I hate driving in the car on long trips! I use to dread going on the annual vacation just because I would have to drive hours and hours to get to our vacation destination (usually Hilton Head or North Myrtle Beach). But now, do I still hate it? No!
I hate drivingWhat has changed for me?
Now I listen to audio books on long vacation trips. I can often find a good novel to listen to during the long drive down to Hilton Head Island. Sometimes, I even wish the drive was longer so I could finish the audio book that I’m listening to.
Does this work for commutes to work?
Yes, I believe that it would work for long commutes to work! My commute to work is only half and hour, so I don’t get the long novel for trips to work. I do like to listen to short comedian CD, short autobiographies (like Benjamin Franklin) and other shorter audio materials. Long stories like Stephen King’s “The gunslinger” is too much for short commutes, but for long commutes, this series might be perfect.
How is buying audio books a frugal way to drive to work?
It isn’t, I don’t buy the audiobooks, I borrow them from the Library. I think if you try this technique out, you’ll find that your commute is more bearable, and you’ll be increasing your wisedom, or be entertained (or at least laugh at some good jokes) in the process.
You might be wondering, What have I listened to? I like to listen to comedians, and classics that I normally wouldn’t listen to otherwise…
- Bill Crosby: Bill’s comedy is great for the car, nice and slow so you don’t miss the joke
- Robin Williams: Robin was a tough listening to during the commute, his humor is quick and in a noisy car, you might not be able to hear him.
- Farhrenheit 451: A classic but still a good listen!
- Animal Farm: A classic and another good listen. A bit dry though.
- Oliver Twist: Good story, but tough to hear sometimes if your commute is noisy.
- 1984: Interesting, but I wouldn’t listen to it again.
- I am Legend: Good story, a bit different from the 2007 movie remake.
My commute is incredibly short … from bedroom to kitchen to spare bedroom/home office. Oh how I miss the corporate world!!!
Actually I love long trips. I prefer to drive by myself or if I must have someone with me I rather hope that it is someone who is not given to chatter. What I love to do on my solo long drives (most often to visit my daughter who uproots every so many years – sometimes further, sometimes closer and sometimes a drive would be too long … I have seen much of the US following the gypsy around 🙂
OK… get back on track. What I usually listen to on my drives is good music which is an eclectic collection of old and new, classic, jazz, rock, gosh even some country … but you have given me an idea, next time I’ll get some audio books to take along with me 🙂
best…………valentina
I’ve never really thought about what it would be like to leave my corporate work environment!
People always talk about leaving the “rat race”, but really it’s not that bad, and I’ve build up some nice friends over the ages.
Music is good for short drives, but for those long ones… audiobooks rock.
Most people I suggest this to blow my idea off, but those few that do decide to try it, love it! It’s definitely the way to go on long vacations!
The key is to borrow the audiobook from the library, instead of buying it.
I used to make a 7 hour drive a several times per year and audio books were the perfect solution to help the time go by. Most of the books I listened to were about 6 hours long, so it was the perfect length to listen to half on the way out and half on the way home, mixing in music, talk radio, and silence in the rest of the trip. My commute now is too short for audio tapes (about 15 minutes), so I just listen to the radio. I still enjoy audio books on long drives, but I am married now, my wife and I usually don’t want to listen to the same stories. 🙂
@Patrick
I know where you are coming from on the audiobooks and the wife (and in my case kids) not wanting to hear that same stories. For those vacation trips, I now have to have headphones and a portable audio device (tape, CD, mp3 player). Elsewise, I’ll have to listen to about 20 “Magical Treehouse audio stories…
I wish our minivan CD player came with a headphone socket option… Oh well.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing!
I love listening to audio books. I listen to them all the time. The longest book that I listened to was the Count of Monte Cristo. It was either 43 or 48 hours long. Its a great way to pass the time and still stay focused on the road.
Count of Monte Cristo sounds good, I’ve been listening to some of the old classics too…
The longest audiobook I listened to was “The Dark Tower” series by Stephen King.
Yeah, I alway get a kick out of taking a negative and making it a positive, or at least less negative…
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