Sacramento Public Library discussion

I love this challenge, but I must admit it's not much of a challenge because I 'read' about one audiobook a week.

At first, I didn't think I would like audiobooks because I thought it wouldn't be able to match the experience of sitting down and reading a book, but I was so wrong! They are a perfect way for me to put my commuting time to good use.

I'm currently 'reading' audiobook of The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs and next in line is New Moon by Stephenie Meyer. After that I hope that some of my holds at the library become available. Some titles I'm waiting for are: The Young Elites by Marie Lu, Small Blessings by Martha Woodroof, and Mr. Miracle by Debbie Macomber.

I've wanted to read Frog Music by Emma Donaghue so I'll be interested to see how you like it Chelsea.

I'm making my way through Riordan's "Heroes of Olympus" series on audiobook. I should finish up this month!

Chelsea wrote: "December is a month that often involves travel. And what better way to keep up with your book fix than an audiobook! Whether you're trapped in the car and need something to keep the whole family en..."

I was reluctant to try audiobooks because I've never been an auditory learner. But I tried a few and learned that many of them work for me. Also, many don't. Occasionally, I like the content but dislike the reader so much that I can't continue. I think you have to find your own likes, tolerances, and limits. And one thing I truly enjoy is listening to a book I've already read - I've gone through the entire Outlander and Game of Thrones series, and loved them. It helps that they are narrated by two of the most gifted readers out there - Davinia Porter for Outlander and Roy Dotrice for Game of Thrones (his young girls' voices are a bit of a strain, but his Tyrion is wonderful, as are any of the pirate-y characters). I just plug my iPod into the aux jack and listen while I drive. Might take a month to get through something, but beats searching around for radio channel or CD. Also, for any Craig Johnson (Walt Longmire) fans, George Guidall reads his books, and he is great too. Finally, I'd recommend any of Barbara Kingsolver novels that she reads herself - her reading voice is just like her prose, languid, rich, and unhurried.

this challenge is a struggle for me. first, I like to only read one book at a time, and second, I only listen to things (podcasts, music) when I run. right now I am injured and therefore no running. but, I think I found a solution! I put down Tale of Two Cities almost 3 years ago (sheesh!). I am going to get it on audiobook and try and finish it up while getting my tattoo next week. I was going to read but think I will spend most of the time watching him work. this way I won't annoy him chatting the whole time!

This will be an easy challenge for me, as I listen to audiobooks on my commute to and from work. I recently finished up "The Monogram Murders," by Sophie Hannah and am 3/4 of the way through "The Radleys," by Matt Haig (though I'll admit I've listened to that one before).

Just finished listening to "A Town Like Alice" by Nevil Shute. I really enjoyed it - always meant to read it after watching the miniseries about 30 years ago. The casual racism is more than a little jarring, and Shute can go on and on at times, but still a great story. Evidently, it is based on an actual WW2 occurrence when a group of Dutch women and children were marched around by the Japanese for months, who neither wanted them as prisoners nor wanted to feed them. A remarkable tale of survival. And then a remarkable story of the development of part of the Australian outback, post WW2.

First attempt at an audiobook was a failure! I don't who should get more blame, Dickens or me, but it just didn't work. I listened for an hour but can't tell you a thing that happened.

So I returned that audiobook and checked out ROOM. I am hoping it might be easier to pay attention to. Maybe audiobooks just aren't for me?

Susan wrote: "First attempt at an audiobook was a failure! I don't who should get more blame, Dickens or me, but it just didn't work. I listened for an hour but can't tell you a thing that happened.

So I retur..."

First attempt for me was a failure, too. But I have found that most of the classics don't work for me in audio form. "Room" is probably a much better test. It probably took me a dozen tries before I started to get the hang of it. Maybe another thing to do is listen to a book you have already read (recently, not a classic from high school) and see if that works. I have gotten a lot out of re-reads in audio form. Dunno, I've gotten to the place where audiobooks are about one third to half of the books I read. But it took a while to find my footing.

