All About YA discussion

Are you an audiobook listener? Are you curious about audiobooks?

Feel free to discuss the pros and cons of audiobooks here. Also, feel free to recommend any good ones to members who might be interested in listening to audiobooks.

I love audiobooks. I commute from home to college that's about two hours away. For me it makes the drive go by fast. I don't know if I have a fav, but the ones i have read/ listened to would be The Divergent series, The running dream, nobody, The Hunger Games ( that is the only way I could read them) Wonder, I book read TFiOS and I listened to it. (Cried both times), Will Grayson, Will Grayson, All of John Green books except for Let it Snow.

Audio books are expensive!!!

So, in that note, I don't really have that many audio books. I do own an audio book of I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak via the audible app. The only time I'll listen to an audio book is when the narrator is spot on.

Yes, I can only read with audiobooks. I have a learning disability, which makes it hard to read. I love audibooks mostly because I get to be apart of the reading world. I love how the narrators can bring the characters to life. There are some that completely draw me into the story that before I know it, I'm done with the book. I've cried, laughed and felt so many emotions as I read. However, not all of them the best. Few are down right bad at narrating to where I find it hard to stay awake.

My favorite narrators are:
Carolyn McCornick - Hunger Games
Khristine Hyam - Iron Fey
Emily Shaffer - Vampire Academy and Bloodlines
Caitlin Davies - Penryn & the End of Days
Amy Rubinate - Everneath and The Selection
Annika Boras - Tiger's Curse
Sophie Turner - City of Heavenly Fire
Jennifer Devices - Clockwork Angel
Daniel Sharman - Clockwork Princess
Jim Dale - Harry Potter

The only narrator I had issues with was Molly Quinn who did City of Fallen Angels and City of Lost Souls. She didn't do any accents or voices. All she did was read the book which got confusing to me because I couldn't tell who was speaking.

I love audiobooks! My all time fav is the Harry Potter series, read by Stephen Fry. It is literally the most awesome thing on the planet, no exaggeration. I am trying to get more into listening to some new ones too - so far I've done The Book Thief and Where the Red Fern Grows, the narrators of both of those did an incredible job. Soon I want to get The Ocean at the End of the Lane then after that I'm thinking Wonder since Audyraunna mentioned it and I've wanted to read it for a while.

I'm listening to an Audiobook of Crossing the Ice right now. Despite how cute parts of the plot are, I'm having a difficult time getting into it and wanting to actually listen.

They are. You know what though, a lot of authors will give away free codes to them to kick off getting reviews for them (just like Amazon let's authors offer free books for a period to gain exposure.) Search on Goodreads - there are forums giving away codes. Also, if you Google it, you can find authors running contests for audiobooks every month.

Good luck!
Justin

Robin wrote: "Audio books are expensive!!!

So, in that note, I don't really have that many audio books. I do own an audio book of I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak via the audible app. The only time I'll liste..."

Oh my! Audiobooks! This is how I get through about 70% of the books I want to read. Yes, I LOVE Jim Dale who did the American Harry Potter series, though I heard Stephen Fry is incredible too :)

I really loved listening to the Finishing School series by Gail Carriger, read by Moira Quirk:


Also The Selection series by Kierra Cass read by Amy Rubinate is really wonderful too.


Amy Rubinate also narrates Everneath, which I haven't read yet, but am looking forward to because I enjoyed her work on The Selection.

I'm not a fan of audiobooks. I've tried a few times but I never get past chapter one. Last one I tried was Fallen and I didn't like it.

Katie wrote: "Oh my! Audiobooks! This is how I get through about 70% of the books I want to read. Yes, I LOVE Jim Dale who did the American Harry Potter series, though I heard Stephen Fry is incredible too :)

..."

Okay, so Moira follows me on Twitter, but I have to ask... wasn't she on Cory in the House and Switched at Birth? Is that who she is? lol

@Erin, I think you're thinking of Maiara Walsh (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2118666/?r...) Moira Quirk was actually the announcer on Nickelodeon Guts. How's that for a 90s kid reference :)

Katie wrote: "@Erin, I think you're thinking of Maiara Walsh (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2118666/?r...) Moira Quirk was actually the announcer on Nickelodeon Guts. How's that for a 90s kid reference :)"

Okay. Then maybe Maiara is the one who follows me. Oh man, Guts! That was a good show. Although, I think I liked Legends of the Hidden Temple more. I wanted to be on it so bad.

Erin wrote: Okay. Then maybe Maiara is the one who follows me. Oh man, Guts! That was a good show. Although, I think I liked Legends of the Hidden Temple more. I wanted to be on it so bad.

