I've always hated reading aloud, since the days of endless social studies classes where the teacher would make all the kids take turns reading from the book. And I have difficulty listening to lectures or books on tape, because I fall asleep or space out and miss large chunks. So making an audio book seemed like a perfect task, in that "I'd-never-do-that-on-my-own" kind of way. But, I was surprised to discover that it was really fun to read this book aloud. I was actually looking forward to my little recording sessions.

The first step was selecting a book. Roald Dahl is one of my favorite writers because he's got just the right mix of wackiness, subversiveness, and realism. I picked "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" because I'm always interested when art and food collide. Plus, I always want to go on factory tours. Recording the chapters took a lot longer than I thought, mostly because I would start to lose my voice after reading for a while, and because I kept having to re-record over mistakes. Good thing I didn't pick a Harry Potter book. Then, CD production was also harder than I had expected, because I had never made an audio CD before and didn't have a CD burner. All in all, recording an audio book took me a lot longer than writing a novel and exposed me to several new technologies.

I decided to give this audio book to several strangers, a la the golden ticket strategy of Willy Wonka. Also, I was thinking of Calypso's advice to Odysseus to cast his fate to the winds. So, I wrote a note and left copies of the CDs in books at the Arlington Main Library, the Somerville Main Library, the Lexington Main Library, the Concord Library, and the Brookline Coolidge Corner Branch Library, since those are the libraries I go to most often. It seemed redundant to put the CD into copies of the same book that I was reading, so instead I stuck them near Hugh Lofting's Dr. Dolittle books. (Which are some of my other favorites, but I didn't want to do recordings of because they contain too many anachronistic comments that may seem sexist/racist.)

The notes say: Greetings to you, from a fan of Roald Dahl's tales. You have found one of five golden tickets! Along with this ticket is a CD recording of me reading 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.' If you or a child you know would like this recording, please keep it. Otherwise, I hope you will leave it here for someone else to find. Have a magical day!'

The first chapter is included in this proof. If you'd like the 3 CDs with the entire book, let me know your mailing address and I'll send you a copy.