Listening on the road

Stories and music make the world wonderful! We use stories to relax and to educate ourselves about the world. We use music to bring joy into our lives.

As we travel around the world with our children, we love to listen to wonderful stories that will capture our heart and enrich our experience. I absolutely love to pull out a book and snuggle down to read, but as a traveler and most especially as a busy Mum, this is not always possible. Because of our minimalist and busy lifestyle, we utilize a number of audio options while on the road.

Here are 6 listening tools to love!

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1. Audible.

I LOVE AUDIBLE!

With my whole heart.

I absolutely love being swept away into a beautifully written and masterfully told story. I love it even more when I can do two things at once! I can enjoy literature while I am traveling, driving, walking, washing the dishes or folding the clothes. My kids love to relax while listening to an audio book and colouring or knitting, just something with their hands that relaxes them while they are being swept away on an adventure.

The only, and I mean ONLY way that we have survived long road trips has been thanks to Audible. We have done soooooo much driving. We drove all over Europe, we drove up and down the East coast of Australia, and we have circled the whole of the USA. When people learn this, they sometimes comment that we must love road trips?

Um…. no.

We mostly hate them.

We are always squished with too much luggage (usually my fault), It tends to either be boiling hot or freezing cold, and we all like our personal space. Stick us all in a small, squishy moving metal vehicle for hours on end, and we feel like killing each other.

I have heard of those other families. Families who play ‘Eye Spy’ and sing songs and whose kids look out the window in contentment. Nah, they must be fantasy. That has surely never been my reality! WWIII threatens to break out if someone’s elbow so much as touches another.

Our most successful trips are when we are all plugged into a separate audio book. No need for bonding in the car, we can do that once we arrive. Ross and I even get the occasional privilege of long uninterrupted conversations! Bliss! We have done many life planning sessions thanks to Audible taking care of our kids.

All the books I purchase are mine to keep indefinitely and I can download them onto multiple devices. I am even able to return a book after listening to it if I don’t like it or I am unhappy with the narration. I can also sample the narration before I purchase to make sure I will like the voice.

I like to use my Audible credits for the more expensive books and then pay for anything cheaper than the cost of my monthly credit ( about $14). There are often sales and Audible now offers two free books monthly from their Audible original selection.

If you would like to try Audible, click here for a free 30 day trial!! Trust me, it's AMAZING!!!!