Every month hundreds of books are published in the UK. Making time to read can be difficult, but it is important to make time to do so. That’s where audiobooks come in as a great alternative to traditional reading with a lot of the same benefits, plus a few extra. Here are ten benefits of audiobooks and the reason why you should try listening to them.

1. Make commuting more enjoyable

Commuting can take up a significant amount of our time, according to a post on Project Resource, the average commute time of a UK worker is 1 hour and 38 minutes. That’s a lot of reading time you could get in while you’re commuting to work, whether it be by car or public transport. The average audiobook length is estimated to be around 10 hours. Which means in the time it takes to commute to work, you could have completed at least 15% of an audiobook.

According to a recent poll we conducted, 75% of people enjoyed reading while commuting on public transport. Commuting on public transport with an audiobook could help pass the time faster while still giving you the chance to be aware of your surroundings and ensuring you don’t miss your stop!

2. Enjoy a book together

Audiobooks are a great alternative for TV. You and your loved ones may sit around the TV to bond, but with an audiobook you can listen together replacing screen time. Reducing your screen time is greatly beneficial including a reduction in eye strain, improvement in both sleep and focus, as well as helping prevent headaches.

Long drives can become more entertaining and a great way to bring excitement into travelling. It is a great way to form common interests and form conversational topics. May it be your family, friends or work colleagues make listening to audiobooks a bonding experience.

3. Ease of access

Don’t you find it rare that you leave home without your phone? In today’s age a mobile phone has become a necessity. In 2008, according to Statista, less than 25% of adults in the UK had a smartphone; in 2022 93% of people within the UK owned smartphones. With smartphones we can access the internet and electronic formats anywhere. With the help of smartphones we can enjoy services such as Audible allowing you to download your titles for offline consumption, you’re able to listen to your audiobooks wherever you are, without the need for an internet connection.

4. Ease of storage

Audiobooks do not need a physical storage unit, just a digital one! Many of us can relate to wanting to purchase books but not having anywhere to store them at home- audiobooks eliminate this problem, giving you the ultimate space saver and access whenever you need.

Books can be weighty, heavy and take up room within your bag. Lugging them around can make your commute difficult. Audiobooks eliminate this problem with them being available on your phone at the push of a button, it couldn’t be easier to pick up where you left off in your latest read!

Plus, with audiobooks, there’s no need for a bookmark. When you stop listening, simply pause the book and pick up where you left off with one tap.

5. The ability to read with your eyes closed

Focusing on words on a page can be difficult, with an audiobook you can tuck up in bed, lay back, relax and enjoy listening to a story. Before bed sometimes we scroll through our phone. The blue light from screens is a disruption to our circadian rhythm, which makes nodding off at night difficult. Listening to an audiobook allows your eyes and mind to relax while ushering in a good night of sleep. The ability to explore a story with your eyes closed is a great way to aid sleep and relax.

6. Complete Immersion

With audiobooks, you have an opportunity to be completely immersed in a story. Listen to your favourite book with your eyes closed, comfortably and focus on nothing but the details that the author has laid out for you. Imagine characters faces, sceneries, and scenarios in a way that you can’t with a physical book.

7. Pronunciation

Reading books is sometimes tough. The way words are written and the way this can make pronunciation difficult. Maybe you are listening to a book which involves a lot of archaic English or books based on Norse mythology and you have absolutely no clue how to say these words. However, reading doesn’t have to be a puzzle, with audiobooks it says the words for you and teaches you pronunciation.

8. Comprehension

As well as helping with pronunciation, audiobooks assist with comprehension and are a great way to expand your vocabulary. Often, we use words that we have learned how to use through hearing others speak them and what context they’re spoken in. Hearing words from an audiobook have this same impact on our ability to comprehend what a word means without having used it before ourselves. This can also be a great way to learn new words if you’re learning a second language.

9. Time management and entertainment

Audiobooks take away the physicality of reading meaning that it means there is more time to do both chores and indulge in a book. When cleaning or running errands sometimes listening to music or the radio can become boring. However, listening to audiobooks can provide entertainment and make these errands much more entertaining.

Also, with an audiobook, you’re able to see exactly how long you have remaining until you’ve completed the book. This also goes for each chapter in the book, making it easy to know whether to start that next chapter before your lunch break finishes or your train arrives.

10. Damage free and cost effective

It can be heart wrenching when your favourite book gets ripped, wet or starts to fall apart through the amount of use it’s had, but with an audiobook, there’s no cause for concern with damaging your book. As long as your headphones allow you to, you could be listening to a book in the rain, when its windy or even in the middle of a storm…

Audiobooks also have numerous providers and there’s a lot to choose from when it comes to which service to use. Below are two of the most popular options for audiobooks:

Audible has a monthly cost which entitles you to one credit per month which can be exchanged for any one audiobook, whatever the price. This means you could save money on titles as audiobook prices have a wide range and can vary from a few pounds, to tens of pounds. With Audible, if you decide to cancel your membership, you’ll still have access to the titles you’ve purchased and can simply renew your membership the next time you want to get some credits.

Audiobooks.co.uk also works on a credit system, you have a choice to either trade your credit for access to one of over 250,000 titles, or you can join one of 8 Audiobook Clubs for 30 days of unlimited listening. This will give you access to thousands of best-selling and classic audiobooks. However, with the book club option, you don’t own the titles and the money that you pay gives you access to them for 30 days.

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