Audiobooks discussion

Starting the year off with The Skeleton Crew: How Amateur Sleuths Are Solving America's Coldest Cases, which is interesting, if not riveting. Laural Merlington's narration seems a good fit.

I'm listening to We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates. The writing style is kind of weird, but John O'May's narration is quite good.

I am a few hours into Love in the Time of Cholera, and I'm really enjoying it. A great start to my 2015.

QB VII is my start. I read it while in high school or college and have no recollection of a lot of it. I really like John Lee as a narrator. Then I think I'm going to listen to my pile in the order that they are downloaded on my phone.

Fran, that's what I do, listen in the order in which they were acquired. It has (mostly) eliminated having books get lost in the shuffle.

Gee, there's no way I could do that! I have to decide which one I "feel like" tackling next.

I have to adopt some kind of system in 2015. I'm thinking of listening to books in my library in alphabetical order, by author name.

Yep I roll like John

John wrote: "Gee, there's no way I could do that! I have to decide which one I "feel like" tackling next."

I only 'think' that's what I'm going to do! ;-). Sometimes I need to work in something that challenges the status quo. I could listen to murder mysteries ad infinitum. They're my guilty pleasure, but then practical guilt takes over and I need to learn something, then the 'tackling' starts! It's a plan, albeit a loose one.

I found that when I went only with "feeling," all of a sudden I was finding books I bought 2 years ago and had forgot about. I don't stick 100% with the list order to make sure I'm getting variety in genres, length, mood, etc., but I try to more or less make sure I'm getting to the oldest books first.

Jennifer (President, Chronic Complainers Not-so-Anonymous) wrote: "I'm listening to We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates. The writing style is kind of weird, but John O'May's narration is quite good."

I didn't dislike that one, per se, but it's some heavy reading material. I was so frustrated with all of the characters by the end. But I think it was much more important to pushing societal thinking when it was first published, as there are some challenging ideas in it.

I don't like hearing the story from the point of view of the youngest child. To me, it's as if he's inserting himself into a story that isn't his to tell.

I do like Fran and Kristie - read in the order I acquired them. From time to time, there will be a challenge or some other factor that will cause a book to jump the queue.

I have 84 audiobooks to read and I just listed them all in another group. I was surprised at how many I had forgotten I even had. Some of those were ones that even the title didn't seem familiar to me. If I didn't read in order, those would be the ones that would be lost in the nether.

I'm not starting off a new audiobook for 2015. I'm in the middle of one I started last week - Hammered.

Janice wrote: "I do like Fran and Kristie - read in the order I acquired them. From time to time, there will be a challenge or some other factor that will cause a book to jump the queue.

I have 84 audiobooks ..."

One problem with that for me would be the need to shuffle genres.

I don't understand the need to shuffle genres. Do you read by genre, John?

I started Crime and Punishment a week ago so I'm continuing with that. I listen to my audio books like John according to what I'm in the mood for.

I can't read a full length novel, followed by yet another similar one. Ditto two travel narrative audiobooks back to back. That kind of thing.

I have to shuffle genres only because I have to be listening to a different genre than the print book I'm reading or I get the stories jumbled in my brain. Once made the mistake of listening to Neverwhere and reading Kraken in print. Currently I'm listening to The Golden Apples of the Sun Ray Bradbury shorts and reading I Am Half-Sick of Shadows so I won't get confused (hopefully)!

John wrote: "I can't read a full length novel, followed by yet another similar one. Ditto two travel narrative audiobooks back to back. That kind of thing."

Ok, I get it now. Variety is your spice of life. :)

I only worked a half day yesterday so didn't quite finish They're Watching by Gregg Hurwitz narrated by Scott Brick it's quite a twisty psychological thriller.


I also listen like John does, I've made the mistake of listening to similar books back to back and have wondered if I would have enjoyed the 2nd book as much if it hadn't been similar to the last so I always try to mix up my genres.

Catherine wrote: "I have to shuffle genres only because I have to be listening to a different genre than the print book I'm reading or I get the stories jumbled in my brain. Once made the mistake of listening to [bo..."

