So…. you probably know that this is audiobook month. I am having a blast sharing with you audio reviews, narrators thoughts, and now – I will let you know how I do like to do audio.
In my car…
Some people think that you do not listen to audio in the car unless you have LONG commutes or on road trips… not true. Audiobooks actually work on short commutes as well… it’s true. They don’t blow up in your cars CD player or anything if they play for less than 30 minutes. Urban legend people… its not true.
I listen to audio in my car almost everywhere I drive to. Work may be only ten minutes away – but round trip that is 20 minutes more into a book than I was before. I love turning on the car and getting into the story. When choosing car audio, I like the book length to be around the 7 -9 hour mark. I reserve longer audio books for longer road trips so I can listen to it in large chucks of time.
In my CD player in the house…
This is probably the “old school” version of audio listening but when you have many delicious audio’s on CD around and you want to listen to them, you do what you have to do. I have trouble downloading audio onto my computer, so instead I listen to the DVD’s. This is great for when I am working on a craft project, cooking, folding clothes, painting.. I love listening to audio in the house while I am doing other things that require use of my hands.
On my Phone…
What has turned out by fr to be my favorite way to listen to audio, is my phone. I use Audible.com which I LOVE LOVE LOVE for downloading great audio directly to my phone. I have used Audible for three years now and yes I am kind of a living breathing walking advertisement for them. The audiobooks are reasonably priced, they have great sales a few times a year, and your first one is free. If you try an audio and don’t like it you can exchange it. No kidding.
When mowing the lawn or gardening, or even biking – I pop my ear buds in and can listen to my Audible audiobooks. My phone is easier to move through the house then the CD player so I use it when I am on the move from one area to another. I even use it at work when I am alone and working on filing. I sit it on my desk and listen as I work.
My brilliant purchase that I made about 6 months ago to go with my listening to books on my phone was:
An external speaker. This, when turned on will pick up the Bluetooth in your phone and amplify the audiobook. This makes it easier to move around an area and say, leave the phone on the counter and still be able to hear it.
These cute little external speakers come in all shapes and sizes and start around $9.96 and can go up to $99. Don’t knock yourself out. Mine was $14.96 and works wonderfully. It’s cute, shaped like a clam shell and its orange. What’s not to love?
I usually have three audiobooks going at once and that works for me. For you – If you are new to audio I recommend audible’s free trial. You have seen many posts on great audio here this month – choose wisely and enjoy. I absolutely want to hear about your experience.
For those of you who do do audio (yes… I said do do), please share here what ways you like to listen. Remember, this is an audiobook post so comments qualify for the giveaway for this month.
Please watch this site for June audio book related posts, like this one. For every post you comment on in June that has this audio book symbol:
I will put you into a drawing for a $25 book certificate for each comment (Barnes and Noble or Amazon – your choice). Winner will be drawn in July.
Book Journey 
I only listen in the car. I can’t get earbuds to stay in my ears! I must have weird ear shapes! LOL
I have to choose smaller ear buds Jill or they are uncomfortable for me too. 🙂 You could get the amplifier for your phone for when you are in the house.
I enjoy listening to audio books while I’m running or swimming. Yes, I said swimming. I’ve got a waterproof iPod with waterproof headphones. I’ve listened to several audiobooks while swimming laps. I also listen to them while pounding out miles getting ready for a half marathon later this year. On the actual half marathon day, I use a mix of music and some spoken word audio to make it the 13.1 miles.
Swimming? You are my new hero! I want to do that!
I’ve done audio a few different ways. CD in my car is a standard and my friends always tease me about having audiobook cases between my seats. I’ve used my phone as well. My library offers a digital library connection so I can access audiobooks on my phone with my library card, which is a favorite for the reasons you listed. My library also offers something called PlayAway, which is a small MP3 player that has a single audiobook pre-loaded on it. I can use headphones or plug it into the AUX jack in my car. These are great for going on walks or when I’m shopping alone and don’t want sales people to bother me.
Any way I can, I’ve always got at least one audiobook.
LOL – I always have audio cases too… usually in the passenger seat and I have to move them to make room for people to ride with me 🙂 I have not tried Playaway but I think our library offers it too.
I have 2 audiobooks going at all times – 1 on my phone and the other in my car. I love the audible app but I’m too cheap to subscribe to the service so I rip CDs which is a total pain.
I need to know how to do this Kathy! That would be awesome!
I listen to everything on my Kindle Fire. I mainly listen at night before I fall asleep so the Fire is wonderful because if I move around too much (our bed sucks) and pull the headphones out, the audio stops and I don’t wake my hubby. I will listen during the day just sitting here if I really love the book and will listen when cooking and cleaning. My other main time I listen is if I go into town. We have no car, so occasionally I’ll walk around town and go to the used book store or thrift store and while I’m out and about I’ll listen to my latest book. I only ever have one book going on at a time, but I’m so addicted to audiobooks now. I love them! 🙂
My house almost always comes home at night to me in the kitchen, cooking awa and listening to an audiobook. 😀
I always have at least 2 audiobooks going too. And I have the little external speaker for my mp3 player for when my ears get tired of earbuds or when Charlie the Lovebird wants to listen with me. Seriously, she likes audiobooks! I usually go with non-fiction in the car. I don’t drive long distances and this way there’s no plot to forget. But sometimes it takes me weeks to finish!
