At the prompting of a few friends and my daughter, I started listening to books while I ran errands or cooked dinner.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoy it and now I wonder why on earth I was so reluctant.

Here’s what I listened to last month:

The Compound Effect – Jump Start Your Income, Your Life, Your Success by Darren Hardy has easily been one of the BEST audio books – it’s not just for business owners or entrepreneurs – the teachings in this book apply to every human on the planet who wants to improve, grow or learn. Biggest takeaway – “There is no magic bullet.”

The Way I Heard It by Mike Rowe is for fans of the TV show Dirty Jobs or those who appreciate the Paul Harvey style of storytelling. As you might expect, some of the stories of famous and not-so-famous people were more interesting than others. Overall, this was an enjoyable and entertaining book and Mike Rowe narrates it. He has THE BEST VOICE EVER so he could read the phone book and I’d cheerfully listen.

Southern Lady Code – I didn’t care for this particular book despite all the hype and promotion. It was actually a little bit dreadful. Yes, there were moments I laughed while listening to this series of essays by former Alabaman-turned-Manhattanite Helen Ellis. I just do not have the same appreciation for her brand of humor. Nothing personal, it just wasn’t for me.

A few months ago, I switched from Audible (an Amazon product) to Libro.fm since indie booksellers benefit from your Libro purchases. The price is the same. If you switch to Libro they have a special offer where you get a bonus book. When you sign up for a Libro account, you choose the store you want to get some of the proceeds. I appreciate knowing my local bookstore, The Coffee Shelf is benefiting from my purchases. Isn’t that cool?

One of the best features of Libro is their return policy. If you start listening to a book and determine after a few chapters the book is just not for you, they credit your account immediately. I have tested this policy twice already with no problems.

Many libraries offer books in an audio format as well. What are you waiting for?

Do you listen to books?

Happy Reading!