Arya's Thoughts on Audiobooks

Hello dear reader and welcome back. Today I decided that I wanted to talk about my thoughts on audiobooks and how I started listening to them. The first thing that you should know is that for the longest time, I did not want anything to do with audiobooks. Of course, since I grew up as a legally blind child in the 90’s (yes I’m old), the idea of listening to books on tape was always pushed on me. As a kid, I understood that the adults who were asking for me to give it a chance were only trying to help me. However, I loved the simple joy that holding a book gives you. Plus, I have always been very stubborn (Belle is surprisingly more stubborn than I am, but not by much) so if I wanted to read I wasn’t going to let anything like eye strain bother me. So this meant that for a large portion of my life, I refused to listen to audiobooks or give them a chance.

Flash-forward to 2019. I had been going through a pretty drastic reading slump and just didn’t feel like picking up a book. I was working a very busy schedule and spent most of my day looking at a computer screen, so my eyes were constantly tired. When I came home at night, I just wanted to watch YouTube videos, TV shows, or movies. Reading a physical book was just not something I felt like I would be able to do. It was honestly depressing to not feel like I was able to read. I had met someone through work and started talking to this person about many different topics. One of them was how I missed reading and how I felt like I just couldn’t read. This person had told me that I should give audiobooks and especially Audible a try. I went over how I felt about audiobooks at this point and this person assured me that nowadays many people turn to audiobooks when it comes to reading. This person also recommended that if I start audiobooks, I should start with The Dresden Files.

I decided to get the first book of The Dresden Files in print. I did enjoy the series and so I quickly got the second book as well. It was very difficult to find the time to read, but I was at least reading again. It took me several months to finally get up the courage and get out of my way enough to try Audible. So in 2020, I finally became a member of Audible and my first book was the third book of The Dresden Files series.

Words cannot describe how much I quickly enjoyed listening to the audiobook. I soon realized just how much more “reading” I could do with audiobooks. I could listen while I was getting ready for work or getting ready for bed. I could listen while I was doing chores around the house or while I was even playing mobile games on my iPad. It could be best described as a freeing experience. Of course, there were some downsides to just having audio. I could not see the spelling of some words. Sometimes, I would get a little confused as to how something had happened and even though you can rewind, it seemed as though it would have been a quicker process to just flip back a few pages instead of hitting the rewind button many times. All in all, though, my first experience with audiobooks had been positive.

In the following months, I binged the entire Dresden Files series except for the most recent book (I still haven’t gotten around to listening to that one). Even though the person with the recommendation and I had a falling out, I’m still very grateful that I was introduced to this world. I have also expanded my library to more than just The Dresden Files and at the time I am writing this, I have sixty-six books.

Of course, this is not sponsored by Audible in any way, but I do want to go over some things that I do like about them in general in case you have been toying with the idea of becoming a member. I like the “Plus Catalog” that is made available to members. Essentially, this is a large list of books that include certain classic literature that you can listen to since you are paying for your membership. I’ve been able to find some pretty interesting reads from this catalog and have downloaded them. I don’t know if books are ever removed or changed, but I’d rather not risk it.

I should point out a subject that is important for anyone interested in starting to listen to audiobooks and that would be narrators. In all of the books that I have downloaded, the narrators are pleasant and engaging. However, a boring narrator can ruin an otherwise fantastic book. Luckily, Audible does have a feature in which you can listen to a sample of the audiobook before you purchase it. These samples are a good indication of the narrator as well as the quality of the audio itself. I’ve stumbled across a few books that have had either echoed audio or almost static sounding audio. There are also some narrators I do not enjoy. Since I am more sensitive to sounds than most, it is to be expected. So if I don’t like the audio, I pass on the book. However, the samples do help when choosing what books to purchase.

Another thing I like is when they host a two books for one credit sale. For some clarification, you purchase books from Audible using credits. My monthly membership allows me to get one credit at the start of every month. Sometimes, I save my credit and wait to see if a sale is occurring. That way I can look through the sale and see if there are two books that I would not have found without the sale, or if something on my wish list just happens to be part of the sale. You can buy books with money as well. However, I choose not to do so because I would definitely go over any budget I set for myself.

So dear reader, the lesson I hope you take away from this is to give audiobooks a chance. I know sometimes you may end up not liking the book you are listening to but in the end, these are a perfect way to fulfill your love of books on a busy schedule. Until next time.

Arya