Woody Allen: 'No Substitute for Reading & There Never Will Be'
"I was persuaded in a moment of apathy when I was convinced I had a fatal illness and would not live much longer. I don't own a computer, have no idea how to work one, don't own a word processor, and have zero interest in technology. Many people thought it would be a nice idea for me to read my stories and I gave in.... The discovery I made was that any number of stories are really meant to work, and only work, in the mind's ear and hearing them out loud diminishes their effectiveness. Some of course hold up amusingly but it's no fun hearing a story that's really meant to be read, which brings me to your next question and that is that there is no substitute for reading and there never will be. Hearing something aloud is its own experience but it's hard to beat sitting in bed or in a comfortable chair turning the pages of a book, putting it down, and eagerly awaiting the chance to get back to it."
--Woody Allen, interviewed in the New York Times, which noted "he is not necessarily known as an early adopter of cutting-edge technology." For the first time, Allen has recorded audiobook editions of his four essay collections.
(Shelf Awareness)
