Saturday, March 28, 2009

No Time To Read? No Time To Exercise? Try Multi-Tasking!

I posted this tweet via Tweet Deck today: Just went for a walk with John Grisham ... sort of ... listened to 'The Associate' on my Ipod.

When this post made its way to Facebook, I received lots of questions from Friends. They didn't know books could be downloaded to their Ipod and wanted to know how. Here's the scoop:

There's one thing I love to do: read. I never seem to have any extended time to really enjoy a book, though. If I wait until bedtime, I'm snoozing after two pages, no matter now good the read.
Then there's one thing I ought to do: exercise! Time for that is limited, too.

How did I solve this dilemma? I rarely read a book any more. Instead, I download recorded books to my Ipod and then off I go for a long walk where I get lost with the story. This way I can get my exercise and, at the same time, 'read' all those books on my list.

I truly get lost in the stories and travel to all the places the characters go...in fact, today I went from Pennsylvania to New York City with Kyle, the main character in 'The Associate.' I can easily visualize the characters and the geographic location.

You don't have to be a techie to do this. In fact, if I can do it, anyone can! The process is very simple...as simple as it is to download music to your Ipod.

I have a membership with http://www.audible.com/ where I receive two books each month...much like a Book of the Month Club or Literary Guild Membership...except that there's nothing to order and nothing to send back...and no clutter on the shelf. All good things. There are lots of choices so I never have a problem finding something great. I usually choose 'unabridged' versions and also look for long books. For instance, I listened to 'The Story of Edgar Sawtelle' for 14 hours...and hated for it to end. Same with 'Pillars of the Earth' and 'World Without End'...32 and 38 hours respectively. It's amazing how fast they go.

Each month I receive points from http://www.audible.com/. I may choose a book..most are one point...or I may carry the points over. They do not expire. Of course, I can purchase books if I'm out of points. Once 'purchased,' the books are placed in my library in the Audible account and from there are download directly to Itunes on my computer. I simply 'update' my Ipod. Voila! I have another book to 'read.'

I also download podcasts to my Ipod...they are usually free. To do that, I right click on the podcast link, click on 'save target as' and then save it to the appropriate file on my computer. There is one more step: open Itunes, click on 'file' and then on 'import.' You will be taken to your computer files where you locate the download. Click on that, then on 'open' and it goes to Itunes. The only tricky part is remembering where you saved it. I'm also careful to import podcasts to Itunes as soon as the download is complete so that I don't forget about it.

There's one more piece of equipment I use...a small speaker/charger for my Ipod. Using this, I'm able to 'read' my books while I get ready for work, unload the dishwaster, etc.

So, there you have it...hours of listening pleasure and an exercise program all rolled into one. Now, that's multi-tasking at its finest!

Enjoy!

Vicki

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