14 Audiobooks on my To-Be-Read list

Phew!! I am happy that it’s the weekend today. This week has felt busy (it hasn’t been, really). I think I’ve just felt a bit lazy and scatterbrained after last weekend. I need to get my act together and do some cleaning and meal planning/prep this weekend. Can’t wait. 🙂 I plan to have a girl’s night tonight by myself (haha) and I’m taking Molly to a movie tomorrow that I won advanced tickets to see! It will be fun. Sunday we are planning to purge things in the basement which is kind of fun in its own way 😉

I intended to post this last week but here it is now. Here are 14 books I can’t wait to listen to (hopefully this year!)

1) Britt Marie was Here by Fredrik Backman – this is the last of his books left for me to read until the new Beartown book comes out (no info on that yet). I already know about Britt Marie from the grandmother book, but I need to prioritize this asap!

2) The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker – I have this ARC from Netgalley (they “granted my wish” a month or two after the book came out) but I think audio will be my way to consume this one.

3) The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller – After I loved Circe on audio, I can’t wait to listen to this one too. My library doesn’t have it and isn’t getting it though, so I need to find another way to get it 🙂

4) 11/22/63 by Stephen King – I have read exactly 0 Stephen King books. His books are NOT my preferred genre but I’ve heard this one isn’t too scary so I have it in my Audible library to get to at some point. It’s super long though!!

5) Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy – I have this on my kindle and I just can’t quite seem to push through so I’m waiting for it from the library to listen to. We’ll see. It is definitely really good, I just don’t pick it up for some reason.

6) Becoming by Michelle Obama – I’ve heard this audiobook is fantastic and the best way to “read” this book – narrated by the author!

7) On the Come Up by Angie Thomas – I love Bahni Turpin as a narrator and I loved the audiobook for The Hate U Give. I have this from the library right now so I will start it asap.

8) Outer Order, Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin – Intending to listen to this asap too – I have read all of her books and enjoy them immensely.

9) I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes – this has been on my TBR for far too long. I hear the audiobook is fantastic.

10) Wundersmith by Jessica Townsend – After loving Nevermoor, I can’t wait to listen to this one when it’s my turn from the library. I have it on my kindle too.

11) Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery – after absolutely devouring Anne of Green Gables narrated by Rachel McAdams, I am dying to re-read the whole series. LOVE these books sooo much.

12) Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor – I also plan to listen to the first in her first series, Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

13) Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – this has been on my TBR for a million years and the Maggie Gyllenhaal version is apparently fantastic. I just need to start it.

14) Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke – another book that has been on my radar for ages because it is marketed as an adult Harry Potter (LOVE). I’m next in line for this one at the library so hopefully it’ll be soon!! 🙂

So, are any of these on your list?! What do you think??

Tips for Listening to Audiobooks (Top Ten Tuesday on a Wednesday)

I have not felt like blogging AT ALL lately. My mind is feeling busy juggling a lot of small family things, reading (which makes me happy), decluttering/spring cleaning, and daydreaming about the summer. I am also in the middle of a big EXCITING project that I will talk about more sometime soon. Anyway, the blog has fallen by the wayside and I’m okay with that.

That being said – I couldn’t resist this week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt from That Artsy Reader Girl. Audio freebie! In the past year or two, I have REALLY gotten into audiobooks. I would say I am probably listening to one at all times – at least every day whenever I can. Here are 10 tips I have for trying out audiobooks if you think it’s something you want to incorporate in your life, but you haven’t had success with yet.

1) Use Bluetooth headphones. I have these ones, but there are hundreds out there now. I know a lot of people who use iPhones like Airpods, but I have never tried them. I can walk around the house cleaning and still be listening to my book at all times. I can listen to my book when I’m shoveling snow or mowing the lawn or out for a run or walk. These are an awesome investment.

