2010-2011 My Audiobook Year – Audiobook Week Discussion

Jun 062011

If you wrote a post on this or any of my other discussion topics today, Monday June 6th, please leave your link in the Mr. Linky before midnight Central time (US) and you will be eligible to win a prize.

AudiobookWeek picture My year in audiobooks has been an amazing one. Since the end of Audiobook Week last year, I have listened to 51 audiobooks, which is slightly more than one per week on average, since Audiobook Week was later in the month last year.

I’ve also started reviewing for Audiofile Magazine, which has exposed me to a ton of great audiobooks that might not have ever been on my radar otherwise.

Here are some of my favorite titles from the past 12 months (not including the reviews I have on tap for this week):

Faith by Jennifer Haigh, narrated by Therese Plummer
The Sweet Relief of Missing Chidlren by Sarah Braunstein, narrated by Xe Sands (review on Audiofile)
You Know When the Men are Gone by Siobhan Fallon, narrated by Cassandra Campbell (review on Audiofile)
Feed by Mira Grant, narrated by Paula Christensen and Jesse Bernstein
The City and the City by China Mieville, narrated by John Lee
Kraken by China Mieville, narrated by John Lee
Body Work by Sara Paretsky, narrated by Susan Ericksen
Trespass by Rose Tremain, narrated by Juliet Stevenson

Bossypants by Tina Fey – Audiobook Review

Jun 062011

Bossypants by Tina Fey, narrated by Tina Fey
Published in audio by Hachette Audio, published in print by Reagan Arthur Books, both imprints of Hachette

If you posted an audiobook review today, Monday June 6th, please leave your link in the Mr. Linky before midnight Central time (US) and you will be eligible to win a prize.

Synopsis:

Tina Fey is a smart, funny woman, a working mother. Before she was famous for her work on SNL – particularly playing Sarah Palin – she was a member of Second City and, before that, a young girl who had a lot of gay friends in summer theater.

In Bossypants, Fey touches on motherhood, feminism, working at SNL and 30 Rock, and her life growing up.

Thoughts on the story:

If you are expecting a deep treatise on feminism or working motherhood, you might be disappointed by Bossypants. Except I highly doubt you can stay disappointed for very long. Fey might not spend an inordinate amount of time or depth on any one topic, but every section of the book is rife with her trademark wit, and she hits every note beautifully, nary a joke falls flat.

Thoughts on the audio production:

Tina Fey is hilarious narrating her own life. For someone with the comic timing and delivery that she has, narrating your own memoir is an absolute must. Honestly, I simply can’t imagine any other narrator doing justice to Fey’s unique voice. The audio did mean missing the immediacy of seeing the pictures of Fey growing up, but Hachette included a pdf of all of the pictures along with the audiobook and Tina Fey references them so the listener knows when to when to check them out, or at least remembers the context when it is convenient to open the document. And huge plus for the audiobook? The fact that they were able to get the license to include the audio of the SNL skit where Tina Fey first played Sarah Palin. That alone makes it worth listening to.

Overall

Fey’s writing is sharp and smart enough that I imagine Bossypants must work quite well in print, but for the added emotion and humor of Tina narrating her own work, I must strongly recommend experiencing Bossypants in audio.

Buy this book from:
Powells: Audio/Print*
Indiebound: Audio/Print*

Source: library.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

Audiobook Week 2011 Prizes

Jun 052011

AudiobookWeek picture Below are the participation prizes for Audiobook Week. In addition, there will prize giveaways for anyone, regardless of participation. The giveaways will increase in size daily, finishing with a five audio giveaway on Friday.

————–

If you were told that you won a book, please look through the list and choose with one you would like, then email jen(at)devourerofbooks.com with your top three choices, in order. Greyed out books have already been selected by someone else and are no longer available. Please make sure that the book you select is available to be shipped to you. International winners – please let me know if nothing is available for you, or if nothing available interests you, and I can make some other options available.

