Audio Books

I have listened to audio books in the past but only on rare occasions. In the back of my mind I thought audio books were really for people who had limited vision and couldn't read themselves, but not for anyone who could actually pick up a book and read. The times I have listened to audio books - the two times I recall - were both on road trips when my spouse and I checked out tapes in the library and took them with us on our journey "just in case" we were ever without music or a good radio signal.
Then when I started this semester having to drive for lengthy periods on a consistent basis I got excited about audio books really for the first time. I made a commitment to myself at the beginning of my class that I would focus exclusively on this course and not procrastinate my school work by reading books for pleasure. Realizing I would be captive in the vehicle for up to 20 hours every other weekend I got excited about the idea of checking out audio books from the library and still being able to "read" while I was taking this course.
Off to the library I went. Our library is small but they still have a decent selection of books and of audio books. So far I have listened to:

The Street of a Thousand Blossoms, Gail Tsukiyama
A Week in December, Sebastain Faulks
Life Sentences, Laura Lippman
While My Sister Sleeps, Barbara Delinsky
Souvenir, Therese Fowler
Home Safe, Elizabeth Berg
The Last Time I Saw You, Elizabeth Berg
The Choice, Nicholas Sparks

Now I am excited about audio books in a way I haven't ever been! I am having a ball listening to stories as they are being read to me and I am sad that I only have two more trips to school where I have ten hours of uninterrupted listening each way. Then for my birthday I get a Sirius Portable Radio and  I JUST discovered that my library online service includes audio books that can be downloaded. Oh the possibilities! I have downloaded two books already and I have two more on order. I will get a notification in my email when they are ready to be downloaded. Who knew! I thought for some reason that an audio book would always be available, that I wouldn't have to wait at all to "sign it out". Little did I know that the world on online audio books is thriving and there are wait lists. I have been checking my email constantly to see if they have come in yet, but no such luck. I am still hopeful that they will come in before I travel this weekend.