Let’s Talk with Terry Odell
Does Summer Change Your Reading Habits?
By Terry Odell
When I lived in Florida, summer (for me) was the time to stay inside and take advantage of the air conditioning. I used to liken it to being snowed in. Both conditions lend themselves to more time to read.
Summer can be a time to relax and to travel. Schoolchildren might have summer reading books assigned, but for most of us, we’re free to pick and choose what we want to read. Lighter “beach reads” are popular. And for traveling, there are audiobooks.
I’m delighted that Pamela Almand (The Captain’s Voice) finished recording the third of my Triple-D Ranch books, In Dire Straits. She did another great job. It’s a perfect beach read, or a traveling “listen.”
Want to hear a sample? I’ve got one on my website.
Share your summer reading habits. More time to read? Less time because the kids are home? Do you read the same kind of books as the rest of the year? Leave a comment, and I have a download code for the audiobook version of In Hot Water, the first book in the Triple-D Ranch series, so you can start at the beginning.
And while you’re here, be sure to enter our June Gift Card Giveaway. You may enter between June 1-18, and the prize is a $25 gift card to Amazon or B&N. CLICK TO ENTER
Posted in Let's Talk, with Terry Odell, zed: Former Authors • Tags: audiobook, BLB Discussion, Does Summer Change Your Reading Habits, giveaway, Let's Talk, Terry Odell | 13 Comments
I love audiobooks — it’s like the childhood thrill of being read to, all over again.
Good point, Tina. And who doesn’t have fond memories of bedtime stories?
Audiobooks are a staple for our car trips. We listen to all kinds of books, fiction and nonfiction as we traverse the interstates. I haven’t made the transition to audiobooks for home use yet though. But our aging eyes have some tricks up their (eye) sleeves, so I’m truly glad that there is a large repository of audiobooks available for present and future listening pleasure.
I’m behind the curve on listening to books. I’m afraid I’d get engrossed and drive off the mountain. But my mom and my aunt have macular degeneration and audiobooks would be a way they could keep ‘reading.’
I never got the hang of audiobooks. I’ve tried, on international flights, for instance. I find it hard to focus on what I’m hearing. It’s like listening to the radio. Sometimes I have to remind myself to listen when I need a weather report. My sister listens to audiobooks on her long commute to work.
There are ‘visual learners’ and ‘auditory learners’ and some people connect better visually, and others by hearing. My mind wanders when I listen. I had to take lots of notes in college to get what I was hearing into my brain using other pathways.
yep, I’m more visual, to be sure. Big stack of TBR this summer!
As an empty nester, time of year doesn’t make any difference. And living in Florida, we’re inside with air-conditioning most of the time anyway. So my reading habits don’t change season-to-season. Right now, I’m reading a historical women’s fiction and a historical romance. Whatever the time of year, I like escapist stories.
I’m totally with you on escaping with books.
I hear that authors get no royalties from audiobooks…that does not seem right! I guess they are like listening to the radio serials in my youth, but they also chain me to this PC so I don’t care for them. I read whatever I can get from my mountainous t-b-r list no matter what time of year.
Gram – yes, authors do get royalties from audiobooks, so rest assured we’re not left out in the cold. I wouldn’t like being chained to my PC, but you can listen to audiobooks on smartphones, tablets, MP3 players, and in cars, so they’re “portable.”
The seasons or anything else don’t seem to have any influence on what I read. At any given time I might pick up a cozy mystery or a real scary haunted house story and dig in. I could start a 700 page book in mid-July and look up when I’m finished and discover it’s fall and my trees have lost there leaves. Seasons could change and I wouldn’t know it because I’m so engrossed. Guess you could say I’m a real book nut.
I’m with you, Donna. A good book is a good book, no matter when you read it