I rip CDs too.There is lots of free software out there that will do a nice job. I think Windows Media Player will do it but I don’t use it. I use Quintessential CD. And yes, it does a fine job. http://www.quinnware.com/index.php
Thanks for the info Leslie – I have never ripped a cd… now this is a goal to learn how 🙂
Can’t wait to hear what you thought of The Other Story by Tatiana De Rosnay – listening to it myself right now.
I am liking the story… l but so sure I like our protagonist much. 😛
I like how you’ve been doing this audio book series. It’s been fun finding these narrators on Overdrive to hear what they sound like
Thanks! I am really hoping I am not boring my non-audio book readers to tears…. I am trying to mix it up but I really do have a lot to say about audio and I am hoping some of the non listeners out there will give it a try 😀
I love listening to books on my phone with the audible app, but can’t believe I’ve never heard of or considered an external speaker!! Heading to Target first thing tomorrow…
Awesome! I just bought mine about 5 months ago and I use it all the time 🙂
^5! Add at work for me (I am lucky that I have a job that lets me listen while I am working) and that pretty much nails it 🙂
Nice! I want that job….lol
If I’m in the car alone I’ll listen without earbuds but otherwise earbuds are in 🙂 I love to listen when I drive to the relatives (3.5 hrs each way). Also listen while walking for exercise or while doing house chores.
I love to listen when I drive to the cabin… also 3.5 hours away 🙂 It makes for a great ride.
Cute…I might be convinced yet…
YAY!!! 😀
I don’t listen to audio books…yet. Thing is, I really don’t have any place where it’s more convenient to listen rather than read. I do know the value of audio books, however. My father was blind toward the end of his life and the free audio books he got from the library were great for him. The state library provided the player and free postage for tapes, both ways. It was a wonderful gift to him.
That’s why I had my first book put into large print. It just happened to be stories about my father’s boyhood. The only way I had to get them to people with limited vision was in large print.
Now, audio books are more available, as you point out. Thus, my books are becoming audio books (slowly, but surely). The first one I put out in audio was my father’s stories. Unfortunately, he didn’t live long enough to listen to them.
I’m in a weird group. I am having my books produced in audio, but I only listen to them during the production process. I hope others who do like to listen will buy some of my audio books. My third book in audio is coming out tomorrow. Will anybody listen? I really don’t know. Personally, I don’t buy books in any format from famous writers. Why should I? I can check them out from the library for free. If I DID want to listen to audio books, I would be finding authors like myself, not those who already made millions of dollars off all the book formats. Really? Do they need your money?
Support your small press and independent authors for a change. The books are usually cheaper, too.
Hmmm. I’ve considered Audible.com a couple of times, but can’t you only get like one book a month? I usually get CD’s or the Playaways from the library, and tend to only listen in the car. I WISH I could listen at work, but my job is too thought-intensive (being a scientist = lots of technical writing!), I could never work and listen at the same time.
You can get up to two a month, I think it is $22 a month for two. However they do have great sales for $4.95 an audio with hundreds to choose from and you can quit any time so if you decide it is not working for you, you just cancel it. I (as you can probably guess) get two a month 😀
I listen on my iPod in the car and with earbuds when walking. I use audible too.
Audible rocks!
I listen in the car, on my iPod when I am walking, doing chores, and at work. I have two “old school” CD players – one in the bathroom and one in the kitchen. I just discovered that I can listen to audiobooks on my Fire. My son was mocking me today about my CD players and said I need to get an external speaker.
LOL… I just downloadeded two audio to my Fire today )I didn’t know I could do that either and have not tried them yet…. EEP 🙂
I’d always thought of audio books for long hauls, but it makes sense to enjoy any time. I’m going to have to re-think my housework to fit in some quality ‘reading’ time.
I am glad Mary! That was the point of the post 🙂
I had suggested my daughter-in-law listent to audio books during her commute, but then thought it could be too distracting while driving : / And just tonight at Barnes I saw a bluetooth speaker in the form of Minnie Mouse ears 🙂
I dont find it distracting at all, it sure makes the ride more pleasant 🙂
lol…I guess I fear getting so gripped by the story, you sort of “forget” to pay attention to the road! When I listened to the bulk of the Bible (Old AND New) while driving, it wasn’t exactly a suspenseful, nail-biting read so it wasn’t an issue lol
I listen to audio everywhere, but definately either via CD player or MP3 player. When we go on long journey’s we have an agreement that each of us can choose a book which we all listen to so we share what we read. I tend to use it to get my reluctant kids to listen to classics which I know they would like (and they usually do) but just won’t read because it’s a classic and because it’s a “mummy book”.
LOL – I recommend the Harry Potter book on audio – fun for the whole family and truly… the new classics 😉
I mostly listen on my iPod while in the car, walking, biking or doing chores. If I have a book on CD I want to listen to, I have CD players. One is on my treadmill and another one I use if I’m moving from room to room. Then I have a boombox that I sit on the counter when I’m cooking etc. And yes, Audible.com is awesome!!
