The World of Audible Books

Sandra here with a pot of chocolate velvet coffee to celebrate the best month in the year. June. Because its summer.  Yay!  And its my birthday month. So I’m a bit biased. smile

Time to pack up the family and go on vacation.

Speaking of birthdays, do any of you know what special birthday our country celebrates this year? It is the Centennial birthday of the National Parks in the United States. This year marks the hundredth year that we have had our wonderful national parks to visit and explore.

A  This one is easy. 

How many of you will be visiting a national park this summer? Did you know if you are a senior, you can buy a senior pass for $10.00 and with that pass you can camp half price in national forest and national park campgrounds. You also have free entrance into national parks and national monuments. The pass also allows you to park free or half price on national forest trailheads. If you aren’t a senior yet, you can buy an annual park pass which allows you entrance into any national park or monument for no extra fee. So if you plan to visit more than one park, it is well worth the money to buy that annual pass.

B

I highly encourage you to visit national parks because the park service does an excellent presentation. You learn all about the natural history, geology, ecology, human history and all kinds of information. I use this information in many of my books.  smile

C

I have been traveling this past month and have visited and enjoyed several of our national parks and national monuments. I will share with you some photos. If any of you can name all the parks and monuments shown, you’ll be in a drawing to win one of my audio books.

D

Speaking of audio books, traveling is my best and favorite time to bring out the Ipod and listen to audio books. While you travel across the miles, enjoying the spectacular scenery, you can listen to a story written by a favorite author. Yay.

E

How many of you listen to audio books? What do you think about the experience? How do you compare it to sitting down and actually reading the book?

For me: An audio book is a very different experience than reading written words. You don’t quite get into the emotion of the story like you do when reading. It can easily be compared to the difference of reading a book or seeing the same story in a movie.

How many of you have said? “I saw the movie but the book was so much better.”

F

What happens when reading is that you can internalize and bring in so many of your own experiences into the story. There is much more expression of emotion. When listening to a story it is very much like watching a movie. You are hearing the story in audible. You are seeing the story in a movie. Hearing and seeing are sensory intakes that can wrap up your emotions, but it is more difficult to do so.

G

So why listen to audio books?

As a writer, I have to budget my time. The more time I spend writing, the less time I have to read. But reading is important to a writer. Reading is how one develops their sense of story. So for me, listening to a story during times I can’t read or write help me use my time better.  I can listen to a story while doing mundane chores like laundry, dishes, housework, yard work, etc.   (okay, I don’t do yard work, but some of you might. LOL) 

H

I first heard about audio books from my niece who listened to them during her hour long commute every morning and evening to and from work. What a great use of that time.

Being a senior now, I encounter many friends and acquaintances who tell me they love to read, but can’t any more because of loss of eyesight. Kindles and other e readers help because they can enlarge the words, but truthfully, failing eyesight makes it very tiring to read even with big print. How much nicer to kick back and listen to a story.

I

So here are some reasons to use Audible. What other ways have you used Audible books? Share with us today and your name will be put in the box for an iPod and all three of my audio books.

G.G Martinsen available on Amazon

Speaking of iPods, how many of you have one? Have you seen them lately? They are the size of a credit card and slip right into your pocket so you can take it with you anywhere.

Most cars have cd or cassette (don’t laugh, we still have one) players and you can get audio books from the library and play them in your car.

Authors, have you considered putting your books on Audible? You might want to do so. I think that as our population ages, you will see more demand for them. And if yours is already out there, you have an advantage.

For information on how to do this, read my previous article here.

Click on the blue audio in the archives and find more articles about Audible books.

If you haven’t tried an Audible book yet, try one this summer. You won’t be disappointed.

Be sure and comment to be put in the drawing for prizes.

Sandra Leesmith writes sweet romances to warm the heart. Sandra loves to play pickleball, hike, read, bicycle and write. She is based in Arizona, but she and her husband travel throughout the United States in their motor home and enjoy the outdoors. You can find Sandra's books here on Amazon. Three of Sandra's most popular books are also audio books at Audible. You can read more of Sandra's posts here.