Blackstone Audio (shipped by Blackstone, see titles for shipping possibilities)

Among the Missing by Morag Joss, narrated by Robin Sachs, Kate Reading, and Cassandra Morris – US
~~Before Versailles by Karleen Coen, narrated by Grover Gardner – US~~
~~Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope, narrated by Simon Vance – International~~
The Mark of Zorro by Yuri Raskovsky, based on the novel by Johnston McCulley, narrated by a full cast – US
~~A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, narrated by Simon Prebble – International~~
Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion, narrated by Kevin Kenerly – US

From Hachette Audio

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents Earth (The Audiobook) by Jon Stewart and The Daily Show, nrrated by Jon Stewart, with Samantha Bee, Wyatt Cenac, Jason Jones, and John Oliver, featuring Sigourney Weaver – Audies nominee
Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh, narrated by Tony Hsieh – Audies nominee
Despicable Me: The Junior Novel by Annie Auerbach, narrated by Tim Curry – Audies nominee
The Girl in the Garden by Kamala Nair, narrated by Anitha Gandhi
~~The Girl in the Garden~~ ~~by Kamala Nair , narrated by Anitha Gandhi~~
One Summer by David Baldacci, narrated by Orlagh Cassidy and Ron McLarty
Put on Your Crown: Life-Changing Moments on the Path to Queendom by Queen Latifah, narrated by Queen Latifah – Audies nominee
Room by Emma Donoghue, narrated by Michal Friedman, Ellen Archer, Robert Petkoff, and Suzanne Toren- Audies nominee
Silver Girl by Elin Hilderbrand, narrated by Marianne Fraulo and Janet Metzger
The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon, narrated by Kate Reading
~~The Story of Beautiful Girl~~ ~~by Rachel Simon, narrated by Kate Reading~~

From Harper Audio (shipped by HarperCollins – US)

All My Life by Susan Lucci, narrated by Susan Lucci
American on Purpose by Craig Ferguson, narrated by Craig Ferguson
The Bedwetter by Sarah Silverman, narrated by Sarah Silverman
Does the Noise in my Head Bother You? by Steven Tyler, narrated by Jeremy Davidson
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, narrated by Neil Gaiman (my review)
Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton, narrated by John Bedford Lloyd
Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern, narrated by Sean Schemmel
She Walks in Beauty by Caroline Kennedy, narrated by Hope Davis, Jane Alexander, John Bedford Lloyd, and Campbell Scott
The Upside of Irrationality by Dan Ariely, narrated by Simon Jones

From Macmillan Audio (shipped by Macmillan – US & Canada)

The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin, narrated by Katherine Kellgren
Buried Secrets by Joseph Finder, read by Holter Graham
Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews, read by Isabel Keating
Those in Peril by Wilbur Smith, narrated by Rupert Degas

From Simon & Schuster Audio (shipped by Simon & Schuster – US)

17 Day Diet Essentials by Dr. Mike Moreno, narrated by Dr. Mike Moreno
17 Day Diet Essentials by Dr. Mike Moreno, narrated by Dr. Mike Moreno
17 Day Diet Essentials by Dr. Mike Moreno, narrated by Dr. Mike Moreno
The Devil’s Life by Richard North Patterson, narrated by Dennis Boutsikaris
The Devil’s Life by Richard North Patterson, narrated by Dennis Boutsikaris
The Devil’s Life by Richard North Patterson, narrated by Dennis Boutsikaris
From This Moment On by Shania Twain, narrated by Shania Twain and Sherie Rene Scott (abridged)
From This Moment On by Shania Twain, narrated by Shania Twain and Sherie Rene Scott (abridged)
The Greater Journey by David McCullough, narrated by Edward Herrmann (McCullough and Herrmann discussing the book: video)
The Greater Journey by David McCullough, narrated by Edward Herrmann (McCullough and Herrmann discussing the book: video)
Millionaire Messenger by Brendon Buchard, narrated by Brendon Buchard
Millionaire Messenger by Brendon Buchard, narrated by Brendon Buchard
Millionaire Messenger by Brendon Buchard, narrated by Brendon Buchard
Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell, narrated by Sarah Vowell and others (my review)
Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell, narrated by Sarah Vowell and others (my review)

goFrench Pimsleur Language Program
goItalian Pimsleur Language Program
goSpanish Pimsleur Language Program

From Tantor Audio (sent by me – International, all are mp3 cds)

Atlantis Rising by Alyssa Day, narrated by Joshua Swanson (book 1 in a new series)
~~The Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club~~ by Laurie Notaro, narrated by Hillary Huber (NYT bestseller)
The G-Free Diet by Elisabeth Hasselbeck, narrated by Cassandra Campbell (NYT bestseller)
KaBOOM! By Darell Hammond, read by Sean Runnette (NYT bestseller)
~~Wicked Bugs~~ by Amy Stewart, narrated by Coleen Marlo (NYT bestseller)

Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (my review)

Audiobook Week 2011 Info and Daily Discussion Topics

Jun 012011

AudiobookWeek picture As you probably know, next week, June 6-10, 2011, is Audiobook Week here at Devourer of Books! If you haven’t heard about Audiobook Week yet, check out my first post on the topic.

