| If you are planning on traveling any time soon, rest | | | | you expected, you can move on to a new book, or |
| assured you will have some time to kill. Few things | | | | even review one of your favorites almost instantly. |
| can take you away from those never ending lines or | | | | Now audiobooks are not quite perfect. For one thing, |
| long flights, train, and bus rides like a good story. | | | | it can take a bit longer to listen to a book than to |
| Reading a book is one of the great pastimes for | | | | read it yourself. For example, Ken Follett's "The Pillars |
| travelers en route to their destination. Walk though | | | | Of The Earth" clocks in a 40 hours and 10 minutes |
| the terminal of any airport and you are bound to see | | | | for the unabridged audiobook, and you could most |
| dozens of travelers scanning page after page of text | | | | likely read the same material yourself in about 35 |
| from the latest bestseller. I too, used to be a | | | | hours. To me it's similar to being chauffeured to a |
| die-hard paper and hardback book reader. That was | | | | destination as opposed to driving there yourself. |
| until I listened to my first audio book. I tried an | | | | Another disadvantage, albeit a small one, is that |
| audiobook on a vacation after much persuasion from | | | | audiobooks are not as easy to navigate as traditional |
| my husband who was already a longtime fan. | | | | paper books. If you have to review material already |
| I was tired of craning my neck and reading by cabin | | | | covered in a book, you may find it a bit more difficult |
| light on long flight. I started to take note the he was | | | | to find an exact line or phrase that you had |
| listening to his book while comfortably reclined with | | | | previously read. Finally, cost can be a factor as well. |
| his eyes closed. On bumpy car and bus rides, I had to | | | | At a bookstore, the audio version of a book is |
| put my books and magazines away because of | | | | typically more expensive than a hardcover. |
| motion sickness. All the while, my husband was | | | | While audiobooks are readily available at most book |
| looking out the window, soaking in the sights and | | | | stores and even for free at public libraries, my |
| listening to a good story at the same time. So I | | | | favorite audiobook source for is Audible, an |
| thought it was time to give my tired eyes a vacation | | | | audiobook download service. Audible allows you to |
| too, and I haven't turned back since. Audiobooks | | | | choose from over 40,000 titles, which you can then |
| allow you to pass the time relaxing listening to the | | | | download to your MP3 player, or copy to CD's. You |
| latest bestseller, catching up on the classics, or even | | | | can choose from traditional books, classic radio |
| learning a new language while you are en route to | | | | programs, and even magazines and newspapers. |
| your final destination. | | | | Using the aforementioned "The Pillars Of The Earth" |
| Audiobooks have some great advantages over | | | | by Ken Follett, you could purchase the hardback at |
| traditional books. For one thing, listening is a passive | | | | your local bookstore for about $23, while the same |
| activity, so there's no need to don reading glasses | | | | book at Audible would cost $41. This pricing |
| and constantly scan the pages. You can simply slip on | | | | difference can be brought down however by |
| your headphones, sit back and remove yourself from | | | | subscribing to one of Audible's "AudibleListener" |
| the traveling fray of the airport or train station. I | | | | programs. |
| have found that one the most enjoyable aspects of | | | | To use the Audible service, you visit the website and |
| audiobooks is that they are read by a narrator, who | | | | create an account. You will have the option of |
| is often times a professional actor. This tends to | | | | purchasing the titles a la carte, or subscribing to one |
| bring a little more life to the story, as the narrator will | | | | of their "Audble Listener" programs, which allows you |
| often create different voices for the many | | | | a number of credits per month, and a discount on |
| characters within the story. | | | | purchases over and above your audiobook credits. |
| Also, if you are trying to brush up on a foreign | | | | They typically have an introductory special that will |
| language, it helps to hear the language as it is spoken | | | | allow you to try the service for a lower upfront cost |
| by a native, as opposed to trying to discern | | | | for the fist few months. Once you have signed up, |
| pronunciation from text. Another great advantage is | | | | Audible will direct you to download the software |
| the size and transportability of audiobooks. If you | | | | appropriate for your device from their website. One |
| download the material to your iPod or MP3 player, | | | | your profile is complete, you can shop by genre, |
| you can literally carry hundreds of books on a device | | | | author, or subject matter and begin your book. |
| no bigger than a deck of cards. This means that if | | | | Happy "reading"! |
| the story that you are listening to is not quite what | | | | |