Do you love to read? What are your favorite types of books? Fictional or Original Stories? Biographical or Technical? Do you sit in a cozy chair with a drink beside you and soft music playing? Are you someone who has earbuds in their ears all day long having phone conversations with work teammates? Are you a stay-at-home mother/father with small children that you are trying to raise to be good adults and don’t have much time for yourself? OR, do you spend so much time on your electronic devices reading things that aren’t of much interest to you that you don’t have time for what I call “fun reading”? No matter what your situation is, you can find time to read the things you really want to read if you just make a few small changes in your life.

I grew up always wanting to read more but got so involved in day-to-day activities when I was a kid that reading wasn’t that high a priority for me. I’m a very outgoing and friendly person, and when I was young, all I wanted to do was play with my friends. There were a large number of kids my age or near my age in our neighborhood and we were always playing together outside when the weather was nice. This was before electronics, of course, or while we weren’t in school. If the weather was bad, we played inside with our siblings or got together with friends to play. In college, my reading consisted mostly of textbooks. And, after college, I was so busy working to support myself that I didn’t take the time to do any real reading. After work, I was usually so tired that I just plopped down in front of the TV instead. I often wished I had time to read but when I tried it, I would fall asleep due to fatigue.

One of my favorite book genres is mysteries and I can often listen to a book in 2-3 days while also enjoying being able to move around my house. There are many categories of mysteries which I like. Of interest to me are books about the military since I worked for the Navy Department and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (as a civilian) for a few years. Many of those books have been turned into movies, such as American Sniper, Saving Private Ryan or The Great Escape. I’m sure you can think of at least 10-20 more good military themed movies! Authors like David Baldacci, Lee Child and Tom Clancy create characters that they feature in many of their books. Tracy Hunter Abramson writes about Navy Seals almost exclusively.

Another favorite theme that I like are books about private investigators and detectives. There are almost too many authors of mystery, thrillers & suspense to name here. Both women and men are in this category but one of my favorite women writers (of light fiction) is Janet Evanovich. Her light-hearted novels are quick and fun to read.

My greatest discovery was that I could read books in the Kindle app on my tablet or phone and listen to recorded books on Amazon’s Audible app. I’m often glad I have the Kindle app on my phone when I’m waiting to see a doctor or have some other appointment. I usually have a book started on Kindle and another one in Audible. Now that I’m at a point in my life where I have gotten into reading on a daily basis, I’m so thankful for laptops, tablets and cell phones, I can listen to the books I’m interested in reading. I have found that I can put in my earbuds or use my headphones while I’m doing dishes, cleaning house, cooking, doing laundry, walking the dog, crafting or many other things and still listen to books that interest me. Another advantage of being able to listen to a book, is that if you aren’t a fast reader, you can speed up the audio track. This has enabled me to listen to books at a playback speed of 1.25 which lets me finish the book faster, still hear what is read, and I can get on to my next choice. One more advantage is that you don’t end up with huge piles of books that you have already read!

There are almost endless categories of books available for you. If you are like me and want to read while making the best use of your time, you need to check out “Audible” on Amazon . Click on the “Amazing Deals” link under the logo above and look for the “Audible” link. They have podcasts in addition to books, free books and original titles. Another option is to sign up for their “Plus Catalog”. You can then listen to any of the books in that catalog for one small monthly fee. The options are unlimited as are the books! Happy Reading!!!

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