A Love of Podcasts and Audiobooks
I'm doing some articles on things I love (so far books, dance and creating), next up being Podcasts and Audiobooks.
Friday Is Podcast Day
Every Friday morning I get excited as I remember it's podcast day. Whatever I'm listening to is put aside as I load up the list of weekly podcasts and ongoing ones. Then listen to them over the weekend, catching up on history, world events, health interviews and gaming.
An Alternative to Non-Fiction Books
I've never found it easy to read non-fiction books for long before moving onto something else. Biographies, tech, learning usually fell to wayside to something more interesting, like fiction or games.
But then I had a commute of an hour+ each day and wanted to fill it with something useful. Someone suggested podcasts, I tried a few tech ones and never looked back. A couple years later they were joined by audiobooks.
I love podcasts and audiobooks...
- they can be on any topic. Health, Portuguese nutrition, RPG solo games actual play, dating, .NET tips, eastern europe culture. The audiobooks are usually audio versions of actual books and cover the same multitude.
- they are easy to try (and mostly free for podcasts). If there's a new topic I'm interested in I usually find 4-8 podcasts on the topic, then keep 1-2 after a couple of weeks.
- I can listen while doing other things. This is probably the biggest one! I've listened to podcasts and audiobooks while walking, cleaning, gardening, driving, running, showering, putting together furniture and many other mundane tasks.
- they are portable, living on my phone
Part of My Life
They are now a large part of my life, part of a strategy for language learning, coping with new situations, improving various skills, part of work (writing for RPGs) and a talking point in conversations!
I probably walk alot more because of these, and I'm happer doing mundane tasks because of them.
They've also been an important part of becoming more creative, with annual articles on Creative Audiobooks and Creative Podcasts.
Whenever someone recommends a non-fiction book, I always check if there's an audiobook version. If there's not, it's unlikely I'll ever get around to reading it!
Finishing Up
So, any podcasts to recommend?!
