Friday, April 05, 2013

Entering the World of Audiobooks...

I am the worst for having a million project ideas. I always think of things I have never done before and want to accomplish at some point and time. Some of these projects are a big success like collecting postcards. Other times the project is on my list year after year before I actually accomplish anything. This is what happened with audiobooks. I managed to listen to one in my car a few years ago. Then last year I made it partway through American Gods by Neil Gaiman and Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. That was it. Failed project... This year I decided to try one more time.

In March I made a big step and joined Audible.com. I had wanted to many times, but I am so sporadic that I figured it was a bad idea. I decided to give it a try this time, though, and take it from there. I could always cancel. So, in March I started off my Audible project with Redshirts by John Scalzi. Not only did I enjoy it immensely but I finished it before the month was even half over. I was worried if I waited for my next Audible credit my momentum would slow down, so I bought my first ever audiobook... Tantor.com was having a sale and I spent way too much money. It will mean that I have enough audio books to read my Audible one and then one other each month for a while, though. And the audio books I bought will be more expensive then. This is how it is that I also read The House of Tomorrow by Peter Bognanni. I knew absolutely nothing about it, but it sounded good. And, folks, it was really good. I am so glad that I took a chance on it! I also have been listening to The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty. I couldn't figure out how to get it off my computer, though; so I am a bit slower with it. I should finish it up in April. My new laptop came with a gift card of sorts for a free audio book.

With my April Audible credit I went with The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. It is mythology and will count in for the Once Upon a Time challenge. Plus, I have just been curious about it. I am up to chapter 11 and it is quite good so far. It seems fitting to listen to mythology, right? When the events it is based on were happening stories were mostly told orally. Then I am not sure what I will listen to next. I have plenty of options. I mostly listen while on the treadmill. That was another project of mine for 2013 and March specifically. I figured that instead of joining a gym I would join Audible. The treadmill seems to be doing the trick and I am getting through some great books.

What are some of your favourite audio books?

17 comments:

  1. So cool that you're entering the world of audiobooks! I haven't listened to any of those you've mentioned - I'll have to check them out. Some of my favorites: The Millenium Trilogy by Stig Larsson; Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides; The Help by Kathryn Stockett; the Wolves trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater; the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. I could go on, but I'll stop before I write a novel. :)

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  2. I'm a HUGE fan of audiobooks!!! I can give you a bunch of recommendations ;) I totally second Carrie's recommendation of Middlesex…great audio! I can send you a list if you want one!

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  3. Audiobooks are kind of hit and miss for me, but I loved Shannon Hale's The Book of a Thiusand Days. If you haven't read it, I'd really recommend the audio version.

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  4. Middlesex was one of my earliest audiobooks, and is still one of my favourites!

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  5. Oh, I'm so glad you are doing audiobooks now - I think it's a great way to keep up with reading even when you can't physically read. I think the Flavia de Leuce novels are really well-done on audiobook.

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  6. I love audiobooks!!! I just finished Scarlet on audio and it rocked!

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  7. I did my first ever audio book of Watership Down! I liked it but would enjoy them more driving in a car, but I go nowhere so sitting in my "reading chair" and only listening was not the easiest thing to do!

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  8. I started Redshirts but didn't get very far. I started Great Gatsby instead because the movie preview looks amazing but I don't like the narration. Ha! So I'll probably switch back to Redshirts but the "he said, she said, he said, she said" was really starting to annoy me.

    Beautiful Ruins was really wonderful on audio. I also do really well with non-fiction books on audio. And I miss you too. For some reason I've been feeling really out of touch lately with everyone...not sure why.

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  9. I loved 11/22/63, Where'd You Go, Bernadette, and We Need to Talk About Kevin on audio.

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  10. Oh, I forgot to add The Aviator's Wife!

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  11. A friend recently recommended Audible with such enthusiasm that I found myself interested. She listens while gardening. In the car, I'm addicted to NPR, but there are so many boring tasks to be attended to that audio books would be a terrific way to make them more enjoyable.

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  12. I love audiobooks. I mostly listen to mysteries. I just finished Snow White Must Die which was good. I relaly enjoy listening to Louise Penny's series on audio and, when I'm in the mood for a vintage mystery, anything by Ngaio Marsh is usually okay.

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  13. Anonymous4:30 PM

    My fave of all time is IT by Stephen King. The narration was wonderful. I like the long chunksters on audio - makes them come alive. I'm listening to Tropic of Cancer right now -- it is definitely earning its reputation as a shocker. I must admit, on audio, it is like performance art and so I am enjoying it more listening than the times I attempted reading it. Audible often has sales that are extremely hard to resist. I am toying with the idea of Infinite Jest sometimes this year if you want to do a listen-along. I also bought Beautiful Ruins because it is on many best of audio lists. Maybe I'll listen to that next. Have fun!

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  14. I don't do audios, but two out of three of those books are on my wish list so I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed them.

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  15. Wicked Lovely and Beauty Queens are my two favorites. But I have millions that I love. I've been listening to audiobooks since the early 1990s -- Name a genre and I'll give you some of my favs.

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  16. I wish I could listen to books, but I don't do audios very well. I have to write anything down if I want to remember it. It sounds like you are having fun, though!

    I got your postcard - THANK YOU so much! It arrived just when we were getting snow, so was an awesome way to remember that Spring WILL come! one day!

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  17. A treadmill is certainly better suited for audio books, how can anyone read a page and walk at the same time?! I'm not familiar with Audible, other than the free recording of The End of the Affair read by Colin Firth I downloaded one day. But, I do love Naxos Audio who could very well send you one in exchange for a review.

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