I want to start this off by saying that I have never been a fan of audiobooks. In the past, I would even have gone as far as to say that listening to an audiobook isn’t reading. But oh how wrong I was.

At the start of June, I challenged myself to read more books. I usually read a chapter or two a day of a book and I just found that I’d never be able to read all the books on my ever-growing tbr list if I didn’t read quicker.

Instead of this sending me into a downward spiral that would lead to a reading slump, I headed over to my good friend, Google and looking into how I could read quicker but still enjoy what I was reading and still be able to actually understand what was happening in the books that I was reading.

Google had plenty of ideas and I won’t go diving into all of them in this post but I did want to talk about something that I tried… audiobooks.

Yes, that’s right. I listened to some audiobooks…

and I didn’t hate it!

My journey on trying audiobooks was a bit of a rocky one. I was stuck in the mindset for a really long time that listening to a book isn’t the same as reading it. It felt a bit like cheating even. But then for some reason, it clicked in my mind that everyone is different and for some people, audiobooks are the only way for them to read. And who am I to say that those people aren’t readers?! Since then, my idea that audiobooks aren’t read books has faded. I see how naive I was and I feel pretty rubbish about all the times I’ve ignored the idea of a audiobook all because I didn’t think it was reading.

If I could go back in time, I would definitely tell young Eleanor to go and listen to an audiobook. It would have changed my life.

Where I found my audiobooks

When I first started looking for audiobooks to listen to, I didn’t really know where to find any other than Audible. I didn’t know much about Audible and didn’t feel like spending money on audiobooks yet. After a quick google search, I learned that you can listen to audiobooks on Youtube. I don’t know if this is a ‘proper’ way to do it and I did find that there were some issues, but I did manage to listen to some books this way.

I do want to mention here quickly that one of the audiobooks I was listening to on Youtube disappeared when I was half way through it. I’m not sure if this happens often but I thought it might be worth mentioning. My guess is that the video was removed but it was a little annoying because then I had to re-find my place on the same book but in another video.

During my time of audiobook listening and adventures, Audible had a 3 month for 99p deal. It was as if it was a sign from the gods telling me to read more audiobooks. I signed up and have been learning how Audible works.

What I read

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson. I’ve never been a huge fan of self-help books but I figured I’d listen to this audiobook. Maybe it’s just that self-help books aren’t for me or maybe this book just sucks, I really don’t know. But anyway, if you want to hear a privileged white man telling you something that you probably already know, then you might like this book.

The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson. This book confused me a little at first, but I think it was supposed to be like that. After the first couple of chapters, I was hooked. This book is definitely unique and I loved it.

The Twits by Roald Dahl. This one was definitely a short book but it was still a fun read. Listening to it made me feel like I was living through my childhood again.

The Girl Who Reads on the Métro by Christine Féret-Fleury. I took a complete chance with this as I had never heard anything about it but I noticed that it was a book about books so I couldn’t resist. It was a great listen though. The story made me want to just read every single book.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. I’d already watched the film so I knew what was going to happen in the book but still ended up feeling all of the emotions. It’s one of those books that I think everyone should read at least once in their life.

Will I keep listening to audiobooks?

I’ll definitely still be listening to audiobooks from now on. It’s such a great way of reading when I don’t have my hands free. I can read while doing the dishes or while I’m walking somewhere.

I’ll still be reading physical and e-books too but I’ll keep on audiobook on the go at all times too. I just love that I can read while doing other things now too. Now I have no excuse not to hit my reading goals.

Have you ventured into the world of audiobooks before? Do you have any audiobook recommendations for me?