Who doesn’t love cozying up with a good book now and then? It is the best way to pass time and take you on amazing adventures into other worlds. Likewise, it’s great to have the book paused after a certain time or chapter so that you can fall asleep.

My sleep timer is useful for this as well. Many of us travel a lot and need to keep our minds busy, so why not listen to a book. Audiobook Month celebrates the invention that made all this possible, audiobooks!

Oh how far we have come with how we listen to books. I remember (cough, cough) listening to them on tape, or reading along with the books that would say to turn the page after the chime. I know the 1900s kids. Then we got CDs and playaways, but the best thing of all is using my library card to get on Libby and check one out for free!

If you don’t know about this feature, please go to your local library and see what all the hype is about.

Almost from the moment that a method of recording the human voice became available, audiobooks have been in existence.  Thomas Edison’s invention of the phonograph was his brainchild with phonographic books in mind. He wanted those that were sight-impaired to have the opportunity to enjoy books.

The first words spoken into the phonograph were “Mary had a little lamb.” A year later he demonstrated the capacity of the phonograph at the Royal Institution in Britain, where a recorded verse of Tennyson’s poetry was played back for the attendees.

Unfortunately, his original vision wasn’t to be, because the phonograph could only hold four minutes of audio, hardly sufficient for the recording of long chapter books. While the 60-minute cassette developed in the ’70s helped the situation, it wasn’t until the invention of the CD that Audiobooks really came into their own.

Audiobook Month celebrates these wonderful tales on tape and the millions of people they aid every year.

Audiobook Month is a fun way to spend your free time reading your favorite book in audio format. Listening to it as you get ready to sleep or clean your house is a great way to relax and enjoy a good distraction.

The types of books you can find on tape are growing every year, from mysteries and romance to learning a new language.

What would you like to listen to this month? Start making a list!