Audiobook Week: Audiobook Resources

Where do you learn about great audiobook titles? Find reviews? Buy your audiobooks? Share your secrets with the rest of us!

I wish I had some great secret reservoir of audiobook resources but I am kind of dull here. I check them out of the library and I buy them at used book shops or thrift stores. I haven't gotten tech-savvy enough to figure out the online resources I hear about like audible.com. Don't have much incentive to master them though because I don't have an iPod, so I am limited to CD's in the car. I could borrow one from one of my three children who all have iPods or I'm also sure it would somehow work on my iPad but it's all just too much. I'm Scarlett on this one...I'll figure it out tomorrow. (I know it is possible to listen to audiobooks from my Blackberry but haven't conquered that yet either.) Writing this post makes me feel like I have turned into my mother!

It made me giggle that Jen told me she tweeted about the giveaway yesterday (still going on if you want to enter), who would have ever thought the least tech savvy person in the universe would be tweeted about?

Audiobook Week: Audiobooks for the Uninitiated and Giveaway

Whether you just started listening or have a long history with audiobooks, you probably have some suggestions for those new to audio whether for narrators, titles, or ways to experience the medium. Write a post, make a list, get creative.

Not very creative but I am going to list a few recent f"most interesting" reads and then, give them away. Jen, does such a great job organizing audiobook week that I want to put my own thank you out into the blogosphere in the from of a few gently used but very much enjoyed audiobooks. To enter just comment and then I'll draw a name from there on Sunday when audiobook week is all over. Two of the books were ones I loved and one book just fascinated me simply out of morbid curiosity - click on the covers to read my reviews if you can't just immediately figure out which is which!

From Goodreads: When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family. But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo's empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards . . . and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven.

From the Amazon product description: When Elspeth Noblin dies of cancer, she leaves her London apartment to her twin nieces, Julia and Valentina. These two American girls never met their English aunt, only knew that their mother, too, was a twin, and Elspeth her sister. Julia and Valentina are semi-normal American teenagers--with seemingly little interest in college, finding jobs, or anything outside their cozy home in the suburbs of Chicago, and with an abnormally intense attachment to one another. The girls move to Elspeth's flat, which borders Highgate Cemetery in London. They come to know the building's other residents. There is Martin, a brilliant and charming crossword puzzle setter suffering from crippling Obsessive Compulsive Disorder; Marjike, Martin's devoted but trapped wife; and Robert, Elspeth's elusive lover, a scholar of the cemetery. As the girls become embroiled in the fraying lives of their aunt's neighbors, they also discover that much is still alive in Highgate, including--perhaps--their aunt, who can't seem to leave her old apartment and life behind.

From the author's website: Julie Powell thought cooking her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking was the craziest thing she’d ever do--until she embarked on the voyage recounted in her new memoir, CLEAVING.

Her marriage challenged by an insane, irresistible love affair, Julie decides to leave town and immerse herself in a new obsession: butchery. She finds her way to Fleischer’s, a butcher shop where she buries herself in the details of food. She learns how to break down a side of beef and French a rack of ribs--tough, physical work that only sometimes distracts her from thoughts of afternoon trysts.

The camaraderie at Fleischer’s leads Julie to search out fellow butchers around the world--from South America to Europe to Africa. At the end of her odyssey, she has learned a new art and perhaps even mastered her unruly heart.

America's Women by Gail Collins

Although it's a cultural history of women in America since the first European settlers, America's Women possesses none of the stodginess or predictability of such chronicles. Former New York Times editorial writer Collins has a keen sense of her subject's richness. The author of Scorpion Tongues moves from everyday details to social generalization without sacrificing the thrust of her narrative or her central theme: "the tension between the yearning to create a home and the urge to get out of it."

I have had this one sliding around on the floor of the car forever waiting until I had absolutely nothing else left to listen to - my expectations for enjoyment were LOW. I went in with such low expectations that my experience exceeded them just by being somewhat interesting. America's Women is a series of essays about women in American history highlighting some names that were familiar and some new to me. Gail Collins actually tells a good story and because this was like a series of short stories with just the tiniest bit of reflection/discussion thrown in, I enjoyed the essays. The essays were in chronological order, that really helped with my weak history background. It was also a good book for the car since they were fairly short essays and could usually be finished in one trip. I would never have made it through in print because it didn't "hook" me - this was a very passive experience on my part. I started the car, it came up through the speakers and I just let it play.

