Why I No Longer Read Physical Books

Alas, that’s not what my reader brain wants anymore. I wish I had a specific answer as to why the change; however, to the best of my knowledge, I can say that my transition to audiobooks was a long time coming. The catalyst for change was the pandemic. I live in the Dallas-Forth Worth metroplex, and lockdown commenced in March of 2020. I remember feeling okay for the first two weeks, but then cabin fever set in. It’s been well recorded now how lonely those days of lockdown were. I’m not usually an extrovert, but I do need human connection to feel like I’m part of the world. Books have always played a key role in helping me do this, but I was always able to talk about them with friends, which was now impossible.

So yes, during lockdown I got a library card and subscribed to Libby and Hoopla and basically listened to audiobooks nonstop during the day. Even when I was working, I had one on in the background to avoid my home from being too silent.

But it was jarring that I was able to adapt from physical books, which I was completely loyal to for my entire life, to audiobooks so quickly. Looking back, I realized that it all began when I finally got my first big girl job. While it was nice (though some might argue a basic human right) to finally have a livable wage with benefits, it also meant that I was officially learning what it meant to be a Millennial “grinding away.”

This meant that my big girl job came with a big girl commute. I quickly realized that I could turn this time-consuming nuisance into something truly productive. I originally listened to podcasts but couldn’t find myself enjoying listening to someone rant about cancel culture or green juice before I had my morning coffee. I was always curious about audiobooks and finally decided to listen to a few during my commute, and it certainly was a game changer. This was a few years before the pandemic, and audiobooks were only reserved for my commute. But I now see this time as when audiobooks began entrenching themselves in my life.

For one, there is nothing worse than getting out of bed early in the morning, putting on socially appropriate clothes, packing a sad salad, kissing my dogs goodbye, and heading to a job that I knew was making someone else a ton of money. My 35-minute reprieve listening to a good book was something I could actually look forward to before diving into the capitalistic grind and made those tired mornings not just bearable, but something to look forward to.

So when the pandemic hit, I already knew that audiobooks worked for me, especially when I needed something to look forward to or to prevent feeling lost.

Now, I could go into the pitfalls of capitalism, but that’s not the point here. It is sad that the original reading habits that had enriched so much of my life growing up were fundamentally changed. That said, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how great audiobooks have been for me. I’ve since changed jobs and while this new job is so much better for my work/life balance and only has a 10-minute commute, I’m now deep into the 9 to 5 grind and can’t see myself curling up with a physical book anymore. The pandemic taught me that audiobooks are just so much more convenient because I can listen to them while attending to other things.