For the first 28 years of my life I never once listened to an audiobook. I was a hardcore, old school traditionalist in that I couldn’t even IMAGINE doing anything besides actually reading a physical book.  As a result, I was lucky to get through 10 books a year. Usually it was way less than that.

But last year I got a new job that brought my commute up to 30-40 minutes one way and I realized I needed SOMETHING to do during that time that would keep me awake.

Enter audiobooks.

Thanks to audiobooks, I can get through 70 books a year now, or more! Currently my Goodreads Challenge goal for the year is set at 100. I’m at 99 finished books right now. All but probably 10 of those are audiobooks.

Reading a physical book is still my number one preference by a long shot, but I have to admit, audiobooks has opened up a new world of reading for me. The list below is my attempt to sway any old school traditionalists like I used to be to listen to an audiobook now and then.

  1. They are PERFECT for commutes or long drives.  I used to sing in the car at the top of my lungs to keep myself awake and alert on commutes and long drives. There was only one problem, after a while my voice gave out and I couldn’t sing anymore. Not a concern with audiobooks. If you get an exciting and engaging audiobook going, you’re mind will stay alert and you’ll be entertained during your drive without having to take your eyes off the road!
  2. They help you get through mundane chores. I actually look forward to cooking and cleaning now because I can listen to my audiobook while I do it. Okay, that’s a slight over-exaggeration. I’ll never look forward to those things. But they aren’t as bad when I have a good book playing in my ear. My TV time has been cut drastically down because that’s what I used to do during chores. Now it’s all audiobooks all the time.
  3. It doesn’t take nearly as long to get through a book.  This is my favorite feature of audiobooks. I’m a slow reader but a super faster listener.  If you listen to them on an app, you can speed up the reading pace.  I am able to listen to mine at twice the read speed, which means I can get through a book in 7-9 hours on average.
  4. Depending on the narrator, audiobooks can be very entertaining to listen to. I love hearing the characters with different voices and added emotion and inflection in their dialogue. If you haven’t listening to the Harry Potter audiobooks narrated by Jim Dale you need to do it right now. I give you permission to leave this post and listen to them. He does an amazing job.
  5. They are a great way to up your classics game. I have found audiobooks are a great way to get through classics. It can feel agonizing sometimes to read pages and pages of the long-winded descriptions classic literature is known for. But with an audiobook, you can double the speed, get the gist of it, and listen while you cook or do something else.
  6. You can listen to them for free. I use the Overdrive app to connect to my local libraries digital books collection to borrow e-books and audiobooks directly to my phone or device. Once I borrow the book, it downloads for a few weeks then is removed from my storage either when I return it or it expires. It’s been a really efficient and cheap way to discover new books I’m not sure I’ll love that I’d be hesitant to spend money on.
  7. They are good companions while exercising. I try to jog a few times a week. I do not enjoy jogging, but I do it to stay healthy. However, I find I enjoy, maybe even look forward to jogs a little more when I know I have a good audiobook to listen to whilst I run.

Have I convinced you? I hope so. I went from spurning the idea of audiobooks to being one of their biggest supporters! I encourage you to at least give them a try and I hope you love them as much as I do!