June is National Audio Books Month

Did you know that June is designated as National Audio Books Month?
It's a great time to become more "widely read" and expand your literary horizons.
And here's a bonus: with Father's Day right around the corner, it makes a thoughtful gift, too.

According to Goodereader.com, "Over the course of the past three years, the highest growing segment of publishing are audiobooks."

Here are some other interesting stats that GoodeReader provides on audio books:

• The global audiobook industry is currently said to be at 3.5 billion dollars. 
• The U.S. is reported to be the largest singular market with 1.8 billion dollars in audio sales in 2016.
• The most popular genres? Mystery, thriller, fantasy, science fiction and romance.

Read more stats and trends about audio books at Good reader.com :

http://goodereader.com/blog/digital-publishing/audiobook-trends-and-statistics-for-2017

Beyond the stats, here are 3 reasons that I have been a fan of this particular reading format for many years:

• Audio books give a lot of bang for your buck. You can listen to them and multi-task with simple things...like driving to work, folding laundry, or washing dishes.
• They are easy to transport; they're small and compact enough to fit into a purse or a pocket.
• They are relatively inexpensive.

Here are a few titles I recommend from my own personal collection:

1. REAL MAGIC--DR. WAYNE W. DYER
2. DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF--RICHARD CARLSON, Ph.D.
3. CHOCOLATE FOR A WOMAN'S SOUL--KAY ALLENBAUGH (I am a contributor to this popular Simon & Schuster series).
4. THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE--STEPHEN R. COVEY
5. LIVING, LOVING, & LEARNING--LEO BUSCAGLIA
6. MARS & VENUS ON A DATE--JOHN GRAY, Ph. D.
7. IT'S NOT OVER TIL YOU WIN--LES BROWN

If you'd like to start or expand your audio book collection this month, here are a few places to buy or checkout various titles:

• AMAZON.COM
• YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY
• THRIFT STORES
• YARD SALES

I also recommend that you check out famous author Warren Adler's series of interviews on audio book narrators:

 http://www.warrenadler.com/exclusive-interview-with-will-tulin-audiobook-narrator-of-natural-enemies/

When it comes to "hot reads" for summer, don't overlook audio books!

Your turn.
Any audio book fans out there? Thoughts?


Image credit headphones: Https://Pixabay.com/