I do not love doing the dishes or most housework. Every once in a while, I get satisfaction out of cleaning my home. Most days, however, by the time I get home from work, make dinner, clear the table, and put Becca to bed, I'm ready to relax. I often decide to read or work on crafts in the evening rather than cleaning my kitchen. The activity I do most often is reading. Once I realized that I was spending my evenings reading, I wondered if there are free MP3 audio books. A quick search revealed that there are a lot of books.
All books published before 1923 are considered to be in the public domain, making them eligible for people to record and make available to others online. While 1923 seems like it was a long time ago and that it would be hard to find good books online, there are a lot that I love. Most of the Anne of Green Gables books were published before 1923. Have you read Anne of Green Gables? Have you read it as an adult? It is one of my favorite series. I've read the books twice in the last year and a half. Also available are Jane Austen's classics as well as Louisa May Alcott. Alcott is most famous for "Little Women," but she wrote many others. In fact, while I enjoy "Little Women," it isn't my favorite Alcott. I love "Old Fashioned Girl," "Rose in Bloom," "Eight Cousins," and "Jack and Jill." Most of these books, if not all, can be found at the website http://booksshouldbefree.com/. Volunteers record the books. Some books have a different reader every few chapters, which takes a little getting used to, but once the story catches me, I don't even notice the voice. Some of the books are narrated all by one person. Most of the readers are very talented.
Now, especially when I don't want to do the dishes, I put on my headphones and turn on my MP3 player. I find that I do more work in the kitchen than I would otherwise because I enjoy the story. I still have nights when I do other things, like finish my blue and yellow quilt (finally!) or watch a movie with Kyle, but if I can get to the point of turning on my MP3 player, I've found that I'm much more productive and cleaning oriented. I love free audio books.
1 comment:
That's a great idea! I'll have to check out that site. I haven't read most of those Alcott books either, so I will have plenty of new material to check out. I am starting A Tree Grows in Brooklyn tonight since I feel like I can't be considered a real reader unless I sometimes read classics. :)
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