Many jobs like painting, mowing the yard, laying tile, driving to work and the like don’t require much concentration. Listening to the radio is a nice distraction, but I get annoyed with the endless commercials. Who needs to hear that new car commercial again for the umpteenth time?
To fill the mental downtime I enjoy listening to audio books on my iPhone and subscribe to Audible.com. Audible integrates with Apple iTunes for the iPod and iPhone; and Audible and supports most other MP3 players. Over 50,000 books, newspapers, magazine and podcasts are available on Audible.
Many times the book is so interesting you barely notice 3, 4 or 5 hours has passed and you’re a bit disappointed the job (or drive to work) is done and it’s time to turn it off the story until next time.
Most of the reading I do are technical documents related to work and I rarely have time to sit and read for pleasure. Audible has greatly expanded my horizons with selections from the classics, best seller list, fiction and non-fiction. Through Audible I’ve listened to and enjoyed classics like War and Peace @ 1150+ pages, Crime and Punishment @ 575+ pages, The Pillars of the Earth @ 970+ pages and numerous others. The professional readers really bring the book to life, too.
Audible has several subscription plans to suit most every budget. I subscribe to the Audible Platinum Plan for 24 annual credits. Most books are 1 credit – even if it costs $30 or $40 to purchase separately – and I’ve not run out of credits in a given year. If I have credits remaining in December, I’ll make additional book selections to use up all my annual credits and catch up on my listening in January.
Amazon.com bought Audible in January 2008 so there’s no question of the company being around for a long time.
Bob Jackson
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