decided it was high time I dive into some classic literature that's long haunted my TBR pile: specifically, anything by Sir Walter Scott.

Ivanhoe seemed to be his most popular work, and therefore the most logical place to start. After sampling several narrators, I decided on the unabridged (obviously!) edition read by David Rintoul.

I'll be honest: I zoned out at the beginning, listening for the sake of listening. The introduction is a bit dry, and you could easily skip it.

But it wasn't long before I found myself traipsing through the forest with Robin Hood and the Black Knight...And, oh my gosh, the storyline between Rebecca and Brian du Bois-Guilbert is 1000x more interesting than that of Ivanhoe and Rowena (I had to Google Rowena's name, she's so forgettable, despite listening to her story for like 15 hours two days ago).

Leon Cogniet - "Rebecca and Brian de Bois-Guilbert"

One thing I realized after pulling into the driveway, though, was how much the audiobook enhanced my understanding and appreciation of this classic novel.

As a small example: if not for the audiobook, I'm 100% certain I would've been pronouncing Brian's name like "Brian from tech support."

But because I had this wonderful narrator--who went to great lengths to show the conflict between the Saxons and Normans, down to their pronunciation of common names--Brian was "Bree-ahn."

I've since moved on to Waverly, Scott's romantic classic about Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Scottish uprising. And man, I just forgot how much I love audiobooks.

Whether you're walking, driving, or tidying up the house...I'm so happy to have rediscovered this delightful medium. What a happy break they make from podcasts!