Thursday Thoughts || Audiobooks

Welcome to Thursday Thoughts! If you're new, this is an original, interactive, weekly meme here on my blog. Everyone with an opinion is invited to make a post, link up and join the conversation. We would love to have you! I first want to very quickly address that I've been totally MIA. You may or may not have even noticed, but I feel like it's getting to the point where I say this on my blog a lot and I'm trying so hard to overcome it. I just get so distracted and interested in other things that my blog, YouTube and, most importantly, reading seem to fall by the wayside. Again, like I said, I'm REALLY going to try and get back to normal. The only thing that's been constant on my blog lately has been Thursday Thoughts, so let's just get on with it! This week's topic is, once again, an idea from you guys; audiobooks!

My opinion is this; I think audiobooks are seriously great! I most recently listened to The Fault in Our Stars in audiobook form in preparation for the movie. I don't think I would have read it in time if it weren't for my listening to the audiobook. In my opinion, the two most beneficial things about audiobooks are that they help you read quicker and that you can multi-task. While reading, you unfortunately can't get any other things done. That's one of my biggest problems with reading, to be honest. I do like that I can get swept up in a world and lost in a story, but sometimes I just have other things to do! I think if I listened to audiobooks more often than I currently do I would be more motivated to blog/make videos and I would be getting more reading done, to be honest! So, maybe I should take my own advice.

I know it's been a huge trend over the last few years for audible.com to sponsor certain YouTubers. It seems now-a-days that you can't get through a video without there being a quick little plug for the website (that or NatureBox.) Personally, I don't really have a problem with that. In fact, I've considered making an Audible account for myself many times. I just haven't really flipped the switch on that one yet. Sooner or later I will. If you don't know, Audible is a website and app that has a giant library of audiobooks you can listen to. It's a monthly subscription service and depending on how much you pay you can listen to a certain number of books per month. Why is this something I really enjoy? I think the fact that Audible exists and that it's getting so much buzz is AMAZING because it's getting a ton more people into reading. I'd be rich if I had a dime for every time I heard a YouTuber say "I don't usually have time to read, but I do listen to one audio book a month on Audible." It's true! And, I really think that's something important to note.

Now, like I said, I recently listened to The Fault in Our Stars by John Green on audiobook. That was the first audiobook I've listened too in quite some time, but in the past I also recall listening to one of Ellen DeGeneres' books. I think that listening to audiobooks read by the author (especially comedic books like Ellen's) is a great way to enhance the experience of the book. I would definitely recommend that. I also remember in high school, listening to audio versions of my Summer reading books on the website LibriVox. Basically, LibriVox is a public domain where people can record themselves reading books and post it for anyone to listen to for free. It's really fantastic, but the only downside is that the library they have on there isn't exactly ideal. It's all stuff from the public domain, so for the most part the books are older classics. Finally, I recall in childhood listening to audiobooks with my mom and sister. We would listen to Harry Potter in the car or even just in our living room. I especially remember we would always listen to a book when we went on family trips and stuff like that when I was a lot younger. All in all, audiobooks have always been kind of present in my life.

In a nutshell, I think that audiobooks are phenomenal. The whole idea of a book on tape is something that I think has changed our society. They're definitely not a replacement for actual reading overall, but I think they can be a stepping stone or a helpful tool in your reading journey. I would recommend people who don't read all that much but want to get into reading to listen to some audiobooks. I would recommend people who have too much to do but want to read more to listen to some audiobooks. Hell, I would recommend myself to listen to some audiobooks and I think I just might do that. I hope you all enjoyed this week's Thursday Thoughts! Join us next week where we'll talk about "Cover Changes"! See ya then!