Across the nation, on every college campus, there has been a rising trend in listening to audiobooks by students. Some students listen to audio books rather then reading assigned text, some to help learn a foreign language, some to catch up on politics, religion and some just to catch up on their reading for pleasure.

Some feel it is cheating, and some feel it is just taking advantage of today’s technology. Students are choosing to listen to audiobooks rather then read their assigned books for class.

If you have ever taken an English or classic literature class, you know how much reading goes with each course. It can be hard to juggle your reading for each class, working full time or at a part time job, and having a social life. As a result of this many students are choosing to listen to their Shakespeare, Hamlet, or other classics as audiobooks.

Business majors also enjoy listening to audiobooks. There are many classics like the work of Dale Carnegie, audiobooks that teach sales, real estate, leadership, management and finance. These business major students that listen to audiobooks are learning how to best manage their time at a young age and this will no doubt help them in the business world later in life.

Students of foreign languages also frequently listen to audiobooks. Imagine if you are struggling in a Spanish, French, or Chinese class but could not afford an expensive tutor. Audiobooks that teach a language are a great way to reinforce what you have been learning in class and will surely help you grasp the language and do better on your tests.

Political science majors are also no strangers to audiobooks. There are many great titles on political biographies, past wars, and even the political writing of Aristotle. Such audiobooks can give a great insight to any political science class.

At Christian schools, Christian titles are popular amongst the students. There are many different Christian titles for these students ranging from best sellers like Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life, Lee Strobel’s A Case for Christ, and even both the New and Old Testament as dramatized audiobooks.

One thing that most college students do that go away to school is drive home to see their family, or just for a free laundry service. For some this is a short drive, for others the drive can take several hours or sometimes even a plane ticket is needed. If the student is not interested in listening to an audiobook that pertains to their studies, then they will listen to audiobooks for pleasure.

It can be hard to find time for pleasure reading while being swamped with school work and listening to the audio books is an easy way to catch up on that book you have been meaning to read. Listening to the audio books while commuting instead of listening to mindless radio is a great way to make the time of the drive or flight fly by.

Audiobooks, or as they used to be called, books on tape have always been popular, but with recent technology changes it is easier and more affordable then ever to get your hands on them. Originally the books on tape were just that, books recorded as spoken word on a cassette tape. Then the audiobooks were made as books on CD. Books on CD can be pretty expensive. Now, the fastest growing form of audiobooks is audio books that can be downloaded from the internet. Downloaded audiobooks are priced much better then prepackaged audiobooks on CD.

Audiobooks downloaded from the internet are great because you don’t have to wait to get your hands on them. The only wait is for your file to download which does not take long at all, especially if you have a decent internet connection. Once you download your audiobook, you can play it on your PC, burn it to a disc, or load it to an iPod or mp3 player. Since it seems that nearly every college student has an iPod or mp3 player, it is easy to see why downloadable audiobooks are such a natural fit.

So the next time you see headphones on a student on campus, or if you are driving behind a student on their drive home, there is an increasing chance that they are not listening to their favorite music, but instead, they are listening to audio books and you will understand why.