5 Reasons to Listen to Audiobooks on YouTube (plus 1 bonus tip that completely changes the game!)
1. On YouTube, you can listen to audiobooks for free.
Audiobooks are great for many reasons: getting through that book you never have the time to read, increasing your reading speed, or adding that extra layer of entertainment to monotonous busy work.
Unfortunately, audiobooks can be expensive, usually ranging from $20 to $30 a pop.
Fortunately, YouTube has entire collections available entirely for free! Finding them is pretty easy, too -- start with searches like “free audiobooks” or “full audiobooks,” subscribe to channels that specialize in audiobooks, and seek out indie authors who publish their books on YouTube (you know, like this author, which is me).
2. YouTube is accessible.
YouTube isn’t just for funny cat videos, music videos, or the exact same gadget review as interpreted by three dozen different tech tubers -- it’s also the perfect platform for audiobooks. Its availability across home computers, work computers, iOS devices, and Android devices makes it accessible no matter where you are.
Plus, if you subscribe to YouTube Premium, the experience is even smoother with no ads to break up your story, 1-click downloads so you never miss a line of dialogue, background playback on mobile, and enhanced controls.
Admittedly, YouTube’s audiobook library might not be as expansive as Audible’s, but why go anywhere else when there are millions of other videos to explore as well?
3. YouTube is a great way to catch up on the classics.
YouTube is a great way to experience the classics -- with no heavy lifting required! Whether you want to find the iconic detective stories of Sherlock Holmes or get lost in a world of Jane Austen’s charming romances, YouTube has it all! You can also explore lesser-known works by these great authors and boost your knowledge. Listening to these works on YouTube allows you to experience them in new ways, connect with the stories and characters more deeply, and learn even more than reading a written text alone.
4. Multitask Your Boring Work.
Audiobooks offer the perfect solution to overcoming tedious tasks while remaining productive. By multitasking with audiobooks, you can prevent hours of mundane work from feeling like punishment.
Not only do audiobooks provide an engaging mental distraction, but they can also help you build that all-important knowledge bank; they’re the perfect way to improve your literacy or simply learn something new while getting through administrative work.
5. Become a better reader.
In today’s world, where the barrage of information on digital devices tends to demand a never-ending scroll, reading can become something of a lost skill.
Yes, reading is a skill, and long-form reading (like novels) can be a marathon. Like any other muscle, if you don’t train and practice, that skill will atrophy -- and with our modern digital bombardment of short-form everything and that perpetual, endless scroll ... it makes a lot of sense to slow down, take your time, and work that reading muscle. But don’t over-exert yourself! Start with easy-to-read, fast-paced, rewarding material. Better yet: start with easy-to-read, fast-paced, rewarding audiobooks.
BONUS TIP: Support independent authors (like me!)
Subscribe to the TubeBooks YouTube channel, where you’ll find original audiobooks, short stories, classics, and more.
To start, check out the gritty superhero and alt-right-smashing brawler, “Abraham Owens is Punched, Drunk, and All Out of F*cks!” It’s a full-length audiobook, fast-paced, and -- yep -- super easy to read. So if you’re just getting back into reading, this is a great place to start.
Need something a little shorter? Zombie Jesus might have what you’re looking for -- it’s a short story about a young couple who go to a private island retreat to try and save their failing marriage. Their marriage might be doomed, but that doesn’t mean Tom and Cora aren’t worth saving ... for dessert?
At least … not from Zombie Jesus’s perspective.
New material is added regularly, so be sure to subscribe for the next original audiobook!