2) Speed up the book. I am a fast reader so listening to audiobooks at 1x speed feels like molasses to me. I usually start a book off at 1.75 speed to get a feel for the narrator and then speed it up to 2x or 2.25. My family thinks this sounds like gibberish, but you get used to it pretty fast and it makes a 10-hour audiobook go by in 5 hours.

3) Be picky about the narrator. You can listen to a sample of most audiobooks, and some narrators just don’t work for me so I know I’ll be turning to those books in print instead.

4) Use Libby and Hoopla!! I rarely pay for audiobooks. I have had audible in the past but I always felt like I had to pick an ABSOLUTELY AMAZING book to use a credit on and they just kept piling up. Most books I wanted to listen to on Audible were available at my library with a waitlist, so I never felt like I should spend a credit on them. When my library finally got Hoopla about a year ago, my audiobook consumption went up even more because you can get a book instantly (up to 5 a month, in my case). I always have a few books on hold in overdrive/libby via my library and usually have one or two selected from Hoopla too.

5) Listen to audiobooks when you are busy doing a mindless task. I always joke that audiobooks have made my chores so much more enjoyable. Washing dishes several times a day? Not my favourite thing to do. Listening to books? One of my favourite things to do….so if I listen to my book while I’m washing dishes and cleaning up after supper, I barely even notice that I’m cleaning. The same thing goes for driving. I am fortunate to not have to spend TONS of time commuting in the car but I’d say I do have about an hour or two a week in the car to listen to a book and it makes the time pass much faster.

6) Listen to audiobooks in genres that you want to listen to but have a hard time holding your attention. When I first started listening to audiobooks, I listened almost exclusively to non-fiction and the classics. I still find that I prefer the classics in audio format and I wish so much that I had listened to audio versions of some of these books when I was in university instead of falling asleep while trying to read Shakespeare. Overall, I find most non-fiction more interesting as an audiobook and I love that many of the classics are now available performed by famous (and talented) actors! I am currently listening to Anne of Green Gables narrated by Rachel McAdams and it is absolutely wonderful.

7) Don’t hesitate to check out other free audiobook sources. I know I just mentioned sticking to Hoopla and Libby, but I have also listened to a couple of books via YouTube (these are books in the public domain, mostly). I just make sure to do that at home and not while I’m on the go since they can’t be downloaded but have to be streamed over the internet. This has worked great for kid’s books too. Librivox is another great resource for audiobooks in the public domain.

8) Sign up for a one-month trial to get a free audiobook you really want to listen to. I’ve done this before with Audible, but some other options for audiobook listening are Scribd, Playster, Audiobooks.com, Rakuten Kobo, Audiobooks Now, and Libro.fm is 0.99 for the first month but it also allows you to give back to your community, which is great.

9) Watch for Audible’s sales and daily deals. Also, if you own a kindle version of a book (or if you have Kindle unlimited and you’ve borrowed that book), the audio version is often significantly discounted so keep an eye out for that. I love reading a book and listening simultaneously – I get through books pretty quickly that way. Nadine also shared a great site called Chirp that I was really excited about following (audiobook deals) but it only allows you access if you’re American – which I was SO disappointed about.

10) Share audiobooks! You can always send someone their first audible book (from your library) for free. Here’s a tutorial for how to do it. I’ve done this with a few friends who really wanted to listen to a particular book.

Bonus: I’ve mentioned a lot of these before, but here are some audiobooks I’ve loved in the past few years:

The Martian
The Shadow of the Wind
Harry Potter series
A Man Called Ove
Children of Blood and Bone
The Hate U Give
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Talking as Fast as I Can
Year of Yes
Daring Greatly
As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess Bride
Born a Crime
Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series (note: the original narrator died after book 10 so there is a new one who I also really like)
When Breath Becomes Air

Audiobooks I’ve heard are excellent but I read and have not yet listened to:

Daisy Jones & The Six (full cast)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (also full cast)
Big Little Lies

I’ll share 14 audiobooks on my TBR on Friday!!!

