I must admit I used to have mixed feelings about audio books. Most of my own titles have been contracted as audios, which was nice, especially since when I listened to snippets I thought they did a terrific job. But frankly between the price and what I assumed would be slower progress through a book, I wasn’t an early fan of this form of “reading.”

Until my daughter was telling me how much she enjoyed listening to books in the car on her way to and from work. I work at home, so that didn’t hold much appeal—however, I do take the dog for a walk every day and have grown a bit weary of listening to the same songs. I mix my songs and separate them on different lists according to various moods or even book theme to help generate ideas for whatever story I may be working on. That’s always made my walks a favorite time of my day. But my music library needs a serious update. If only I had the time!

While waiting for the right time to do that, I thought it might be a good idea to try a book on tape for my walks instead.

Like magic, we can have stories read to us the way they were meant to sound!

Now I wish I’d given audio books a chance earlier! I’ve listened to several books this way, and each one has been a delight. I find myself enjoying more titles this way, books I might not have taken the time to explore. For the most part, the performances are terrific. Even ones that seem a little strained or robotic at first soon bow to the power of the plot and characters and I get caught up in the story.

I feel like I’m rediscovering my love of books all over again! Not only that, I’m taking longer walks so my dog and I are getting a little more exercise. 🙂 I can also do quite a bit of multi-tasking when it comes to this form of entertainment. I can listen in the car, just as my daughter does, but to and from the grocery store instead of work. I no longer hurry home or mind slow traffic, because the journey to and from anywhere is so enjoyable. I can also listen while I sweep the floor or fold laundry or any number of household duties when I’m alone. I realize just how wrong I was to assume listening to a book would take longer than physically reading it myself. I usually read before going to bed, but I’m often too tired to get very far no matter how enjoyable the book. So listening while I’m doing other things has allowed me to zoom through new titles faster than many other books I’ve held in my hands to read.

With the deal I have through Audible I pay just over $11 per title, unless they offer a special or daily deal when I can take advantage of lower prices. This isn’t a commercial for that site, though. You may prefer another site and get an even better deal.

Next time you’re invited to a free trial, single audio title for free or want to join a special deal for audio titles, I’d recommend giving it a try. You might just be won over!