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Solo Travel Road Trip with Audio Books

Published June 1, 2010 | By solotraveler

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DSCN0883 1024x768 Solo Travel Road Trip with Audio Books

My vehicles are modest but they get me from here to there.

On my recent trip around Lake Ontario I was actually accompanied by Salman Rushdie. I know. He pops up everywhere. According to IMDB (the Internet Movie Database) he plays himself in no less than 45 movies and television shows.

In my case, he kindly read his book Fury to me. Before leaving, I borrowed the 8 CD set from my local library. I listened to it on my travels between cities (my itinerary here) and just managed to complete the book on my way back into Toronto.

Audio books are great for solo travel.
Salman Rushdie is an author I had intended to read for a very long time. How can one not be fascinated by his prolific writings and speeches. But I had not yet found the time for reading him. So, before heading on this trip, I stopped into the library to see what audio books they might have available. When I saw Fury, I knew I had found my book.

What I loved about this book was that it had everything – strong character development, a plot that moves, probing questions about life and beautiful writing. It’s not often that all four are found in the same book.  In fact, I paused the CD many times to reflect on his ideas or simply to savor his language. He is a stunning author who I am pleased to have finally discovered for myself. He is also a very good reader.

My questions for you?

  • Do you listen to audio books when you travel?
  • Who are your favorite authors?
  • Would you like to win some audio books?

If you say yes to the last question, leave a comment below. I have five VIP Coupons to give away from Audible.com.

Related posts:

Posted in How to Travel Alone

  • Pingback: Audio Books | Exploring Travel Literature

  • Air Charter

    I listened to Hunger Games and the trip flew by! Great tip!

  • http://travelinhand.com/ Suwanto

    I’ve never tried traveling with audio books before. But i think i will try it for my next journey. Thanks

  • http://www.floridahikes.com Sandra Friend

    Love audio books when I’m on other people’s schedules – especially on public transportation or airline flights – but I’ve learned not to drive with them on. Missed a few exits along the way before I figured that one out!

  • Tracey

    I have actually never considered listening to audio books. Like Lucy, I have always loved holding, feeling, reading from the page. I may give it a shot, though – especially on a long flight or train ride.

  • Anne-Marie T

    I have recently discovered audiobooks and I love them. I can never find time to sit and read a book, but because of the time I spend in the car, I have lots of time to listen to books.

    I just finished listening to “I, Alex Cross” James Patterson is one of my favorites.

    Thanks for the chance to win.

  • http://hometoitaly.com lee laurino

    ANY mystery or thriller will keep me in the car even when i arrive at my destination!
    the library has started to offer downloads to a computer and i shall try that next.

  • http://hometoitaly.com lee laurino

    i have worked out of my care for the past 20 years and books on tape have allowed me to read as many as 2 or 3 books a week!
    now that i do long distance trips i take the longest book i can find! but i have rented one at a resturant on 85 or 95. you can return it to any one of their locations farther up the road.
    works great

  • Clara

    1. Yes, I always travel with audio books (which I keep mistakenly calling “books on tape,” just like I continue to mistakenly refer to a musician’s new
    CD as her new “album.”

    2. I save my literary fiction for actual reading. I suppose it’s the
    English major in me, but I like the idea of having the time and space to
    mull over something I’ve read, and look back to earlier pages if I want
    to. So my audio book are usually mysteries or non-fiction. Martha
    Grimes’ Richard Jury mysteries are favorites, as are Cara Black’s. My
    latest non-fiction listen, Richard Holmes’ The Age of Wonder, was
    spell-binding.

    3. Definitely ‘yes’! And thanks.

  • Lucy White

    Audiobooks never interested me much. I love the tactile sensation of a book — the texture, smell and weight of a book in my hands was part of the experience. And, I like to drive when I drive — ok yes I think too but I didn’t want anything to get too much between me and the road. BUT I just realized I can download books and radio onto my ipod and I am so excited. This little bitty thing can go in my pocket on an airplane instead of 20 pounds of books! I’m a convert! (And yes I know I’m a late adopter of technology, so you all can stop laughing now.)

  • http://blogs.eciad.ca/elizabethmackenzie/ Elizabeth

    I love listening to literary classics when I’m travelling. Jane Austen, Charles Dickens… all the books you want to read but never get around to. I remember enjoying an excellent recording of Elizabeth Gaskell’s book Cranford a number of years ago. Mrs Gaskell, as she is often known, was an early Victorian novelist and biographer with a keen, ironic eye. I just had to read all of her other books after this introduction.

  • http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com Trisha Miller

    I adore listening to audio books on long trips – in particular biographies and other non-fiction…..we just got home yesterday from San Diego and on the drive listened to a series from A&E Biography on the Presidents – it was very interesting and made the drive just fly by!

  • http://www.virtuousconsumer.com Leslie Garrett

    I LOVE audiobooks. When I travel alone or with kids. Just finished The Giver. Love David Sedaris. Adore Stuart McLean. True storytellers and they make the driving time fly. In fact, sometimes I hate having to get out of my car before it’s over.

  • Margaret Keenan

    I LOVE listening to audio books when I travel. In fact it gets me there quicker since I get engrossed in the story and can’t be bothered to stop unless I absolutely have to. On my last few trips I have enjoyed Scott Turow’s The Burden of Truth; A Ruth Rendell mystery; The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis; and The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan. I love Bill Bryson, Terry Pratchett, & P D James, among others. Audio books enable you to tolerate long boring highways while still allowing you to concentrate on driving.

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