By: Ashton Newton Entertainment Editor
The first time I listened to an audiobook was when I had a job that allowed me to listen to music as I worked. Getting bored of hours of music, I decided to listen to Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods” on audiobook, and it took over my life. I found myself listening to it when I was driving, when I was walking, when I was working and even while doing homework. I found it so easy to be productive while thoroughly enjoying this story.
Despite how busy life can get while in school, there is a lot of leisure time. Whether it is an hour in between classes or a lazy Sunday afternoon, time spent doing almost anything can be enhanced with an audiobook playing.
This is why I think that audiobooks are a college student’s best friend. Not only are audiobooks great, but there are also audiobooks for almost every major text you’d need to read for an English class. It’s a much better experience listening to “The Odyssey” when Sir Ian McKellan is reading it to you while you’re on a run or playing video games. Plus, I’ve found that listening to audiobooks doesn’t take away from reading at all, instead, I don’t zone out or skip long passages, like I have the habit of doing.
Finding audiobooks is extremely easy too. Spotify has a huge library of audiobooks in all genres. There are lots of short stories and novels available to listen to for free. Another good source of free audiobooks is YouTube. You can find almost any classic work there, so it’s a really good place to find books for English classes.
My favorite place to listen is Audible. All you need is an Amazon account and $15 a month and you can get two audiobooks a month. This is a great way to get more recent books. While spending $15 on audiobooks a month is pretty high, you can always cancel the subscription if you think you won’t finish the book in time.
A lot of skepticism surrounding audiobooks relates back to boring readers. It’s uncomfortable listening to anyone read a book to you, but if the reader’s voice is monotone and boring, it can be a struggle to listen to. My first audiobook, “American Gods,” was a full cast audiobook, so there were many different voices throughout the book which made it very pleasant to listen to.
I’d recommend finding an audiobook of a book you’ve either already read or that you’re extremely interested in just to get a feel for audiobooks. After listening to “American Gods,” I listened to “Star Wars: Bloodlines” by Claudia Gray, which I got really into because I’m fascinated with the “Star Wars” universe.
Listening to short stories is also great because they don’t have a huge time commitment and they’re easy to balance into everyday actions. Spotify also has lots of free short stories in their library, from classics to horror. They can last anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour, so they’re great to listen to while walking from class to class or at the gym. The best short story audiobook that I’ve listened to is HP Lovecraft’s “Call of Cthulhu,” but it’s a pretty scary one.
Audiobooks are a great way to kill time and keep your mind entertained and sharp. The options of what to listen to are endless with free content all over the Internet. Next time you have a break between classes or a long car ride, consider trying out an audiobook. You might not like it, but if you do, your options are virtually endless on books to listen to.
Contact the author at journalentertainment@wou.edu