Thinking about the content - the role of women in history and especially the challenges they have faced, this book gave a great overview. Time allows for some of it to seem quaint, the rules from the days of the old west about riding side saddle. But the fights for racial equality are still hurtful to hear about and the idea of the ERA not passing through with ease in my own lifetime is really hard to wrap my head around. I enjoyed the stories and I think I learned a little bit.































And, because it is Audiobook Week, this can count as an entry in all the great giveaways Jen has going on!

Audiobook Week: Mid-week meme

Current/most recent audiobook: I am listening to T.C. Boyle's The Women about Frank Lloyd wright and the women in his life. I've wanted to read this one ever since I read and loved Loving Frank . Frank Lloyd Wright is an interesting guy.
Impressions: Well, although I have wanted this forever, I may not make it through. I have finished the first of fourteen discs and it has not captured my attention; there's a lot of big words and not much action. I am going to keep on for a bit and see how it goes.

Current favorite audiobook: All time favorite would have to be Backseat Saints by Joshilyn Jackson. That one just knocked my socks off!

One narrator who always makes you choose audio over print: I always choose audio for the David Baldacci books narrated by Ron McLarty. I don't think I would ever take the time to sit down and read one of Baldacci's action/adventure books but I am content to listen to them while I am driving.

Genre you most often choose to listen to: I am a genre slut - I do 'em all and have no distinct preference.

If given the choice, you will always choose audio when: it's humor like David Sedaris. I love to laugh in the car!

If given the choice, you will always choose print when: There's going to be extensive quoting from diaries or letters or such. I have a hard time with those transitions on audio - can't keep my place.

(I'll add a plug, I have a little giveaway tomorrow - like a hostess gift - nothing big just a "thank you all for inviting me to the Audiobook Week party" kind of thing.

Audiobook Week: Sound Effects in Audiobooks

Love them? Hate them? Take them or leave them? How do you feel about sound effects in audiobooks?
Alternate suggestions: Single narrator vs. multiple narrators vs. full cast, audio dramatizations, etc.

I'm a day late (and a dollar short) on this one - forgive me. I had to work a twelve hour day yesterday so please cut me some slack and now I have the morning off to compensate me so I am catching up! Regarding today's (yesterday's) question... I am probably in the minority saying I am not a big fan of sound effects. I must have the attention span of a gnat because the "voice on the phone" effect or hearing some music in the background just totally yanks me out of the story and makes me notice the sound effect rather than attend to the story.

I had a great time reading other people's thoughts on narrators. It really opened my eyes to the times when multiple narrators would be a good thing. One example was The Help which I read in print but can totally see being great with multilpe narrators on audio because of the way the point of view changes with the change of each chapter. Now, my bad multiple narrator experience came from a recent David Baldacci book - Hell's Corner. Rather than have one of my favorite narrators Ron McLarty read the whole thing as he has done in the other books I've listened to. They added a female voice for the women in the story. I found it very disconcerting because she would just pop in whenever a female talked. So it would be going along great with McLarty voicing all the men and doing the narrative portions and then all of a sudden this woman would pipe in and jar me - yuck.

Thta's it for Tuesday. Happy audiobook week everybody. I am going to giveawy some audiobooks with the Thursday post about book suggestions so check back.

Audiobook Week: 2010-2011, Your Audiobook Year

Are you new to audiobooks in the last year? Have you been listening to them forever but discovered something new this year? Favorite titles? New times/places to listen? This is your chance to introduce yourself and your general listening experience.

I have been listening to audiobooks for about three years. Not sure what got me started but once I did I was hooked. I am pretty easy to please but have found that I prefer books narrated by a single, professional reader. It flows better for me with one voice changing ever so slightly for the different characters than more than one voice which I find somewhat jarring. I also have come to appreciate a professional narrator as some of the author-read books have been almost intolerable. (There are exceptions to this - David Sedaris comes right to mind as an author who does an outstanding job reading his books.)

I particpate in the audiobook challenge over at Teresa's Reading Corner although I am often negligent about posting my reviews!

Let's Pick A Winner!

As part of Audiobook Week I put a few of my favorite audiobooks up for giveaway. Here's how I picked the winner. First, I put each name on a post-it

Then I assigned each name a number and I rolled the dice ........6... no good!
















