My dog is winning. Audiobooks are saving me.

How audiobooks are saving my reading life right now, my very determined dog, and the summer reading extravaganza episode!

For the past two weeks, I’ve been stuck in the house playing prison warden for a very clever and determined dog. Leonard was neutered. They sent him home with a cone of shame, which he promptly demonstrated was no match for his bendy body. He could curl up and reach his stitches. Thus began my quest…

A failed one.

I currently have a box of seven, yes, seven devices/outfits/contraptions that are supposed to prevent dogs from tearing stitches out that I have to return because Leonard was like, pfft, dont’ insult me with your meager attempts to control me.

He has learned how to unfasten velcro straps, unsnap buttons on a surgical suit that were listed as “virtually impossible” for dogs to open on the advertising copy, and to pull all manner of cones (soft, hard, pillow-like) off his head within a minute or two.

Oh, and did I mention my husband has been out of town for most of the two weeks of Leonard’s recovery? So it’s been me who has had to be on constant watch for my little escape artist. Anywhere I had to go, he had to join me. To get by, I had to put his surgical suit on plus a doggie diaper so that if he went for his stitches, I’d at least hear the velcro of the diaper first to catch him in time.

Whut? Who me?

He gets his stitches out today and I swear I want to throw a party.

But I’m bringing this up because what has kept me at least half-sane this week has been my library, a gift to myself, and access to audiobooks. Leonard and I have been doing a lot of walks to get his energy out (surgery didn’t slow him down), and I decided to treat myself to a pair of AirPods. (This may have been an emergency same-day-delivery-from-Best-Buy situation on a particularly challenging day. Ahem.) I’ve never had a set and I just went with the original basic version.

Well, that turned out to be a brilliant move. I figured out that I could pop just one earbud in, still hear traffic around me when we’re walking, and I could power through audiobooks while Leonard strutted around and peed in the general direction of any fence that had a dog behind it. Everybody wins. (Well, except those dogs behind the fences.)

I know this isn’t groundbreaking news—we all know we can listen to audiobooks on walks—but I’m sharing because sometimes our lives get so hectic that we think we don’t have time for a reading life. But sometimes it just means we don’t have time for reading in the typical way we read. That for whatever reason, we need to change things up a bit.

This month, I’ve read 5 books so far, 4 have been in audio.

In the past, I’ve been someone who believed I could only listen to non-fiction on audio—and I still love that on audio—but in the last two years, I’ve begun to embrace fiction on audio as well. When there is a great narrator, I’m finding audio is even more immersive than print. I remember the content of audiobooks more, which is fascinating to me. I can even remember where I was when I listened to certain parts. I have a terrible memory, so I find this really interesting. (I was talking with Julie Cross, an author friend of mine, and she’s had the same experience with that immersive feeling so maybe there’s something to it.)

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I also really loved this article from Vox: The Best $15 I’ve Ever Spent: An Audiobook Subscription

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So, if you’re at a time in your life where your traditional reading life may be struggling a little, maybe give audiobooks a go. Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way that have helped me embrace the format.

Audiobook tips

Your library is your friend

I have an Audible subscription, but that’s only one credit a month. Using the Libby app from my library has been the key to upping my audio listening. And because most people reach for ebook or print first, often the audio versions of popular books are available to check out immediately or have shorter wait times. It downloads right to your phone and you’re all set.

Consider bouncing between formats

I’ve noticed I have a pattern. I like listening to the audiobook for most of the book, but when I get close to the end, I often want the print so I can read faster. I don’t always have a print or ebook copy too, but often I do because…library. Or I’ll have already bought a book and then decide to get the audio from the library. Bouncing back and forth helps me read more quickly because I can go to whichever format is convenient at that moment. In the car, audio. In bed, book.

Listen at a faster rate

This may take some time to work up to, but I find the 1x narration sooooo slow now. I usually start by adjusting to 1.35x speed. Then, once I’m used to the narrator, I can usually move to 1.5x without issue. Note: if you listen to a sample of the audio on Amazon, you’re hearing the slow 1x narration. Don’t judge the narrator by that. If you listen to a sample on the Libby app, you can adjust the speed on the sample to get a better idea.

Narrators make all the difference

Listen to samples, y’all. (See my tip in the last section above.) There are great narrators and there are ones who will grate on your ears with their odd cadence, tones, or uptalking. This is make or break for me. I have to like the narrator. I always listen to the sample first. (And beware of author-narrated books. I’ve only seen that work in non-fiction and memoirs.)

Look for pockets of time where audio fits

There are the obvious ones—in the car, while exercising, etc.—but look for the smaller pockets of time where it might be fun to listen. I listen while I’m cooking or when I’m putting on my makeup. I’ve listened while grocery shopping. Need to clean the house? Pop those earbuds in. You can get a lot of reading done that way. Those pockets add up.

Oh and pick good books! ;)

Which leads me to one more thing I want to let y’all know about this week. It’s time for the Summer Reading Extravaganza on RAD Reading! We have a huge pile of books to recommend to you for your poolside reading…or listening. I hope you’ll check it out. And let me know what you’ll be reading this summer.

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RAD Reading Podcast

Episode Summary:

It’s one of the best bookish times of the year—summer reading season! Today, we’re giving you our best picks to add to your poolside stack, whether you’re looking for traditional breezy beach reads or something a little darker to keep you turning the pages.

Listen in your favorite podcast app:

• Apple podcasts

• Audible

• Spotify

• Or add to your favorite podcast app with their “Add by URL” feature and paste this link there: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/rad-reading

Highlights: 

• Does our reading change during summer?

• Roni got herself in trouble with summer reading lists and her library holds

• Our easy breezy summer pics

• The book Roni was able to read at a NASCAR race and not be distracted

• Dawn is reading some historicals now but she needs something extra in them

• Roni is slightly concerned with her obsession with dual timelines and time-travel in contemporaries

• Why Dawn has a friend to thank for not missing her “moment” to meet her husband and Roni has an old computer and a non-compatible America Online CD-ROM to thank for not missing hers

• How Dawn failed as a parent ;)

• What Dawn can’t listen to on audio

• Our darker “summer is too sunny” recs

• Roni’s weird category of books that make her think of summer

• Our RAD Recs of the week

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That’s all I have for you this week! I hope you have a great book to escape into this weekend.

Roni

*Book links are affiliate links (Amazon, Libro.fm, and/or Bookshop.org), which means I earn a small commission if you buy through my links. Also, I receive advanced listening copies of some audiobooks through Libro.fm’s Influencer program. However, all reviews and opinions are my own.