This has got to be one of the most helpful discoveries I have made yet. A certain running magazine had an article on audible books and it really is so much better than music all the time. First of all, if you love to read but are too busy to do it-( I have 6 1/2 mo. old twins ), you just download a book, or borrow one from the library(they have cd's and tapes), and there you go. When you are working out, it really passes the time- your body sort of falls into its own rythm, and you don't think about how much time is left (or not as often, anyway ). There is a wonderful website that I am not sure I can post on here so let me know if I can. And you can listen to spanish lessons, Dostoevsky, romance novels, wall street journal, diet books-ANYTHING! I mean if you are going to spend 30-60 min on the treadmill, elliptical, whatever- might as well learn something, right? Well, I just thought I would pass this on because I am so excited about it.

Do tell the web site - I don't think there's a problem unless you are promoting it for your own nefarious ends. I would LOVE to get something like that but most downloadable books I've seen are in the $25-35 range and I just can't see paying that.

www.audible.com and have been a Serious Listener subscriber FOREVER. Now that I have an iPod it's even more convenient to have multiple books always ready for a listen.

There is, in fact, an Audible d/l I listened to that prompted me to get serious about weight loss: Confessions of a Reformed Dieter...

I love audiobooks. I always have one going in the car, and on my MP3 player (thank you Audible ). I recently got an FM receiver thingy that lets me listen to my MP3 player in my car. Good thing too as the CD player in the car has a "matter." But I digress, I listen a lot while I work out, esp with weights. I find that some days I have to have music to get me going on cardio, but usually it's books. And besides with the MP3, I have instant access to both! BTW, I am a library director, and we have tons of audiobooks at my library, both cassette and CD, and we're hoping to have downloadable (for free) books within the next year. If you live in a large city, you might check if your public library has this service now. It's fairly new, but catching on well.

I would never have survived my 3.5 hour daily commute into NY without audiobooks! Thanks for the website !

Audio books are a great exercise tool--I use them a lot when walking on the track because it provides a distraction from the boredom. Got to pick the right kind though... once I went walking around 8pm once it had gotten cooler out and thought I was listening to mini-"mysteries" but they were more like horror stories and when a guy came up from behind me running (just doing laps) I nearly jumped out of my skin thinking he was coming to attack me! Audio books are also great for pacing around the airport during delays to keep a focus. I've never tried that website but we have a used bookshop where you can trade in old audiobooks and get new ones so I always do that.