Ideal Ways to Hear Your Audiobook

Originally, the best audiobook titles available were recorded for the blind. These tracks were distributed in collections of vinyl albums, growing in popularity for blinded soldiers after WWII. Later, these early audiobooks also became popular tools for classroom learning for all grade levels. Audio recordings of books were also among the first recordings sold on cassette tapes in the early 1970s.

However, it wasn’t until the late 1990s and early 2000s that audiobook recordings became more widely popular outside of the aforementioned demographics. This shift in popularity was the result of new audio formats and more easily portable media technology.

According to Voices.com, by the mid-1990s, the audiobook industry exploded into a $1.5 billion dollar a year industry, becoming a much more widely popular way for busy people to enjoy great books while commuting, working out, lying in bed at night, and much more.

With constantly improving technology, it can be hard to keep up with the changing ways we can now listen to the best audiobooks. So, what devices do audiobook devotees recommend most for listening to a great book?

Use Your Smartphone

Unsurprisingly, the most popular device for listening to audiobooks today is a smartphone. It’s something nearly everyone has in or near their hands throughout the day and night, making it a great tool for listening. These devices are highly portable and can easily support your favorite noise-canceling headphones or wireless earbuds, depending on your needs.

According to the Public Library System, listening to audiobooks does actually count as reading, so there’s no reason to feel guilty about enjoying literature in this way. For most of us, today’s busy world makes it difficult to find time to sit and read a book. However, listening to audiobooks on your smartphone can be accomplished while you are doing other tasks. Audiobooks can be downloaded from your public library system, or you can purchase them from online stores such as Amazon, which offers audiobooks through the Audible program.

MP3 Players

Surprisingly, sales of MP3 players have remained fairly steady, even with the decline of iPod sales, due to this technology becoming integrated into smartphones. The steady reliability and easy functioning of MP3 players make them popular with the older generation, as well as for any who listen to audiobooks.

You can easily transfer audiobooks from your PC onto your MP3 player using the Windows Overdrive program. You can also download the Audible Manager program onto any computer and transfer audiobooks onto your MP3 using a USB cable.

Kindle Devices

A Kindle Fire is the newest version of the Kindle. With a Kindle Fire, you have access to the huge array of e-books available through Amazon. A Kindle Fire can also allow you to stream other media content, such as movies and television series, as well as magazine and newspaper content.

The Kindle Oasis is another great option. With a seven-inch screen and anti-glare technology that reads more like paper, the Kindle Oasis is lightweight and thin, making it easy and ergonomic to hold and highly transportable in a purse or backpack.

Apple iPad Pro

While this is a more expensive option if you only plan to use it for audiobooks, the Apple iPad Pro is an audiobook-lovers favorite because of the fine audio quality. Readers who especially enjoy specific audiobook narrators for their voice quality may prefer to choose a device with the best sound quality available.

As an added bonus, you can easily acquire audiobooks through the iBooks app. If preferred, you can also download the Audible App and have access to hundreds of books through Amazon.

Apple Watch

Perhaps the coolest way to listen to your audiobooks is through an Apple Watch. You can always have the latest bestseller right at hand simply by opening the Apple Watch app on your iPhone and then tapping “My Watch,” followed by “AudioBooks.” In your library, tap the book you’ve downloaded through your Audible or library program. Five hours of your current book will be downloaded, as well as five hours of the next book on your list of books you’d like to read.

No matter which device you choose, the best audiobooks are the perfect solution to keeping up with your personal reading list, giving you the ability to listen to a bestseller, enjoy a non-fiction book, or learn a new language—and all without having to stop what you are doing in your busy life!

Resources— Voices.com, TechnoGeekKnows, FictionObsessed

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