I was talking to a friend recently about audiobooks. My friend had never listened to an audiobook before and the reason he gave was that he usually read a book at night, in bed, for half an hour or so before turning the lights out.
Of course, reading is a largely silent activity – unless it is such an exciting or terrifying book that you can’t stop yourself gasping, yelling or even screaming! And he said that, if he was listening to an audiobook instead of reading to himself, it would irritate his wife whilst she was trying to nod off alongside him!
Well OK. A fair point. But what about headphones? They still emit a tinny little sound and are therefore unlikely to appease his wife, he said.
So, the next question is, why limit yourself to listening to an audiobook at the same time and in the same circumstances as when you would read a book? The advantage of audiobooks is that they are surprisingly versatile in terms of their application.
For example, got a long car journey where you are the driver (or even the passenger)? That’s a great time to listen to an audiobook. Believe me, you really shouldn’t try reading when you’re driving, and reading when you’re a passenger can bring on car sickness (for me anyway!).
Doing some gardening or going for a walk? Again, an ideal time to stick those ear buds in and listen.
Cooking? My wife often has her phone on the worktop, (usually with my voice reverberating from it), whilst she’s stirring and chopping. And her cooking hasn’t suffered – it is still as delicious as always!
Going for a run or exercising indoors on your treadmill, rowing machine or cross-trainer? Listening to an audiobook whilst exercising takes your mind off the potential monotony and pain and makes the time trip by!
All these situations are ones which do not lend themselves to holding and reading a book. So you can see that most of us should have more time to listen to an audiobook than we think.
At present, audiobooks sell only around 10% of the number of books. And although they are slowly closing the gap, they’re still a long way behind. For sure, not everyone get’s on with an audiobook. Some people just prefer the sound of their own voice in their head than the sound of someone else’s. And, although it’s pretty easy to skip back to a previous chapter, or even an earlier segment of the current chapter, some people are just more used to flicking back a few pages to find the bit they want to review.
There are potential downsides to everything. But I get the sense that many people won’t try an audiobook simply because they’re set in their ways, enjoy reading and don’t see the reason to change. Fair enough…..but I would urge you to just try one, at least once! It applies a different perspective to reading a book and you might just be pleasantly surprised.
Another complaint that I sometimes hear is that audiobooks are more expensive than their paperback and kindle versions. Well, if you buy an audiobook as a one-off, that might be so, but an Audible subscription costs $7.99 per month for which you can download any audiobook you choose.
But if you are simply prepared to try one, you can forget about the cost. On this website, you can request any one of my audiobooks free of charge, whether it’s your first audiobook or 101st. So do give it a go! You’ve nothing to lose. Listen to the samples, read the synopsis and make your choice. And if it turns out you don’t get on with it, then at least it’s cost you nothing….except a little bit of that time that you’ve got more of than you think!
Happy Listening! Cheers, Andy