Reading is the favorite pastime of millions of people. Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy to sit down and focus on a good book. Whether money is an issue, or simply time, or you just find yourself in a loud and distracting environment more often than not, concentrating and getting the most out of your story is getting harder and harder than ever. This is why more and more people are starting to listen to fiction podcasts.
An excellent podcast to tune in to is The New Yorker Fiction podcast by the New Yorker magazine. While they have many podcasts to choose from, many which focus on different short stories, a great choice is “Roy Spivey,” written by Miranda July. July is an author, film director, and screenwriter. “Roy Spivey,” is one of her best known works. On this podcast, the short story is read aloud by David Sedaris, who specifically chose this story to read aloud.
The podcast begins with an introduction to July and is followed by Sedaris’s justification for choosing, “Roy Spivey.” He then gives a short synopsis of the story, which focuses on a chance encounter with a celebrity on an airplane, who the narrator calls, “Roy Spivey.” After the introductions, Sedaris begins by reading the entire short story.
Clocking in at just over 30 minutes, this short story is powerful, and even more so while read by Sedaris. If you have the time and a set of headphones, you owe it to yourself to experience this story.