21, 22, 23 - Reading at the CNIB

James, Studio Volunteer, CNIB, Toronto

Volunteering at CNIB is a pleasure, I love to read and I want to ensure this pleasure is available to others. I must admit that I get as much pleasure out of reading the books as the listeners do. I have narrated books that I would never previously have thought of reading. I have enjoyed immersing myself in the performance of the books. I have made many good friends among the other volunteers...sometimes I think that I get too much pleasure out of volunteering - when people say that I am being altruistic, I have to say that in one way it doesn't feel like it, I enjoy it so much.

Multi-tasking, narrating an audio book requires co-ordination of performance and technical ability to monitor the recording equipment. This keeps me in practice, and has taught me new IT skills; volunteering at CNIB is in fact a two-way street, the volunteers directly benefit from narration training.



I often stand to narrate the book, whereas others choose to be seated, as I find this helps me give the most effective and clear performance. It is my intention to give the best reading of the book possible, I always try to put myself in the shoes of the listener, and also of the author to be the perfect medium between the two.