Audio Addiction

I don’t miss the wear and tear on my car or the amount of gas I used during my several year stint at IUPUI.  However, I do miss being able to count on that commute time for “reading”.  And when I say “reading” I mean listening, to audio books.  We’ll save the debate on listening versus reading for another day.  Today I want to talk about how awesome audio books are!

Let me start with my early audio book experiences.  The first few were less than awesome.  I can remember my mom trying to stick in an audio book for the whole family on more than one road trip.  The horror!  The earsplitting narrator!  The something!  It never worked out for us.  We’d listen for a few minutes then begin ridiculing mom’s choice and/or just plain talking over the story.  I don’t know if what was to blame for these failed attempts at audio book enjoyment.  Regardless of why, they were failures.  At least she tried.

Lucky for me I tried audio books again later in life.  I’m not sure why I tried again.  Maybe I was feeling guilty about how little I was reading.  Maybe I wondered what the hype was all about, I saw them being checked in an out constantly.  Maybe I was just bored with the radio.  Okay that last one probably wasn’t it, I LOVE to sing.  I’m really bad at it but I really love it.  I digress…

My first leap back into audio books was a success.  Thank you, Chelsea Handler.  Yup, the wise cracking, foul mouthed, blond from Chelsea Lately showed me just how fabulous an audio book can be.  My first audio book was her Are You There Vodka?  It’s me,Chelsea.  It’s read by the author and it is absolutely hilarious.  I am the kind of person who is always, always, always late but not while I was reading this.  I couldn’t wait to get back in the car and hear another wild tale of wayward life!  Sadly, I finished that first successful audio shortly after I started it.  

 The good news is that I was sold on the value of a good audio book.  In those early audio book days I was extremely picky about the narrator, the subject and the length of the story.  I still consider all those things when I select one but I have broadened my horizons somewhat.  I do have favorites when it comes to narrators.  If Nick Podehl is narrating, I’m sold!  And I’ve found that many things I wouldn’t typically read in a more traditional format I really enjoy as an audio book.  Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld isn’t something you’d likely see me cozied up on the couch with but the audio book was amazing.  The duel voices of the characters, the sound effects, the whole experience was something I don’t know I would have enjoyed nearly as much just by turning the pages.

I won’t bore you with a list of all the titles I’ve enjoyed since Chelsea.  Just as my mom should have known, audio books aren’t one size fits all.  But once you find one you really enjoy I’m sure you’ll be just as hooked as I am.