Make Use of Your Time: Listen to Audio Books on the Road

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If you drive a lot alone (e.g., more than ten minutes), what do you do in that time span? I'm guessing you either (1) listen to music (2) stare at the road in silence (3) talk on a cell phone or (4) text while driving (let's hope not--it's illegal in many states).

Have you tried listening to an audio book while driving a boring route? You can probably find a science fiction audio book at your local library to check out or download one through an audiobook provider. If you're like me, your time is limited for reading books, so the next best thing is listening to them.

I used to never even listened to audio books, but a friend of mine mentioned that's what he used to do when he would go to sleep. Then a relative was talking about how much time a person wastes each day and mentioned that I waste over an hour each day going to work and back. So I decided to check out an audio book to make use of that time, and am glad I did.

I have a used older car that has a cassette player (it's almost 20 years old!), so the first thing I checked out was 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke. Then I listened to Pegasus in Space by Anne McCaffrey, but, unfortunately, haven't read the first two books in the trilogy and wasn't too interested in it. I also listened to Nightfall, based on Isaac Asimov's short story of the same name (Asimov collaborated with Robert Silverberg on the book). It's a excellent story and the only gripe I have is that it has some unnecessarily long thoughts of characters anticipating the coming eclipse. Since then, I've been getting audio books on my phone. Recently, I've listened to Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson and recommend it.

So why not try listening to an audio book while driving rather than listening to music, staring in silence, or talking or texting on a cell phone? You may be surprised at how fast you can go through a book this way.

Comment below with what audio books you recommend or are currently listening to.

Reid Kemper's Science Fiction BlogWhere stories live. Discover now