Everyday Canvas

May 26

For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" 

Prompt: "One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for 1,000 years. To read is to voyage through time." Carl Sagan
Do you agree with this quote? Write about this in your Blog entry today.

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I certainly do agree with the quote as I do hear the voice of the characters in most books, a bit depending on the talent and expertise of their authors. A protagonist or an antagonist with a good strong voice definitely draws in all the attention not only to themselves but the time, place, and the action of any book. In my opinion, this can happen only when the author feels like his or her characters, which sounds quite difficult to do but it is not, if you are a writer and you have perfected the voice of that character inside your head.

Then, in a related matter, those who read audio books also add to the appreciation of the characters in a book. Recently, I listened to The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah, brought to sound by Julia Whelan. Her narration was so powerful that, to this minute, Julian Whelan’s voice has become the main character Elsa Walcott Martinelli’s voice inside my mind. Not to mention that the powerful storytelling and the exquisite plot also adds to the enjoyment of listening to a book.

Some might argue that a well-written book impresses the reader on its own. Granted that it is so. Yet, when that book is turned into an audio book, the narrator's voice and style, and feeling and their telegraphing that feeling to the listeners are also very, very important. Although I prefer reading books from a Kindle or on their print version, recently I’ve been resorting to listening to them also, due to my aging eyesight. In Julia Whelan’s case, this was not a bad decision, at all. She was a true Elsa Martinelli for me.

For: "Space Blog" 

Prompt: From Angel ’s "Why Are Frogs so Happy" 
Write about frogs today from this poem.

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What a cute, funny story with word plays yet! It would make even a sourpuss smile.

Reading the poem brought an image into my mind. Just imagine a dinosaur-sized frog descending on our earth. Eeek! Frogs are carnivorous, folks, and we all would be their catch. Horror writers, take note!

And forget about frog-legs’ recipes, not that I’ve ever eaten any such thing, but who’d ever dare to catch a giant frog for its legs!