Sharps ‘n Flats

As a busy mom and business owner, audiobooks have become one of those modern day conveniences that have added so much joy to my daily life (while they free up some of my precious time).

Here’s why I love audiobooks even more than listening to new music, and why you might want to start an audiobook habit of your own.

1. Audio books help you get monotonous tasks get done. When I have something to do that I dread (repainting the living room, for example) I always treat myself to a brand new audiobook download from audible, where I have a monthly membership that allows me to download two books each month. A fresh new audio book really helps motivate me to do those tasks, large and small, that I simply don’t like. Once you’re into a juicy novel, the time just flies by. The latest version of Amazon’s new wireless reading device will even read to you.

2. They make great use of car time. If you have a long commute, put in a seminar, a language immersion tape, or a motivational download. While listening to music is simply entertainment, by the end of a month or two with audio books you could have learned new vocabulary in a second language, gotten a better understanding of investment strategies, or have simply enjoyed a few wonderful novels.

3. Audiobooks motivate you for exercise. Dedicate an audio book that is particularly suspenseful and intriguing just for the time that you spend on the treadmill or the elliptical. You’ll be dying to get back on the machine tomorrow to find out what happens next.

4. Audiobooks helps keep your kids entertained. If you have a long road trip coming up, get a good fantasy story that you can all listen to together. When kids are listening to an audiobook, they are more likely to be entertained while still looking out the window and enjoying the scenery around them (rather than zoning out with the DVD player.) For the kids, it really helps if you can find a download with a fantastic narrator, so pay special attention to the comments from other readers before you download a book for the entire family. 

5. It’s a great way to learn new things. Some people learn best by hearing information. If that’s you, you owe it to yourself to seek out information in spoken form. Even some textbooks are available in an audio format.

6. You can find and share audiobooks at low cost. Look for discounted audiobooks at used bookstores or thrift stores. Check out books on CD at your local library or online.

You can also get select titles free through Project Gutenberg as well as through LibriVox. (A quick google search will give you the direct URLs.)

You can purchase audiobooks individually through various websites, including iTunes and audible.  If you find that you are downloading more than one paid audiobook each month, you’ll probably save money by paying for a monthly subscription to an audio download site, such as audible or simplyaudiobooks.

Tags: audio books, Benefits of Audio Books, benefits of audiobooks, downloadable audiobooks, free audiobooks

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 7th, 2009 at 8:52 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.