I think it is mostly that I have trained myself to have sound as background and not something I actually pay attention to. I even wander off mentally listening to pod casts.

This morning I started "The Sittaford Mystery" by Agatha Christie, read by Hugh Fraser. The book, originally published in 1931, is a standalone mystery which doesn't feature any of her usual sleuths.

Interesting! I've found that Fraser has recorded more of Christie's works than Suchet. I just picked up two more Christie titles on audio, both narrated by Hugh Fraser: "The Pale Horse" and "Murder is Easy." David Suchet's retelling of "Death on the Nile" is excellent and highly recommended.

"The Sittaford Mystery" was pretty good, plot-wise, though the crime and its resolution is less complex than Christie's Poirot novels or even "And Then There Were None."

I've noticed, and I'm wondering if others have experienced this, is that I prefer audiobooks which are less than 10 hours long (most of Christie's audiobooks clock in at around 6 hours). I listen to them in the car while commuting, so I'm hearing them in 20-30 minute blocks. Audiobooks which are beyond 12 hours or so become a little harder to follow and I sometimes find myself backing up the recording a few minutes to pick up the thread of the story. One exception was "The Silkworm," by Robert Galbraith, which is 17 1/2 hours long. In that case, the narrative was so engrossing that I could follow it without difficulty.

Chelsea wrote: "December is a month that often involves travel. And what better way to keep up with your book fix than an audiobook! Whether you're trapped in the car and need something to keep the whole family en..."

This should be an interesting challenge for me. I use to listen to audiobooks all the time but recently I have been just been listening to music. I am going to listen to the Enders Game by Orson Scott Card.

I tried again with ROOM and gave up. My mind wanders too much when I listen to books. Maybe I'll try on my next plane flight or long car trip?

I have found that audiobooks are really hit or miss - it all depends on the narrator. I have had great success with listening to classic literature that for whatever reason I could not finish reading. "Pride and Prejudice" was a good example - I must have started reading the book at least three or four times but could never get into it. I was able to listen to the whole audiobook though. I also listened to and LOVED "Lolita" (read by Jeremy Irons) and "The Great Gatsby" (read by Tim Robbins). I don't think I would have been able to read either of those books but the actors narrating them to me really made all the difference in the world.

Anyway, for the December challenge I listened to "Kafka on the Shore" by Haruki Murakami. I'm glad I did - it's another novel that I'm not sure I could have successfully read through. I had heard that Murakami is a challenging author to read so I'm glad I chose the audiobook for this one.

I have steelheart to try listening too:) Yes I am trying this

I'm still working on Anne Rice's Prince Lestat. I like the book well enough but have been too busy interacting with people to focus and I've found that five minutes with an audio book is not the same as five minutes with a book. I need more time to catch the feel of the voice.

With all the discussion of readers/narrators: People may not be aware of it, but the reader is usually listed as an alternate author in the catalog, so when you find a favorite reader, you can search for them and find other books they've read. Search by author in lastname, firstname order.

I finished Friday Night Knitting Club - I liked it and I wasn't expecting the ending. The narrator was good.

I had to put New Moon on hold so that I could read The Young Elites - I enjoyed that a lot and look forward to the next book in the series. The narrators were very good too.

I'm just about to finish up Redbird Christmas. It's been an amusing and pleasant story. It's read by the author and has a lot country charm.

Next up will be New Moon and then Small Blessings. Love, love, love audiobooks!

I'd never read any Harry Potter books (I was put off Young Adult literature when I read two popular series of books that disappointed me), but I needed some lighthearted reading for Christmas. A friend told me the Harry Potter audiobooks were well done, so I checked out the CDs at the library and am already on the 3rd book in the series. I'm having a blast listening to the audiobooks, and find I'm extending my workouts just to get extra chapters in. Killing two birds with one stone! I'm enjoying Harry Potter and reminding my friends that yes, you can get audiobooks at the library, too.

Hmmmm....what audiobook should I get after Harry is grown and gone? The Magicians, maybe?