Earlier today, I was trying to “recycle” an old post from my old blog about audiobooks and how great they are. Unfortunately, as I went through the post, it just didn’t make sense to my life now, so I thought I’d write a whole new one about why audiobooks make me happy.
First, storytime.
I remember – and this is one of my fondest memories of childhood – when my brother would read my Little Golden Books onto a cassette tape (yes, I am “cassette tape” old) and have prompts for me to turn the page as I listened back. I loved that he could read my books to me even when he wasn’t there. That was probably one of my first experiences with an audiobook.
Years went by, and I never thought of listening to books “on tape” again. When I was in my early days of blogging, back in the early 2010s, I joined a readathon, the 24-Hour Readathon. I learned during that time that it was physically impossible to sit and read for 24 hours straight. At some point, you need to get up and stretch your legs, make food, and move your body. This is where my next exposure to audiobooks came in.
My Second “First” Audiobook
Thinking back, I can’t believe my first audiobook at that time was a Jay Leno memoir. But this was back when audiobooks weren’t totally a thing yet. I don’t think Audible was nearly as popular as it is today, and so the only real way I could get audiobooks was physically through my library. And by “physically,” I mean CD-style audiobooks or little prerecorded iPod-type contraptions that I just had to hook my headphones up to.
Let’s just say it wasn’t super convenient.
- A short history of the audiobook, 20 years after the first portable digital audio device
- What was the first audiobook? Let’s dig deep to find out!
Now, a baker’s dozen years later (that’s the saying, right?), audiobooks have grown in popularity. What used to be so cumbersome to listen to has become so convenient. Through my library’s Overdrive, Libby, or Hoopla, I can easily download an audiobook to my phone and listen away. It’s magical!
And while the selection when I first started listening wasn’t the best, it seems everyone now has audiobook versions of their titles. Even some of my favourite indie authors release audiobooks now!
And while the actual borrowing of audiobooks is convenient, let’s talk about how easy they are to work into your day.
Babies, work, and reading
Last year, I finally started back up working again after I had left my job back in 2011, then started having babies. Those babies were now in school, my youngest going into Grade 2, and I had mentioned to a friend that I would like to find work, but it was hard to find anything that would fit around my kids’ schedule. They get sick; they have PD days and long weekends; they have spring break, fall break, and summer break; and my husband sometimes has to work out of town, which doesn’t make me the prime candidate for availability.
It was completely serendipitous that my friend had a company, and they were looking to hire a virtual assistant. We had somewhat of a job interview (not really, more of a “what do you know how to do?” discussion), and I started the next day with her. It was so great to have a job where I could work from home, be there for my kids when they needed me, and I felt like I could actually do something with my day.
Except that eventually, reading definitely took the back burner.
Last year I had just gotten my reading mojo back at the beginning of June when I was suddenly able to read books again without feeling distracted or disconnected from what I wanted to read. It was fantastic! However, when October came, my friend recommended my virtual assistant services to someone else, and I’ve been happily working for two people now ever since.
This year, it’s been getting busier and busier. What used to be a few hours of my day has turned into a full-time job, and I hadn’t done that since before 2011. I forgot how to balance my hobbies with work, and I had to find a way to help with that.
Plus, Indigenous History Month had started, and I really wanted to explore Indigenous authors in Canada. But how could I do that?
So again … enter the audiobook!
Falling in love with audiobooks … again
I took stock of all of the books I owned and wanted to read and downloaded a few from the library in audiobook format.
It. Was. WONDERFUL!
Of course, I have jobs where I can’t listen to a book, and that’s fine, but sometimes I literally have jobs that would be considered “Netflix jobs,” where I could do the work with a TV show on. But instead of a TV show, I’m listening to audiobooks!
Sure, sometimes I throw on YouTube and watch some true crime stuff, but it’s really, really fantastic to be reading again via audiobooks. And yes, audiobook listening IS reading. Sometimes I’m so engrossed in a book that I keep working so I can keep listening! It’s crazy!
And I also feel that now that I can consume more books than I could before I “refound” audiobooks, I want to read physically more when I have the chance. I’ll now pick up my book more often in my free time or have it with me just in case.
It had been so long since this part of me was here that I am so thankful for how life has turned out – I might not have found this love for reading again! It may have dwindled away as I continued to flounder in my search for balance. It’s great to have a mix of reading during my week and being back in the business of finding new-to-me authors and staying on top of the authors I love.
And it’s all thanks to audiobooks.
Do you listen to audiobooks? What is your audiobook story?
Read some of my audiobook reviews:
