Audio books are great if you have a long commute. Otherwise, I'm not sure I see the point either.

I'm not a big fan of audio books but they do appeal to me as a reluctant mulitasker. They're useful while cleaning the house or while commuting. I'm the kind of reader who has at least six books started and scattered throughout the house - bedroom, bathroom, in my backpack - I actually did finish one the other day. Audio books are a great option for busy people and even for avid readers. Listening to a book offers a different experience than reading it.

I read faster than I can listen to someone else read, so unless I'm multitasking or driving a long distance, audio books don't do much for me. And a few I have heard were ruined by readers who were disinterested, sloppy, or hammy.

Audio books, however, are a boon to the visually-impaired or people who for one reason or another find it difficult to read (say, a person who has arthritis and finds it painful to turn pages).

I can still remember being stuck in the rear-facing seat next to one of my brothers in the station wagon for days, en route to some family vacation, listening to Roses Prichard read "To Kill a Mockingbird"

On occassion, the cadence of a reader can be a very powerful thing.

They're good if you work in a cubicle. Put on your headphones and just listen up. I suggest anything David Sedars.

The closest thing I get to it now is listening to "This American Life" on NPR. When I used to have to drive a ways to work it was fun to listen to Stephen King books on CD. His book "On Writing" about the craft of writing was cool because he read it. He reads a lot of his books now I think. I also enjoyed listening to James Ellroy read his book "My Dark Places." These are best when the author is reading, not some actor who was on "Dallas."

I second the David Sedaris suggestion - found my brother some audio of Sedaris reading his own work for his birthday last year - burned the disks before giving them as a gift (i know, i'm a horrible sister)

I've been on long commutes where the audio book was actually a liability and almost put me to sleep. But I've also been laughing my arse off listening to David Sedaris on my iPod while on the elliptical at the gym. It all depends on the reader and the content of the book.

Generally, I agree with JL, I read a million times faster than anyone could read to me, so I'm impatient that way. But listening to someone read their book can become like listening to a movie. A much different experience altogether, depending on the book.