Family Vacation HelpIf you are planning on traveling any time soon, rest assured you will have some time to kill. Few things can take you away from those never ending lines or long flights, train, and bus rides like a good story. Reading a book is one of the great pastimes for travelers en route to their destination. Walk though the terminal of any airport and you are bound to see dozens of travelers scanning page after page of text from the latest bestseller. I too, used to be a die-hard paper and hardback book reader. That was until I listened to my first audio book. I tried an audiobook on a vacation after much persuasion from my husband who was already a longtime fan.
I was tired of craning my neck and reading by cabin light on long flight. I started to take note the he was listening to his book while comfortably reclined with his eyes closed. On bumpy car and bus rides, I had to put my books and magazines away because of motion sickness. All the while, my husband was looking out the window, soaking in the sights and listening to a good story at the same time. So I thought it was time to give my tired eyes a vacation too, and I haven't turned back since. Audiobooks allow you to pass the time relaxing listening to the latest bestseller, catching up on the classics, or even learning a new language while you are en route to your final destination.
Audiobooks have some great advantages over traditional books. For one thing, listening is a passive activity, so there's no need to don reading glasses and constantly scan the pages. You can simply slip on your headphones, sit back and remove yourself from the traveling fray of the airport or train station. I have found that one the most enjoyable aspects of audiobooks is that they are read by a narrator, who is often times a professional actor. This tends to bring a little more life to the story, as the narrator will often create different voices for the many characters within the story.
Also, if you are trying to brush up on a foreign language, it helps to hear the language as it is spoken by a native, as opposed to trying to discern pronunciation from text. Another great advantage is the size and transportability of audiobooks. If you download the material to your iPod or MP3 player, you can literally carry hundreds of books on a device no bigger than a deck of cards. This means that if the story that you are listening to is not quite what you expected, you can move on to a new book, or even review one of your favorites almost instantly.
Now audiobooks are not quite perfect. For one thing, it can take a bit longer to listen to a book than to read it yourself. For example, Ken Follett's "The Pillars Of The Earth" clocks in a 40 hours and 10 minutes for the unabridged audiobook, and you could most likely read the same material yourself in about 35 hours. To me it's similar to being chauffeured to a destination as opposed to driving there yourself. Another disadvantage, albeit a small one, is that audiobooks are not as easy to navigate as traditional paper books. If you have to review material already covered in a book, you may find it a bit more difficult to find an exact line or phrase that you had previously read. Finally, cost can be a factor as well. At a bookstore, the audio version of a book is typically more expensive than a hardcover.
While audiobooks are readily available at most book stores and even for free at public libraries, my favorite audiobook source for is Audible, an audiobook download service. Audible allows you to choose from over 40,000 titles, which you can then download to your MP3 player, or copy to CD's. You can choose from traditional books, classic radio programs, and even magazines and newspapers. Using the aforementioned "The Pillars Of The Earth" by Ken Follett, you could purchase the hardback at your local bookstore for about $23, while the same book at Audible would cost $41. This pricing difference can be brought down however by subscribing to one of Audible's "AudibleListener" programs.
For an introductory price of $7.50 per month, you can join Audible's AudibleListener Gold program and get one download credit per month and also get a discount of 75% off list price for any additional audiobooks purchased that month. Most books count as one credit, but there are rare exceptions. I have found it most useful to use the credits toward larger purchases, and if needed, purchase lower price titles with the 75% membership discount. It just doesn't make sense to use credits on books that cost less than the subscription price. In addition, you can bank your credits (up to 6) to use in the future. Once you have purchased the title, it is yours to keep. Audible keeps an on-line library of your titles, so that you can download them at any time in the future to your approved device, even if you cancel your subscription to the AudibleListener program.
To use the Audible service, you visit the website Audible.com and create an account. You will have the option of purchasing the titles a la carte, or subscribing to one of their "Audble Listener" programs, which allows you a number of credits per month, and a discount on purchases over and above your audiobook credits. They typically have an introductory special that will allow you to try the service for a lower upfront cost for the fist few months. Once you have signed up, Audible will direct you to download the software appropriate for your device from their website. One your profile is complete, you can shop by genre, author, or subject matter and begin your book.
Audible is currently running a special promotion that offers your first 3 months for $7.50/month. Click here for more information.
Happy "reading"!
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