Commute + Audiobook = Time Well Spent

If you have a long commute you should try reading a book while you drive. By "reading," I mean listening. Here are some guidelines to help you choose an audiobook.

1) Start with a good story. If you have never listened to a book before, pick what you know is a good story to begin with.

2) Unabridged and one voice make the most enjoyable audiobooks. Most of the Library’s audiobooks are unabridged. There is something incredibly satisfying about having one voice continue through the work.

3) Narrators matter. I have learned to never listen to an author read her own work. (There are a few exceptions – The Kite Runner , for example.) A professional narrator can make all the difference between a book that sings and one that dies. Listen to Sissy Spacek read To Kiill a Mockingbird. Good narrators can pronounce technical and foreign names exactly, and do accents properly. Their voices don't waver or dull.

4) Most listeners think that fiction and history are best. A strong narrative helps you to stay focused on the audiobook.

5) Having a parallel printed copy of a book can help alleviate one of an audiobook's primary weaknesses: it's hard to remember or jot down a favorite passage. The Library usually has a print version of the audiobook.

We have lots of formats – audiocassettes, MP3, cd, and playaways. We do not have downloadable audio yet, but as soon as the budget improves, we will offer that format, too. You can select the type of format by clicking material format on the catalog search page.

New recommended fiction titles:
Bridge of Sighs
A Carrion Death
The Commoner
Echo Park
The Gargoyle
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Home
Moscow Rules
The Plague of Doves
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
Swan Peak
Tortilla Curtain
Unaccustomed Earth

See more recommended titles on the Good Reads page.