Books and radio while your hands are busy
Start an audiobook or a radio station and keep it playing while you do something else.
Listening is the easiest thing a phone does, and the one most people never turn on.
Audiobooks are books read aloud. Many public libraries lend them free through an app called Libby, using your library card. Radio stations you liked years ago are mostly online now too.
Once it is playing, you can lock the screen and set the phone down. The sound keeps going. Press the button on the side to control the volume, or use the controls that appear on the locked screen.
A sleep timer stops it after twenty or thirty minutes, which is kind if you listen in bed.
Key points
- Libraries lend audiobooks free with your card.
- Locking the screen does not stop the sound.
- Side buttons handle the volume.
- A sleep timer stops it on its own.
- Listening frees your hands and your eyes.
What to remember
- Play, then sleep timer. Two taps and your hands are free.
- Lock the screen and pocket the phone. The book keeps reading to you.
- A thirty minute timer means the book waits for you instead of running ahead.
Try this
Find your library card, then ask a librarian or a family member to help you install Libby. Borrow one audiobook and listen to ten minutes of it while you make dinner.
Practice: Books and radio while your hands are busy. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.