6 Reasons to Love Audiobooks

One of the biggest changes I have made this year in my reading habits (besides the sheer number of books that I am reading) is that I have adopted audiobooks.

While I have been a champion of others listening to audiobooks, especially in their fringe hours, it is not something I ever did. I’m not really sure why. I’ve just always been a paper book/kindle reader.

I started my first audiobook in May and it has already become a huge part of my reading life. I can’t believe it took me so long on the bandwagon and now I want to encourage everyone I know to try audio books out!

Here are 6 reasons why audiobooks are great:

• You can listen to a book during times when you couldn’t otherwise read, such as when you are doing the laundry, getting ready in the morning and driving. Not only does it make the time go by faster, but it makes it more enjoyable. I have found myself thinking, yay, another load of laundry to fold. I can listen to my book some more. Ha!
• You always have a book with you: Thanks to the Audible app and our phones always being with us, you always have a book to enjoy. In my fringe hours research, I found that the number one thing women wanted to do in their free time was read and listening to audiobooks makes that incredibly easy.
• You can read more books at the same time. I am usually a one book at a time person, but now that I am listening to audiobooks, I find that I typically have two books going at once.
• You are forced to take in a story more slowly. This is both a pro and a con, but more a pro, in my opinion. What I mean by this is because audio narration takes longer than silent reading, I find that I pay closer attention and am drawn into a story in a deeper way.
• The characters become more alive. When an audiobook is done well, the characters take on living personas that they don’t do when you read normally. I just finished listening to Lilac Girls and without question, it will be in my top 5 books for 2016, maybe top book of the year. I absolutely loved it. And while I think I would have loved it had I read the hard copy, I think I loved it even more because the three characters were voiced by three incredibly talented women, including an Emmy-nominated actress. I highly recommend the audio.
• You are motivated to read longer books. I generally steer away from books that are more than 500 pages just because they feel so long. With an audiobook, I am more likely to select a long book. I’m excited to be starting Outlander soon, which is a whopping 850 pages. I think it will fly by on audio.

Get Free Audio Books

I get my audiobooks through Audible, which is an Amazon company. Audible currently has a special Amazon Prime members promo where you can try Audible.com for just $4.95 a month (regularly $14.95 a month). This is like buying one month and getting two months free and is a savings of $30. Go here to take advantage of this deal now.

I took advantage of a similar free trial, and I’m hooked! (In addition to Lilac Girls, I also loved Secrets of a Charmed Life.)

You can also get audiobooks for free from the library. I haven’t tried this yet, but at the rate I’m going, I plan to soon!

For More on Reading

Check out my books section here on The Mom Creative and read this post for more on finding time to read.

Do you listen to audiobooks? If so, share some of your favorite titles in the comments!

 

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