Make Good Use of Travel Time

Do you love to read as much as I do? I absolutely adore books and the worlds they allow me to visit. I can read 2-3 books at a time (provided they aren't too similar in plot) and often do. But as life got busier and busier, I found that I was spending less and less time with one my favorite old companions - books.

But I found a solution, and since this blog is what it is, I will tell you that this solution is FREE.  Hooray for free, right?

I read on my daily commute.

Before you call the state patrol on me, let me clarify.  I "read" audiobooks every day on my drive to and from work. And thanks to our local library, I have thousands of titles available to borrow and pour through on my otherwise mind-numbing 35-minute commute (each way).

Photo source: ESwift

I have found a lot of great books this way. In fact, there is one particular series that I really enjoyed but didn't like the first 1/3 of the (LONG) first book in the series. Had I been reading it in a book, I don't know that I would have finished the book, as I really wasn't enjoying it. But since it was all I had to listen to in the car (other than a radio station sated with commercials and music I was tired of), I stuck with it and ended up LOVING the series. 

It doesn't matter what genre you enjoy: biographies, science, self-help, history, crime thrillers, trashy romances, or even a series about sparkly vampires - you can get a hold of any of these courtesy of most local libraries and get your reading done while you are in the car.

Here are a few ways to use audiobooks:

• Enduring a daily commute (like I do)
• Enduring a long road trip (we listen to family-friendly fiction like Chronicles of Narnia while we travel 6-1/2 hours to my mom's house to visit)
• Studying - some textbooks can be found on audio and you can soak in some extra study time while traveling
• Using a self-help/motivational book to pep yourself up for a day

And I'm sure there are others.

So don't just walk past those chunky cd boxes in your library (you can also get some on MP3 in some libraries). Stop and glance through them. You might catch up on your favorite author or find a new one you really like.  I know I have done plenty of both!

I would be remiss if I didn't include this warning though:  you might find when you arrive at your destination that you don't want to get out of the car because you're engrossed in what is going on in the book. It's like that book you can't put down at night and end up reading all night. I have been known to sit in my garage listening or drive around the block a few times to finish a particular intense scene. =)

Have you ever used audiobooks?  Does your library have a good selection?  What are your favorites to read/listen to?