Why I Started Using Audiobooks

A few months ago I got an Audible trial and was pleasantly surprised by it.

I've never seen the appeal of audiobooks before - it's not that I'm against them, I just... Didn't need them, I guess - but when I became torn between reading and cross-stitching and unable to do both at once, Audible was my saviour. Because it turns out that you can read and cross-stitch at the same time!

Okay, so, it's not really reading because it's actually listening, but it is still reading because a book is being consumed and the words within being enjoyed or learned. I'm not one of those people who things audiobooks are cheating or 'lesser', I'm just a bit pedantic when it comes to using the word 'reading' in regards to them. But boy am I glad I gave them a chance.

As I said, I can now get through books whilst cross-stitching without needing to sprout another set of hands - perfect, when I still have a pattern on the go, two waiting to be started, and plenty more on my Etsy Wishlist - but I can also read in the bath, whilst I'm getting ready in the morning, whilst I'm eating... The possibilities are endless, and I can't believe it's taken me almost 22 years to join the audiobook train. (I also think a good narrator would be really beneficial on the nights I struggle to sleep, as listening to music or ASMR can really help me, but then I run the risk of missing out on the story.)

My one problem with them, however, is that I have a tendency to zone out unless I have visual stimulation. Which is more of a problem I have with myself, but I digress. I'm very much a visual learner and have noticed myself losing interest in lectures if it's just the professor droning on and on with nothing interest on screen, and it's why I am so able to just binge watch hours and hours of TV. But it also means physical books are good for me. Reading them requires focus and actually using your eyes, but audiobooks.... Well... It seems my ears just don't have the same ability to concentrate.

Do you use audiobooks?