I'm a bit late to joining in Jen @ Devourer of Books' Audiobook Week celebration, but since I've started to really adore audiobooks, I didn't want to miss out. I'm jumping back to yesterday's topic, which is to talk about my year in audiobooks. I think audiobooks have become a very important part of my reading since I started commuting for 40-45 minutes (one way) to my job. I've started to ensure that I have another audio lined up as soon as I finish one! I simply can't bear the commute without it - they keep me sane (when they're good) and distract me at least (when they aren't). So, here's my year:
I've listened to 17 audiobooks since January (which is a HUGE increase). And 29 audiobooks since last June.
In case you haven't been reading my blog recently, my hands-down, all-time favorite audiobook series is Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer, narrated by the amazing Katherine Kellgren. I honestly can't imagine reading these books in print, because Katherine IS Jacky for me.
That's not to say I haven't truly enjoyed other audios either. The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom
by Christopher Healy was just side-splittingly hilarious. A funny story in print becomes ten times more so with the awesome voices and characterization that Bronson Pinchot uses for everyone, especially the princes. Watch for my review tomorrow or Thursday.I also really loved The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud, narrated by Simon Jones. I was already a huge fan of the Bartimeaus books, but having Barty's humor spoken in just the right sarcastic tone was perfection. Highly recommended for those needing a good laugh.
Obviously, I'm a big fan of humorous audiobooks. I think part of this is that I am very affected by audio and visual stories - even more so than when I read them. So, if something is very sad or emotional, I tend to get that way. I mostly use audiobooks to distract me from the heinous commute, so I tend to love the humorous ones with the narrators that use many, varied, awesome voices. I will also choose audiobooks to help me catch up on a series (ie reread it) before the next book comes out, as with the Inheritance cycle (though, I've yet to read that last book still).
What kind of audiobooks do you prefer - and why do you listen to them?
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You make a good point about emotional stories, I agree that really sad things are exacerbated in audio, when I listened to the Harry Potter series there were a number of things that made me cry that didn't when I read it.
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely something that affects me, but there are plenty of people who aren't as affected by audio :) Definitely true of HP series too!
DeleteWhat a great post! I prefer listening to fiction over non-fiction. With non-fiction, I want to make notes and listen to certain passages repeatedly. I don't mind emotional stories though I probably don't listen to them very often! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI've yet to try non-fiction. I think I'd probably be too distracted and not be able to get as much out of it.
DeleteI made a promise to listen to at least one audiobook this year. They've never been a thing with me . . . maybe I should try the humorous ones.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get to that audiobook! They can be a lot of fun, especially the humorous ones :)
DeleteI like all kinds of audios. Especially anything with a mystery. I can't seem to put those down.
ReplyDeleteOoh, I don't think I've listened to a mystery - I'll have to give that a try!
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