Audiobooks May Be A Way To Read When Time Is Short

2007-12-19T03:01:00.001-08:00

If you're an avid book lover like me, some places and situations fill you with dread because you know you won't be able to read your favorite book. Driving, going to the gym, doing chores or cleaning seem so boring without a book! But until recently, the thought of -- gasp -- listening to a book filled me with as much dread and disgust as the thought of watching the miniseries adaptation of a Hemingway novel.

But recently, when I found myself required to make a cross-country drive, I made a split-second decision to pick up a few audiobooks to help keep me awake during my long, tedious hours at the wheel. To my surprise, I was quite pleased with the experience.

Audio books that I found were unabridged versions, meaning that the original version is completely transferred over into the audio version, no editing. These titles are wonderfully read by a host of voice talent from The Nanny Diaries read by Julia Roberts to The Norwalk Watch read by the deep, expressive George Watson.

After my holiday, I added audiobooks alongside the traditional printed versions. While driving to work, taking care of other business, tidying the house, looking things up in the library, in the kitchen, or even bathing, I can now "read" as a brief diversion.

When I discovered that there were hundreds of thousands of audio books to download online, my "reading" habits became even more obsessive. I discovered that to download an audiobook was not only simple but also inexpensive -- cheaper than buying a new trade paperback or hardcover at the bookstore.

I also found out that audiobook genres were not limited just to fiction -- in fact, there is a wealth of nonfiction titles available, running the gamut to self-help and finance to astronomy to biography to biology. I even discovered that there are many fascinating lectures given by top-ranking professors available online.

Audiobooks are just as enjoyable to listen to as written books are to read. With audiobooks, proper word pronunciation doesn't break the listener's concentration. Unabridged versions and summarized versions of many books are available.

If you're a bookworm, you may feel the urge to read everywhere you can -- of course there are many places and situations where this is not possible. With audiobooks, you can listen to your favorite book while driving, house cleaning, and doing many other tasks. Fortunately, it is easy to download audiobook on many subjects, in many genres, usually inexpensively.