If you’re anything like me you have multiple books waiting to be read. They’re either stacked on a table, lined up on a bookshelf, or downloaded onto your e-book reader. You truly plan on reading them, but never quite get around to it. Now I have an idea for how to get these books off the “want to read” pile. Here it is in three simple words: Audiobook Appreciation Month.
According to the Audio Publisher’s Association 2018 survey, (1) 57% of audiobook listeners agreed that “audiobooks help you finish more books;” and (2) the top three activities while listening to audiobooks are: driving (65%), relaxing before going to sleep (52%), and doing housework/chores (45%). Other common multi-tasking activities include commuting, exercising, gardening, and walking.
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Road trips are a great opportunity to listen to audiobooks. In 1996, I fondly remember a family drive when we took turns reading out loud from Dr. John Gray’s print book, “Men are From Mars, Women are from Venus.” We never actually finished the book as the two couples in the car kept interrupting whoever was reading to add their commentary. Two years later, I could have avoided getting car sick while reading and listened to Dr. Gray himself narrate an audiobook edition.
It’s no surprise that audiobooks have their own appreciation month. The audiobook industry is worth more than two billion dollars and is expected to hit 35 billion dollars by 2030! June was chosen as the celebration month as it coincides with the beginning of summer, vacations, and reading programs.
Despite being costly to produce—an average of $300 to $400 per finished hour of production—audiobooks remain affordable. About 40% of all audiobooks are consumed through public libraries that offer free downloads. And audiobook apps like Speechify, Audible, Audiobooks, and Kindle typically offer free membership for 30 days and credits which can be exchanged for a title of your choice.
So are you ready to finish more books by listening to an audiobook this summer? May I humbly suggest that you listen to the audiobook I wrote and narrated: “Always an Advocate: Champions of Change for People with Dwarfism and Disabilities.” It’s available on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. But first listen to a retail sample of me reading an excerpt from Chapter 14, “Let Me Ride” discussing my experience at a Saul Alinsky training advocating against inaccessible public bus transportation.
And then read Marsha’s May 2022 audiobook review:
“Angela Muir Van Etten’s audiobook is a real eye opener. You get to know Angela through her words and, even better, to enjoy her distinctive New Zealand accent as she reads her story. Angela details her struggles inside and outside the disabled community and doesn’t whitewash the challenges she and other Little People face as individuals and as a group as they coalesce to bring about societal changes and remove architectural barriers that most of us never even see. . . I know this is the last book in a trilogy but it can’t be the last one she writes! Keep on keeping on Angela!”
To dig deeper, go to:
- “Ask the Author About ‘Always an Advocate.’” Angela Muir Van Etten blog post, August 2, 2021. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/ask-the-author-about-always-an-advocate/
- “Inclusion via Audiobooks.” Angela Muir Van Etten blog post, March 14, 2022. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/inclusion-via-audiobooks/
- Amy Watson. “Number of audiobooks published in the U.S. 2007-2021.”June 12, 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/261185/number-of-audiobooks-published-in-the-us/
- Shelby G. “Audiobook Appreciation Month.” Colorado Access. 2024. https://www.coaccess.com/blog/audiobookmonth/