Recently Chuck and I planned a trip to Ruidoso, New Mexico. Two things were appealing about the trip. One was the cooler weather we would encounter, and the other was that it was just under seven hours to get there.
As we planned our vacation we knew that we wanted to listen to an audiobook in the car as we traveled. We had done this one time before on a trip to Virginia and Massachusetts. Of course, that was several years ago, and back then we relied on CDs and a CD player in our car.
Today our new car doesn’t even have a CD player. Everything is done through streaming through your phone. With this in mind I knew I wanted to take advantage of the Libby App from my library.
As I pursued my options I ended up choosing the John Grisham novel, The Boys From Biloxi. My father had lived in Long Beach, Mississippi near Biloxi so I was already familiar with the area. I had read several John Grisham novels in the past, and knew he told a good story. Also, I figured from the reviews it would be a story enjoyed by both my husband and I.
I had a little trouble downloading the story at first, but a young woman over at the Comanche Public Library was able to troubleshoot the problem. Apparently another book I had downloaded in the system needed to be cleared before it would allow me to download the audiobook.
Once we got that cleared up streaming it from my phone was a breeze. As we traveled the back roads to New Mexico, listening to the book was a good break from a continuous stream of talk radio. Each time we set out for a day trip away from our home base of Ruidoso we would continue our story.
Grisham did not disappoint, and we learned so much about the underground dealings of Bilouxi during prohibition and beyond. We also learned about the Biloxi mafia who ruled bars, brothels and gambling. All pretty much illegal at the time, but allowed due to corruption and payments to local law officials.
Now the one drawback was the length of the recording. I hadn’t really given it that much thought beforehand, but it was seventeen hours of listening. Since we have returned we have tried once to continue the story, but realistically I’m not sure we will actually be able finish it.
However, that being said, I really have no regrets about the story, and I don’t crave any particular resolution. Each chapter was interesting enough by itself, kind of like a Netflix series. I may finish up on my own, though. I had twenty-one days to finish it, but I’m sure I could check it out again.
If you are planning a road trip in the future, or even if you are traveling full time as a lifestyle you might want to take advantage of this free service. Just sign up with your local library and then create an account.
What are your thoughts about listening to audiobooks while you travel?
