Like Katie, I started out just listening to audiobooks on long car trips. I went to college in Kentucky, and so that required two massive car trips per year. My mom and I would drive the 19 hours from Texas to Kentucky in the fall, and my dad would drive back to Texas with me at the beginning of summer. With both parents, we would listen to various audiobooks. I made the hours pass by quickly, and let us discover some very interesting reads. My dad and I listened to John Adams by David McCullough on one trip and were both delighted with it. I don't remember what others we listened to. My mom and I listened to The Namesake, Pride and Prejudice, several of the Harry Potters, and several others. We got most of these books from the library, but my dad and I occasionally bought audiobooks at Cracker Barrel, where you can sell them back at your next stop!
After I enjoyed these audiobooks so much, I started listening to them in the car when I was just around town. I loved having something so interesting to read, and it always made traffic jams and other delays so much more enjoyable. Some people say, well, I don't have a long commute, but I don't think it really matters. Even just 5 minutes in the car here and there is a enough to enjoy a book.
I also like to listen to audiobooks on CDs when I am doing something crafty around the house. It don't like to watch TV that much when I am crafting because I end up looking up to watch and get distracted from what I am doing. Plus, I think audiobooks help me to be more creative!
My next favorite time to listen is when I am falling asleep. I usually do this with my iPhone. The only problem is when I wake up 5 hours later, and it's still playing. For a few seconds, I am completely confused (and sometimes freaked out) by the random voice talking to me in a dark room. But falling asleep to the book is lovely--just like being read a bedtime story. It always takes me a long time to find the last place I remember listening to, but it's worth it.
Finally, I like to listen to audiobooks when I'm walking or working out. Music doesn't keep me interested enough when I'm really unmotivated to exercise, so I need real distraction. I either listen to audiobooks or podcasts on my iPhone. It makes the unpleasant task go much more quickly and easily.
Because of my audiobook listening habits, I get my audiobooks from two main sources: the library and iTunes. I get CDs (or my new favorite, MP3 CDs) from the library and listen in the car, or on my CD player in the house. Occasionally, I will buy an audiobook, but that's usually for a very long car trip as a special treat. I put audiobooks on my iPhone with downloads from iTunes. You can usually find deeply discounted books, and it takes me a lot longer to get through a book on my iPhone than in my car (I obviously spend a lot more time driving than exercising!) so it's worth the purchase. I've heard great things about audible.com, but I've yet to try it out. Maybe soon!
Okay, that's it for a long post! When do you listen to audiobooks? Where do you get them from? Anyone going to try an audiobook for the first time in a while? I highly recommend them!
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3 comments:
Does the iPhone have a sleep timer like the Ipod does? The rare times I listen before I go to sleep, I use the sleep timer and put it on for 15 or 30 minutes, however long I think it will take me to fall asleep.
I LOVE audiobooks! I started listening to them during my drives from Austin-Dallas, but now I listen to them whenever!
Jen-Yes, I think it does have a sleep timer, but I don't really like them. It usually takes me a while to fall asleep, and I get discouraged when the timer turns it off b/c I know exactly how long I've been lying there. But I think audiobooks help me fall asleep faster (I've only ever tried sleep timers with music) so it's definitely something I should think about! Thanks!
Carolyn- It sounds like most people got started with audiobooks on long car trips and then branched out from there!
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