More Free Audios and a Giant List of Favorites

I love how so many people are looking for ways to help others in this time of crisis.

After I wrote about audio books, I found that Audible is giving access to many books as long as schools are closed. Of course, some aren't worth listening to, but there is some great books on the Audible list.

Scribd gives two free months. Sign up through this Scribd link.

Years ago, we used Librivox, where volunteers read books in the public domain. If you want to read classics, this is a perfect site, and it is always free, but the quality can vary.

And don't forget your library. Many library systems have ebooks and audio books available for download through Libby or Hoopla. In many states you can get a library card from a large city, even if it is many miles from your home, and access even more books. So if you are in Pennsylvania, check out the Philly library system. If in Texas, look up the Dallas system.

But I know your next question, what should I listen to?

I can't answer that question for you, but I can give you a list of books that we have enjoyed. We have always enjoyed audio books, but last year I turned to audio books for survival. Since I was doing all the driving and was usually the only adult in the vehicle, audio books were my life saver. Somehow everyone quits fighting (usually) when listening to a story.

Then I lost my voice last summer. For months I could not read to my children for longer than a few minutes. For someone accustomed to reading to my children for an hour every day, this was challenging. I couldn't even get through a chapter of Scripture. Audio books to the rescue. On really bad days, I would put my phone in the middle of the table, and we would listen to our latest story during dinner.

As the result, we have listened to hours of books in the last year from Scribd, Audible, and our library. I also listened to books when walking or running errands.

Here's our favorites.

Children: 
(But they didn't make this list unless I enjoyed them. Nothing wrong with an adult choosing to listen to a middle grade novel just for fun.)

Young Fredle by Cynthia Voigt
Pooh books by A.A. Milne
Masterpiece by Elise Broach
The Candymakers by Wendy Mass
Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan (starts strange but gets better)
Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Secret Garden by Frances Burnett
Christian Heroes series by Janet and Geoff Benge
All books by Elizabeth Enright
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Shiloh series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
The Enchanted Castle by Edith Nesbit
Bull Run by Paul Fleishman
Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule by Harriette Gillem Robinet

Classics:
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
The Hobbit by J.R. Tolkien
Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Nonfiction for the Family: (adult books that we enjoyed as a family)

End of the Spear by Steve Saint
God's Smuggler by Brother Andrew
Johnstown Flood by David McCullough
Wright Brothers by David McCullough
Rocket Men by Robert Kurson

Books for Me

Adult Fiction: 
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
Dear Mrs. Bird by A. J. Pearce
All the Light That We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Adult Nonfiction:
Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr
Decluttering at the Speed of Life by Dana White
The Next Right Thing by Emily P. Freeman
My Confession by Leo Tolstoy
Decisive by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
I Am I Am I Am by Maggie O'Farrell
The Gospel Comes With a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield

I can hardly stand sharing a list like this without comments. I want to say, "Oh this book, this one here, you need to read this one... if you like...then you'll love this." I want to tell you which book had us roaring in laughter, or crying, but I want to send this today so reviews will have to wait. Just know that each of these books was enjoyed by someone in our family in the last year.

But now, I'm not sure what book that I should listen to next. Have a suggestion for me?