4 Reasons You Should Start Listening To Audiobooks

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I have always maintained a steady love affair with books. From keeping every dog-eared paperback I’ve ever bought, to insisting that my parents allow me to pack up my library from home to take to college with me, like beloved tokens whose mere presence I needed in order to exist, my books have been my silent, ruddy companions, weathering moves and sleepless nights, and, unfortunately, a bit of dust. Regardless of how much I love the romanticized version of a real book made of actual paper, I won’t, for a minute, ignore the growing popularity of “other” forms of reading. To do so would be silly, and it wouldn’t change anything. With that being said, I’d like to mention the Audiobook, and how wonderful I’ve discovered it to be. I was skeptical, of course. How could a stranger’s voice in my head even compare to my own eyes? My own perceptions? My own “head voice” that I’ve relied upon for over twenty years? But my discovery was quick and surprising, and I soon found myself addicted, intensely addicted.

1. Audiobooks are like an on-going conversation.

Ones that you can have at any time or place. I first discovered the audiobook’s magic when I took a long trip to Scotland. I love music, but after a few hours of sifting through my playlists, no matter how much music I’ve added, I get bored. I wish I was the type of person who could lose herself in music for hours on end, but I can’t. So instead, I downloaded an audiobook — I believe it was The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton — and instantly realized I could really get into this audiobook thing.

2. You not only get attached to the characters, but you get attached to their voices too.

And their natural cadences. Best sellers, classics, obscure titles that caught my eye with five star reviews: I’ve probably listened to thirty audiobooks in my life. I remember each one, too. Sometimes, I’ll even re-listen. If your reader is talented, they have the ability to transform the characters, bringing an actual voice to them, which I’ve learned to love and crave. It harkens back to my childhood, when my mother would read to me before bed. Those early days; those routine reads while I was tucked into bed, were what taught me to love reading in the first place. It’s a comfort, really.

3. I can read while I’m out for a run.

I can also read when I’m waiting in an airport, when I’m in the dark, consoling myself with a voice that is only entirely my own to hear. But there’s never been any competition between my regular reading, and my listening-reading. They’ve always kept to themselves, maintaining boundaries. I save my audiobooks for my workouts, and for when I’m active. I save them for long car drives, when I can’t physically curl up with a book; when I don’t want to get lost in my thoughts, but someone else’s. Because of this, I’m usually in three or more books at a time. I’ve always liked to juggle my reading, and audiobooks make this even simpler.

4. And I’ve noticed I remember more clearly the details of a book, after I’ve listened to it.

Strange, because I am, and will always be, an avid reader. But auditory learning has always been something I’ve excelled at, so that’s just an added bonus. And to the haters out there who don’t deem audiobooks as “intellectual” as reading: I encourage you to re-think your position. You’re still processing the same information, just in a different way. And different isn’t bad. Audiobooks allow you to go throughout life, tucked securely in a book, whenever you’d like. How could that possibly be a bad thing, a cheap thing? It isn’t.