I have an odd problem.

I’m obsessed with Audiobooks.

I have a job where I spend a lot of time alone, parsing through data. I also have 3 library cards, an audible account, and a love of taking long walks with my dog.

I’ve finished 26 audiobooks this year. I don’t even want to think of how many hours that equates to.

My podcasts are suffering, but I have finished some amazing stories.

The thing is, I didn’t use to believe in audiobooks. When I say believe I mean they weren’t for me. I knew they were real but they didn’t feel like reading. I didn’t understand how someone could concentrate on a story without looking at physical words on a page. I thought I would miss the smell of old books and the weight of a hardcover in my purse.

And then I needed a change. Work can be boring without some sort of audio entertainment and I couldn’t listen to another political or history podcast. I dipped my ears in the fountain (see what I did there?) With Chernov’s Grant. I owned his biography of Hamilton already and had quickly learned that while it looked impressive on my bookshelf I would never actually be able to finish it. It was too bulky to easily carry around, and too dense for before bed reading. Grant was of a similar length and I had read good reviews. What did I have to lose?

It turns out, nothing. I loved the experience of hearing a well written biography. I found the right playback speed for my attention span. I learned that for all the years I was singing the praises of podcasts and ignoring audiobooks I was mistaken. Their content can be similar. The listening experience the same. Honestly, there are just less ads.

So I’m a convert. It took a few starts and stops but now I’m here. I’m listening. I’m singing in the audiobook choir.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I spend my days talking about access. How we can make our library items easier to use, the information faster to digest, the content easier to find. Now I’m just treating myself like my patrons.

Now it feels like I can conquer my TBR pile, and I’m never without a book.