Yes, here in Merica we are infamously lazy. No one but old people read anymore but they are doing so just to fall asleep; old people love sleeping.
None the less, the SO and I are avid readers of almost any genre. Both own Kindle PaperWhites, wear Warby Parker Glasses (Non-Prescription) and drive a VW TDi vehicles; respectively Passat and Jetta. Saying that, my initial thought was to display a pretentious PoV towards AudioBooks. Never the less during my 45min commute to/from work I looked for something different to pass the time besides "the Nerdist" and "Stuff You Should Know". So signed up for an Audible account just to learn Spanish during these wasted hours. Now 3yrs later I rarely listen to music or my podcasts during the daily commute, it has been all audio books.
So, the combination of the my commute's duration and my love for a good story or learning experience; i'm running out of stuff to listen!
What audiobook recommendations does theTek community have? I enjoy almost any genre but romantic, feel free to shoot anything my way.
I actually listen to a LOT of audiobooks myself; 6+ hours/day while at work. Usually, it involves some type of business, self-help books, though right now I am LOVING Atlas Shrugged. One of the greatest stories I have ever read/listened to, and at 63 hours long, it will last you a very, very long time. I think it is on special right now for $4 too for the unabridged version (which I find much better), so it should really be a no brainer. Even though it is 63 hours long (I am about 25 hours in), it remains enticing the entire way so far.
Seriously, that is a book everyone must read in their lifetime.
Personally, I think some of the best audiobooks ever were the Harry Potter books read by Jim Dale - an theater actor who voiced all the characters and every single one of the books. Amazing. Hours and hours of pleasure.
If you're looking for something more serious and adult, anything read by Simon Vance... amazing. I've enjoyed three books from Patrick O'Brien's Aubrey-Maturin series (what they made the movie Master and Commander from), Dune and Bring Up The Bodies. All fantastic.
Think what most dont know, with the right software combination, and a home computer, you can pretty much turn ANY book you want into a audio book. While there may be cheaper ways, The way I do it is Ice book reader pro and a SWEET tts voice. "TTS voice is short for Text to speech". I enjoy from time to time, putting on the wiresless headphones, and Letting Icebook read it to me. Then putter around the house.
Oops forgot to add, Ice Book program will export your book to mp3 and break it down by chapters. THINK it takes bout a hour??? Then I put it on a usb drive and listen to it in my car. Most car sterio's have usb players or I imagine you can put it on a portable device. That I have no idea about.
Just wondering how did the learning Spanish go. Also avid audio book listener, can you link your audible collection if possible so I can see what you have and what you liked in there?
A bit different from the present suggestions for audiobooks, but How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes by Peter Schiff is a fantastic book. It's a good "Intro to Economics" overview that was my jump-start for learning basic economic principles. It's formatted in the form of an annotated allegory, so it flows like a story.
Although this is probably going to get a lot of inflammatory comments, "God Is Not Great" by Christopher Hitchens is a great read/listen, and I personally find his voice very soothing (it's self-narrated). Definitely not going to be for everyone (you know who you are), but if you're open to hearing a well-articulated critique on religion, it's definitely worth listening to.