Participating

There will be a lot going on here, and I hope that you will consider taking part! I will have daily reviews as well as daily discussion/exposition topics on audiobooks. At the end of each of my reviews and each discussion topic I will have a Mr. Linky for you to leave a link to your audiobook review/discussion post. If you have anyone guest post on your blog about audiobooks you can link that guest post under the discussion topics as well. I f you would like to participate but do not have your own blog, you may want to consider joining Audiobook Community,which has a built-in blog feature. If you do join, friend me, I’m Jen –Devourer of Books there.

Prizes:

I’ve had some generous sponsors, so I have LOTS of copies of audiobooks to give away to give away next week. Every day I will choose at least one person who has included a link to a review and one person who has included a link to a discussion post to win an audiobook, and will choose at least one other winner from commenters here next week. A few other participants will also have opportunities to win. I will have a list of all the audios I have available (and where they can be shipped), winners will email me their choice and I will remove the selected title from the list. Since I’ll be choosing from the Mr. Linky, PLEASE make sure your blog has an easily found way to contact you!

Daily Discussion Topics:

In case you like to write your posts ahead of time and schedule them, here is a list of next week’s post topics:

Monday: 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.

Tuesday: 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.

Wednesday: Mid-week Audiobook Week Meme
This will not be up until the morning of, but it will be short and fast, so check in and join the fun

Thursday: Audiobooks for the Uninitiated
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.

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

Getting Excited for Audiobook Week – The Audies Winners!

May 252011

Audiobook Week is fast approaching - less than two weeks, now, until it starts, and only a week until National Audiobook Month. You can follow along with both events on Twitter, the hashtag for Audiobook Week is #audioweek and the one for National Audiobook Month is #JIAM (for June is Audiobook Month). The daily discussion topics for Audiobook Week will be up within the next week, and I hope you are all collecting audiobook reviews to post, since there will be a place to link both your reviews AND your discussions every day. The prizes are also shaping up nicely, so be on the lookout for that announcement as well.

In case any of you need more reason to be excited about Audiobook Week, or in case you’re looking for a great listen that week, you should check out the winners of the Audies. The Audies are an award recognizing distinction in audiobooks put on by the Audiobook Publishers Association. Basically the Oscars for audiobook. The winners were announced last night in New York and there are some great listening options here, something for everyone (links go to AudioFile Magazine reviews):

Audiobook of the Year:

Life by Keith Richardson, read by Keith Richardson, Johnny Depp, and Joe Hurley (Hachette Audio)

Audio Drama:

Saint Joan: A Chronicle Play in Six Scenes and an Epilogue by George Bernard Shaw, read by Amy Irving, Edward Herrmann, Stefan Rudnicki, and a full cast (Blackstone Audiobooks)

Audiobook Adaptation:

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, read by Sean Barrett (Naxos Audiobooks)

Biography/Memoir

Life by Keith Richardson, read by Keith Richardson, Johnny Depp, and Joe Hurley (Hachette Audio)

Business/Educational

The Intelligent Entrepreneur by Bill Murphy, Jr., read by LJ Ganser and Fred Berman (Audible)

Children’s Titles Ages up to 8

The Jazz Man by Karen Ehrhardt, read by James “D Train” Williams (Live Oak Media)

Children’s Titles Ages 8-12

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly, read by Natalie Ross (Brilliance Audio)

Classics

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, read by Roger Rees, Rosalyn Landor, John Lee, and Judy Geeson (Blackstone Audio)

Distinguished Achievement in Production

Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices by Walter Dean Myer, read by Muhammad Cunningham, Michael Early, Patricia R. Floyd, Kevin R. Free, Arthur French, Dion Graham, Nathan Hinton, Ezra Knight, Robin Miles, Lizan Mitchell, Gail Nelson, Monica Patton, Charles Turner (Live Oak Media)

Fiction

Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell, read by Emma Galvin (Hachette Audio)

History

Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic by Gordon S. Wood, read by Robert Fass (Audible)

Humor

Old Jews Telling Jokes: 5,000 Years of Funny Bits and Not-So-Kosher Laughs by Sam Hoffman and Eric Spiegelman, read by Sam Hoffman, Eric Spiegelman, and a full cast (HighBridge Audio)

Inspirational/Faith-Based Fiction

Fireflies in December by Jennifer Erin Valent, read by Kate Forbes (Recorded Books)

Inspirational/Faith-Based Nonfiction

In a Heartbeat by Leigh Anne Tuohy, Sean Tuohy, with Sally Jenkins, read by Leigh Anne Tuohy, Sean Tuohy, et. al (Macmillan Audio)

