I will be giving away an increasing number of audiobooks each day all week, each on a theme. Today’s theme: Audies-nominated audios.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents Earth (The Audiobook) by Jon Stewart and The Daily Show, narrated by Jon Stewart, with Samantha Bee, Wyatt Cenac, Jason Jones, and John Oliver, featuring Sigourney Weaver
Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh, narrated by Tony Hsieh
Despicable Me: The Junior Novel by Annie Auerbach, narrated by Tim Curry
Put on Your Crown: Life-Changing Moments on the Path to Queendom by Queen Latifah, narrated by Queen Latifah
Room by Emma Donoghue, narrated by Michal Friedman, Ellen Archer, Robert Petkoff, and Suzanne Toren

This prize is supplied and went by Hachette Audio and can only be shipped within the United States.

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Audiobook Week Giveaway – Audies-Nominated Audios

Today we’re talking about audiobook resources. There are a lot of great ones out there, but I’m welcoming Susan from Audiobook DJ to share a little about one of my favorite resources: Audiobook Jukebox. Make sure to read all the way to the end for a special mini-challenge.

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I want to thank Jen for inviting me to tell you about Audiobook Jukebox, a project that’s become one of the most exciting things I’ve worked with in a long time. Originally founded by BethFishReads and myself, Audiobook Jukebox grew from the desire to have a place where bloggers could share links to their audiobook reviews and find audiobook reviews contributed by others.

We liked the imagery of a jukebox because, just as a jukebox provides a link between listeners and its collection of songs, we wanted our jukebox to be a link between listeners and all of the great audiobooks waiting to be heard. We quickly learned we weren’t the only ones who loved listening to and reviewing audiobooks – the response from bloggers has been tremendous!

When you submit a link, we add/verify bibliographic information and the correct cover shot for the title. We include this information, along with your link, in a post which alerts readers to the availability of your review. Once posted, all of the bibliographic information is available for searching on our site’s search engine and when readers find interesting titles, they can use the links to go directly to your reviews. Started in August of 2010, we’ve already posted over 3,000 review links. My husband, Jeff, and I now operate the site and we hope you’ll drop by www.audiobookjukebox.com to add a link and search for that next great listen.

Susan Dunman
Twitter – @audiobookdj
http://www.audiobookjukebox.com

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For an extra chance to win some of our Audiobook Week prizes, link up the audiobook reviews you wrote this week – or any that you have not already linked up – to Audiobook Jukebox. I will choose at least one winner from among the people who post reviews today, Friday, June 10th.

What are your best audiobook resources?

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Audiobook Resources – Audiobook Week Discussion

Sweet Jiminy

If you posted an audiobook review today, Friday June 10th, please leave your link in the Mr. Linky before midnight Central time (US) and you will be eligible to win a prize.

Synopsis:

Lost and unsure what she is doing with her life, Jiminy leaves law school in Chicago, and heads back to her grandmother Willa’s house in Mississippi. While there, she discovers that she is not the first Jiminy in the town. Her grandmother’s housekeeper, Lyn, had a daughter named Jiminy as well, a girl who was murdered with her father by members of the local arm of the Klan. Jiminy the current can’t let this case rest, and becomes determined to solve the cold case, stirring up long-buried trouble in the town in the process.

Thoughts on the story:

This plot has all the hallmarks of a story I would love. Somehow, though, it managed to be utterly unengaging. Part of the issue was that Gore simply introduced far too many characters, many of them unimportant, like Willa’s friend who likes guns and gaming consoles. She added little or nothing to this relatively slight book, and took up space that could have been better used to further develop the story of either of the Jiminys. The other issue was that none of the characters – the current Jiminy in particular – were particularly deeply drawn, leaving the whole thing feeling incredibly shallow, with no emotional investment on the part of the reader.

Thoughts on the audio production:

Hillary Huber is a highly competent narrator, and she certainly did the best with the mediocre material she was supplied. She brought Sweet Jiminy up to the point where it was fairly enjoyable, at least during the listening. It wasn’t until after I finished and reflected on the story that I realized just how mediocre it really is.

Overall

I really can’t particularly recommend this at all, but if you want or need to read it for some reason, I highly suggest you grab the audio so that Huber’s narration can improve your experience.

Buy this book from:
Powells: Audio/Print*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound: Audio/Print*

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Sweet Jiminy by Kristin Gore – Audiobook Review

I will be giving away an increasing number of audiobooks each day all week, each on a theme. Today’s theme: beach listens.

The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin, narrated by Katherine Kellgren
One Summer by David Baldacci
Silver Girl by Elin Hilderbrand
Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews, read by Isabel Keating

These prizes are supplied and sent by Hachette Audio and Macmillan Audio, and can only be shipped within the United States. Readers/listeners with Canadian mailing addresses may enter, but may only be eligible for The American Heiress and Summer Rental.

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Audiobook Week Giveaway – Beach Listens

Okay, so here’s my thing with transitioning to audiobooks. Just because you are an awesome reader does not automatically mean you are going to be an awesome listener, at least not immediately. But this is actually good news. It means if you try an audiobook once and aren’t really into it, you aren’t somehow a person who is just incapable of audiobooks.

