Richard Adams, author of “Watership Down,” in 1974. Credit Tom Smith/Daily Express, via Hulton Archive, via Getty Images.
One of the virtues of reading a narrative aloud, to children or indeed to anyone, is the way that vocalizing a story clarifies its power, especially in the quavering passion that you try to keep from your voice (because you don’t want your kids to think their dear dad is too emotional) but that bleeds through in spite of everything. And with a hundred pages to go I can already tell that when I get to the climax of “Watership Down,” I’m going to be a wreck.
(Ross Douthat, “‘Watership Down’ and the Crisis of Liberalism,” NYTimes, 10-22-19)
I join Douthat in being way in cahoots with reading aloud even if it’s to no one.
(c) 2019 JMN
EthicalDative 
I’ve had the same experience of another level of enjoyment when I read novels out loud.
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I’m glad you’ve shared the experience. My fiction reading is stalled at present, but several years ago reading Faulkner aloud slowed me down enough to finally get into several of his novels with great delight. It helps reading aloud that I live alone!
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