Before I begin : Is this ok? Do you guys mind if I extend the scope of this blog to include podcasts as well? I only ask because I am a rabid enemy of e-readers - e-readers will eclipse bound paper pages over my dead body - and feel perplexed as to why podcasts enchant rather than irritate me. I think that I feel this way because podcasts are too different from books to be a replacement. The podcast is less like a book and more like the descendant of old-fashioned serial radio programs. Listening to a podcast, you can close your eyes. You can picture the story and its characters and its setting in your head. You can appreciate the skill of voice actors and the power of a few well-chosen sound effects. And the podcast listener receives other benefits - she can escape her morning commute or a sleepless night just by slipping on a pair of headphones, for example. ...