The recent LOTR post inspired me to share this bit of news with you!  Highbridge Audio:

http://www.highbridgeaudio.com/index.html

has released the classic recordings of the Hobbit and LOTR that were broadcast on NPR (complete with music, sound effects, and excellent voice actors)!  I must say that I'm finding dramatized audio books more and more appealing all the time.  It's FAR from a word for word rendition, which in many respects is much preferable. Also, I think it's more Tolkienesque than the Jackson films, and in some ways far better. 

Besides Tolkien, they also have Edgar Allan Poe (excellent!), other classics, poetry, and of course the NPR radio dramatizations of the Star Wars trilogy (which is a whopping 14.5 hours long! far longer than the 3 movies put together)!!  Anyway, I'm curious if anyone else enjoys these besides myself?  If not, I highly recommend it

cheers,

-avatar!