Q: So, are you really blind?
A: Yup, legally blind. No light perception in my right eye and I can count fingers at 1-2 feet away (depending on the day) with my left. Blindness is a spectrum and all that, and most blind people have some residual vision.
Q: How do you read books?
A: For audiobooks, I try to get them from the National Library Service which provides free audiobooks for blind people and other people who have disabilities that prevent them from reading print books. If they’re not there, I check my local library’s digital collection. After that, I check Libro.fm (an audiobook site that lets you support local bookstores!) or Audible if they’re exclusives. If there isn’t an audio version available, I borrow or purchase the e-book version and use the text-to-speech option on my Kindle.
Q: Oh, so you’re listening to the books and not reading them?
A: Technically, yes. I’m not quite proficient in reading Braille (yet) so it’s kind of my only option. However, I say “read a book” the same way I say “watch a movie” even though I just listen to the audio description. No purist pedantism from me. However you choose to read is valid and is READING! 💛
Q: How do you get through, like, three books a day sometimes?
A: I usually have them playing at 2.25x to 3x speed. It takes too much time otherwise, especially since I was a fairly fast reader when I could still read print.
Q: Isn’t that kind of cheating?
A: Maybe. Sighted people can drive, though, so I guess we’re even. 😉
Blind Bookworm 