Hey, guess what? I finally figured out who hosts June Is Audiobook Month - the
Audiobook Publisher's Association (who'da thunk it?).
Do you listen to audiobooks?
I first started listening to audiobooks about five years ago. I felt like my brain was turning to putty at work. To try to keep my brain alive, I brought in an old boom box and started listening to music and NPR. Soon I decided if I could focus well enough on that programming to get something out of it without having it impact my work, I might as well try books. I spent the next year plugged into audiobooks until I finally changed positions. In a sense, audiobooks saved my sanity.
Not long after I started listening to books on CD, I began blogging. Of the 23 books I reviewed in the first month I was blogging, ten were audiobooks. I was hooked, despite mixed experiences. If it weren't for my inability to give up on books, there's no way I would have finished Andre Dubus III's
The Garden Of Last Days despite an very interesting story. On the other hand, Michael Chabon's
The Yiddish Policemen's Union was so good, I would be willing to pick up anything Peter Reigert narrated. The reader can make or break a book, no matter how well written it is. Do you have particular narrators you would recommend?
I've also enjoyed using LearnOutLoud.com and Librivox.org, both great sources of free classic literature. I was able to listen to Austen, Twain, Chopin, Voltaire and Wharton right off my computer while I worked but any of the books could be downloaded. One of these days, I'm going to have to figure out how to do that with my new phone! I know a lot of you use Audible.com; what other sites are available to audio downloads?
I can't listen to books at work any more but I've always got a supply of books in my car to listen to while I'm driving. What are you doing while you're listening to books?
Later this week I want to talk favorites!
Audible works for me, once you get addicted to their monthly *free* credit, well - you're hooked. (oh yea, I do know I pay for that credit. sure...)
ReplyDeleteI have only begun to embrace audio books this past year. I began with The Great Gatsby and then had to read Middlemarch for my book group. Couldn't bear the idea of lifting such a heavy book while lying in bed so listened to the audio. I think they're great, especially for something difficult. Am listening to Moby Dick now. Much easier than holding such a chunkster and trying to concentrate on the text.
ReplyDeleteI keep planning to get more Audio books out of the library, but I never do. I should think they're useful for listening to blockbuster novels and some of the classic literature. We have a good daily session on a BBC radio channel that I can listen to as I'm working on my home computer although that's dependent on listening every day, of course.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy audio books if the actor(s) are good and of course the story :) I've been listening to Christopher Hitchens this week.
ReplyDeleteFunny how I can sit book in hand all day and yet give me an audiobook and I quickly become bored. Still, each to their own, its just as well there is a market out there for these things as I know some people, my mam for one, wouldn't be without them.
ReplyDeleteI've been totally hooked on audiobooks for over 10 years...they allow me to fit so many more books into my life. And I love how listening often gives another dimension to the book.
ReplyDeleteI love audio books and 2013 has seemed to be the YEAR for me. I use audible.com app on my iPhone/iPad. I also use overdrive for the free YA audio books I get every summer. I always listen to them in my car, walking, and just doing stuff around the house!
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