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Books on tape have opened up a whole new world of reading to me.

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My mother died 48 years ago, but I can still remember her beautiful voice singing, reciting poetry and reading stories to me. When I could read on my own, I was rarely without a book in my hand. I read every Nancy Drew book just as soon as it came out. I took it for granted that I could pick up a book and read anything that sparked my interest.

When my sons were born, my husband and I began reading to them right away. They loved the bedtime ritual of sitting close in our laps, looking at the pictures in the books and reciting along in their favorite parts. Little did we know that our older son, Casey, could not actually see any of the words in those books.

At age three, Casey moved and played like most other kids, but he couldn't find things when we pointed them out to him. Many tests by many doctors revealed Casey had a shocking 90 percent vision loss, with a 20/200 acuity in his residual vision. Reading aloud throughout the day became second nature to our family. When the new Animorph or Harry Potter books came out, we would read them out loud so Casey could enjoy them right away like other kids.

I love libraries and bookstores, but I can't go in one now without feeling that old ache in my heart that, unlike me, Casey can never browse around or hold a regular book in his hands and read it. Casey studied Braille for six years, but his preferred mode of reading is through books on tape. In fact, we all love to read this way. When my boys were teens we still read books together on tape or CD on long trips in the car.

Instead of swinging on a hammock, reading a paperback, he swings with an earphone mike and a small tape recorder in his pocket.

Books on tape have opened up a whole new world of reading to me. Hearing a good reader can add an unforgettable dimension to a book. I read “Cry the Beloved Country” in school, and I read it again with renewed appreciation as an adult. However, when I found it later in the library, read on tape by an African actress, the poetry of Alan Paton's words literally sang out to me, moving me more deeply than ever.

Libraries now have growing collections of audio books, but they are still limited. We buy some books on CD, but they are much more expensive than printed books. Because of Casey's disability, however, he has access to two very important libraries: New York State Talking Book & Braille Library, (800) 342-3688; and Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic, (800) 221-4792.

Since we discovered Casey's blindness, he has been receiving free tapes sent in green plastic boxes that he listens to on special tape recorders. Instead of swinging on a hammock, reading a paperback, he swings with an earphone mike and a small tape recorder in his pocket. Casey, now 21, is a voracious reader. I recently saw a list of books he has ordered from the Talking Book Library, and discovered he has read well more than a thousand books, and that's not counting the books on tape we have bought ourselves, the books he's read many times over, or the books we've read to him!

The blind and visually impaired are not the only ones who can benefit from these libraries. Anyone with a doctor's letter stating they have a disability that limits his or her ability to read print can receive these books on tape. Listening to books is in every way as legitimate as reading with ones eyes. Being literate and having access to the information and to the pure delight that books hold doesn't have to be only for those who can decipher words on a page.

Sometimes when we have arrived home, having listened to some fabulous book in the car, we can't bear to stop reading it. We come inside, put the tape on the recorder in the family room, and sit together quietly listening, mesmerized, and I'm grateful that our son, Casey, has brought this special dimension of reading into our lives.

Margaret Wakeley is Community Development Coordinator for A Network for Grateful Living and also works as a freelance singer and voice-over actor.