Me too! 90's kids game shows were amazing! Another one I really liked was Finders Keepers. It was older than Legends of the Hidden Temple though. I watched re-runs of it as a kid.

Katie wrote: "Erin wrote: Okay. Then maybe Maiara is the one who follows me. Oh man, Guts! That was a good show. Although, I think I liked Legends of the Hidden Temple more. I wanted to be on it so bad.

Me too!..."

I don't think I remember Finder's Keepers. :(

I'm totally obsessed with audiobooks. I love them! I spend a ton of time driving for work so I listen to them constantly. The best part is I get them from the library so I don't spend any money on them. I place a hold and they are waiting there for me and they always have the newest books.

Megan wrote: "I'm totally obsessed with audiobooks. I love them! I spend a ton of time driving for work so I listen to them constantly. The best part is I get them from the library so I don't spend any money on ..."

I love using my library's downloadable library. I can listen to them while I'm at work, or download them to my phone and listen to them in the car. What's been your favorite narrated book so far? Any favorite narrators?

Katie wrote: "Megan wrote: "I'm totally obsessed with audiobooks. I love them! I spend a ton of time driving for work so I listen to them constantly. The best part is I get them from the library so I don't spend..."

I've been attempting to do that.

I've been rereading The Hunger Games via audio, and I'm really enjoying it.

Jim Dale is a great narrator. Also Rebecca Soler who narrates the Lunar Chronicles is good. I can't think of many off hand but most are pretty good. There are only a few that I really couldn't take and had to stop the book.

I love Rebecca Soler. She is so amazing.

It's been forever since I commented on this discussion and I've read so many amazing audiobooks since then! They are such an essential part of my reading life now - they help me get reading done at times when I usually wouldn't, and I've read way more books over the past couple of years than I would've done without them! With a really good narrator (and I think awful ones are very rare) I think an audiobook can almost infallibly improve your reading experience. I find it easier to imagine the characters as real people and distinguish between them, and also to empathise with them - because there is emotion in their dialogue. Audio is also great for me because I tend to start reading really fast during exciting parts of stories, then miss important things that happen. With somebody else controlling the reading pace, that's not an issue, and you can savour every word. And if they are way too slow, you can always speed it up a little. The one downside I can think of is with book with pictures or illustrations in - obviously listening to the audiobook, you miss out on those. But then again, often audiobooks come with digital versions of the pictures attached to them.

My absolute favourite YA audiobooks of all time are the Firebird books, written by Claudia Gray, and narrated by Tavia Gilbert (I get all my audiobooks on Audible). The books are really action-packed and heart-warming, and Tavia has a beautiful distinct voice in my opinion. She's stellar at guys' voices and accents (although her English one is slightly over the top), and really gets into the character in every situation, making this series a pleasure to listen to. It's always good to get sci-fi in audio form, as well, I think, so you don't get bored by the explanations and stuff. Some other very good ones are...

by Ernest Cline, narrated by Wil Wheaton. This is a fabulous nerdy funny adventure, please listen to it!

by Julie Anne Peters, narrated by Christine Lakin. Like Tavia Gilbert, Christine Lakin brings lots of emotion to her storytelling and for me, brought the characters to life incredibly. This was my favourite book of last year and I think the narration had a lot to do with that.

by Morgan Matson, read by Suzy Jackson. Eeeeek this one makes me excited just thinking about it! An amazingly cute and realistic (yet adventurous!) romance, which I definitely wouldn't have gotten so attached to if not for the terrific narration. This was an utter joy to listen to, and I will definitely be giving it another go at some point.

by Maggie Steifvater, narrated by Fiona Hardingham and Steve West. Very different voices but both excellent. Charming book, this. :D

by Leah Thomas is narrated by Kirby Heyborne and Eric Michael Summerer. This is a story told through the letters of two teenage boys to one another - one German, and one American. I loved the contrasting voices of the two narrators, and they played their characters exceptionally well. The story itself kind of disappointed me, but still a good audiobook.

I've listened to some awesome Middle Grades too, my favourite probably being by Maya Van Wagenen, narrated by Amber Faith and Lee Adams. A true story written like a diary, and sounding like the author is actually speaking to you. I've listened to this twice and will be doing so again many times in the future; such an uplifting tale!

by Annabel Pitcher is another very cute one, narrated lovingly by the one and only David Tennant.

Sorry if this is overwhleming to anyone - I just thought I should give these amazing productions the credit they deserve! I'm always on the lookout for new audiobook gems, so if any of you guys want to share your recommendations, I for one would appreciate it! In particular I'm dying to listen to something else narrated by Tavia Gilbert. Has anyone else given her performances a try?