The people demand audiobooks.
I’ll be honest, I have never been able to get into audiobooks. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve started listening to an audiobook sample and thought, “wow, I don’t feel like listening to this person talking for hours.” The narrator is always distracting to me. Or straight-up annoying. Or they just really shouldn’t be trying to change their voice when they do dialogue from a character of the opposite gender. *shudders.* Why are people so bad at that?
But everybody listens to audiobooks these days. I kind of envy people who enjoy them, actually. Imagine how much I could knock off my TBR if I could listen to books while I worked. I could get all caught up and stay on top of all the new releases while I did chores, hustled around town, worked out, practiced art….
People ask me sometimes if any of my books are audiobooks. Sorry, no. Budget. And the fact that I can’t do it myself because I’m unbelievably bad at reading out loud. But why do people want audiobooks so badly anyway?
Because, they claim, they don’t have time to read.
Finding Time
Does that sound familiar? From an early age, we were all trained to keep busy. The busier the better. You’ve got to get stuff done—and as early as possible. Load up that calendar. Time-block your whole day. Work as many hours as you can, and make sure you still go out with your friends at least once a week. And stay on top of stuff at home, too. But, you’ve also got to stay consistent at the gym. And social media. And all your friends’ social media. Oh, and keep up on the news.
All that aside, you probably actually do have the time. We’ll take my books for an example. Every chapter is around 5,000 words long. That’s a little longer than a lot of genre-fiction readers might be used to, but how long does it take to read 5,000 words?
For most people, less than 30 minutes.
And you don’t even have to do it all in one sitting. Scene breaks and bookmarks are a thing. If you get started and then suddenly remember you have to check you email right now you can stick a random semi-flat object between the pages and come back to it. But do you really need to check your email right now?
Or is that the siren song of keeping busy? Is that the ceaseless prodding of your inner slavedriver saying, “How dare you sit there with a book in your hands for any amount of time?! You’re going to miss out and fall behind on LITERALLY EVERYTHING!”
If you don’t have 30 minutes, set a timer and read for 15. Half a chapter. You will still finish the book if you keep reading it that way. You need to take 15 minutes and put the phone down. Stop worrying about the laundry. That email can wait. You need to stop for just 15 minutes and read a book. It’s important.
Reading is Hard
I don’t have fond memories of reading as a kid. I have ADHD to the extent that looking at words on a page for any amount of time can cause me low-grade psychological distress. But for some reason, reading has become a major part of my life. Books have opened new worlds and given me room to dream and explore. They’ve deepened my faith, awakened new interests, and changed the way I see and understand myself and the rest of the world.
Reading is worth the trouble. And it’s certainly worth the time.
Where to Start
So, maybe start with 15 minutes. And when the timer goes off, look up and see how nothing has collapsed or exploded while you were away. The kids are still playing. The pizza’s still in the oven, and should stay there for another ten minutes or so. Check Instagram, if you want. Oh, look, a dumb argument has begun in the comment section. Maybe you should finish that chapter.
So, when do you find that 15+ minutes to yourself every day? Maybe it won’t be every day. Maybe some days you’ll be too distracted to even sit down. Hopefully that’s not a normal day for you, but it’s bound to happen now and then. Maybe some days you won’t be in the mood for it—and that’s perfectly fine. But if you really do want to read, you can get that 15 minutes.
You can probably even get a full 30.
Try reading in the evenings after you log off and put away your screens for the day. You do that right? Turn off the screens at least an hour before bed? I sure don’t. But that would be the perfect time to pick up a book and stop being busy for the day. Nobody should have to do anything after supper. I don’t think it should be legal to expect anyone to do anything after supper or before 9 am, but whatever.
You do have the time. You don’t need to get the audiobook just to justify reading to yourself or other people—just so you can make sure you’re staying productive while consuming literature. You know what’s really productive?
Relearning to do one thing at a time.
Thanks for Reading
Well…look at that.
You read this whole post. Not sure how much it helped. Maybe it was just a rant. But I hope you can give yourself some time today or tomorrow to shut out the noise for even just a little while. You really need some peace and quiet in your life. Please remember to breathe and drink water. Eat food. Go outside.
And read books.
P. S. Need a book rec? I’ve got a standalone novel where that chapters are actually a bit shorter than in the Dronefall Series. The Boy Who Called the Foxes is a quiet atmospheric story set in a small lake town. It follows a guy who returns home from Chicago post-college and rediscovers himself through family, music and the beauty of nature in autumn. Perfect read for a quiet rainy day. It’s available in ebook and paperback, but not audio.