So the stack piles up and every time you look at it, your conscience is singed.

Listen up! I have a solution. And it involves... listening.

Get a talking book. A book on CD. An audio book. You can "read" your favorite book by listening to it, or, more specifically, having someone 4else read it to you while you are doing something else, like waiting at the doctor's office, commuting to work, or any other activity.

With time at a premium, we've become a nation of multitaskers. And listening to audiobooks is a great way to be more efficient. Here's how to get them and use them.

We live in a fast-paced world where time is at a premium and information and entertainment options like books and novels are harder to enjoy.

That's why are so popular. They can help you be more efficient, better informed and relaxed. You can now find just about any book or novel you want in an audiobook format, perfect for listening to in your car, on your computer or on your iPod.

Audiobooks are being produced now in huge quantities. Once you find one you want, it takes just a couple of mouse clicks to download an audiobook. You don't need to install any special software. You don't have to join a club and pay a monthly subscription. You don't even have to break the bank as there are lots of titles for just a few dollars. Many are free.

Just get whatever you want, whenever you want, and sit back and enjoy.

Is that really is all there is to it?

Well, pretty much. once on your computer, it's very easy to just click on the file and have it open up and play.

Audiobooks come in two basic formats; MP3 and WMA (Windows Media Format).

Both will play on PCs and Macs and most portable digital players.

When you purchase a downloadable title from an audiobook site you will typically be taken to a special area where you can choose from a variety of file formats.

If you have a PC running Windows,that's all you need to know. A little box will pop up on your screen, you click the play arrow and you hear the book through your computer speakers.

But what about if you want to listen to your audiobook in a car?

No problem. Just burn it to a CD like you would music. Pop it in your car (or any CD player) and you're good to go.

If you have a digital music player, like one made by Archos, Creative, Philips, iRiver and many more, those same files can just be dragged over to the library on the player.

It's a little tricker with an iPod. That's because Apple, the maker of the iPod, has a very proprietary system. Don't worry, though. Getting music on the iPod just involves a simple extra step. If you have an iPod you will need to get audiobooks in the MP3 format.

After downloading it, you then need to burn the MP3 file to CD and then transfer it into iTunes.

Apple iPods import MP3 audiobook file just like they do music CDs. Simple, huh?

So, that's it. Now there's no excuse not to catch up on the latest business book or the best-selling audiobook novel. Learn a foreign language, study the Bible on audiobook, improve yourself.

It's an audiobook world out there and audiobooks were made for multitaskers.

Happy listening everyone!