I think I’ve been fairly vocal about my love for audiobooks here on the blog and on twitter. I may be a little obsessed. That makes June the perfect month for me. It’s Audiobook Month!!! Cue the confetti and excitement!
I know audiobooks aren’t for everyone. Personally, I typically listen when driving to and from work. I tried listening at the gym and that didn’t work. Sometimes I can listen while cleaning or painting my nails or some other mindless task. But really, driving is the way to go for me!
As far as where I get them? I have a membership to audible which means that I get one credit a month. This typically is enough for one audiobook a month. My membership also gives me access to their sales. Sometimes there isn’t anything I want and sometimes I buy 5! It really depends on the sale 🙂 If you prefer the free route there’s the library. Many libraries have digital downloads you can check out so you can listen on your phone. Also, every summer SYNC offers a free YA audiobook and a free classic that pairs with it! How cool is that?!? Two free audiobooks a week!
But I wasn’t planning on telling you any of that! The main purpose of this post was to let you know which audiobooks I’ve been loving! I posted some of my favorites last year. I still love those but I have so many more to add to the list! This is going to get long. Sorry, not sorry.
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. Read by Steve West and Fiona Hardingham. My Review.
I start with this one because I am even more obsessed with it than I am with audiobooks in general. If you’ve met me in person and we’ve talked about audiobooks chances are good I whipped out my phone and made you listen to Steve West reading Sean’s chapters. I am in love. I know I would have liked this book had a read it but the audiobook gives the story another dimension. Sidenote: Maggie Stiefvater has said that this is her favorite of her audiobooks!
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. Read by Morven Chritstie and Lucy Gaskell. My Review.
I still don’t know if I can talk about this one without tearing up. Seriously. I was so deeply affected by it that I couldn’t sleep. I actually set my audiobook of The Scorpio Races (cued up to Steve West reading!) on a timer so that I could be distracted enough to sleep. An amazing story made even more engaging as it is told aloud. I cannot recommend this one highly enough. Even though it broke me.
The Lost Sun by Tessa Gratton. Read by Robbie Daymond.
So, this one doesn’t actually come out until Tuesday but I couldn’t resist! It was so good! The characters were so well written and the narration was perfect! I don’t want to say too much here. My review will go up tomorrow or the beginning of next week. PLUS! The publishers are super awesome and they’re letting me giveaway FIVE copies of the audio!!! Be sure to check back and enter to win 🙂 Norse mythology in an alternate version of the US. So awesome.
The Diviners by Libba Bray. Read by January LaVoy. My Review.
This book is not for the faint of heart! It’s delightfully creepy. Scratch that. It’s terrifying!!! And the audiobook? MAKES IT WORSE! And I mean that in the best possible way. There is this creepy killer dude and he has this little ditty that he likes to sing while doing his “work” (you know, death and mutilation!) It was about a billion times creepier on audiobook because it got stuck in my head and I would find myself singing it and then I’d have to look over my shoulder to make sure there wasn’t anyone in my house to murder me in my sleep!
Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger. Read by Moira Quirk. My Review.
I listened to this one in a day. I’ve never done that before! It was just so good that I carried my phone around my library with me and gave my students “the look” if they interrupted me. The story was just so much fun. I didn’t want it to end. The narration complemented the pacing and the tone of the book perfectly. If I was a more patient person I’d wait for the audio of book two to be released and listen to it. I think the e-galley I have will be too tempting!
Doll Bones by Holly Black. Read by Nick Podehl. My Review.
A book by one of my very favorite authors read by my very favorite audiobook narrator? Heck yeah! Not only was it a superb story with spot on narration, it’s a good place to start for you audiobook newbies since it’s only about five hours long. But I should warn you, this is another one that has a creepy vibe to it. Not as creepy as The Diviners but still creepy in it’s own right. Also, I loved the male main character. I want to give him a hug and tell him to stay as awesome as he is when he gets to high school (and beyond!)
Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier. Read by Marisa Calin. My Review.
Something I’ve noticed about myself… I love to use audiobooks to get caught up on books I should have read but never got around to in time! I love, love, loved Ruby Red. I got an ARC of Sapphire Blue but never got around to reading it (temporary insanity?) I snagged the audio with one of my audible credits and was immediately sucked in to the story. It’s always interesting to listen to the second book after reading the first. Sometimes it’s distracting because the narration doesn’t match that in my head. This one was so great it didn’t matter. LOVE the humor!
Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans (now titled The Memory of After) Read by Jenna Lamia. My Review.
This is a book that is so perfect for audio. The way it’s written totally lends itself to being read aloud and not being awkward. I absolutely loved it. Jenna Lamia was a great choice for the narrator. Her reading really fit with what I imagined the main character to be like. I had to stop listening toward the end because I just could not wait to find out what happened. The audio had me that worked up about the story!
Eve by Anna Carey. Read by Tavia Gilbert. My Review.
On the one hand I was kicking myself for not reading the ARC I had of this book. On the other I was glad I was a slacker because the audiobook was so great! Again, great narration. Tavia Gilbert did a wonderful job of getting the emotion of the story across. The main character has left everything she knows behind and is out in a world that she knows little about. She’s basically terrified but knows she has to keep going. The pacing of the book and the audiobook mesh and it all just works!
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder. Read by Gabra Zackman. My Review.
Another one I can’t believe I didn’t read sooner! I guess it’s good because I don’t need to wait for the other books to be released! I can binge read! Even though I loved listening to book one I plan to read the others because I am so impatient! Plus, now that I have Gabra Zackman’s voice in my head from book one it will transfer to the other books when I read them 🙂 My only complaint about this one? There is a brief bit of transitional music between every chapter! The music fit with the tone of the book but it still pulled me out of the story.
Leave a Reply