I love to read. Deep in my soul. I’ve been known to stay up all night because I can’t find a stopping point in a book (the end is the only stopping point!). I’ve also been known to go into a short term funk after finishing a great book or series. Serious readers will understand exactly what I mean. When Brene Brown talks about the importance of “play” for adults, she is describing reading for me. I come by it honestly. My aunt is a librarian, my cousin a teacher, and my mom is a regular at the public library. When we go on vacation, we spend more time planning who will bring which books than we do packing clothes. But for the last 3.5 years, I’ve had a bit of a roadblock to my favorite habit: motherhood.
I’ve been realizing more and more that not reading simply is not an option for me. So how do I read when there is no time to crack a book? First of all, my Kindle is a LIFESAVER when it comes to having several books on hand whenever I can sneak in a few moments to read. But since that is essentially never, I’ve had to come up with some alternatives. The most obvious of which is audiobooks. While it isn’t quite the same as having a book in hand, the narrators often add a lot to the book. I take advantage of my drive to work and my drive to daycare knowing that once the kiddo is in the car, we’ll be listening to Disney tunes. Here is how I get my read on:
1. Audible
The ever-amazing Amazon brings us the ultimate audiobook source: Audible. I love the simplicity of Audible. Download the app and 180,000 books are right there at your fingertips. New users get a one month free trial and one free book. After that, it’s $14.95 per month which includes 1 book and 30% off additional books. If you don’t mind paying a small premium for ease of use, Audible is for you!
2. The Library/OverDrive
If you’ve read many of my posts, you will know that I’m incredibly frugal which means I love the library. If you have a library card from the East Baton Rouge Parish library, you have access to a huge selection of audiobooks. EBRPL as well as many other libraries across the U.S. use a company called OverDrive for their electronic book selections. You can download the OverDrive app on your phone or other device, select your library, and put in your card number. From there, you can search for books, create a wish list, and listen away! Note that this also works for traditional ebooks if you’re lucky enough to actually have time to read with your eyes.
3. Podcasts
Ok, so Podcasts aren’t books. But, they are super amazing and available on just about any topic out there. If you have an iPhone, the Podcast app comes preloaded on your phone. You can listen to my beloved TedTalks, the ever popular Serial series, Liz Gilbert’s inspiring Magic Lessons, or the hilarious One Bad Mother.
Someday, I’ll read the entire Harry Potter series cover to cover (again). But for now, I’ll take what I can get.
Same here! Overdrive & EBRPL are my sanity savers. It truly is difficult to weigh sacrificing sleep for functionality when it comes to a good book and being a parent.