I listened today to half a dozen chapters of an audio book -- Alan Alda's autobiography, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed -- and I'm realizing how much I want feedback on how my own audio book turned out. Not sure how to do that -- perhaps just email people who have purchased it with a list of questions, or I could create a formal questionnaire, but that might suggest that I'm really worried about it.

I love Alan Alda, I've been watching old M*A*S*H episodes on and off for years, and his autobiography is startlingly personal and very funny in places. But he reads too quickly.

As I recorded Practically Shameless, I was well aware of the issue of pacing, as a friend of mine had just purchased Garrison Keillor's newest book, Pontoon and found it almost impossible to listen to because of its speed.

For the company producing the audio book, of course it's best if the recording is as short as possible because it fits on the minimum number of CDs. But what a shame that one can't enjoy the brilliance of Garrison Keillor because he's talking too fast.

Ironically, the best word for the sensation I had after listening to Alda's too-fast performance was -- stuffed.

I read Practically Shameless at a much easier pace, and I'm anxious to find out if that worked well for listeners.