Even though we’ve passed summer’s unofficial half-point, Assistant Director Ryan Johnson said there’s still time to take that road trip or other summer getaway. In his column for the latest edition of the O’Fallon Weekly, Ryan added there’s still time to find a great book to read as well.
“Many of us live busy lives, especially during these summer months, and that can make finding time to sit still and read challenging,” Ryan said. “That’s where audiobooks come into play!” Audiobooks are gaining popularity and the variety of titles continue to increase – not to mention they are becoming easier to access.
Ryan said that since 2011, the audiobook industry has seen a 700% increase in the number of titles published each year, making it the fastest-growing segment of the publishing industry. In addition, while CDs are still available, they can scratch and must
be changed.
It is now easier than ever to listen to audiobooks with smartphone apps such as the Cloud Library and Libby-the new app for Overdrive. Just pop in headphones and take your books wherever you go. Learn more on our webpage.
“You can be gardening, ironing, walking the dog, working out, driving to work, cooking dinner, folding laundry, you name it,” Ryan said. Any mundane task is instantly improved by listening to a great book. 
The New York Times responded to the new popularity of audiobooks and added a new best seller section. There’s a link to these lists on our Reading Suggestions page as well as links to bestselling fiction and non-fiction audiobooks in our catalog.
Ryan added that audiobooks are also a great way to stay current with book clubs if you don’t have much time to read between meetings. “As an extra bonus, you’ll likely have a leg up on those who read the text because you’ll know the proper pronunciations for any weird names you come across.”
“Speaking of book clubs,” Ryan added, “if you are looking for one to join, we have two to choose from: Books & Brew meets the 4th Monday each month at Global Brew in O’Fallon, and the Library Book Club meets that same Monday here at the library.” Both groups are fun and welcoming he said and suggested you try both to see which is the best fit.
Since there are so many fun events and more keep being added, Ryan urges patrons to stay up-to-date by checking our calendar.
And once again, we thank the O’Fallon Weekly, and remind you that you can catch the next “Library News & Notes” in the next edition, new each Wednesday.
The O'Fallon Public Library News 