Enjoying a good audio book depends a lot on the interpretation of the storyline by the narrator.
And, thankfully the quality of audio books is generally excellent.

It is true to say that some books do not lend themselves to the spoken word and can be dreary, difficult to follow and if they contain many characters, the narrator may not be able to portray them properly. Not too long ago I downloaded an account of the American Civil War but because of the many place names, dates etc… I eventually gave up on it. Often you need to refer to a map to make sense of the storyline.

On the other hand there are many genres which were meant to be recorded and listened to on iPods or MP3 players.  And, for those who are game for a laugh, there are many radio recording of classic comedy show audio books like Al Reed Show now available as an MP3 download. These comedy shows are evergreen and are well worth listening to again and again. Who can ever forget Manuel “I’m from Barcelona.” in the Fawlty Towers series.

For those studying English literature, high school or college, there are many titles from their reading lists available for immediate download, including audio book articles.
The more notable of these are Shakespeare’s plays which have been converted from radio plays to audio books. The benefit of these productions is that the listener can engage much more with characters of the play which aids their understanding and retention of the plot.
What makes these audiobooks more interesting is that many of the narrators are Holywood actors. And, lots of the audiobooks contain musical backgrounds, sound effects and these add to the listening experience
I read stories these days of commuters getting stuck in traffic for many hours. The audiobook would make an ideal traveling companion instead of listening to all the gloom and doom on the radio. I’m sure many of us would like to have the time to read more, but with the pace of life increasing this does not seem possible. Well, think again. How much time is wasted in the car, bus, train or at the airport?

Another challenging subject for many students is the study of foreign languages and pronunciation in particular. But, help is at hand here in the form of language audio books. There is a range of Pimsleur audio books on the market which are professionally produced and make learning a second language much easier. The big benefit is that the narration is done by native speakers, and so the problem of correct pronunciation is eliminated.