5 Reasons Moms Should Listen to Audiobooks

Are you a busy mom that loves to read but can’t find the time? Try audiobooks and change your life!

As an avid reader, I never really understood the allure of audiobooks until very recently. To me, reading out of a book was a sacred activity and somehow listening to it could never be a suitable replacement. But then I realized that the pile of books to read on my nightstand was getting taller and taller and I wasn’t able to find the time to read them fast enough. Some months the only book I read was the book club selection and I was lucky to finish even that!

I began to realize that the mom life isn’t always very conducive to reading, no matter how much I loved it. That’s when I decided to try out audiobooks.

I figured the best way to enter the world of audiobooks was simply to head to the library and check out the CD version of the next book on my to-read list. So that’s what I did. While I enjoyed the ability to listen to a book much more than I thought I would, the CDs were somewhat limiting, so I decided to try Audible.

CDs were nice, but having books on my phone? Life changing.

5 Reasons Listening to Audiobooks Will Change Your Life

1. You’re spending half your life in the car, why not read while you’re at it?

I don’t know about you, but as soon as my kids come home from school each day, we’re in the car driving to all of their various activities. If you are a sane person, you would never even think of reading a book while behind the wheel, but with an audiobook you can read to your heart’s content. Granted, I sometimes have to fight for radio rights with my teenagers, but at the very least I can listen to my audiobook after I have dropped them off, right? There’s nothing quite like listening to the next chapter of your new favorite book (because whatever book you’re currently reading is your new favorite, right?) instead of suffering through Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber.

You probably run plenty of errands, too. Driving around town picking up the dry cleaning, grocery shopping, or heading to committee meetings is a great time to get a few more chapters in, too.

2. Whenever you’re not driving them around, you’re probably waiting for your kids somewhere.

Sometimes I’m waiting for them in the parking lot in the car. Sometimes I’m sitting in their music lessons. Sometimes I’m waiting for them at soccer practice. Moms wait for their kids a lot.

But I don’t mind waiting when I’ve got a good book downloaded on my phone. Waiting isn’t wasted time anymore when you’ve got an audiobook to listen to!

3. Doing dishes when you’d rather be reading? Do both!

I fully admit to letting the housework go when I am in the middle of a good book. Why would I want to vacuum when I could be reading? The great thing about audiobooks is that you can do both at once!

Household chores don’t really require very much brain power. You can vacuum, do the dishes, mop the floors, make the beds, fold the laundry, or dust while listening to an audiobook. Remember that very first CD I checked out from the library? I quickly realized that my kitchen was never cleaner because the CD player was in the kitchen and I cleaned as much as I could in there so I could listen longer. Whenever I’ve got a good book on my phone more housework gets done now instead of less! I’d say that’s a great reason to start reading audiobooks instead of paper ones!

4. Audiobooks can give you more motivation to exercise.

I am not a fan of exercising. It’s tolerable if I can do it in front of a TV show, but I would rather read a book because I’ll always choose a book over a movie. I’ve tried many times to read a book while on the treadmill, but that only results in motion sickness or walking really slowly—neither of which helps anything.

But listening to an audiobook doesn’t slow me down or make me feel like throwing up. I can even run outside with an audiobook if I want to (I don’t often want to, but maybe you do). Knowing I have a good book in my queue also gives me more motivation to get on the treadmill or my bike. Kind of like having a good book on your nightstand gives you more motivation to finish everything so you can go to bed and read. But better, because you’re burning more calories than if you were just in bed reading.

5. You can introduce your kids to your favorite books while you have them captive on road trips.

I am a huge proponent of reading out loud to my kids, but just like reading a book to myself, it’s difficult to find the time. But sometimes you have your kids captive—like on a road trip, or even when you’re just taking them to dance class.

Anne of Green Gables is one of my very favorite childhood books. I loved it so much I read it at least 6 or 7 times! I’ve been trying to get my girls to read it forever, but they just don’t think they are very interested in it. But I know that if they would just give it a chance they would love it!

A new audiobook version of Anne of Green Gables, narrated by Rachel McAdams, has just been released and is available on Audible. After listening to a couple of the snippets and hearing what a wonderful narration it is, I can’t wait to download it and listen to it with my girls. I’m thinking our next road trip will be the perfect time.

Did you know that you can get a free 30-day trial of Audible? When you begin your free trial, you can choose any audiobook in the Audible library to download and listen to for free (Anne of Green Gables would be a great choice!). Each month thereafter is $14.95 and includes a credit for one audiobook with a 30% discount on any additional books and you can cancel anytime. As an avid reader, I know I spend upwards of $30 a month on e-books, paper books, and library fines, so the $14.95 price tag is worth it to me.

Start your free trial and get your free download here: Audible free 30-day trial

My opinion of audiobooks has completely changed. I get more reading done, plus I exercise more and my house is cleaner. Win-win, I say. What are you waiting for? Get listening to an audiobook now!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Audible. The opinions and text are all mine.