Tonight I have a massive pile of clothes to fold… I will pull up the cd player and enjoy while doing the tedious folding 😀
My audio is on my Android phone and tablet. In my car I listen using audible or overdrive. My car has aux which is great to listen my audio with a good volume. I listen to audios in my car when I’m going to work which is great …but at the same time it is awful for your peace of mind when you arrive at work during the best scene. Think about this, when that happens you have to wait for hours to continue your audio. At home I use my phone with headphones to enjoy my audiobooks while doing laundry.
I am just getting into Overdrive, trying it on my Kindle. And ha – that “leaving at a good part” just happened to me yesterday. I am listening to “The Other Story” and it was a getting towards the end and the girlfriend had just found out some things and she was confronting this pig of a man (IMO) and then…I was at work. Stay tuned…. 😉
Discovering the speaker in phone was huge for me. Obvious, I know, but I was using earbuds way more than I had to. Now I use the phone speakers whenever my husband is not around.
I do too Candace. I didn’t know about the speaker either and actually asked a friend a few months back, wouldn’t it be great if they had a speaker that worked with your phone? She looked at me like I was nuts 🙂
I just read this post (again) and rereading it has made me think of getting a discman to listen to the audio books I get from the library.
I have to say…. I LOVE that you read this again 😀 Yes – the library has wonderful audio selections 🙂 Let me know how it goes.
Over 20+ years of listening to audiobooks I have progressed from cassette tapes, to CDs, to ripped CDs transferred to an MP3 player, to digital downloads to an MP3 player and finally an iPod Touch that I can download to using WiFi. I have some kind of speaker in every room in the house…including a bluetooth portable speaker for the bathroom so that I can listen to books while I’m in the shower. An often overlooked audiobook player for CDs is the DVD player. Probably the best sound system in most peoples homes is the one hooked up to the television and it is great for listening to audiobooks.
Nice!!! I love that you are able to access just about anywhere in your home. I use a Bluetooth portable speaker and LOVE it!
I have a 2-hour round-trip commute most weekdays, so I do most of my audiobook listening in the car, during the week…unless I’m almost done with something REALLY engrossing and can’t wait to see how it ends. Then I might listen during weekend errands, or even at the office.
LOVE audio in the car 😀
I used to primarily listen to audio books on CD in my car on my way to work or when I traveled to visit my family. Now my CD player doesn’t work so I have been downloading audiobooks on my iPhone and playing it (turned up all the way) in my car. I will have to look into getting some kind of amplifier. I’ve been afraid that I will destroy the speaker on my phone 🙂
I used to have an Audible membership but I cancelled it last year because I didn’t want to buy audio books. Now I am listening to them more but I borrow them through Overdrive with my library card. Maybe someday I will be able to go back to Audible. Perhaps if I give up Netflix and Hulu Plus…
Try the external speaker – it will totally work in your car and you will be able to hear it much better 😉
I love audible too, so most of my audio I listen to on my ipod or iphone. I have a set of blue tooth speakers $20, they’re awesome and just as good as my partner’s $80 set, just a little less battery life. I have a set of the most comfy ear phones ever … logitech, they come with a multi-size set of squishy ear buds. I need the small size and they’re perfect.
I listen in the car but with my ipod, I could plug it in through the car speakers but I like to have my iphone on hands free so often I just sit my little bluetooth portable speaker on the centre console, it has a 4 hour battery life rather than using ear phones while driving. I listen to audio while I exercise and do housework, almost makes it a pleasure haha and when I’m scrapbooking. And if I’m really hooked on an audio I even listen while I’m in the shower, using bluetooth speaker.
Great advice! I will have to try Logitech, ear buds usually bother me because they are too big in my ears. I use the blue tooth speaker too when I am in the shower.
On my phone is my preferred method- gotta love the Audible app!
I listen on my computer while doing other things (playing games, blogging, etc.). I also saved up Amazon gift cards and bought myself a little Sansa MP3 player and I love it! For around $35 I am able to listen to audiobooks and just have the little bitty MP3 player clipped to me & my ear buds. The battery lasts forever, and it doesn’t drain my phone, though I do use my phone for audio books if I’m out and don’t have another way to listen. I also have a bluetooth speaker and will use that to listen to books if I’m taking a bubble bath.
I listen to audio downloaded onto both my pc with full size audio speakers for great sound. The other is my laptop. Again bigger sound and volume control that reaches wherever I am in my apartment.
Flying? I love my little personal mp3 player. Keeps me ‘reading’ as I have those extra hrs just sitting in flight or in airport intervals. ANd if the movies are a repeat or not interesting, it’s a great and often, preferred option.
Driving?
Absolutely. I’m with you on the short runs and the long journeys. It’s amazing how quickly you’re back into the story, picking right up where you left off when you parked the car last time out. And boy do those miles fly when you’ve got a few hrs between here and there!
Audios are IT!
I used to get my audio books from Audible but then our library system began offering them as an option so now I can download free from their collection. The choices is nowhere near as extensive but for now its fine. I can always go back to audible when I’ve exhausted the library collection.