My newfound audio book obsession has allowed me to rediscover books without sitting still
When I was a kid, I read all the time. Books would get me through long, boring car trips in the summer.
As a young professional, I joined a book club, and although I sometimes had to buckle down and devote a whole Sunday to getting that months’ selection read, I kept up.
Then I got a cellphone. Then I became a mom. Finding time to read during the day became impossible, and anytime I tried at night, I fell asleep within minutes. When I had a moment alone, I read Facebook and not much else.
So began a decades-long literary drought in my life. I missed books and the escape they always provided, but I just couldn’t get it done.
Then, a few years ago, I decided to run a half marathon. In retrospect, it wasn’t be best decision I ever made, but it helped usher books back into my life.
I couldn’t imagine running for four hours and just thinking about the pain (or thinking about the pain set to music) so I decided to try an audio book. I poked around online and bought the audio version of actor Rob Lowe’s juicy autobiography, “Stories I Only Tell My Friends.”
Lowe, who was my middle school celebrity crush, read the book himself. And although I now associate his voice with pain, it was the launch of my return to reading.
This year, I’ve already devoured 31 books. I finished my colleague and friend Suzanne Perez’s #ReadICT challenge by April (well, except for the “speed read” category, which I can’t decide how to fulfill.) And by the end of this year, I’ll have likely finished more books in 12 months than I read the whole decade I was in my book club.
Only I’m still not reading books. I’m listening to them.
And as I’ve slowly become an audio book expert, I’ve discovered so many ways in which it enhances my life even more than reading ever did.
Reading while moving
When I first started getting into audio books, my only goal was to keep myself entertained and distracted while exercising or driving long distances. I started slow, and it would often take me months to finish a single book because I’d listen only during such activities.
Then, I decided to spring for an Audible membership, which allows you to download one audio book a month as long as you pay a $14.95 monthly fee. I’m the type of person who must get my money’s worth when I pay for something (the same reason I gave up buffets way before coronavirus hit) so I dedicated myself to finishing my book each month.
That meant I had to listen a lot more often than just on an occasional long car trip. I started turning books on while I was getting ready for work in the morning, while I was cleaning house, while I was cooking, while I was driving to and from work and to and from assignments for my job.
I learned that you could speed books up a bit without making the narrators’ voice sound like Alvin Chipmunk’s, and I started burning through them. Last Christmas, my husband got me a pair of Apple iPods, which now are always with me, and they have put my obsession over the top.
When I get engrossed in a good audio book, I find myself motivated to get going on things I’d otherwise want to delay — like exercising, cleaning or even getting out of bed in the morning. I’ve listened to so many audio books that I’ve even learned which narrators I like and which ones I can’t stand.
I compare notes frequently with friends who read as voraciously as I listen, like Suzanne, and I’ve learned something interesting about audio books over the course of the last year. Having books performed for you can result in a completely different experience than reading them silently to yourself.
For example, I’ve told many people how much I loved every second of Charles Dickens’ “David Copperfield,” which I listened to earlier this year. I’m frequently greeted with grimaces, which made me appreciate the fact the narrator of the version I listed to — the late English actor Patrick Tull — performed the book with such personality and gusto that it added a whole new dimension to the story.
I’ve also learned that narrators can easily ruin books, too. Nearly everyone I’ve encountered loved “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens, but narrator Cassandra Campbell — who I avoid now at all costs — gave the lead character Kya Clark the voice of a helpless, always breathless Southern ninny, which made me hate her and her story. (This might be a disadvantage to audio books, but it’s a rare problem, I’ve found.)
Also, I’ve discovered the joy of listening to autobiographies narrated by their famous authors. That Rob Lowe book was memorable, and I loved every second of Michelle Obama’s “Becoming.”
Also — do yourself a favor if you’re considering reading Ann Patchett’s “The Dutch House” and just let Tom Hanks read it to you. Or allow actor Armie Hammer to lull you through every page of Andre Aciman’s “Call Me By Your Name.“ You won’t regret either one.
Listen for free
After I spent a couple of years on Audible, Suzanne told me something I couldn’t believe. Audio books are available for free through the public libraries, and you can download them right onto your phone or computer without ever going into the library.
I immediately downloaded RBDigital, an app that allows you to check out books from the state library of Kansas, as long as you have a state library card. (Easy to get at the counter at the Wichita Public Library.) Since then, the Wichita Public Library has also made audio books available through another service, Libby by OverDrive.
I’ve since dropped Audible, but only because I’m cheap. Audible and I’m assuming other pay services like it can be worth it for audio book lovers. They allow you to get nearly any book you want exactly when you want it, and you can keep it forever. Also, the app has lots of handy design features, including a counter that tells you exactly how much time is remaining in the book.
The free services aren’t nearly so handy. The libraries have only so many copies of each book to loan out at a time, even when it comes to audio books, so you can find yourself on a long, long wait list for best sellers. I probably had “American Dirt” on hold for three months.
Plus, the free selection can be rather limited. For as many books as I’ve successfully listened to, I’ve been unable to find the ones I’m searching for. And the biggest challenge for people who don’t consume audio books like I do (I often burn through one in a week) is that you only get access to the book for 21 days. If you don’t finish it, it disappears, and depending on how long the line is, you might not get it back for quite a while.