I rolled again...3! We have a winner. Carol from Carol's Notebook. Thanks bermudaonion and avid reader for entering as well. I'm starting my next stack of slightly smutty audiobooks and I'll give them away on my next blogoversary!

Audiobook Week: My favorite audiobooks

Jen of Devourer of Books asks, "What are some of your favorite audiobooks?" I skipped around on my blog, enjoyed looking at the old titles and remembering, and then I picked these three. There were more than three that I liked a lot and could have included but I don't want your hands to get tired from all the clicking! See, not lazy, considerate. Two of these three are included in my giveaway, here.




Paint it Black by Janet Fitch

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

A Fine Dark Line by Joe Lansdale

Audiobook Week: Audiobook Meme

Jen of Devourer of Books posted this Audiobook Week meme and I am playing along. There is still a smidgen of time left today if you would like to play too and then you can be entered to win a prize!

Audiobook are you currently reading/you read most recently: I have The American in my work car and Larry Wilmore's I'd Rather We Got Casinos in my personal car. Impressions?: Neither of these books is knocking me over.

How long you’ve been listening to audiobooks: It's been about eighteen months that I have been addicted.

First audiobook you ever listened to: Not sure about the first one I ever listened to, but the first one I blogged about was David Sedaris When You Are Engulfed in Flames.

Favorite audiobook title: Hmmm... I think that is Friday's post topic so here's the spoiler - Paint It Black by Janet Fitch was one of my favorites and it's also one I am giving away.

Favorite narrator: The one that comes to mind is Ron McLarty who read at least one, maybe more, of the David Baldacci books I have listened to.

How do you choose what to listen to versus read?:I listen to whatever I can get my hands on and pick my reading pretty much the same way! Can we say - indiscriminate?


If you like audiobooks, I am giving away some that I liked, here.

At Risk By Patricia Cornwell

From the author's website: A Massachusetts state investigator is called home from Knoxville, Tennessee, where he is completing a course at the National Forensic Academy. His boss, the district attorney, attractive but hard-charging, is planning to run for governor, and as a showcase she's planning to use a new crime initiative called At Risk-its motto: "Any crime, any time." In particular, she's been looking for a way to employ cutting-edge DNA technology, and she thinks she's found the perfect subject in an unsolved twenty-year-old murder-in Tennessee. If her office solves the case, it ought to make them all look pretty good, right?

Her investigator is not so sure-not sure about anything to do with this woman, really-but before he can open his mouth, a shocking piece of violence intervenes, an act that shakes up not only both their lives but the lives of everyone around them. It's not a random event. Is it personal? Is it professional? Whatever it is, the implications are very, very bad indeed . . . and they're about to get much worse.

This was my first experience with Patricia Cornwell, a prolific and popular mystery writer. I liked the main character, Win Garano, the Massachusetts investigator. There was an interesting bit of the supernatural with Win's grandmother who seemed to have some psychic gifts. The story was short as the audiobook was only 4 CD's long. The plot was easy to follow; I was able to figure things out as it went along. I kept anticipating a few plot twists but they never occurred so my "waiting for the other shoe to drop" feeling was never sated.

I wasn't impressed enough with Patricia Cornwell that I was planning to run out and buy more. But I didn't actively dislike her either. Ambivalent. Then I clicked over to Amazon to get the product description and I saw that even her most ardent fans were underwhelmed with this one. So I will give this author a second chance if I come across one of her other books.


If you like audiobooks, I am giving away some that I liked, here.


I'm linking this up for Audiobook Week hosted by Jen of Devourer of Books for a chance to win a prize!



This book counts toward the 2010 Audiobook Challenge hosted by the bloggers over at Royal Reviews. Click on the button to see my progress.

Audiobook Week: How to write an audiobook review

Jen of Devourer of Books asks, "What do you include? How do you rate an audio if the narrator is good but the story isn’t (or the other way around). Do you let people know the book was an audio off the bat, or do you surprise them with it at the end, ‘trick’ them into reading the review?"

My posts about books are all pretty much the same (yawn!), a picture of the cover, the blurb from the dust jacket or back cover, and then a little bit of rambling from me about what I thought. With an audiobook I do usually say something about the narrator - some are so good, and some are sooo bad! I put my information about it being an audiobook at the end where I put all my "connecting" information about challenges and such. I never thought of it as tricking anyone before. Are there readers out there prejudiced against audiobooks? I didn't know! I'll consider myself tricked on that one.

