iPlodding

The list of books i'll never read continues to grow as great works and greater drivel is penned each year, and hours of commuting eventually exhausts even a reasonable music collection and it doesn't take long to tire of news. As a motorist I did rather wish there was a bus or train that would take me the route so that I could read, fiddle with my laptop and work, rest or play for the entire journey.

Driving alone is not enough to excite me, and as a commuter you eventually dread the feel of the wheel. That is, until I started listening to audiobooks during the journey.

Formally "books-on-tape" and latterly "books-on-tape-but-on-CD" MP3 Audiobooks gave a shot in the tired arm of a serial commuter which is the context for this review. Not an individual audiobook or author, nor a particular technology, device or gadget. Just Audiobooks.

Continuing an aural tradition that predates the homeric epics, I stated by picking from the already long list of Books You Are Supposed To Read and I enjoyed both abridged and unabridged tomes from those famous authors - you know the ones. I moved on to a few more contemporary authors, and dabbled in science and education. There is nothing quite like a lecture series with pause, rewind and skip buttons to empower your learning beyond the restrictive structure that would otherwise be imposed.

The opinion on books you should read varies with each person you ask and I won't presume to prescribe or endorse even the ones I've really enjoyed, but I will recommend the experience of being read to. The spoken voice brings forward such character, its a different sensory experience to the written word and one you can thoroughly enjoy while travelling.

As a pedestrian I've continued to listen to books - both fact and fiction - on my journey into work. The return journey is usually reserved for music as brainwidth is a little lower at the end of the day. Audiobooks are cheap and plentiful in this day and age and you don't have to limit youself to the reading list prescribed by the literati, in fact I recommend against it. Go with what you enjoy and enjoy going with it.

I'll give hearing things five stars. Its like reading but its out loud and you can keep your eyes on the road.