Judges’ Award – Paranormal

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garci and Margaret Stohl, read by Kevin T. Collins (Hachette Audio)

Literary Fiction

The Snakewoman of Little Egypt by Robert Hellenga, read by Coleen Marlo (Tantor Audio)

Multi-Voiced Performance

Jitters: A Quirky Little Audiobook by Adele Park, read by a full cast (Straight to Audio Productions)

Mystery/Suspense

The Reversal by Michael Connelly, read by Peter Giles (Hachette Audio/AudioGo)

Narration by the Author or Authors

Nanny McPhee by Emma Thompson, read by Emma Thompson (Macmillan Audio/AudioGo)

Nonfiction

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, read by Cassandra Campbell and Bahni Turpin (Random House Audio/Books on Tape)

Original Work

The New Adventures of Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer, Vol 2: The Little Death by Mickey Spillane and Max Allen Collins, read by Stacy Keach and a full cast (Blackstone Audio)

Package Design

The Very Best of Bob and Ray: Legends of Comedy by Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding, read by Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding (HighBridge Audio)

Personal Development

Put on Your Crown by Queen Latifah, read by Queen Latifah (Hachette Audio)

Romance

The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte by Syrie James, read by Bianca Amato (Recorded Books)

Science Fiction/Fantasy

The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison, read by Phil Gigante (Brilliance Audio)

Short Stories/Collections

Stories by Neil Gaiman [Ed.], Al Sarrantonio [Ed.], Joe Hill, Lawrence Block, Carolyn Parkhurst, Joanne Harris, et al., read by Anne Bobby, Jonathan Davis, Peter Francis James, Katherine Kellgren, Euan Morton (Harper Audio/ AudioGO)

Solo Narration – Female

Glorious by Bernice L. McFadden, read by Alfre Woodard (Audible)

Solo Narration – Male

Zorgamazoo by Robert Paul Weston, read by Alan Cumming (Penguin Audio)

Teens

The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon, read by Dion Graham (Brilliance Audio)

Thriller/Suspense

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson, read by Simon Vance (Random House Audio/Books on Tape)

For a full list of all nominated audiobooks, see The Audies.

Are any of your favorite books of the year here? Any that are on your To Be Listened pile? Something you think should have won in a certain category?

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/amazon_publishing_push_is_raising_wiJw12c25HG7L9PSt2RVrM

Audiobook Week approaches!

Apr 282011

Last year, I decided I need to devote an entire week on my blog to audiobooks, mostly because I was really behind in reviewing the ones I had been listening to. Other people got interested, and it turned into a really fun week during which the blogging community celebrated the magic of audiobooks. I have had quite a few people asking if Audiobook Week would be back this year and the answer is YES! I am hosting audiobook week again this year – June 6-10 to coincide with Audiobook Month – and it will, I hope, be even more fun than last year. We also have a brand new button, feel free to grab it:

AudiobookWeek picture

You can either right-click and save it for yourself, or use the html below:

<img src=”http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/k609/devourerofbooks/AudiobookWeek.png” border=”0″ alt=”Photobucket”>

If you have audiobooks that need to be reviewed, I encourage you to start scheduling your reviews for that week, as there will be places to link your reviews and get them discovered by other audiobook lovers participating in Audiobook Week. There will also be daily discussion topics (to be announced in late May) and prizes for those participating. In addition, a couple other members of the planning team have some fascinating audiobook-related posts in store for you, all of which will be linked from here.

I hope to see you back here in June, loving on some audiobooks!

Recommended Audiobooks – Audiobook Week Discussion

Jun 252010

If you wrote a post on this or any of my other discussion topics today, Friday June 25th, please leave your link in the Mr. Linky before midnight Central time (US) and you will be eligible to win a prize.

4629932963 f158331a61 m picture I know that I’m the one who picked this question, but I still think it is a very difficult one!

For people who were new to audiobooks, I would probably recommend “The Help,” because I think that is a fantastic introduction to audiobooks. The multi-voiced cast is fabulous, and I think their narration really adds to the story. I’d also definitely recommend the “Harry Potter” audios as a good way to ease into audiobooks. I listened to and loved the Jim Dale versions, but I know people are crazy about the Stephen Fry versions as well.

