Overdrive

Recently, Jen posted on Facebook about Overdrive. It’s the free website/app where you can borrow e-books and audiobooks from you local library on your device (laptop, phone, tablet, etc) without having to go into the library. I had heard of it before, but never looked into it until Jen’s post. I am obsessed. .

I was always against audiobooks. I felt like if you listened to a book you actually did not read them and therefore, it did not count. I also never understood how anyone could listen to a book read by someone else and let them have an influence on how you heard a character speak. Last, I did not see how you could not zone out and miss a lot of the story when listening to an audiobook.

I gave it a try anyway and, like I said, I am obsessed. About a month and a half ago, I got a new job. Since I am new there, I am working on the easy stuff and do not have much to do. I pop my headphones in and listen to audiobooks while I work and no one bothers me. It’s really nice.

In the past 3 weeks have listened to:

“The Princess Diarist” by Carrie Fisher

“Paddle Your Own Canoe” by Nick Offerman

“Anne Frank Remembered” by Miep Gies and Alison Leslie Gold

“Call The Midwife” by Jennifer Worth

“Growing Up Amish” by Ira Wagler

“Not My Father’s Son” by Alan Cumming

 

Most of these books were over 8 hours of listening each (“Call the Midwife” was 12+ hours). Now, I do sometimes zone out here and there because I am at work or someone comes to talk to me to ask me about something I did, but overall, I have clearly changed my opinion about audiobooks.

If you are a big reader, but don’t have much time to read and are looking for a free website, check out Overdrive and download some audiobooks. Give it a try and support your local library!

-K.