Audible Fantasy

When I was a kid I really enjoyed reading.  Now that I'm an adult (and even an old married adult, ;-)) I still enjoy reading--even more in some ways--but I find that I don't have as much time.  When I was young, in the days before I discovered the joy of sleeping in, I would make sure I had a book by my bed so that I could read first thing when I woke up.  I even went through college not always finishing my assigned reading, but definitely read plenty of other books.  One way I've found to deal with this is to listen to audiobooks.

Several years ago I signed up for a membership with Audible.com and I've yet to regret it.  For a small monthly fee (I think it is $14.95) I get one credit--in the past I had one of their higher plans, but in the interest of balancing the budget I scaled back.  Each credit may be used to buy a book--most books sell for one credit, though a few are two credits.  I've found it a good deal since the list price of most books, even at the members price (which I never pay, I only buy books with credits) is more than what I pay each month.  I've listened to many hours of books while driving to work and on trips.  Even if a few books that I've downloaded are duds, most have been excellent.  It has occasionally let me get through books that I didn't have time to read (recently I listened to Bonhoeffer, by Eric Metaxas).

Currently I'm listening to the Shadowmarch series by Tad Williams.  I first encountered Tad several years ago when I picked up Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn and I enjoyed a read through the Otherland saga.  One warning about Tad's books--they tend to be long.  The third book of MST had to be split into two for paperback publication (I think I read that the hardcover was over 1,000 pages and the paperback would have been longer).  I tend to read faster than audiobook narrators, but the recorded length of a book can still be a good indication of its length.  The entire Shadowmarch series (as sold by Audible) spans almost five complete days of listening.  I'm somewhere less than half-way through the first volume, so I won't be done for a while yet.  I'm enjoying the listen however.  Because of the stereo I installed in my car last fall (with the help of my nephew Erik) I can plug my iPhone directly into the stereo and control playback with the stereo controls.  I should mention that one of my coworkers (Chris) helped me to find the site where I bought the stereo.  I do like the fact that I can be listening to one book on my commute while I'm reading another book during part of my free time.  I also like the fact that I have the files for all of the books I've purchased saved--but I can re-download them if necessary, so that just as I've re-read books in the past I'll have the option to re-listen to books in the future if I so desire.

~Matt