My Favorite Bit of Information From The Week:
Audio Books, The Balm To Mental Health
Audio books have been a self soother for me since I was a child. When I couldn’t sleep I would listen to fantasy and be instantly calmed. I love to read from a printed page also, but audiobooks hold a very separate and equal places of love for me. The mental health benefits of being read to are worth understanding and have been (and continue to be) a huge help with my personal mental health and happiness.
Since this is an audio based topic – and since some of us have had little face time with other humans as of late – I have encapsulated my favorite facts and tidbits into this short video:
If you prefer to read, I have sited my favorite articles that I mention below.
More on Benefits:This is my favorite article for Benefits. The fact that it mitigates anxiety and can be soothing and cause one to feel less alone are my favorites for this particular time.
More On Reading Books vs. Listening to Books:This article from the Times is my personal favorite.
Benefits of Reading To The Elderly: We have the potential to be in a time with the largest elderly population on the planet. The mental health benefits of audio books seem to be particularly supportive for our elderly population. In a time when we have a lot of our older community isolated, this could be a very helpful tip to pass on. If you know someone who is in isolation right now because of their age, it could be helpful to send this to them, talk them through how to access audible/ their library app via the phone, or you can reach out to me if you have questions.
Where do I find audio books? I recommend trying Audible as they have a free trail of 30 days and I find it the most intuitive to use. If you dig the trial and want to continue listening to audio books but don’t want to pay, almost all libraries now have an app that you can use to download audio books from them. Some of these are easy, some are less so, but all manageable and seem to function similarly.
Pro Tip: Remember, everyone will prefer to hear different voices read to them. If you don’t like the person reading, move on to a different book. It’s my recommendation to always listen to 30 seconds or more of the book before choosing it. If you aren’t comprehending what the narrator says, or if you dislike their voice it won’t get better. There are thousands of narrators for audio books now a days. It is one of the fastest growing industries surrounding stories in our culture right now, so it is possible to find a person you enjoy.
Some Audio Book Recommendations To Get You Started:
- Fantasy: I love anything read by Jim Dale. One of my recent favorites is Liesl and Po by Lauren Oliver.
- Non- Fiction: Stress Proof by Mithu Storoni and read by Katharine Lee McEwan. I have recommended this book before, but It is also one that I really love the audio book for as well. You can access my previous post on the book here.
- Favorite Memoir: Dear Girls by Ali Wong read by the author
Update On My Show:
I went live tonight with Hope For The Day! I participated in a conversation surrounding What Gives You Hope. If you want to listen to the talk you can check it out here.
– One Woman Hamlet performed at Nasty, Brutish & Short: A Puppet Cabaret via Facebook live! Watch the video under LOOKS.
– Kerfuffle is a company that has been reading aloud to children in isolation via facebook. I will be reading one of my favorite children’s books on April 16th at 10:00 AM CST, but they are doing this all month. Please pass this on to any children or parents you think may be interested.