---
title: "Why I Love Audible"
date: 2012-02-21
description: "$( document ).ready(function() { // Handler for .ready() called. $("
canonical_url: https://idratherbewriting.com/2012/02/21/why-i-love-audible/
---
# Why I Love Audible
It's relatively cold in Utah at night. About 34 degrees right now, so I wear a balaclava and gloves. And of course I have on a sweater and exercise pants too. But more important than anything, I have my iPhone attached to my arm and am listening to the second book in *The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo* series from Audible.

I've been an [Audible](http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-5620807-10365040) listener for about a year now. Prior to Audible, I used to listen exclusively to podcasts. As early as 2006, I was seriously into podcasts, both listening to them and creating them. But at least for the past year, I've been listening to audio books, mostly fiction, from Audible.

I listen while I drive to and from work (a 25-minute commute), while I walk or jog, and while I shoot baskets at the gym. I can concentrate with almost full attention in any of these modes. I also sometimes listen to audio books when I can't sleep.

When I first joined Audible, I tried listening to nonfiction. I listened to *[Jesus, Interrupted](http://www.qksrv.net/click-5620807-10273919?url=http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B002V0PM32&qid=1329807729&sr=1-1&source_code=COMA0213WS031709),* by Bart Erhman. I liked his book so much I listened to another Erhman book: *[Peter, Paul, and Mary](http://www.qksrv.net/click-5620807-10273919?url=http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B002V0KEPS&qid=1329807805&sr=1-1&source_code=COMA0213WS031709)*. Then* [The Tipping Point](http://www.qksrv.net/click-5620807-10273919?url=http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B002V0A7U0&qid=1329807856&sr=1-1&source_code=COMA0213WS031709),* by Malcolm Gladwell. And *[The Social Animal](http://www.qksrv.net/click-5620807-10273919?url=http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B004NEKPK4&qid=1329807917&sr=1-1&source_code=COMA0213WS031709),* by David Brooks. At this time, I just had an iPod Nano (not an iPhone), and it was a little hard to keep track of my place in the book. Additionally, though these nonfiction books were engaging, they didn't entirely consume me. I tried *[Master and Commander](http://www.qksrv.net/click-5620807-10273919?url=http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B002V0KS9A&qid=1329808145&sr=1-1&source_code=COMA0213WS031709)*, by Patrick O'Brian, and *[Blood Meridian](http://www.qksrv.net/click-5620807-10273919?url=http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B002V8N2UE&qid=1329808221&sr=1-1&source_code=COMA0213WS031709)*, by Cormac McCarthy. These were better, but not entirely captivating.

One day I saw a colleague wearing headphones on his way into the office. I asked what he was listening to. He said,* [The Hunger Games](http://www.qksrv.net/click-5620807-10273919?url=http://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B002V8MA2A&source_code=COMA0213WS031709).* My wife and 10-year-old daughter had burned through these books eagerly, and since my colleague was a fellow basketball player with similar interests as mine, I decided to give it a try.

I absolutely loved listening to *The Hunger Games. *For the next few months, I listened to it non-stop. I listened to all three books in the series (and [reviewed it here](https://idratherbewriting.com/2011/09/21/book-review-the-hunger-games-and-a-possible-parallel-for-technical-writers/)). My time listening to podcasts and non-fiction audio books dried up. I fell entirely for fiction.

After finishing *The Hunger Games*, I asked my colleague what else he recommended. He said, If you liked *The Hunger Games*, then you'll love *[Mistborn](http://www.qksrv.net/click-5620807-10273919?url=http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_2?asin=B002V0QCYU&qid=1329806528&sr=1-2&source_code=COMA0213WS031709). Mistborn *was a fantasy novel by Brandon Sanderson, a local author. And it, too, was a trilogy. I ended up listening to *Mistborn* for the next couple of months (my daughter did too). In fact, my daughter even did her science fair project from a concept in *Mistborn*. My colleague was right. Though Mistborn was a novel in the fantasy genre, I liked it considerably. I had always been too snooty of an English major to read fantasy before, but this novel completely sucked me in.

After *Mistborn*, I downloaded another popular book: *[The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo](http://www.qksrv.net/click-5620807-10273919?url=http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B002UZMWNG&qid=1329806476&sr=1-1&source_code=COMA0213WS031709)*. My wife had read all three novels by Stieg Larsson and said this book was impossible to put down. It is definitely more graphic and has adult themes, but I am completely smitten by this series as well.