Show us Your Books – Recent Reads

Happy Tuesday!! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with a lot of visiting with family and friends and lots of time outside because the weather was beautiful. I am so thankful for all of the joy and love that surrounds me in my life.

Although I did read some great books lately, I feel like I’m in a bit of a reading rut. I have hundreds of “good books” around me on my kindle or nightstand but sometimes I just feel like sleeping instead of reading at night. I’m sure it will resolve itself soon enough, I just need to hit on the right book. Little Fires Everywhere kept me pretty enthralled for longer than usual this weekend, so I’m happy about that. I just need to put my phone in the other room and focus on my books. I got a bit carried away with library holds too and just decided to return a bit chunk of them and get them another time. I have a few books on my shelf that I’m dying to get to, and a few Netgalley books that I want to review this fall, so I need to prioritize those for a bit. I’m sure some of you can relate 🙂

As usual, linking up with Steph and Jana to share some thoughts on the books I’ve read lately 🙂 Happy 3 Year Anniversary to the best link up out there!!!

Highly Enjoyable Books

A Wrinkle in Time (A Wrinkle in Time Quintet, #1)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of my most beloved books of my childhood, and it was quite a treat to revisit it as an audiobook. I have fond memories of getting this book taken away from me by my dad because it was too late at night and I could not put it down despite my parents telling me numerous times. I had to dig it out of his “hiding place” for it above the fridge the next day after school to finish it. haha. The story holds up quite well and the characters are so fun and different. It’s not for everyone because the fantasy elements are a bit out there, but I love this series. (Read for banned books category for Erin’s challenge).

Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

I read this book as a child and recently enjoyed the audio version, which was quite well done. I can see the relation between Emily and Anne, and I love them both but I do feel that Emily has a bit of a stronger desire to please her caregivers, at times at least, which I can relate to. L. M. Montgomery’s writing is so wonderful and I really love this trilogy about Emily of New Moon. Hearing the audiobook also brings back fond memories of the CBC show that we used to watch every Sunday evening 🙂

Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Steph mentioned this series awhile ago, and since I have the 8th (I think) book on Netgalley, I wanted to start at the beginning and get through a few of them despite hearing that they can be read out of order. This was an intense book and I can absolutely see myself binging on the series at some point. I really like Kate Burkholder. I liked this book quite a bit; as much as you can like a situation that is as messed up as this one was. 🙂

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was unlike anything I’ve ever read and it was super quick and enjoyable and different and heart-wrenching. I read this in a single sitting and I loved the format, which was in verse and would be SO fun for about a 12-13 year old who needs something to hold their interest when reading.

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I must first say that this narration was quite well done, and I enjoyed listening to this audiobook very much. That being said, this is not my favourite Austen novel. I felt so sad for Fanny throughout the book, and so disappointed about how she was treated by so many people even though I know it wasn’t uncommon at that time and I know that that was the whole point. I really liked the writing and found it quite lyrical and lovely. I think the characters just didn’t click for me the way that her other novels do. Still hoping to check out the film version sometime and this book also concludes my reading of Austen’s novels, so I am quite pleased with that!!

Books that were Good, but not Great

Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

This book wasn’t too bad even though it was pretty messed up. I was interested in the psychological parts of it since that is my background ;). It had been awhile since I’d read an unreliable narrator book (or so it felt like), so it was good that way. I just didn’t care very much about the characters and found parts of it to be a little bit too “meh”. Overall, not a bad read, but nothing too particularly special and writing about it now a month later, I’m realizing it didn’t stay with me as much as other books have.

Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I think I like the movie a little bit better, but the audio version of this was quite good and different from the movie. It will be fun to share with our girls in a few years. (read for Erin’s challenge – Disney category)

Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This book was pleasant enough to read, and I appreciated the alternating storyline and all of the characters (especially Ruby!). It felt like it was lacking a little something at times but overall the themes and the story were worth the read. It’s not A.J. Fikry by any means, but it wasn’t a bad read at all. It was definitely thought provoking in regard to politics, feminism, and stigma/discrimination. (Read for the yellow cover for Erin’s challenge; thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book by a wonderful author.)

