by Mary Brotherton

Created on: August 16, 2009

My son was 14-years-old when he introduced me to audio books. We were going on a road trip together, and he knew we'd have nobody else in the car to distract us. He wanted to introduce me, also to one of his favorite authors, so he chose a few novels and we've both been hooked on audio books since.

He and I are avid readers and our tastes have changed over the past two-dozen plus years since that introduction. We both still read printed books, but we now have growing libraries on our iPods and on our audio bookshelves that we trade among ourselves and our friends who are also falling in love with audio books.

If I'm not writing, I'm usually reading. Since I can't easily drive, walk or clean the house with a book in my hand, I listen to audio books. Because of the wide variety of audio books in my local library, I've been exposed to new writers that I might not have tried. I can listen to a book on the way home from the library or while driving to the supermarket and if I don't like the book, it's easy enough to return the next time I go to the library.

I've listened to motivational books and those that inspire as well as books by best-selling authors of contemporary fiction. Today, book sellers and libraries stock almost every genre from children's classics to comedy. Whether you like short stories, poetry or novels, there's likely to be a version on audio. If you're a fan of suspense, mystery, romance, science fiction or the classics from years ago; you're liable to find a version on cassette, CD or even CDs that are compatible with mp3 players.

I think many readers pigeonhole themselves into one type because they aren't willing to spend money for a book they may not like. Sometimes, stepping outside our comfort zone can be frightening as well as invigorating. Using the public libraries gives audio book fans the opportunity to try a particular book without the financial investment. I've found many books at the library that I later purchased so I could listen to them again.

The concept of audio books was first created to provide reading material for people with vision impairments, but the audio books, like a wildfire on the dry prairie, took off across the globe. People have come to appreciate the audio book for its ability to allow them to do more than just read a good book. They can now read a good book while mopping the kitchen floor or while rocking the baby to sleep.

Some books are produced with all the fanfare and special effects of a Hollywood production and others are simply a voice reading. When the author reads his or her own book, readers pick up a different nuance than when a voice actor reads it. Regardless of who reads the book or whether music and special sounds are added, audio books can be a great addition to any reader's library. In a nutshell, audio books are fun!

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