We have audio books that we usually listen to in the car -- it didn't occur to me that these could be downloaded, so I'll have to look into that. The Harry Potter audio books, the British versions with Stephen Frye reading, are what we usually listen to when driving, if there's no good music on the radio. This past week I have been listening to recordings of four bible study classes Jimmy Carter gave in 1998, called "Leading a Worthy Life." Not a book, exactly, but interesting.

I haven't read any of the "In Death" books, but I listened to four of them and was quite addicted. Too bad you've read them all. :-) You might enjoy other mystery/suspense audio books. I liked anything by Robert B. Parker, especially the Spenser series narrated by Joe Montegna. Lots of dialogue, and funny banter between Spenser and Hawk. Jeffrey Deaver's books are quite different from Parker's, but quite engrossing and well done in audio form. Whatever you get, be sure to get UNabridged versions!

I live with my audio books and little CD player at my side! My days are filled with blocks of "mindless chores" time and that's when the books really shine. At first I did have to "train my brain" to let the audio book be the foreground and the focus, and the folding laundry/food prep/cleaning/dusting/putting away tasks became the background 'noise.' Once I made that change in my "mental wiring" I totally enjoy the books. One day I folded and put away three loads of laundry, changed the bed linens, and damp mopped three floors...without realizing it. I had been so focused on the Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood) book I was "reading" I hadn't noticed my "must do" list had shrunk. Just this past weekend I bought unabridged copies of The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo; The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. I can't wait to start listening to them. Getting the fall cleaning and season switching done will be a breeze this year! Right now I'm lisening to Spencer Quinn's third "Chet and Bernie" book To Fetch a Thief.

I like them a lot. I'm always in the middle of one and have 2 to 4 others on deck and ready to go. My pace is about 3-4 books a month, depending on the length of the books. Real long ones can take several weeks. I listen when exercising, on solo drives of >15 minutes, and (less frequently) on plane flights. I'm pretty indifferent who the reader is or how good or bad they are. Author and content are much more important to me. I abandon maybe one out of every five books I start, always because of the story or writing style. I can't remember once doing so because of the narrator. I'm not sure how one could say one particular reader "is Jack Reacher". As I recall, all or almost all the Reacher books are written in the third person, so the written words being spoken belong to a narrator, not the character, except for direct quotes.