image map Home Favorites Reading About Contact

Audio Books

I read The Help last month and loved it (except for its occasional bad language).

So when I heard that the audio book was just as good, I checked it out of the library for Jeff to listen to. But I started it instead, getting a good start on my drive to and from Auburn. Somehow I’m already on the last disc.

However, it took a lot of different technologies to make that happen (not counting my car’s CD player), all of which I’m grateful for.

1. The CDsIMG_1126-1It still amazes me that the library lets us borrow these for free. It would cost over $25 to buy the 15-disc set of The Help. Or $0 from the library.

IMG_1113-22. Rechargeable batteries
A great invention. I go through batteries quickly so being able to use the same ones over and over is a genuine cost-saver.

3. RealPlayer
It’s not perfect, but it’s the best free media player for my purposes that I’ve found. When I listened to the CDs on my computer or needed to transfer them to my mp3 player, RealPlayer was a faithful friend.   

4. EarbudsIMG_1116-1These have to be tough. Thanks to insomnia, I do a lot of book and sermon listening in the middle of the night in bed. After I doze off to sleep, I never know where I’ll find the earbuds in the morning.

5. MP3 Portable SpeakersIMG_1120-1But in the day, I hook up to a portable speaker so I can listen while I cook or clean the kitchen, etc.

* * *

Do you listen to audio books too? What technologies help you?

15 comments:

Karyn said...

I love audio books....only I buy them in a format for my iPod through Audible.com. They have a large selection of Christian books - both fiction and non fiction.

Check them out - and mention I recommended if you decide to join.

SONDRA PRICE said...

LOVE audio books. I download them in my Kindle.

Trisha said...

This is something to be thankful for, Lisa! My Beloved drives hours each day to and from work, and audio books have been such a blessing. A wonderful way to "read" when you can't hold book in hand. :) Great list!

Kari said...

maybe I need to invest in audio books, because every now and then I suffer from insomnia

Lisa notes... said...

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention listening through Kindle. When I want to hear a book via Audible.com, I plug in earbuds to my Kindle. (One day I'll get an iPod. But for now I'm afraid I'd crush it when I roll over it in bed.)

And every now and again (rarely though) I’ll set the Kindle to text-to-speech to listen to a book I’ve been reading. But it’s still a little torturous because the voice is so computer-like. Audio book voices, on the other hand, are usually phenomenal – unless it’s the author reading his own book. Oddly that rarely works for me.

Hazel said...

I seldom listen to audio books, but I agree these technologies make life easier and fun.

Carrie said...

No, not much of an audio book person. Mostly I like to listen to music! (And my husband makes very liberal use of the library system for that as well!)

Barbara H. said...

I don't have any kind of portable mp3 playing device. I have thought about asking for one, partly for that very reason -- being able to listen to books or podcast while driving or cooking. My hearing is a little sensitive though, so I have always wondered how ear phones or ear buds would work for me. I need to see if my kids will loan theirs to me for a bit so I can try them out.

Laura@OutnumberedMom said...

You're so tech-savvy! I have an iPod Touch, but I only know how to do what my sons have taught me...

Earbuds -- have you found comfortable ones? I hate the way they feel!

My hubby and I love listening to audio books in the car when we drive. Happy week to you!

Anonymous said...

Hey that is a great idea to listen to teachings/sermons etc while awake at night!! I may have to try that and find my earbuds in funny places!
Thanks for all your support and prayers Lisa....you are so sweet!!!

Persis said...

I love audio books as well as music and sermons. I listen to them on my old 1st generation Ipod shuffle or on CD.

http://librivox.org is a great source for public domain free audio books. The readers are all volunteers so the quality varies from book to book. There are many classics as well as some Christian books (John Owen, Charles Spurgeon, John Calvin).

ellen b said...

I really like to listen to audio books on long trips. It keeps me awake! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Brenda said...

I've tried listening to audio books but I just have not been able to do it. I can't listen in the car because I listen too hard and I actually got in an accident once! But my husband listens to audio books all the time. It is great the way the libraries loan them out though.

Susanne said...

I have never listened to an audio book. I'm going to have to give it a try one of these days.

I just finished "the Help" in the this last month. I really liked it too.

Willow said...

I'm not much of an audio book listener but that is mostly because I don't have the equipment for it. I do have John Piper's book in audio now :) thanks to FFF.

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails