David Sedaris at WBUR studios in June 2008.

June is National Audiobook Month, and according to writer David Sedaris, also National Cornbread Stuffing Month. In honor of audiobooks and carbs, the author of Naked and When You Are Engulfed in Flames worked with the Get Caught Listening campaign to record a couple of promos to support National Audiobook Month. Entertainment Weekly has the audio files posted exclusively on their site. In his characteristic absurd and humorous style, Sedaris extols the virtues of Sam Lipsyte’s writing in The Ask, the voice work of narrator Dylan Baker, and the ability to eat cornbread stuffing while listening to an audiobook. All for a good cause.

The Get Caught Listening campaign is an extension of the Get Caught Reading campaign, a nationwide public service supported by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) to promote literacy and education. According to their website, one in every five American households listen to audiobooks. The medium has come a long way from the days when many people viewed them singularly as tools for the visually impaired. Now, millions of people from all walks of life enjoy listening to audiobooks each year, and many have developed a deep affection for particular narrators. A post on Publishers Weekly blog mentions several standout narrators, including Barbara Rosenblat: “When she reads, every character becomes as large and as vivid as if on a movie screen, visually complete in the mind’s eye, with no relevance to sex, age, race, nationality, or locale; all the characters are simply real.” Jim Dale is also applauded for bringing audiobooks “to a whole new level with Harry Potter.”

Do you listen to audiobooks on a regular basis? Have a favorite narrator? Leave a comment below and let us know.