But the library services are free! Though I consider returning to Audible every day, I haven’t done it yet. Although I can’t always get exactly what I want when I want it through the library, I have dozens and dozens of books on hold or on my “wish list” on the library apps, which means I’ll never be without something good and will never pay a dime.
Recently, Suzanne introduced me to another Wichitan obsessed with audio books who she’d met through her #ReadICT group.
Sheryl Esau makes me look like an audio book amateur. She’s taken the time to figure out every app in the world, every trick in the book to get audio books, often for free.
Esau’s obsession started about 25 years ago, before books were even available digitally. She listened back when you had to check out several CDs and load them, one after another.
“I had a job where I was traveling to Topeka and back almost every week, and it was a pretty boring drive,” She said. “I started listing to audio books, and I would alternate between work-related books and thrillers. It made the drive go fast.”
Esau still reads actual books, but these days, she probably reads one book for every 50 she listens to, she said.
She loves the thrill of tracking down free audio books, and she’s even gotten library cards at smaller nearby libraries in towns like Newton and Derby so that she can peruse their audio book selections, which are different from what Wichita has.
She also signed up to take short Google surveys, where she’s rewarded with points she can use to redeem audio books.
Esau said she’s listened to many memorable books, some that she loved even though she got the feeling she wouldn’t have if she’d read them to herself. “The Hitchhiker’s Guide tot he Galaxy” is one that comes to mind, she said.
Early in my audio book obsession, I felt kind of guilty — like listening to a book rather than actively reading it was cheating. Suzanne cured me of that pretty quickly, though, insisting that a book was a book. Researchers are kind of split on whether passively listening to books is as valuable as actively reading them, but I can say it adds lots of enjoyment to my life.
Esau said she’s never felt like listening to a book was any less worthwhile than sitting down to read one.
“I don’t think anybody should feel like they’re cheating,” she said. “You didn’t feel like your parents were cheating you when they read you books as a kid.”
Where to get audio books
RBDigital: Download this app on your phone and you can check out audio books from several different Kansas libraries. In Wichita, you can go to the public library and ask the front counter for a state library card as your Wichita card won’t work with this app. It’s an easy, painless process. You can keep books for 21 days at a time.
Libby: This app will allow you to check out audio books digitally from the Wichita Public Library, which recently added the service and provides both audio and e-books through OverDrive. You can keep books for 14 days at a time.
Audible: One of the most popular pay services. You can start with a free trial but then a membership costs $14.95 a month and allows you one audio book a month. You get to keep the books forever, though, so there’s no rush to read them.
Denise Neil’s favorite audio books
“The Dutch House,” by Ann Patchett: I loved this story of a brother and sister who grew up under less-than-ideal circumstances, but I’m not 100 percent sure it wasn’t Tom Hanks’ narration that made me love it so much. I did try a second Patchett book after this one, “Commonwealth,” and loved it to, so it might be a little bit of both.
“Call Me By Your Name,” by Andre Aciman: I found this love story between a teen and the older student his father mentors over a summer in an Italian villa to be incredibly romantic and engrossing. (And the 2017 movie actually was as good as the book, which is rare.) Armie Hammer, who stars in the film version as the student, reads the book, and his voice is mesmerizing.
“David Copperfield,” by Charles Dickens: This book was long, but the story was so sweet. If you listen, make sure you get the version narrated by Patrick Tull. I’m pretty certain he could make the most dreary book a delight.
“The Book Thief,” by Markus Zusak: This was one of the first audio books I ever listened to, and I did so with my daughter on a long road trip. By the time we reached the ending, rolling back into Wichita, I was full on ugly crying. The story was sad but engrossing and the narrator, Allan Corduner, gave a memorable performance.
“Becoming,” by Michelle Obama: The former first lady’s life story is fascinating and inspiring, and hearing her read it herself is a treat. I couldn’t stop listening.
“The War that Saved My Life,” by Kimberly Brubaker: This children’s historical novel, set in World War II and told from the perspective of a 10-year-old girl, is engrossing and so very charming.
“A Prayer for Owen Meany,” by John Irving: This one was long and took me forever, but it was a wild story, and the voice that narrator Joe Barrett gives the title character makes the experience. That and his thick Boston accent.
Sheryl Esau’s favorite audio books
“Born a Crime,” by Trevor Noah
”Becoming,” by Michelle Obama
“The Hate U Give,” by Angie Thomas
“Americanah,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The accent of the narrator really added to his book
“Daisy Jones and the Six,” by Taylor Jenkins Reid: I actually can’t imagine reading this when the audio book is so good! I do love a full cast of narrators
“Hollow Kingdom,” by Kira Jane Buxton: I think this book should have gotten a lot more attention. An apocalypse book told from the point of view of a crow. It’s so good, but that crow has quite a mouth on him, so this book is not for everyone.
”The Poet X,” by Elizabeth Acevedo: I’m not sure I would have liked this any other way than the audio book. It’s almost told like a rap song – read by the author
“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” by Douglas Adams, Eoin Colfer, Thomas Tidholm: Read by English actor Stephen Fry
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