Audiobook literacy is a skill, just as printed word literacy is a skill and, while they are complementary, they do not overlap completely. If you are already a good reader, you have a huge leg up on developing your audiobook literacy, but you won’t just be magically there. It does take a little time to train your brain to process the spoken word in the same way it processes the written word; most of us haven’t sat and listened to someone read aloud to us for decades before starting to listen to audiobooks. I jumped right into audiobooks, but I found I would often have little to no idea what happened at the beginning of the book for my first 5-10 audios, because it wasn’t until the story sucked me in that my brain would realize it should be paying attention. Now, if you are trying to listen to a complicated audiobook, this can be an incredibly frustrating problem, because some books cannot be caught back up with easily. Obviously everyone will progress at different rates, but here are some things you can do to help acclimate your brain to audiobooks without frustration:

• Listen to books you have already read – Listening to old favorites is a great way to break into audiobooks. For one thing, if you lose concentration on the audio, it doesn’t particularly matter, because you already have a good idea as to the plot. It is a great way to let your brain work on the process of paying attention to the spoken word.
• Listen to audiobooks with less complex storylines – I still regret the fact that I attempted Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese on audio relatively early in my listening career. The narrator, Sunhil Malhotra, was fabulous, but the frequent jumps in the timeline of the story just lost and frustrated me. Straightforward plotlines are easier to follow along with, which is a huge help when your brain is still figuring this whole audiobook thing out.
• Listen to engaging narrators – If your first audiobook experience is with a mediocre narrator, you’re going to have a tough time paying attention, even to a really interesting book. Ask your listening friends who their favorite narrators are, and pick something up by them.
• Listen to an audiobook with quick pacing – Quick pacing catches your attention right away, and helps keep your interest for longer periods of time, without getting any listening fatigue. Mysteries tend to be particularly good for this, as long as they aren’t overly convoluted.

Do you have any tips to add? What are your top recommended titles or narrators for new listeners?

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Audiobooks for the Uninitiated – Audiobook Week Discussion

I will be giving away an increasing number of audiobooks each day all week, each on a theme. Today’s theme: history buffs.

Atlantic by Simon Winchester, narrated by Simon Winchester (my review)
The Greater Journey by David McCullough, narrated by Edward Herrmann  (McCullough and Herrmann discussing the book: video)
Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell, narrated by Sarah Vowell and others (my review)

These prizes are supplied and sent by Harper Audio and Simon & Schuster Audio and can only be shipped within the United States.

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Audiobook Week Giveaway – History Buffs

Here’s something quick and easy for the middle of the week, just a short meme. Just copy/paste (and obviously change the answers to your own).

Current/most recent audiobook: I just finished A Covert Affair by Jennet Conant, narrated by Jan Maxwell and am now listening to Leaving Van Gogh by Carol Wallace, narrated by Luis Moreno

Impressions: Well, my review of A Covert Affair is up today, so that you can read yourself, but I’m finding Leaving Van Gogh a little light ont he passion at the moment. Of course, it is still pretty early on, so it may just be ramping up, it definitely still has potential.

Current favorite audiobook: Faith by Jennifer Haigh. It was a stellar story paired with an equally stellar narrator (Therese Plummer). Seriously, you guys, it was completely amazing and I think you really, really, really, really, REALLY listen to it. It would be amazing in print too, yes, but Therese Plummer just made it phenomenal.

One narrator who always makes you choose audio over print: I’m not sure if anyone would ALWAYS make me choose audio over print, but I’m highly swayed if I see Cassandra Campbell, John Lee, Therese Plummer, Simon Prebble, Juliet Stevenson, Bahni Turpin, and/or Simon Vance.

Genre you most often choose to listen to: I consume a lot of my nonfiction in audio. I find that things like The Emperor of All Maladies work really well for me in audio, because I don’t have to worry about getting bogged down in technical specifics. If I just keep listening, I always figure out what is going on, but I am afraid if I got to them in print I would get frustrated with specifics and not get through it. At the complete other end of the spectrum, I also prefer

If given the choice, you will always choose audio when: I love, love, love mysteries in audio. Cozies I like in print, but the rest, give me audio every time.

If given the choice, you will always choose print when: If I know a book is going to jump around in time frequently I tend to prefer print, because I need the visual cues.

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Audiobook Week Mid-Week Meme

I will be giving away an increasing number of audiobooks each day all week, each on a theme. Today’s theme: thrillers.

Buried Secrets by Joseph Finder, read by Holter Graham
Those in Peril by Wilbur Smith, narrated by Rupert Degas

This prize is supplied and sent by Macmillan Audio and can be shipped within the United States and Canada.

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Audiobook Week Giveaway – Thrillers

Sound effects in audiobooks are a divisive topic.

There are audiobooks I have really adored that good friends have nearly dropped audiobooks, had them almost ruined by the addition of sound effects. Where do you come down on this issue?

Personally, I find that some, but not all, titles are enhanced by judicious use of sound effects. For example, in the above mentioned title, there were only three sound effects, although they were used multiple times :a train whistle, a violin song, and the wind. All three were major plot elements with thematic basis, and for me they enhanced the story. Similarly, the audiobook of Matched by Ally Condie occasionally used sound effects. In Matched the effects were used in a way that made me feel the other-future-ness of the storyline, which enhanced the book in a way the narrator – although talented – would not have been able to do.

I very much do not want sound effects in every audiobook I listen to, but for some titles, they work for me.

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Sound Effects in Audiobooks – Audiobook Week Discussion

I will be giving away an increasing number of audiobooks each day all week, each on a theme. Today’s theme: memoir.

From This Moment On by Shania Twain, narrated by Shania Twain and Sherie Rene Scott (abridged)

This prize is supplied and went by Simon & Schuster Audio and can only be shipped within the United States.

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Audiobook Week Giveaway – Memoir