Human beings naturally love to hear someone tell them a story. Since the beginning of time people from all cultures have passed on stories from generation to generation by memorizing and retelling them for entertainment, education, and preservation of the culture.

Many fond memories have been made by a loving parent or grandparent sharing a story about their own childhood or by a friend telling a spine-tingling story around a campfire. In the '30s and '40s, families gathered around the radio to hear stories as they were told by actors.

Children love being read to, and adults also can enjoy it. Since it isn't always possible to find someone willing to read out loud, an alternate possibility is to listen to an audio book.

Audio books have been around since 1931, when the "Talking Books Program" for the blind and physically handicapped was organized. In the '70s, a creative entrepreneur started a company to rent audio books to other busy business people so that they could listen to books while commuting in large cities like Los Angeles.

Since that time other companies have produced audio recordings of books of every kind so that now a very large selection is available, from business books to children's favorites. Today, audio books are professionally produced, with actors reading the stories.

Many book publishers now have audio divisions. Sometimes music, sound affects, or various voices are used, but usually one single voice is the most pleasurable to listen to. They are available for free at the library or online, or they can be purchased from bookstores.

Audio books can be listened to while commuting in heavy traffic and can have a calming effect, depending on the book chosen. Yet, that is not the only time to listen to books. With iPods, MP3 players, and portable CD players, books now can be listened to while exercising, washing dishes, walking, cleaning the house or gardening.

Many people, such as long haul truckers, letter carriers or farmers, listen while working. When a person is too tired to read, a book always can be listened to while reclining in a favorite chair, with eyes closed.

It can be a fun family activity to listen to a favorite story while on a car trip. No one will ask, "Are we there yet?" For a list of suggested books for a long trip, go to www.roadtripamerica.com.

Everyone agrees that children benefit from being read to, especially while learning to read. Audio books are a great idea because children can listen to the story over and over while following along in the book.

They are not a replacement for parents reading out loud to children, but they can be an addition and can provide a break from a story that children want to hear over and over. Auditory learners will benefit from having textbooks or other difficult books in audio format.

Since 2005, Libravox, at www.libravox.org, has been providing free books from the public domain that have been recorded by volunteers from across the globe. Titles include "King Lear" by William Shakespeare, "White Fang" by Jack London and the "History of the United States, Vol 1: The Colonial Period" by Charles and Mary Beard.

The quality of the readings vary since all of the readers are volunteers, not necessarily professionals.

Project Gutenberg was the first producer of free electronic books and can be found at www.gutenberg.org. This Web site also has computer-generated audio books, but they are not perfected yet.

Listening to a story read by a soothing voice can have a calming effect during stressful times or can be a fun form of entertainment anytime. Audio books are another simple and enjoyable way to add more books to your life.

(Pam Krueger, M.Ed., is a freelance writer, academic language therapist and owner of Every 1 Reading tutoring in Bismarck. She can be reached at pam@every1reading.com.)