I don’t know why it took me so long to buy into the whole audiobook thing. I have the Twilight books on CD and I did listen to them, but that was a while ago. I have two hours in the car every day and up until a month or so ago spent them feeling rushed and annoyed. Now I look forward to my time in the car. This is a big improvement, trust me. Before, I would get home feeling…ragged and all used up. Now I feel inspired and have usually forgotten the stress of the day. I highly recommend audiobooks if you have 30 min or more in the car. The ones I’ve listened to so far:
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown
By: Holly Black
Read by: Christine Lakin
I Loooooooooved this story. I would have loved it anyway but I don’t think it would have had as much of an impact without Christine’s voice for Gavriel. The premise is: a girl wakes up after falling asleep in a tub during a party the night before to find everyone dead except the boy who was the reason she was in the tub in the first place and a chained up vampire. It’s explained easily and fluidly that in this world, vampires are ‘out’ and that the kids have these ‘shut-in’ parties as a way to rebel. This party went very, very wrong. There is a moment when Tana and Gavirel first meet (and I would REALLY love to ask Holly if it was in the first draft of the book this way) where she asks him if he needs to be saved. It’s this moment you’ll kind of skip over if you don’t know it’s coming, but it’s the beginning of everything.
Between The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
By: April Genevieve Tucholke
Read by: Jorjena Marie
I haven’t been mad at a book in a long time. This book made me mad. I’m sure some people thought I was yelling at traffic if they happened to look in the car but I was yelling at Vy. It just wasn’t my thing. I’m a sucker for a pretty face, but this one went too far. When people start to die, even I’ll draw the line.
The Shambling Guide to New York City
By: Mur Lafferty
Read by: Mur Lafferty
I really enjoyed this one and having it read by the author was a treat. I feel like she knew just were to place emphasis and draw words out. I also really liked Zoey. She was fun and real. Like, she’d made some HUGE mistakes and was just trying to find a new path, kind of real. She’s a writer and ends up working for a vampire businessman who is set on creating a travel guide for monsters for New York. Chaos (and a little shambling) ensue. I recommend this one to readers of all genres because the writing is a style to be enjoyed by all. I laughed more than I had in a long time.
My Name is Memory
By: Ann Brashares
Read by: Kathe Mazur and some fella they didn’t list
This one is about reincarnation and will make you think. Okay, so, listen to me. This is a great book. But if you are the kind of person who needs some type of resolution to your stories, even if it’s just the knowledge that another one is on the way, this is not the book for you. You will only be upset if you read (listen) to the whole thing to have it left the way it was. The writing flows, the words are lovely, the love story is epic, but there is no ending. It just ends…
Angelfall
By: Susan Ee
Read by: Caitlin Davies
This is the one I just finished. I don’t get my next credit until February FREAKING 12th and am waiting on that to get the next book. Again, I don’t know if it would’ve had as much of an impact if I’d read it myself. I would’ve still liked it. I would’ve still been in love with Raffe (dark hair/blue eyes/yummy/my kind of book boyfriend) but I don’t think I would’ve connected with him so much. And this one sort of ended in the middle of everything too, but I’m not mad at it because there’s another book! Okay, okay – premise. I guess God decided it was time to go ahead and come on back and sent the archangel Gabriel first, you know, to get us ready for his return and whatnot, and we shot him out of the sky. Yes, that’s right. In the midst of this wonderful event that us church-going folks have been essentially looking forward to since our first Easter in Sunday school, was interrupted by Americans shooting an angel out of the sky. Typical. I can totally see us doing that. So with Gabriel dead, the angels didn’t know what to do and fought back. So it’s this apocalypse world – think Falling Skies – and we’re following this teenager who is trying to take care of her crippled little sister and completely INSANE mother. Penren Young is her name. That’s a really good name. She sees a fight between these angels and helps the losing one, throwing him his sword. HUMANS CAN’T PICK UP AN ANGEL’S SWORD! But she does. Anyway, like I said – I’m on the heels of this one. It’s still with me, especially this one scene at the end where we get a glimpse into Raffe’s head as another angel sort of taunts him. He’s perfectly tortured and it’s beautiful. Really.
Okay, this is a long post but I haven’t done one in a while and I thought you should all know how wonderful audible is. Do you think I would’ve had time to sit and read those books? No. The answer is no. But now, it’s endless hours of reading ahead thanks to audible and my hour-long drive to work.
