I don’t think I was a dog in a former life because I don’t like walking, however, it is my main form of exercise. I make it go fast by listening to books. Music doesn’t really do it for me. It doesn’t engage my brain enough to make me forget I’m exercising. Books do.

So, a couple of years ago, I subscribed to Audible. Used to be that to listen to audiobooks, you bought a shit ton of cassette tapes, and then CDs, and they were really expensive. Now, not so much if you have an Audible subscription. And there’s no clutter. It’s all in a cloud or on your phone.

But here’s a bit of advice, listen to the free sample. Some narrators are better than others. I have had some terrific narrators. They can really make a good book fantastic. My favorite listen so far is Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King, narrated by Will Patton. RIVETING. An amazing 14 hours of five star entertainment. Listening to the sample really helps you make a decision on whether to buy.

The Audible app is very easy to use and one cool thing is, you can speed up the narration. I have bought my share of dud books. John Grisham, I’m looking at you for Sycamore Row. Good Lord, that book was boring. But because I had to find out what happened, I played it at two times the speed. Heh heh. Sometimes a narrator is very good, but too slow. That’s when I up it to 1.5 the speed.

Anyway, if your as addicted to fiction as I am (too many books, too little time), then multi-task your “reading” with your exercise.

You can try Audible and get two free audiobooks right now, and I highly recommend it, especially since my first two hockey romances, On the Surface and Across the Line are going to be Audible books this year. Get your subscription now so you’re all ready for them!