I can count on one hand how many books I have read as an adult. Mainly because I don’t have a lot of free time except at night when I find myself scrolling on social media instead. Between full-time work, two school-aged children, travel soccer, and being social, what time I have left is not for books. Of the ones I have read, they have been by the same author: Emily Giffin, author of Something Borrowed, Something Blue, Baby Proof, Meant to Be, The One & Only, etc. I know I like her writing style, so I have never branched out to other authors despite invitations to book clubs and book swaps.
When I do read a book, it normally takes me months to finish. In fact, I was excited to pre-order Emily Giffin’s latest book two years ago, and it remains unread. I have taken it on vacation and work trips to India and Europe, and still haven’t cracked it open. I had good intentions to read over the summer… but no.
A friend recently recommended I listen to books while commuting to Orlando for my son’s soccer travel. I thought, why not — maybe it will help the time pass. I love country music and have always just listened to tunes during my drives. Then I discovered a podcaster I really liked and initially would listen to up-and-vanished-type podcasts which were interesting and kept me engaged. When that ended, I was back to needing something to listen to.
READ: Podcasts Are the New Mixed CD
Enter Audible. I didn’t know what to expect or if it would be enough to keep my interest during a boring drive. I had never “listened” to books, but it was worth a try. I didn’t need to carve out free time because I was confined to a space for a few hours and only had to listen — not flip the pages, reading.
Given all the press around It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover, I started there. I got a free one-month subscription for being a new customer and used my one credit on the roughly 11.5-hour romance novel narrated by Olivia Song. I got through the first chapter and didn’t hate it. I was overthinking the narrator’s voice for a while — wondering who it was, if she had narrated other books, etc. My mind wandered a little, but for the most part, I was following along.
Next thing you know, I arrived at my destination and was on chapter four. I was actually excited to get back in the car to start the next chapter. Over the next two weeks’ worth of drives, I did nothing but listen to the book until it was over. I looked forward to getting in the car and hitting play. I loved the book, and I loved that I could listen to it.
Will all books be this entertaining? I don’t know, but I already downloaded It Starts with Us and added a bunch of books to my library for future drives. Have any good suggestions?
