Adventures in Audiobooks

Audiobooks have never really appealed to me before, until they suddenly seemed like the perfect way to get to books that I wouldn’t get the chance to read otherwise, those that are intimidatingly long in print or stragglers from my TBR that were released earlier in the year.

And it works.

So far I’ve read:

Adult novels: The Secret History, The Song of Achilles, Go Set a Watchman, The Help

Non-fiction: Bossypants, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?

YA: Made For You, The Rithmatist, Shadow and Bone

Classics: (both of which I DNFed) The Age of Innocence, The Color Purple

There are novels in this selection that I’ve wanted to read for years, that I've had on my shelves for what feels like forever and not got around to reading, things that have caught my interest but I knew I’d never get to in paper.

It was a little strange to acclimatise to, especially with fantasy like The Rithmatist, but I love it. It's really cool to be able to read when washing up, hanging the washing up, tidying, cleaning, walking into town – you read paper or even an e-reader when doing those things!

I’m reading more, and more widely.

I’m taking chances on books and genres I wouldn’t normally make time for.

It feels like less-pressurised reading than normal.

I’m not rushing to finish a book to get a review up.

The only issue I have with audiobooks is how expensive they are! I have an Audible membership which gives me one credit (aka a free audiobook of my choice) each month, but that doesn’t last me that long! And I'm just not willing to pay £10+ for an audiobook. Luckily, the daily deals are excellent. So far I’ve snagged: The Final Empire, The Way of Kings, Bossypants, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?, Us and The Versions of Us. And if you own a book on Kindle, more often than not, the audiobook is reduced – between 99p and £3.99.

Do you listen to audiobooks? Why? Why not? Any recommendations?

Sophie