How Audiobooks Saved My Year

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Almost half of the books I read this year have been audiobooks. As I am writing this, of the 74 books I read 35 were ones I listened to. Here are the three ways in which audiobooks saved my year and why I’ll continue to listen to them.

1) It was comforting in a time of crisis

Audiobooks helped me through 2020, I was generally anxious and unfocused and neither was helped by me spending 24/7 scrolling through my social media feed. I often didn’t feel like picking up a physical or even ebook. Having someone read to me was comforting. My mum used to read to me a lot as a child, maybe I associate it with a safe space and home. Oh, and one of my favourite books is The Martian which has a great audiobook version that I’ve listened to 8 times this year already. It’s my emotional support book.

2) It helped me keep a routine in my daily life and be a semi-functioning adult

Choosing audiobooks meant I could read everywhere. Having something to listen to helped me get household chores done and maintain some routine in my life by keeping a clean space. Usually, I listened to podcasts, music, or audiobooks when I’m on public transport. I was obviously doing that a lot less this year but having the consistency helped me to mentally structure my life which relieved a lot of stress.

3) It was an incentive to get creative

When life gets hard and busy, creativity is one of the first things to go out the window for me. Doing most of my reading through audiobooks not only helped me clean my space, but it also helped clean my mind. When I’m listening to audiobooks, I like doing creative and fun things. I played a lot of Animal Crossing this year and set aside dedicated time to draw, paint and collage. Through audiobooks, I could be immersed in someone else’s creation whilst being creative myself.

Related: My Review for I Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick

Why I’ll continue to listen to audiobooks going forward

There are a few practical reasons: I have a lot of unread audiobooks in my library and my reading speed is pretty fast with audiobooks, which means I can read more books and discover more stories. But this year, I’ve also fallen in love with audiobooks as a form of art! The talented narrators brought the stories I read to life and they helped make my 2020 a little less scary and strange. And just like that, audiobooks turned into one of my favourite ways to read!

I’d love to hear about your relationship with audiobooks!
✨ Do you love them or are they not really for you?
✨ Do you have a particular favourite book where the audio performance really shines?

I hope you have a lovely day,