If you like audiobooks, I am giving away some that I liked, here.

Audiobook Week: Giveaway!

In honor of Audiobook Week hosted by Jen at Devourer of Books, I am giving away three audiobooks this year that I listened to and enjoyed. These audiobooks were sleathily removed from the stash I have waiting for our church bazaar because they are just a bit too much for the little old ladies. They have sex and profanity and twisted relationships - all things I really enjoy in a book!



You can see from the picture the giveaway includes used copies of…Paint It Black by Janet Fitch, Her Last Death by Susanna Sonnenberg, and A Fine Dark Line by Joe Lansdale. I posted about each of these as I listened to them so if you want a little more information about what they are about, click away and you can check them out.


If you are in the continental US and would like a chance to win, just leave a comment! Be sure there is way to contact you, such as a link to your blog or e-mail address.

Audiobook Week: Why audiobooks?

Jen of Devourer of Books asks, "Why audiobooks? Why do you like them, why did you first try them, why have you NOT tried them, etc."

This is a pretty easy question for me. I like audiobooks because I live in my car and they help to pass the time. I don't really live in my car but it sure feels like it! My job involves making home visits to families of children who have special needs. The neighborhood I mainly serve is about thirty minutes from my office so there's an hour a day in the car right there! I have three kids, they all play sports and there's a lot of driving around involved because of where we live. We live on the coast of South Carolina so our town is actually a series of islands. Our house is on one island, the soccer field is off the island - in town. The baseball field is on another island but in a different direction. You get the picture - it's a lot of driving! So audiobooks make my time in the car go faster.

I have a "work car" and a "home car" so rather than try to carry discs back and forth, I usually just have two books going at a time. I blogged about it once, here.

If you like audiobooks, I am giving away some that I liked, here.

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

Oh my, my last Mailbox Monday post was in February! It has been a long, long time. This is an audiobook specific post. I have had a small stack of audiobooks show up since February and because it is Audiobook Week (hosted by Jen at Devourer of Books) I wanted to showcase the audiobooks that have come and landed in my TBL pile....To Be Listened!



On the bottom is On The Road by Jack Kerouac. This falls in the "classic I never read" category so while I am not overly excited about it, I am hoping it will be good once I get into it.

Next is The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris this was a win from Nely at All About N. I am excited about reading this one but still have Mitch Albom's newest ahead of it in the line-up. But, after that one, it's next!

Above that is Ken Follett's World Without End. His newer book, Pillars of the Earth has been in my TBR pile FOREVER, and I guess I am somewhat intimidated by it's size and by how much my friend loved it. (The same friend who loved Gilead that I thought was slow, slow, slow!) So I saw World Without End on the sale table and thought maybe listening to this one might jump start my reading the other one.

Next is You've Been Warned by James Patterson. Love his books on audio as evidenced here and here and here!

On top is I'd Rather We Got Casinos and Other Blcak Thoughts by Larry Wilmore. This one just sounded funny. I may be building up my expectations too high but I'm hoping Larry Wilmore is the black version of David Sedaris. I can hope!

Confession - not all came in the mail but I wanted to put them all together so I am brazenly flouting the rules. Please forgive me.

If you like audiobooks, I am giving away some that I liked, here.

Audiobook Week June 21-25

Hooray! There is another way to celebrate my love for audiobooks. I have been a faithful participant in the Audiobook Challenge, although I will admit to not returning to the challenge page recently to post reviews...but I am listening! And I can share my love of listening this week. Jen at Devourer of Books is hosting Audiobook Week as part of a bigger event June being Audiobook Month - who knew?! Certainly not me.

So I plan to post the stack of audiobooks that are waiting for me on Mailbox Monday! Then I'll review the two audiobooks I most recently finished and haven't gotten around to posting about. And, finally, all week long I'll run a giveaway of my used audiobooks. Here's how that will come together....
I save all my used audiobooks throughout the year. Then, at our church bazaar in October, I make a big basket of them to get raffled off. Well, the problem is that my taste in books does not always align with the taste of the church ladies bidding on baskets at the bazaar. So my giveaway will include the books that I think are just a little too racy for the church ladies, in other words, all the really good ones! Here it is.