5 Tips for Reading in a Moving Vehicle

Over these last couple of days in May, I plan to post some tips for reading in locations other than the comfort of your home. Some of these locations may be related to your home somehow, or close by, but hopefully these will help you out with reading in these locations.

For many of these reading locations, you can use any book format. However, I will note if there is a better book format to use in a specific location in that specific post.

It can be hard to read in a moving vehicle, whether a car, train, or bus. And if you're the one driving, you definitely shouldn't be reading a physical or ebook.

Today's post will focus on 5 tips for reading in a moving vehicle.

Tip 1: Choose an audiobook over the other formats.

If you can read or look down at your phone while in a moving vehicle - and aren't the one driving - then you can definitely choose a physical or ebook. But if you are driving, or get carsick/motion sick easily, choose an audiobook. This way, you can still read in a moving vehicle without getting that annoying nausea.

Tip 2: Have headphones or earphones on hand.

If you're in a moving vehicle with other people, strangers or not, you may want to have headphones or earphones on hand. This way, you can listen to your audiobook without other background noise getting in the way. If you're reading a physical book, having headphones or earphones on hand can help you tune out that same background noise as you read.

Tip 3: Choose audiobooks for longer journeys.

If you have a long ride in a vehicle, it's definitely useful to have an audiobook or two on hand. This way, you can get plenty of reading in during the ride. And if your ride is an hour or more, then you can definitely get a lot of reading in.

Tip 4: Take occasional breaks.

This tip is related to Tip 3. On longer journeys, it might get a bit tiring to listen to hours of an audiobook or two. So break up your reading with music, or even silence.

Tip 5: Choose a listening speed that works best for you and the narration style of the book.

Certain narrators tend to either read very quickly or very slowly. And other narrators have a "normal" narration speed that's easy to keep up with without adjusting it. Most audiobook apps have a way to adjust the narration speed. So if you need to speed up or slow down the narration during your time on the vehicle, do so while the vehicle is stopped. If you're driving, though, adjust the narration speed before you begin driving.