Commuter Life (AKA Traffic on Traffic on Traffic)

Twice daily, I cruise I-695, with my CDs riding shotgun.

And by "cruise," I mean "drive somewhere near the speed limit about 12% of the time and sit in horrendous traffic 88% of the time."

I spend a lot of time in the car these days. Since I leave my house by 6:45am, it typically takes about 25 minutes for me to get to my school. The way home can be rough, though. It can take anywhere from 25 minutes to an hour for me to get home from work.

And, man, do I get bored.

When I was a student, my options for in-car entertainment were limited: FM or AM. My 1991 Buick Regal had a faulty cassette player, and after it mangled three of the five cassettes I'd tracked down, I took the hint and stopped trying. Staticky radio it was.

Now that I have a car that's actually younger than me, the horizons of driver diversion have expanded exponentially. Not only have I tripled the number of radio presets available to me, I can play CDs (gasp) and even play music from my phone through Bluetooth (double gasp)!

I revel in the ability to listen to my CDs and Pandora stations, and typically alternate between the two in week-long phases. Currently, I'm on a neo-soul kick, featuring mainly Amy Winehouse, Fitz & the Tantrums, and the like.

Millenial that I am, I've tried many a podcast as well. But I have yet to find one that I can really get into.

Recently though, I rediscovered the wonder that is an audiobook.

When I was a kid and my family went on road trips, we listened almost exclusively to the Harry Potter series. It was pretty much the only thing we could agree on. Plus, we'd all read the books, so if one (or more) of us dozed off in the middle and missed a chapter or two, it wasn't a big deal.

It's crazy how lost you can get in a good book, even when you're driving. My commute flies by for the two or three weeks that an audiobook lasts me.

Here are a few of my recommendations for audiobooks, if you're interested:

1. The Harry Potter series. Obviously. Even if you've read them before, listening to them is a great experience. Jim Dale does a great job with all the voices throughout the series. 
2. Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella. I like a lot of Sophie Kinsella's books...they're light, easy reads, and they can be pretty hilarious at times. (The humor in her novels has been likened to that of the classic I Love Lucy, which y'all already know I'm a fan of.) This one is her first young adult novel, and actually one of the first audiobooks that I listened to "cold" (without having read the book first). It's about a teenage girl, Audrey, who, as a result of her anxiety, wears sunglasses constantly (it helps her avoid eye contact and feel safe). The cast of supporting characters are rather ridiculous, but in an authentic way. Plus, there's just something about having someone read to you in a British accent. 
3. Still Alice by Lisa Genova. This book is set in New England, and it's clear that the author (who reads her own book aloud to you) is also from that part of the country. Still, her accent is only a tad distracting, because the story itself is so compelling. It's told from the perspective of the title character, a Harvard professor diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. I don't want to spoil anything, in case any of y'all decide to read (or listen to) it, so I won't say much more. Definitely recommend this one, though. Lots of feels, and lots to think about.

I usually get audiobooks from the library in CD format; I haven't tried Audible myself, but I know you can download audiobooks in mp3 format with them if that's more your thing.

Been wanting to write this post for a while now, so my Christmas present to myself was actually setting aside some time to blog. Hope y'all enjoyed reading it.☺

Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year if I don't post again before then!

Happy Holidays from my family to yours!