For those already acquainted with audiobooks, I would recommend the following audios that I have loved:

“America, America” by Ethan Canin, narrated by Robertson Dean
“The Thirteenth Tale” by Diane Setterfeld, narrated by Ruthie Henshall and Lynn Redgrave
“So Cold the River” by Michael Kortya, narrated by Robert Petkoff
“Paper Towns” by John Green, narrated by Dan John Miller
“Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand” by Helen Simonson, narrated by Peter Altschuler
“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot, narrated by Cassandra Campbell and Bahni Turpin
“Bad Things Happen” by Harry Dolan, narrated by Erik Davies
“When You Are Engulfed in Flames” by David Sedaris, narrated by David Sedaris

Added:

“The Little Stranger” by Sarah Waters, narrated by Simon Vance

I’m also loving “Feed” by Mira Grant right now, which is narrated by Paula Christensen and Jesse Bernstein, but I guess I can’t recommend it for sure until I finish.

What audiobooks do you recommend? I’m always happy to add to my wishlist!

When Do You Listen to Audiobooks? – Audiobook Week Discussion

Jun 242010

If you wrote a post on this or any of my other discussion topics today, Thursday June 24th, please leave your link in the Mr. Linky before midnight Central time (US) and you will be eligible to win a prize.

4629932963 f158331a61 m picture I know that some of us covered this on Monday, but I’m still curious about just where everyone listens to audiobooks.

When I first started listening to audiobooks, it was car-only. Really, I just wanted something to take my mind off of my commutes. I was a big NPR fan, but for some reason I didn’t find ALL THINGS CONSIDERED quite as interesting as MORNING EDITION, so I’d drive to work listening to NPR, and drive home listening to an audiobook.

Next, it was the gym. Yes, music got me pumped up to move, but after a few minutes I would be bored, bored, bored. I need plot to keep me interested in, well, pretty much anything, so I started bringing my audiobook with me on the bike and the elliptical.

Then it was those long, boring times when I was really doing a deep scrubbing of some room.

Now, as long as I have at least 5 minutes during which I will be doing something that does not involve me reading, writing, or listening to other words, I stick those ear buds straight into my ears: when I’m driving, working out, taking a walk, cleaning, folding laundry, drying my hair, coloring my hair, straightening my hair….

When do you listen to audiobooks?

Note: Mr. Linky seems to be down, please leave your links in the comments

Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan – Audiobook Review

Jun 242010

4727530327 8bc4302882 m picture Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan, narrated by Erik Davies

If you posted an audiobook review today, Thursday June 24th, please leave your link in the Mr. Linky before midnight Central time (US) and you will be eligible to win a prize.

Synopsis:

The mysterious David Loogan comes to Ann Arbor, Michigan to lead a quiet life and recover from his past. Unfortunately, he gets drawn into a working relationship with Tom Kristoll, publisher of the literary magazine Grey Street, which is devoted entirely to mysteries, who makes him an editor of the magazine. Oh, and he also gets drawn into a more intimate sort of relationship with Tom’s wife.

In pretty much every Grey Street story the same formula appears: ‘plans go wrong, bad things happen, people die.’ When this same formula begins appearing in Loogan’s own life, things get messy.

Thoughts on the story:

Here’s where I admit that I listened to this back in JANUARY of 2010 and am just not writing the review in June. Oops. Clearly I can’t tell you anything really detailed about the plot, since it has been six months. But here’s what I can tell you: if this book hadn’t been spectacular, I wouldn’t be bothering to write ANYTHING about it 6 months later. I love, love, loved this. It was this fun sort of gritty crime drama that had the potential to be a little cheesy but totally wasn’t.

Thoughts on the audio production:

As much as I enjoyed the story, probably the thing I loved most about this audio was the narrator. Erik Davies has this sexy sort of gritty hardboiled voice that just kept me absolutely enthralled. He was absolutely perfect for the story.

Overall:

I highly recommend this, especially in audio!

Note: Mr. Linky doesn’t seem to be working properly today, please leave links in the comments

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

This review was done with a book borrowed from the library.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

Audio Footnote App – Giveaway

Jun 232010

So, at the beginning of Audiobook Week I was approached by the developer of the Audio Footnote app for iPhones. Basically, this app allows you to record voice notes while you’re listening to an audiobook with your iPhone. Eric, the developer, says:

Notes are saved and sorted by the program you were listening to, the date recorded and your place in the book.

Sounds pretty interesting! Eric offered me a free evaluation copy, but I don’t have an iPhone, so it wouldn’t do much good.

4728015951 60f505d61e m picture We decided that, since I couldn’t use a copy of this app, maybe one of you can.If you listen to audiobooks on your iPhone, use the google form below to enter this contest.

Enter by 11:59 Central on Thursday, June 24.

Older Entries Newer Entries

Devourer of Books

2010-2011 My Audiobook Year – Audiobook Week Discussion

Bossypants by Tina Fey – Audiobook Review

Audiobook Week 2011 Prizes