I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ve started listening to audiobooks on some of my long runs – it helps me get lost in the story instead of focusing on how long I’ve been running or how far I’ve got to go. It’s hard to find cheap audiobooks, so I decided to look into borrowing audiobooks from my local library. As I was doing my searching, I came across OverDrive which allows you to download audiobooks (and ebooks) from any library that has a digital library – all you need is a library card! 

My first attempt at borrowing a book went well, but, as with any library, you have to return the book after a set amount of time (2 weeks for the book I borrowed) and I didn’t get very far into the book before I ran out of time. Unfortunately for me, the book wasn’t available to be renewed, so I had to find another book. My second attempt was much more successful on my part – I actually followed through on listening to the whole book before I had to return it and it helped get me through part of my long run on Saturday.

The setup is very simple – you search for your local library and enter your library card number and then start checking out items. The audio ebooks I’ve borrowed have a 14 day time limit and once you’re past that time, a pop-up screen comes up telling you to delete the audio files per the standard agreement. You can download the audiobooks in sections or all at once and then it’s available on your phone when you want it. 

So far I haven’t had any issues with the app and I have a lot more options when it comes to audiobooks which I will continue to use with my long runs and road trips. Have you ever used this app or something similar?