When was the last time you read or listened to a bedtime story?
Over the years, I have had various reading habits. From reading self-improvement books every morning before even stepping out of bed to plowing through series to taking three months (or years!) to read one solitary novel.
I was definitely a “one more story” kind of kid when it came to bedtime. I still play that game with myself at times, which has thus led to many groggy mornings. What can I say? There is something farewellish and comforting about closing a book before closing your eyes, as if you have had a friend to finish the day with. Nowadays, though, I hit the pillow hard enough there is precious little time to brush my teeth, let alone crack open a novel.
Thus enters a new solution. I am a champion for taking books to any place, anywhere, anytime, and I have now found that with the wonders that are audio books, this can even extend to driving.
I failed to read the Hobbit as a child because the font was too tiny, the descriptions on the long side, and my mind would wander. That failure has sat in the back of my mind for over a decade, as I knew it was a classic and it felt like having a hole in my inner library.
Which brings us to this month, this joyous March of 2026, and my delightful Hobbit drives with the aid of a free audio book on Spotify. Lord bless the public domain.
I can now say I have experienced the Hobbit as it was intended! For what is it if not one of the most well documented bedtime stories of all time? Of course, being behind the wheel is nothing like preparing for bed—at least you would hope not—but beggars can’t be choosers and all that. I will take what I can get.
Oral storytelling can be a point of conflict for some, I know. Did you really read something if you listened to it? At a basic functional level, no. Listening and reading are different experiences. But that does not diminish the return whatsoever, in my humble opinion.
The Hobbit was as charming as I have been told to expect. There is something warm and kind about it, with an air of wholesome, grounded prose that make me long for summer days by a river, picnics, freshly baked bread, and wildflowers. And of course tea.
My next audio book adventure was The Secret Garden, a story I only knew from a movie adaptation before this month. If ever there was a book to read when longing for spring, it is this one. The descriptions of the titular secret garden are so delicious and vibrant I can almost smell the crocuses and the roses, see the curling vines and plump green buds.
At it’s core it is a story about the magic of nature and how it can heal the sour, tired parts inside of us, and I would have to agree with that. There is nothing better than fresh air and vivid, growing things when one feels the weight and press of daily life too closely.
I have written before of the sanctuary of my raspberry patch. I had not thought myself alone in these feelings of peace and health when outdoors in the dirt, but it is comforting all the same to hear ones feelings reflected from someone long dead who never knew you.
The Secret Garden lends itself perfectly to an oral format as there are many depictions of Yorkshire accents that are simply better heard than read and brought with them a refreshing lilt in an otherwise familiar cadence.
People have been telling stories to one another verbally since before Bible times. It is the oldest form of storytelling around! In that, I am a gleeful participant, and I cannot wait to read my little ones stories to send them off into their precious dreamlands.
Watch, now my kids will want nothing to do with literature…ha! As it goes! I will do my best to instill in them a healthy appreciation for stories, as is necessary, in my experience, for a well-rounded inner-world.
Thank you for reading and happy spring.