[my oregon: the audiobook]

An 8-CD set featuring 109 columns published in the 2005 book, My Oregon.

More than nine hours of heart and humor about the state he loves and the people and places that make it so special, read by author Bob Welch.

Release date: Nov. 1, 2007

Format: 8-CDs in a handsome 5 1/4 by 7 1/2 inch hard plastic case.

Price: $29.99.

Produced by: Jeff Weinkauf at PynGiz Productions in Eugene.

AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR BOB WELCH, WHO READS ALL 109 OF THE ESSAYS:

Q. What led to the decision to produce an audio version of My Oregon?
A. Part of it was my fascination with authors like Garrison Keillor, whose storytelling is even better "heard" than "read." Part of it was the rising popularity of audibooks. And part of it was having had so many people at author's events in the last two years tell me either they or someone they knew would love the book but had poor eyesight and, thus, couldn't read it.

Q. How long did it take to produce the audiobook?
A. Exactly one month from the first day Jeff Weinkauf and I began the recording process. It took far longer than I imagined: four three-to-six-hour recording sessions. I somehow thought we could get the recording done in one long day. But I underestimated how many ways you can mispronounce words or the emphasis on words. And how long Jeff would need to "master" the eight discs.

Q. The hardest part ?
A. No question: Not being able to yell as loudly as I'd have liked at the Cal game for fear that I'd strain my voice for the next day's recording session.

Q. Who do you see buying this audiobook?
A. I expect that the most sales to come from people who enjoy reading my work — probably already have read My Oregon — but are curious about how it might sound straight from the author.

Q. Will you be turning other books into audio versions?

A. That, of course, will depend on sales of this one, but I'm hopeful that, yes, we will. I'd like to do A Father For All Seasons for 2008.

Q. What are these seasons you refer to in the title?
A. My stories fit into five sections: Spring, a time of starting afresh; summer, a time of exploration; fall, a time of change; winter, a time of letting go; and “second spring” a time of starting all over with a new role. For example, your son leaves for college or gets married — or maybe is a wayward son who says he’s leaving for good. Regardless of the circumstances, you will always be his father and he will always be your son. I thought when my sons left for school my fathering days were over. No, no, no. Not by a long shot. Different roles, yes; more “friends,” less “teacher/student.” More getting humiliated in games of golf or football or basketball; less strutting for Dad.

Q. The book has a lot of lighthearted stories and yet some others about letting go, even death. Why the latter?
A. Because, when you think about it, the whole father-son process is about a gradual “letting go:” Taking a kid to kindergarten, watching him drive off in a car for the first time, seeing him go off to college — in some cases, as you suggest, never seeing him again. Our jobs as fathers in, essence, is to work ourselves out of a job — to prepare our children to face the world without us. And sometimes, as with the case in a story called “Roses,” we never even get the chance to let go. Our son is suddenly just gone, in this case swept away by a river.

Q. What did you learn, or were reminded of, in writing the book?
A. That fatherhood is an awesome experience. That it’s painful looking in the mirror sometimes. That one of the biggest mistakes you can make as a father is assuming that each of your children is like the other. I confess, that lesson came late to me. But all in all, writing the book was therapeutic. It helped me deal with the loss of my dad and prepared me for letting go of my sons.

Q. Last question: Say you get sick of books. What movies that deal with the father-son relationship would you recommend?
A. Three come to mind. Shine is a wonderful — though painful at times — movie about fathers with unrealistic expectations for their sons,and what it can do to those sons. October Sky is quite the opposite — about fathers who don’t dare let their sons dream. And A River Runs Through It, beyond offering the obvious aesthetically pleasure of seeing gorgeous Montana trout streams, deals with that often-awkward parenting time when our sons have grown up, and yet still need us — even if, in this case, one son is too proud to ask for help.