Until Love Do Us Part by Anna Premoli
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was okay, but not my favourite for this genre. It had a bit of the hate-to-love storyline, but it was just missing a bit of a connection and parts were confusing. The writing wasn’t the highest quality, but the plot was enjoyable and happy enough. Thank you to Netgalley for the copy of this book.

New York, Actually by Sarah Morgan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is such a cute romance series and I liked this one a lot. I read this and Until Love Do Us Part back to back, and actually they are similar in many ways (Manhattan setting, etc) but I much prefer Sarah Morgan’s writing. This series doesn’t have to be read in order at all but the side characters are often reflected in other books.

Currently working on: Beach Music (still loving it but it is long!), Little Fires Everywhere (Had to bump it up because it was a 7-day library loan – really good so far), and The Four Tendencies. I’ve also read 6 chapter books to the girls and have read Julia Donaldson’s books about 50,000 times lately as well as reading French books with Molly 🙂 Lots of reading going on!! haha.

What have you read lately?!?

10 Audiobooks Worth your Time

When I saw this as a topic for Top Ten Tuesday, I knew I wanted to participate. I’m looking forward to finding some new recommendations too!!

Here are 10 books that I really enjoyed on audiobook in the past year or so:

1) The Martian by Andy Weir – This was kind of my first audiobook, and I absolutely loved it. I would have missed out on a lot of this story in print because I would’ve skipped over some of the science-y parts. I would highly recommend this on audio. I could not put it down.

2) Pride & Prejudice (& all of the other Jane Austen novels too) – I love Elizabeth Klett as a narrator on Librivox for this one. For some reason, Jane Austen’s books just work really well for me on audio, although I have read 2 of them in print as well.

3) Little Women by Louisa May Alcott – One of the best books I read (listened to) last year. The March girls’ adventures are so much fun. I enjoyed the narration on this one and it felt really fun listening to it. I think I will try Anne of Green Gables on audio sometime because it has a similar feel to it.

4) All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr – I thought this one would be confusing on audio, and I did switch back and forth between the two formats, but the words really came alive for me in the audio version.

5) The Book Thief By Markus Zusak- I felt much the same about this one as All the Light. I tried this in an e-book and abandoned it for 9 months but gobbled it up on audio.

6) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith – I read some of this, and listened to some of it. I am just finishing it up, and it is a long book. I will say that I wasn’t initially extremely captivated, but it is such a lovely story with characters that you can’t help but love.

7) As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes – the narration and including tidbits from the cast really made this book amazing on audio. I think a lot of that would be lost in the actual print version.

8) When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi – this book was so amazing and I cried a lot. I really felt like it was Paul himself reading the story and actually forgot at times that it wasn’t. Memoirs are amazing in audio form.

9) Hank the Cowdog by John R. Erickson (children’s book!) My family absolutely loved these books when I was growing up and we listened to them on our drives across the country. The narration and characters’ voices are SO GREAT and so fun for kids. Molly isn’t super into them yet, but I haven’t tried in awhile, so I think I’ll put them on again soon for her.

10) The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown– I just started this one and I am loving it. Non-fiction just really works well for me when I can listen to it. I will definitely be taking some notes on this one and talking about it soon.

A couple of honourable mentions: One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid (I recently really enjoyed this on audio), Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli (read by John Ritter), and Where’d you go, Bernadette by Maria Semper.

Do you listen to audiobooks? I try to have an audiobook and a regular print or e-book on the go at the same time most times. I am a HUGE fan of audiobooks via the Overdrive app (aka the library), and of course on Audible, although I am not a regular user. I also LOVE audiobooks for my kids.

Here are some audiobooks on my radar, too:

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Anna Karenina read by Maggie Gylenhaal