Degrees of Affection

I'm so glad I happened to be glancing around my audible app and saw this was being offered free. I scoped it up immediately and knew I'd have to choose this for my Halloween tale in Holiday Bingo. It's only an hour and fifteen minutes but it feels so much shorter.

I don't know when you were first introduced to Sleepy Hallow but for me it was Disney's The Adventure of Ichabod Crane narrated by Bing Crosby. While it doesn't contain all the text, it does a fair job of covering the story and its Ichabod is perfect. I had read the story - not even really the length of a novella - before but I'd forgotten the descriptions. Irving coaxes the pictures to...blossom in your mind, each word adding scope, depth, etc. There are places I can smell the food, see the dark road, and hear every night noise and horses hooves. Some of my favorite quotes are:

he was a huge feeder and, though lank, had the dilating powers of an anaconda

and

Ichabod was a suitable figure for such a steed. He rode with short stirrups, which brought his knees nearly up to the pommel of the saddle; his sharp elbows stuck out like grasshoppers'; he carried his whip perpendicularly in his hand, like a scepter, and, as his horse jogged on, the motion of his arms was not unlike the flapping of a pair of wings. A small wool hat rested nearly on the top of his nose, and the skirts of his black coat fluttered out almost to the horse's tail.

I can picture him on that horse every time and laugh at the sight.

As for Mison himself, he was exceptional. I really hope he's done or will do more audiobooks, as he made the classic text come alive in a way most modern listeners could relate to. For those who don't know, he plays Ichabod Crane in the TV show Sleepy Hallow, so fans of the show will particularly enjoy this. I will admit, however; hearing an American story about a predominately Dutch settlement read by someone with a British accent was...interesting. Yet it somehow worked out and worked out well by the end.

This is one I plan on listening to at least once more before Halloween and I know it will be a frequently replayed favorite of mine. If any of you have audible and don't yet have this, I suggest you give it a try.