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In a recent survey by the Audio Publishers Association (APA) nearly 25% of the US population is listening to audio books. This is backed up by sales figures for 2005 of $871 million. Some experts are predicting sales for 2006 to come in as high as $2 billion. This massive leap in sales is largely due to the increasing popularity of MP3 audio books in digital download format.

So, why are audiobook versions a more convenient way to "read" a book?

1) You save time, because you can listen to an audio book anywhere and everywhere, and you can even do other things at the same time. You can listen when driving to and from work, when walking the dog, cycling, gardening, working around the house or at the computer, exercising at home or at the gym, and so on. The possibilities are endless.

According to a recent survey, in the USA a person is driving an average of 1 hour and 13 minutes daily, which means over 440 hours a year for each driver, or 11 full-time working weeks. This is huge! Imagine how many things you could learn during this time by simply having your MP3 player with audio books at hand.

2) If you love reading but don't have enough time, audio books can give you the opportunity to read many more books than you would otherwise have time for. Audio books are a great way to fill the "dead" moments we all have in our lives.

With the compact size of modern MP3 players, compared to CD or cassette players, you always have room to take your mp3 player with you. Plus you don’t have to worry about losing or changing cd’s or tapes either.

3) Audio books are good for older, ill or recovering people and can be a wonderful gift for someone in a nursing institution. This is a gift they can remember and enjoy time after time. The massive market place for audio books ensures that everyone can find a topic or subject that appeals to them.

4) Audio books can be a blessing for blind people, disabled people or people with impaired vision. Everyone should have the chance to experience and enjoy a book and in many cases, this is the only way for such persons to do it.

Spoken books can help these people improve their education, help them develop new hobbies and habits and greatly enrich their life, both personally and professionally.

5) Probably the most important skill a child can ever acquire is the ability to read, and audio books can be easily used to stimulate literacy in children. Children can follow the story in a paper book whilst listening to it being dramatically read aloud. Or they could listen just to gain and improve vocabulary and communication skills. If you want to instil in your child the love of reading, audio books can be an excellent start.

There are many more benefits of using audio books, but even these few reasons should be enough to convince you to enter the exciting world of the spoken books.