The Sounds of Authors

I've told you before, here, that I am not a fan of British authors and why.  My mom recently gave me a book that she enjoyed and thought I might like reading it to myself or to B - The Puppy That Came for Christmas: How a Dog Brought One Family the Gift of Joy.  I'd never heard of it, but since I was out of library books, I took it with me on our recent Thanksgiving trip to Boston.

I picked it up Thanksgiving night when I had some time alone and started reading it.  By the end of the 1st paragraph, I realized the author, Megan Rix, was British.  @@ Yes, I actually rolled my eyes when I realized she was British.  But it was the only thing I had to read so I plowed on.  I'm on chapter 2 and we have some things in common - infertility issues, in our 40s, never considered ourselves dog people - so I'm going to continue to read.

Once I realized she was British (BTW, it is PC to call them British?  Do they prefer English?  Do I, as an American, only call them British b/c that's what they are called in all of our American History books and movies?  Any thoughts?), I started "hearing" the words in my head with a British accent.  Does that happen to you?  It does to me every time.  I don't mean I read every book in my head with a British accent; I just do if the author is British.  Or English…  And if I actually know what an author's voice sounds like, I hear their voice in my head as I read.

I also read aloud to others with the same cadence and accent as an author, if I've heard them speak.  The first book I ever read aloud to the hubs was in 1996 on a car trip.  It was Couplehood by Paul Reiser and, since I was a fan of the TV show Mad About You, I knew how Mr. Reiser would sound if he was reading it.  It makes reading more interesting, don't you think?  When you read about the Hundred Acre Woods, don't you hear Pooh's voice in your head?  I would love to get a job recording audio books!

OK, that last statement was random.  I better quit while I'm ahead.  ;o)