I’ve only recently discovered the goodness of audio books. On a family holiday involving many hours of driving, my family listened to The Hunger Games. The experience was enhanced because we drove right through the area that was District 12. The kids were, for the most part, quiet during the drive. Since that trip, I’ve been on the lookout for more great audio books to listen to.
Here’s the thing: My first experience with an audio book was awful. I was distracted. I could not pay attention to the book. I found the narrator boring and I think that I even fell asleep. Then I realized that perhaps that particular audio book was not for me. A good narrator makes all the difference for an audio book. Now, I can’t wait for my walk, or even the dreaded housework. As long as I have a good audio book, I’m happy.
Sync Audio Book Downloads
Last summer, or maybe even 2 summers ago, I started participating in the Sync Audio Book download program. Each week 2 titles were offered: 1 young adult book and 1 classic. This week it’s Irises by Francisco X. Stork and Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. Sometimes listening to a classic is easier than reading.
The downloads are updated every Thursday and are available until the following Wednesday. Not all books are available in all markets. If you live outside the US, check the website for book availability.
Here’s a few books that I am eagerly anticipating: July 5 – Anna Dressed in Blood and August 2 Daughter of Smoke and Bone.
What books did I get?
I am thankful to this site for introducing me to L.A. Meyer’s Bloody Jack series. The narrator took a little getting used to – her English accent is lovely and she does all sorts of voices, accents, and she even sings. She is an incredible narrator and she captures both Jacky’s innocence and intelligence very well. I also got The Hunger Games from this site as well, and I have a whole list of audio books queued up and ready to go.
Where else can I get Audio Books?
Audio books are available for free at most local libraries. You just need to download a software called Overdrive Media Console and with your library card, a whole new world of reading is open to you.
Here’s a list of our favorite audio books:
AH -
Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary “Jacky” Faber, Ship’s Boy by LA Meyer, narrated by Katherine Kellgren
The Hunger Games – by Suzanne Collins narrated by Carolyn McCormick
Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang by Mordecai Richler, CBC Audio
Michelle –
The Outlander Series by Diana Gabalon, narrated by Davina Porter
I Hunt Killers
Matterhorn –
Regina’s Favorites: Regina is our resident expert on audio books. When I asked for her favorite audio books, she gave me a long list. I can’t wait to listen to these books!
Dark Highlander – Karen Marie Moning
Highlander’s Curse
Immortal Highlander
The Painted Veil – the BBC version
Dawn on a Distant Shore
All the Bad Day books by Sophie Littlefield
All the Monkeewrench books by PJ Tracy
All the Succubus books by Richelle Mead
All the Mercy Thompson books (same narrator as next two listings)
All the Stephanie Plum books
The Charley Davidson books (first grave …)
The Troubleshooters books by Brockmann starting with #3 through 16
Far North by Marcel Ttheroux
What I Saw and How I Lied By Judy Blundell
Soulless by Gail Carriger
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
The Name of the Wind by Rothfuss
Virgin River series by Carr
Chaos Walking trilogy byPatrick Ness
All of the Harry Potter books both British and American versions
All of the Ruby Oliver books by E Lockhart
Black Dagger Brotherhood – all
The Travises series by Kleypas
The Help
The Dresden files – all of them
Bloody Bones by Hamilton
The Dublin Murder Squad – by Tana French – all of them
Blue Moon by Hamilton
Unwind – Neal Shusterman
Bossy pants by Fey
Year of the Flood by Atwood
Obsidian Butterfly by Hamilton
Deadline by Mira Grant
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
So now we have some questions for you:
Have you listened to any audio books lately?
What are your favorite audio books?
What do you like to do while listening to audio books?
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AH
Hi all! Bonjour! I’m AH and I am obsessed with reading. I read all kinds of books, but my favorites are paranormal romance and urban fantasy. What is it about those vampires and shape-shifters? Lately, I seem to be reading a lot of dystopian books as well. Are zombies the new vampire? I hope not. I have 3 boys – all reluctant readers so I tend to read a lot of young adult books aimed at boys. I want them to catch the reading bug too! I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts about books with you. Hope we can discover some great reads together.
One of my favorite audio books one of the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning. The narrator on those was awesome. Who would have thought that the combination of a southern Georgia accent would mingle well with an Irish accent. It was awesome. I’m not sure if the same narrator does all of them, but the one I read was awesome.
I actually love listening to audio books when I’m driving, not so much when I’m at home. I know my roommate listens to audio books because he is legally blind and usually listens to books while others read them visually. He’s listened to all sorts of books.
I’ve heard good things about both of Karen Moning’s Fever and Highlander series in audio books. I’ll have to add those to my audio book listening list. Thanks for the rec.
Great post you guys! I am a huge audiobook lover and I wouldn’t be able to get through my days without them. I listen while I’m exercising or driving long distances or just cooking/cleaning. They really make my least favorite things a lot more palatable. I will agree with a lot of the ones on Regina’s list and it’s so cool to see you listening to Jacky, AH! That was one of the first audiobooks that I really really loved. Katherine Kellgren is amazing. Can you believe I have never participated in audio sync? I am going to do it this summer for a few that I really want to try. Right now I am listening to Solace of the Road by Siobhan Dowd and it is really great on audio. The right narrator can really enhance a good read sometimes. I’m not sure that I would even like this quite as much in print. I definitely recommend that one!
Catie (The Readventurer) recently posted..Adult Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Thanks, Catie. You know, the funny thing about Audiosync is that I had no idea about the books I was downloading. I just downloaded them. The first one was kind of boring and I forgot about the rest of the audio books I had downloaded. Later, when The Hunger Games became popular, I realized that I had downloaded it. I’m glad I did.
Katherine Kellgren is very talented. She really makes the characters come to life. People must think I am crazy when I go for my walk, I’m always laughing at Jacky’s situations.
I guess audio books depends on the narrator? But sometimes it’s better if someone is reading or narrating.
The narrator makes all the difference. Some audio books are full-fledged productions with a whole cast of characters. Others have a single narrator. I think that you are able to preview most audio books to get a feel for the narration. You can also check out the reviews for the book as well.
Great post you guys! I will agree with a lot of the ones on Regina’s list and it’s so cool to see you listening to Jacky, AH! That was one of the first audiobooks that I really really loved
Thanks! Jacky is so much fun to listen to. I’m constantly laughing and giggling at her exploits. I’ve added a lot of Regina’s recommendations to my list.