In a hole, in the ground, there lived… Failure.
Yes folks I failed. I failed in the sense that I did not complete the challenge that I set for myself. But I did come away with a few different lessons, and the aspiration to record a little more of The Hobbit audiobook every weekend for the next six weeks.
When I began the two day self designed individual challenge, I set off to record a podcast composed of the life stories and voices of characters I had created. A good two hours in, I realized I had no true want to do this. I felt raw and empty. To give my brain some time to think, I walked to the gas station with my friends Ben and Oscar. Suddenly, an idea came to fruition. With the right amount of sleep deprivation, and the access to the full text of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit, I could record (voices and all) my very own audiobook.
The Hobbit is a book that I have read many times and also heard many times (both from the mouths of professionals and my father). With many an energy drink and many a dwarf in my mind, I set off to record chapter one. That, in truth, is only as far as I got. I realized that I could not (at least not healthily) record an eleven hour book with multiple takes in the span of 30 hours. I was faced with the sick feeling of failure that I have faced many a time before. All I can say is, Chapter One sounds fucking fantastic, and when you hear it, you’ll be asking for more. Give me a couple more weeks… And I’ll give It to you.