Playing the holidays by ear, with CDs, tapes, and more

Since Books on Tape is discontinuing its rental program, Recorded Books is one of the few places to turn for an enormous selection of rental titles. The company has 11 imprints, ranging from Spanish-language audiobooks to British imports and any manner of fiction. It also offers the erudite Modern Scholar Series. Contact the company at 800-638-1304 or www.recordedbooks.com.

For an environmentally sound gift, you can always give a gift certificate to Audible.com, which offers a wide selection of audiobooks, periodicals, original programs, and only-on-audio productions. There are certificates for $20, $50, and $100, good for downloading audiobooks, for an AudibleListener Membership, or for Audible.com gear. Contact the company at www.audible.com or 888-283-5051.

One of the best holiday titles this reviewer has ever heard is the late Jean Shepherd's ''A Christmas Story," read by Dick Cavett.These warm and funny stories were the inspiration for the 1983 movie, which Shepherd co-wrote and narrated, about young Ralphie Parker. Cavett adopts different voices and attitudes, all the while enhancing the humor with a perfectly timed delivery. Christmas music and slyly witty sound effects are used to great advantage. This really is a Yuletide treat.

Satisfy the foodies in your life with one of three memoir-cookbooks recently released on audio. The print versions are cookbooks with essays, but only the author's remembrances have been transferred to audio, though five recipe cards come with each title.

Looking back on the feast that was her life in ''Hallelujah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes," Maya Angelou ladles up a rich serving of food-infused stories. Each recipe is presented with a back story and made all the more enticing by the author's lilting delivery and joyous laughter. Of the three food-inspired memoirs, this is the most enticing.