Wordless Wednesday - Take 1

For more Wordless Wednesday, click here.

Ten Eleven Audiobooks I Have Enjoyed in 2016

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted at The Broke and the Bookish

I did so well making my list. Then just as I was finishing up, I noticed The Miniaturist was missing and I couldn't decide what to remove to take its place. So, 11 it is. Let's not count how close this is to how many audios I have listened to total for 2016. Let's just applaud I listened to enough that I can make a list of my top ten eleven.

1. | Age of Myth by Michael J. Sullivan ~ I have been meaning to try Sullivan forever and finally started off with his new series. It was a really good fantasy novel that weaves mythology and a bit of the quest narrative and other elements together to make for a very readable adventure. I can't wait for the sequel!

Thoughts on the Audio: Narrated by Tim Gerard Richards - The audio was very well done. I love Richards voice and am thinking of back-tracking through Sullivan's other books via audio because he narrates them as well. Definitely does a good job with the different characters and getting you caught up in the story.

2. | Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor ~ This is one I had grabbed on sale at some point and I just loved it! The young adult trilogies that are popular can be hit or miss for me, but I have also read book 2 and continue to think this trilogy is awesome. It really takes a play at the story of angels and demons and is done really well. One of my favourite reads of the year!

Thoughts on the Audio: Narrated by Khristine Hvam - I loved the narration on this one so much. I listened to it before I had reactivated my Audible membership, so I bought the two sequels in paperback. While I enjoyed the second one, I was disappointed that I didn't go the audio route. I think I may splurge and read book 3 on audio before the end of the year to finish up the trilogy. Khristine Hvam just does such a great job with this one!

3. | Feed by Mira Grant ~ Finally! I have wanted to read this trilogy forever and just never got around to it. It was a really great, nerdy zombie tale that I enjoyed a lot. I am glad I finally got around to reading it! The sequels were great, too. Grant does an awesome job making you care about all of the characters and what happens to them.

Thoughts on the Audio: Narrated by Paula Christensen and Jesse Bernstein - The two narrators of this book did a great job. Christensen did the majority of the narration and I really got into her as Georgia. She did well narrating the other characters that had smaller roles as well. Bernstein did Shaun, who had a smaller role in this one than he does in the sequels. The sequels were also really good, but I think this was my favourite.

4. | Locke & Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez ~ I loved the graphic novels, so I definitely had to check out this audio adaption. I only just read it recently because I figured it was a great idea for this time of year. The series is about a family who has unfortunate circumstances that lead them back to their father's family home. It is dark and twisted and definitely a page turner.

Thoughts on the Audio: This is a full cast performance that includes Haley Joel Osment, Kate Mulgrew, Tatiana Maslany, and a bunch of other people. It was really well done and everyone did a great job. I have done other full cast audios, but this was my first dramatic one and considering I knew what to expect from the story, I thought they did an awesome job!

5. | Nevernight by Jay Kristoff ~ Yep, I loved this series with a strong female lead and fantasy and great secondary characters and dark magic and assassins and and... When is book 2 out? I all ready have the paper back in my list of preorders for next year because I want to have it in a form other than audio. Judging by hardcover prices, I likely will do book 2 by audio as well. It was just so good!

Thoughts on the Audio: Narrated by Holter Graham - I was leery about doing this one on audio because it can be hard to keep track of fantasy story-lines when you are listening instead of reading. I still find something taking my attention away from audios and missing parts here and there. (One of those things is talking to me as I am attempting to write this post...) But, Graham did a great job narrating and I found myself getting into the story no issue. I hope they

6. | Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel ~ This book got a lot of buzz when it first came out so I grabbed a copy on audio because you know me and science-fiction and fantasy. I have to be honest. I am not sure if the story itself would have wowed me so much if I had read it. It was good and I am curious to see what happens next. Plus, I enjoy books written in letters, blog posts, etc. So, it should be a 'me' book all things considered. I plan to reread it before the sequel comes out and we will see what happens.

Thoughts on the Audio: Narrated by Full Cast - And, see, it was the audio that I loved. I thought it was so well done and you could really get into the events with it. I think that it is definitely my favourite audio performance of the year so far. It just captured the story so well, and probably worked so well because there were different people narrating each character and the novel is epistolary form so it worked really well. I definitely plan to do the sequel on audio!

7. | To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey ~ I owned The Snow Child in hardcover forever and only got around to it last year because I did the audio. I decided that since that worked so well, I would do this one in audio as well. Part of me regrets that because I loved this book to the point it will make my top ten for the year likely and because I missed out on the pictures. Part of me finished this and wanted to rush out a grab a physical copy, but I am making myself wait. (Maybe Christmas). It was a good historical fiction novel that included a young woman that was a photographer. Plus, there was adventure and a bit of the supernatural.

Thoughts on the Audio: Narrated by John Glouchevitch, Christine Lakin, and Kiff Vandenheuvel - When I said above that I almost regretted doing this audio, it was not because the audio wasn't good. (If it wasn't good, it wouldn't be on this list!) It was just that it is one of those books I regret not being able to see. But, the audio was really well done and I really enjoyed it!

8. | The Girl with all the Gifts by M.R. Carey ~ When I got this on audio I had no idea what this book was even about. There was buzz, it was good buzz, and I needed an audio. So, imagine my surprise when I started it and found it was about zombies. I had no idea! It was really good, though. Definitely worth all the buzz surrounding it!

Thoughts on the Audio: Narrated by Finty Williams - The narration on this one was great. It really fit the story and all the different characters. I definitely want to check Williams out again. Hopefully she is the narrator for Carey's new book that I have on my wish list, but haven't got a chance to get to yet. Hopefully this fall!

