Audiobook busy mom’s best friend

More stories? Keep ’em coming!

In the day between Halloween and my husband’s birthday I had to admit that I felt kind of rundown. That was to be expected, I thought, when policing two small children’s total sugar intake, shepherding homework assignments for each, arranging a gift, a cake and childcare for a weeknight dinner out on top of the usual work, exercise, laundry and other household duties.

But by Thursday morning, I had no voice and felt like if I removed my head and neck, maybe that would make things a tiny bit better for just a little while. I went to the doctor, where I learned that it was worse than I imagined. For the next few days I would be a triple threat with my diagnoses — pink eye, laryngitis and strep.

This, my friends, is what it takes to bring a mom down. Not one measly little diagnosis, but three at the same time, including one that you weren’t entirely sure you could get as an adult. Finally! An excuse to sit, maybe even lie, down.

Among the worst things about being sick, aside from not getting to kiss your partner and your babies, is how difficult it can be to read when your head throbs, your neck breathes fire or your eyes ache. Why have some time off of normal responsibilities if you can’t use it to dig into your latest read?

Luckily the rise of audiobooks kept my brain turning between naps while my body recuperated.

Before the birth of my children, I turned up my nose at audiobooks. It wasn’t that I didn’t like them exactly; I just foolishly didn’t think they “counted” as reading. But now, with a busy, noisy household, I find myself struggling to keep my eyes open for very many pages once the kids are down.

As the weather turns cooler, I sometimes find myself in a parent pickup line or driving to an appointment that would be much more interesting with a little plot line to busy my mind.

As a new parent, audiobooks have at times been the difference between me reading or not reading. At others it simply means I get to read more than I’d otherwise have energy for with a physical book, allowing me to also clean house or get my steps in while also “reading.”

My addiction to Bookstagram (the part of Instagram full of amateur book reviewers who post opinions about the courtesy copies they usually receive from publishers; their loyal avid readers; and virtual book club members who gather digitally via comments or video chats) has taught me that the people reading the most books almost always have an audiobook habit.

I’ve turned to Chirp for these selections, because it allows me to buy individual books I want without being on the hook for a monthly subscription like many services do. But I recently learned you can do the same a la carte purchase with Libro FM, which allows the money to go back to an independent bookstore of your choice.

In the past weeks, as I walked or ran the neighborhood and trails, done mountains of laundry or picked kids up from school, I’ve blown through “The Bass Rock” by Evie Wyld, whose three tales of violence against women haunted me far more than the ghosts did; “Firekeeper’s Daughter” by Angeline Boulley, which taught me so much about Indigenous cultural traditions and the difficulties and stereotypes Indigenous people face in day-to-day life, while on a wild ride of a mystery; and “You’ll Grow Out of It” by Jessi Klein, whose take on femininity in modern life kept me alternately laughing and nodding along.

For me, that does it. Audiobooks mean more stories, so keep them coming. I’m listening.

APRIL WALLACE