Nicola here, talking today about listening to stories, not as audio books but as serializations. On 31st January 1949 the first edition of BBC Radio’s "Book at Bedtime" was broadcast. It ran every night for 15 minutes between 10.45pm and 11pm. The first book that was serialized was John Buchan’s The Three Hostages, a rip-roaring adventure story written in 1924. In the months and years that followed, all sorts of literature from the classics to new releases has and continues to be featured on the program, although perhaps there hasn't been as much genre fiction as there might have been. In fact only a year or so ago the BBC admitted that they were looking for happier endings after noticing that listeners had been put off by “gratuitously violent and tragic stories.” Well, yeah – I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t want to drift off to sleep with images of violence or misery into my mind!
According to The Times, a brief circulated to potential producers at the time stated: “We will always aim to select a variety but we 
would like to be offered more titles that are pure pleasure, diversion or even comedy. Happy endings are often a bit too rare in what we are asked to consider. We can listen to sad or disturbing stories if they are ultimately redemptive, but a gratuitously violent or tragic ending is upsetting, infuriating and can seem distasteful.” The note adds that “listeners rarely enjoy being cheated with ambiguity or uncertainty”, implying a preference for plotlines that are neatly resolved. Again, that's a yes from me; I don't mind stories where some elements are left unresolved for the reader or listener to decide on, but if that happened just before I was going to sleep I'd lie awake thinking about it!
Of course a radio program isn’t exactly like listening to an audio book since it gives an abridged version of the story. It always strikes me that this must be a tricky job; how do you decide which bits to leave in and which to cut out without damaging the story? How easy or not is it to divide a book up into equal 15-minute episodes? When you’re reading, or listening to an audio book you can decide when and where is the appropriate time to stop. On a radio or TV program you don’t have any control over that which can be frustrating if you want to “read” on. I remember as a child loving the stories at the end of the Basil Brush Show but getting cross when the narrator slammed the book shut with the words: “and that's all we've got time for this week, Basil". Nooo! I wanted to hear more of Basil's adventures. When I was younger I also enjoyed the Readers Digest abridged books, four stories in one volume, although they could sometimes feel a bit abrupt, no doubt because the editor had had to cut the story back.
Another children’s story time program, Jackanory, was a massive favourite with me. The starting question: “Are you sitting comfortably?” was an invitation to 
snuggle up with some hot milk and really get into the story. When Jackanory began, some people were apparently worried that it would lead to fewer children reading for themselves but in fact the reverse was true and there was a big increase in library loans of books by the authors featured on the program and of prequels and sequels.
But with such a variety of ways to consume books these days, is there still a place for radio or TV programs where people read to you? And with our short attention spans, are bite-sized installments of books a good thing or are we too keen to rush to the end?
For much of history, reading was a noisy activity – storytelling was essentially communal – but these days it’s largely silent. However a growing body of research suggests that we may be missing out by reading only with the voices inside our minds. The ancient art of reading aloud has a number of benefits for adults, from helping improve our memories and understand complex texts, to strengthening emotional bonds between people.
Going back to the idea of a book at bedtime, reading in bed used to be one of my favourite things to do until a few years 
ago when I found that if I read a book before I turned out the light, instead of sleeping I would lie awake for ages thinking about it – or fall asleep and dream about it. Nor did the book need to be very exciting to make me do this. It was so tiring I had to stop! These days I prefer to have a lie in with a book and a nice cup of tea in the morning, and go to sleep with a relaxation tape.
So what do you think? Do you ever listen to book serializations? Do you enjoy readings at literature festivals or soirees? And how do you feel about reading or listening to books just before you go to sleep? Does that work for you?
