Audiobooks

In our current day and age of technology, many people complain that they simply don’t have the time to read and that it’s too much of an inconvenience for them to take time away from their busy schedules in order to sit down with a book. This is a common complaint in our society as the large majority of the adult population works a full time job - if not more than that and many have children, family commitments, and other responsibilities that can leave little time in the day for enjoyable activities. When it comes to our every day obligations reading is often last to make this list and unless it’s an activity that one truly enjoys its uncommon for most adults to make time during their day to read. There are plenty of statistics available - most of which quote despairing facts like the one that says more than a third of recent high school graduates will never read a book again in their life or another that tells that more than half the American population won’t buy or read a book this year and while this paints a grim picture there has been some hope in the reclaiming of the written word through audiobooks.

Everyone has a cell phone now and more and more companies are pairing our mobile phone technology with the ability to listen to mp3’s access the internet and, with the developing market of e-books, read fiction and other works on the go. However many people still say that, technology or no, they simply don’t have the time to sit and read even for ten or fifteen minutes. The answer for many book lovers who have found themselves with a shortage of available time has been audiobooks. Audiobooks are widely available and can be purchased through a number of different outlets such as various online music and movie stores (like itunes) or from a variety of dedicated booksellers such as Barnes and Noble, Borders, and the book section of Amazon. This easy access makes it simple to sync an audiobook to a phone, mp3 player or a computer and can add some convenience to the life of a busy would-be reader. The ability to have audiobooks with such easy access not only makes it much more likely that a person will find time to read but the inherent nature of audiobooks themselves lends a helping hand to those who struggle to find time for the written word.

Audiobooks are so crucial to readers with less than an ideal amount of time simply because they allow you to multitask. With an audiobook you don’t have to put a complete stop to the busy happenings of your day. Instead you can make good use of time that might be taken up by other things and listen to your audiobooks simultaneously. This is a wonderful way to go about your reading (or listening, as it were) because it allows you to take part in one of the most wonderful pastimes without feeling guilty or worry about accomplishing other activities or fulfilling your responsibilities. Most mainstream books are reproduced in audio format now so it shouldn’t be difficult to find the one you want. There are audiobooks for many varieties of books like self-help, nonfiction, history, biography, and most popular fiction is reproduced in audio format quite quickly.

Audiobooks can be listened to almost anywhere, and at almost anytime. Obviously you don’t want to listen at work as this would be unproductive and probably not well-liked by your boss but there are plenty of other places and times where an audiobook can come in handy. A lot of people take to listening to audiobooks in their car on their daily commute to and from work which is a great way to make use of time that you are forced to spend in your car that might otherwise be wasted with mindless driving or boring talk radio. Other people will listen to audiobooks as they run errands, go grocery shopping, walk the dog, do the dishes or laundry, and other similar activities. Its easy to slip an ipod into your pocket or a cd into the car and take a few of those lost minutes back to enjoy a good book. There’s no reason why anyone shouldn’t take advantage of such technology especially when it’s so convenient and easy to use.

Some people have an aversion to audiobooks simply because they like reading or are more visual learners. If you find yourself in this situation it’s best to just learn to manage your time better because a preference for reading by sight probably wont be satisfied by an audiobook. Some people also complain that they don’t care for the voices of the people who read the books. Usually this is something that you’ll stop noticing after you’ve listened to the book for a little while but if it really bothers you there are always other versions of the book available and you can try to find a different reader of the book. Others say that they struggle to remain focused on the book and miss parts because of the other activities and things they are doing like driving, or running errands. While it’s important not to get distracted from your tasks (especially driving which could be dangerous) it’s also easy to remember that you can simply rewind a bit of the book if you missed it and let it play again. Conveniences like these make it hard to come up with any good excuse to not listen to audiobooks. Plus you’re likely to get through the book faster as you’ll be “reading” it as you go about your daily routine. You can also make a habit of checking out audiobooks from the library in order to save yourself some money.

Overall audiobooks are a really great way to get in your daily reading time especially for someone who has a fairly busy life and they are a new technology that should definitely be taken advantage of. Hit up your local bookstore or library to see what audiobooks they have and see if they don’t make a big difference in your reading habits.