A few months back I started a work-related project in Sumner, Iowa, which is 200 miles away from Minneapolis. It is a 3 hour drive and I dreaded this drive having to do it all alone most of the times. It was very boring and I ended up driving faster than I should have. I had thought of buying audio books but it was cost prohibitive. For example, the list price of the book "The World is Flat" is $27.50 but the audio version costs $60. But, yesterday, I took the plunge and bought my first audio book: "The World is Flat" and I am so glad I did it. It is a set of 20 CDs that will last for 25 hours. I came back from the trip today and have covered 5 CDs already. I am all set for my next 4 business trips to Iowa. The pace of the audio book is similar to my own reading pace and I think the retention rate is also higher. One tends to remember more if you read aloud or hear a narration than plain reading.
I am currently looking to buy a house. I was debating if I should buy an expensive one that is only 5 minutes drive from my work place or a less expensive one that is 30 minutes away. The experience today with the audio book has made it little easier to make this decision. Now, I have to start getting these from the local library and not spend a fortune on them. If you are on the move, specially alone, Audio Books are definitely the way to go.
