Whatever you call them — audiobooks, books on tape, the only thing that makes long drives bearable — there are tons of people opting to have books read to them these days. And luckily, pretty well anything that gets published comes with an audio option, often with a narrator that makes the text more engaging than anything on the page.
Now Shelfie, the Vancouver-based book app that lets you get free and/or cheap e-book editions of the print books you own is offering up audiobooks too — which sounds like a great way to get around to "reading" that 1,000-page hardcover you never quite manage to lug on any vacations.
The way it works is relatively simple. Users submit the "shelfies" of their bookcases (which they may already be taking to show off on social media anyway), upload those pictures to the app, agree to have publishers send them email offers in exchange for opting in — and then Shelfie looks through its database of available books and gives access to the digital versions that match up.
In honour of the season of long drives and end-of-the-year lists, Shelfie has put together its most popular audiobooks for The Huffington Post Canada. If you've been thinking about trying one out, here's your chance. (And if you're looking for a few other options, we pulled together a list of audiobooks in September — as well as some suggestions for great road trip podcasts.)
