And hang on, this is all in the first person! This is Ishmael, if that really is his name, speaking the entire text.

All right, if this project has been well cast, we have a performer whose voice is appropriate for the main character of the book. But what about when other characters speak? Should their speech be colored by the influence of our first person or not? What if it's a woman, a child, an old pirate, an english lord or a polynesian raised in Moscow speaking?

Also, Ishmael already knows the end of the story before he begins telling it. What impact does the weight of that knowledge have on the first three words? What impact should it have on the entire reading?

Then there is the responsibility we have to the magnitude of this epic story, the sheer size of the triumph and depth of the folly and the tremendous responsibility we have to the author in the fleshing out, breathing life into and portraying his wonderful characters: Ahab, QueeQueg and all the others.

And what are we going to do with thirty pages of whale blubber? It can't be impossible to make that interesting. It was certainly interesting 150 years ago. We should also find a way to treat the somewhat archaic language that will persuade it to contribute to the romance rather than impede the fluency of the telling.

The great thing about much of the work being done in audiobooks today is that these and many other issues are being taken more seriously and are being addressed very well as the industry becomes more sophisticated. Resolving these types of questions is basic to a professional actor's disciplined approach to any role—in an audiobook, on the stage or in film.

A pleasant voice is a plus, and easier to listen to, but it is little more than a plus. Remember that the complexity of playing the multiple characters present in virtually every work of fiction ever written is something no actor is trained for. One role at a time is more than enough for most.

The complexities inherent in the simultaneous performance of numerous interacting characters and narrative text is a dynamic easy to underestimate. Command of one's craft is essential and the actor must of necessity become a director as well. Thank God for retakes.

What makes this actually possible is the convergence of an accomplished performer reveling in language and in the challenge posed by these complexities, with the phenomenon called "willing suspension of disbelief". If the performer can successfully bring the story fully to life, it will fully involve the listener.

To feel the directness of the author's inspiration being delivered with the immediacy and vibrance of speech is storytelling in the very best tradition. It is also a new kind of accessibility to literature—not only to books one might otherwise never read, but to nuances of character and meaning elucidated by a performer who has spent his or her entire professional life developing the deductive and communicative skills appropriate to the task at hand.

That is why so many people who used to suffer interminable commutes now actually enjoy them, why more and more people who never cracked open a book are discovering literature they never considered valuable before, why educators and librarians are scrambling to develop their audiobook collections and why literate life-long book lovers are so happy to have discovered a way to increase their reading by as much as 30-40 books a year.

If you are new to audiobooks, you have a lot to look forward to. Be a little bit patient your first time out, be discriminatory, listen to something which comes well recommended, and start mining the gold. It's out there waiting for you.