"It's a pretty good book ... You should try it. It's about bunnies. They talk."

Last week I finished listening to Richard Adams's Watership Down.  Watership Down was the first audiobook that I've used as running entertainment that wasn't a part of a series.  I decided to read it because it was on NPR's top 100 Science Fiction, Fantasy books list.

Before listening to the story, I was skeptical.  How could a bunny adventure possibly be interesting to an adult?  But somehow it made it to 32nd place on the NPR list, so I decided to give it a try.

I quickly learned that Watership Down is not just a bunny adventure.  It is about leadership, loyalty, and bravery in the face daunting odds.  The story starts with a band of rabbits setting off in search of a new home.  The lead characters (Hazel, Fiver, Pipkin, Bigwig, Dandelion, and Blackberry) are richly developed with differing personalities.  I gained a new sympathy for wild animals and the dangers they face.

The rabbits also share tales of their folk hero El-ahrairah throughout the book.  El-ahrairah was everything that a rabbit should be: brave, clever, and a great leader to his people.  The stories, usually told by Dandelion, inspire the rabbits when the world around them seems too treacherous.

Alek started to read Watership Down after I raved about how great it was during the 6 weeks it took me to complete the 15 hour audiobook.  I found the book to be a bit more suspenseful than he has, mostly because the start and stop nature of listening to an audiobook only when running causes more suspense to build up.  Alek can just keep reading.  I think that makes it a great book for running since the suspense only makes the story better!