9. | The Cutting Season by Attica Locke ~ I have heard about Attica Locke a lot over the years, but just never got around to reading her. When I had a spare Audible credit, I decided it was finally time and most people seem to really enjoy this one. Locke is a great, suspenseful author that I really enjoyed! The mystery had historical backgrounds to it which I also really enjoy. I definitely plan to read more from Locke!

Thoughts on the Audio: Narrated by Quincy Tyler Bernstine - I really like the soft spoken narration of this one. It fit the characters really well, I thought. She could overcome it for the more exciting parts which seemed to make them that much more exciting! Definitely a narrator I want to check out again!

10. | The Rook by Daniel O'Malley ~ I have heard a lot of good things about this book, but I honestly had no idea what it was about when I grabbed a copy. The story of a supernatural society and a very structured society to keep them all in line. It is definitely a page turner and I am really excited to see what the sequel is all about!

Thoughts on the Audio: Narrated by Susan Duerden - Duerden does a great job telling this story. The novel includes letters which I think the narrator does a great job for. Plus, she handles all the different characters really well and makes you very invested in the story. Another great narrator I would like to listen to more from.

11. | The Minaturist by Jessie Burton ~ I wanted to read this book forever. I had the audio from a sale probably a couple years ago... I decided it was finally time to see what all the buzz was about. I really enjoy historical fiction, but I don't read nearly as much of it as I used to. I decided this would be the book to break me out of that. (Still haven't read that much historical fiction this year...) I really enjoyed the story and the sort of magical elements interwoven in a very bleak historical landscape. I am so glad I finally got around to this!

Thoughts on the Audio: Narrated by Davina Porter - I am really glad I went the audio route for this book because I really enjoyed Porter's narration. It is just to bad this audio laid around unread for so long before I got a chance to get to it! (I am trying to be better about that...) She really made the stories and characters come alive and I hope they get her back if they ever release an audio of Porter's new book!

Week in Review - Week 38

Random Thoughts

September has been a better read month so far than July and August. That must mean that my routine is coming back. Yay! I have been checking in with some favourite authors, too, which helps. I think I read too widely and forget about favourite authors and series too much. As I write this I am thinking about other authors I have neglected for far too long. If I make anything a project, though, I tend to lose interest... So, I will just think about it and see where my reading takes me.

Graphic Novel Year

Silk - Issues 1-5

Spider-Woman - Issues 1-4
Deadpool - Issues 1-8

Currently Reading

Audiobooks

Weekly Reads

Locke & Key ~ I loved this audiobook! It is the first time I have done a dramatic version of an audio and this was a great place to start! I read the entire graphic novel series and loved it (it should have been on my Top Ten Tuesday post. oops!). I found myself very caught up in the story even though I all ready knew how it was going to play out. It was also a fun way to reread a series! Strongly recommended!

Tangled Threads ~ I read the first three books in this series last year, so this could be a lot worse timing to finally get to volume 4. (I think the series itself is up to volume 15...). While I really like Gin and the world that Estep has created, I do not love this series quite as much as I could because Estep is very repetitive. I understand explaining back story, but telling me something on one page only to mention it again two pages later... It's annoying! That being said, I do still find the series fun and plan to continue reading it. Recommended!

Deadpool Volume 1 and 2 ~ YAY! A new Deadpool series! I am not sure I like it as much as some of other series I have read about him yet, but it is still Deadpool and I love Deadpool! 

New Additions

Nothing this week...

Weekly Posts

Week in Review - Week 37 

My Top Ten Favourite Graphic Novels
Books I Am Excited About
Saturday Snapshot - Take 1

Weekly Photos

Saturday Snapshot - Take 1

I tend to just throw my weekly photos at the end of my Week in Review posts. I thought that showcasing my favourite of the week on Saturday would make sure it didn't get lost amongst everything else I am talking about. This picture is from last weekend when we visited a beach that had an old orchard. Mackie is trying to catch falling apples.

Books I Am Excited About

I have all ready started watching for 2017 releases so as to figure out what my preorders will be.... Here are some of the books I have to look forward to over the next few months!

(April 4, 2017) - I probably will do the audio.

Loved the first book. I loved the audio performance, so I will likely wait and read this one on audio.

This should be Bombshells - Volume 3 (March 21, 2017)

Enjoying this series. Look forward to what happens next!

(January 10, 2016)

Started this series this year... Loved it... Looking forward to what happens next!

(March 7, 2017)

Yay! It is weird there is another Mercy Thompson out and not a new book in her other series...

(February 7, 2017)

I just read and enjoyed the first book in this series, so I have to know what happens next!

(October 11, 2016)

This series is so bizarre. Looking forward to what they are up to next!

(December 6, 2016)

I enjoyed the start of this series. Looking forward to what happens next!

Gotham Academy - Volume 3 (November 8, 2016)

Surprised there is no cover to this considering it is out soon...

(March 28, 2017)

I totally have some of her older stuff to read, but I love this cover!

(October 11, 2016)

This is a splurge because it is being compared to The Time-Traveler`s Wife and it is released right after my birthday.

(December 27, 2016)

I managed to catch-up in this series this year, so looking forward to this one.

(February 21, 2017)

YAY!!! I can`t wait!

(October 18, 2016)

Looking forward to this one!

(September 13, 2016)

I have been waiting for this book all year... 

(September 27, 2016)

Not that I have finished her other trilogy, but I did read the first one in this series and am curious what happens next.

(October 11, 2016)

I totally missed this was coming out until just this week.

(February 14, 2017)

This series is suddenly coming out really fast!

(April 7, 2017)

FINALLY! I have been waiting for this forever. The new publisher also is re-releasing the first two books as paperbacks leading up to it.

And, these are just the books with release dates... I am sure many graphic novel series will have sequels out. And there are a few books I have been waiting for the paperback release.