I've gotten into the habit of getting audio-books & take an IPod Classic w me w the recorded audio-books, that way I only have the very low weight of the IPod (I think 7 oz?), but I have a number of audio book options as well as different recordings (music, meditation recordings,etc.) so whatever mood I'm in to listen to presentations on different subjects I have that option! smile The battery life of the IPod Classic is 30 hours - so I've yet to run out of battery life on any of my trips!