Before I retired, my commute to work nearly drove me insane. I became annoyed at every red light that held me up and enraged at drivers who cut me off. The trip seemed to take forever, where in reality, it was usually about an hour. Then I discovered something that changed my commute and my life forever—recorded books. My library had a large collection of recorded books, as they were known at the time. They were packaged in thick plastic binders and consisted of multiple cassette tapes that I was able to play on the cassette deck in my car.
The first morning I drove to work listening to one, it was like a miracle. I hardly recalled the trip, and if anyone tried to cut me off, I barely noticed. I was focused on my story (more than likely a murder mystery) and didn’t let little annoyances get to me. The recordings became so vital to my commute that if a cassette became jammed, and I couldn’t continue the story, I stopped at one of the libraries along my route home to get another one. I started carrying backup recorded books in case I finished one mid-journey. I even became quite expert at repairing any cassette tapes that broke.
The recordings were quite entertaining because the narrators didn’t just read the contents of the books but performed the stories. They used different voices or accents to distinguish the various characters. I thoroughly enjoyed them and frequently went through three or four a week.
As time went by, technology evolved and compact disks replaced the cassettes. Later, digital downloads replaced the compact disks. Now with digital downloads, I no longer had to visit my library to obtain copies of the recorded/digital books I wanted. I merely had to download copies to my iPhone through one of the systems my library used. Currently, I’m using Libby, which has an extensive collection of books in multiple genres. I have been known to whip out my phone and download a new book late at night, no longer constrained by the library’s hours. If I don’t want to wait for my library to have a copy of a digital book I want, I learned that I could pay to download it from online services like Audible.
Now that I am retired, recorded books still play an important role in my life. I play them while I cook, do mundane chores, or drive. They occupy my thoughts instead of stressful things that are happening in the world. More importantly, I play them at night when I can’t sleep, wearing earbuds so as not to disturb my husband. If I awake in the middle of the night, they frequently lull me back to sleep. I set the timer to turn the recording off after thirty minutes. If I forget to set the timer, the recording will continue to play throughout the night, and I find myself the next day trying to find the last bit of the story that I remember. I have had the experience where I have dreamed about the story while the book played while I slept, and when I woke, I couldn’t find the place in the story that occurred in my dream. A bit confusing at times.
If you have never listened to a recorded or digital book, I highly recommend giving them a try. It could possibly change your life as well.
Have you listened to a recorded or digital book that you’ve enjoyed and can recommend?
Grace Topping is the author of the Laura Bishop Mystery Series and a regular contributor to Writers Who Kill.
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