Audio books have gone crazy in popularity in the last couple of years. The technology involved, the number of titles published added to the realization of the benefits that audiobooks can offer have combined to bring them very much into the mainstream as a genuine alternative to paperback or hardback books. Indeed in many situations, they offer much more than a traditional book could, for example, you can’t learn a language from a paper book while walking the dog, can you? Of course not, but with an audiobook, you can!

So it’s no surprise that people are going mad for audiobooks. Here are just a few of the advantages that audiobooks have over normal hardcover or paperback books:

1) You can make incredibly constructive use of dead time. The time that would be otherwise impossible to fill with a normal book. For example, listen to a section of a hyper motivational audiobook while on the way to work.

You’ll not only learn but also save the time spent reading such a book. More than that though, a book is a passive device that you have to draw information out of.

An audiobook by contrast pushes it at you. In the example of motivational audiobooks that’s a massive advantage as you can get the world’s best motivators giving you a pre-work pep talk every day. That will, I absolutely guarantee you, energize you for the day ahead.

2) Audiobooks are much more cost-effective and environmentally friendly than hardback and paperbacks. Very simply they don’t need trees to be cut down and greenhouse gases released to produce them.

3) With mp3 player functions such as mid-track resume, bookmarking, or simple visual chapter selection you can flip through them easily and quickly. Pick up where you left off or find a place easily again just like that.

4) You can listen to an audiobook when it’s dark (for example – walking the dog at night when you have no lights). So, with an audiobook, you can still ‘read’ no matter what the time or situation. I find them great when out fishing at night when you don’t want to use a light but do want to have a book going.

5) Get the kids to sleep easier – With an audiobook, unlike a normal book, you can simply play it for them until they fall asleep. Plus with audiobooks specifically for children, the narrator(s) are expert actor/speakers trained to read children’s books so they make them loads of fun, and then there are extras like the sound effects that really bring it to life better than you can (sorry to say but it’s true!)

So why not go and check out some audiobooks today and find out for yourself how useful and how fun they are. There are loads of free audiobooks as well so you can test the water for free as well.