Ugh! That happened to me once and only once! I was listening to one WWII novel and reading one. Now I'm much more careful when I'm reading two or three books. It is confusing.

I finished An Italian Wife by Ann Hood and it was a total dud. My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show.... The narration by Cassandra Campbell was good as usual, but it didn't help make the book any better.

I almost never read series, I don't like having to wait for the next book or if they are already out reading several books all with the same characters. But this year I've decided I will read some of the popular series and my first one is Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I spent yesterday assembling my new bed and doing some painting (walls) so it was the perfect 'light' listening.

I've made a "2015 TBR" list of all the books I already own or have access too (library or friend loan) and there's 100 books on there. I'm pretty sure I'll swap some out for new releases or purchases during the year but it's a good reminder of what I have and avoid the temptation to buy too much on impulse.

I started Cinder today and I'm not really sure how I feel about it yet.

I mix up genres too, though more by type of mystery than full blown genre shifting usually. I finished an audio yesterday (Annihilation) which was an out of the ordinary book for me to read and an interesting end to a year with sixty-three mostly stellar audio books.
Today's first book of 2015:Station Eleven is different but perhaps continuing in that same sort of vein, not sure yet. I decide what to read next on mood and due dates if an Overdrive loan from the library.

I definitely like to switch up genres from book to book. For me, that's part of the fun of reading/listening.

I can be happy to stay within a genre as long as the stories are quite different.
I do have to take a break between certain types of books though, I find WW2 fiction something I can only read in small doses, too much war/Nazi atrocities can become too upsetting...and I don't want to get to the point where it becomes any less disturbing.

Patricia wrote: "I can be happy to stay within a genre as long as the stories are quite different.
I do have to take a break between certain types of books though, I find WW2 fiction something I can only read in s..."

Yes, I had decided I couldn't read any more books with Nazis but there were so many great reviews of All the Light We Cannot See and Life After Life. I listened to both but sort of wished I hadn't.

I always have at least 3 books going, audio and print, and I like to vary them, to keep them straight and also to represent different styles as others have said.

Today I finished Murder in the Mystery Suite, first in the Book Retreat Mystery series by Ellery Adams and read by Johana Parker. I really enjoyed this first in a cozy series book. It has a great fictional village of Storyton and a huge old manor house, Storyton Hall, used as a hotel with books as its theme and an atmosphere intended for book lovers to have a retreat in which to read. The literary references are innumerable and food descriptions abound. It is populated with lots of interesting hotel staff and villagers so future books have a ready-made group of people to be interested in. It also has a really interesting twist with the main character finding out about her role in the family's unique legacy and on-going obligation. I hope Audible gets more in this series soon.

I do have to say that, while I generally like Johana Parker's work, something about this one didn't fit her narrative style. I don't know if it's because she was enunciating more carefully and without the accent she used in the Sookie Stackhouse books, or if it was the narrative style of the text, but it just didn't quite feel like the right fit--despite some good character voices.

And I simply had to re-read As You Wish, even though I first read it last week. I confess, I'm a The Princess Bride movie fangirl and often watch it multiple times in a row, so reading the book multiple times isn't so surprising. I really love Cary Elwis' text and he's a great narrator of his own work in this one.

i'm listening to Ironskin in the car - its a PNR take on Jane Eyre with fae - something different - its been loitering on the pile for a while

at work, i'm listening to Born in Death - my goal to listen to 1 of these a month over the next year - since I have the entire back list (up until about bk 34)

I am starting off the year with John Lee's narration of The Three Musketeers -- only about 15% in but am loving it so far!

I've listened to that version but John Lee puts me to sleep. It's so bad I won't even buy his narrations anymore . That's not even a knock to his ability. I beleive the tone of his voice just has the affect on me comparable to taking benadryl. I don't understand why really.

I started 2015 listening to Asylum (Asylum #1), but since I joined a "Series Killer" challenge group, I will wait until later in the year to finish listening to it so I get my credit once the 3rd book is published.

So now, I will decide among BoneMan's Daughters, While Beauty Slept, or Snowbound while I wait for my husband to finish up his book. Then we will listen to The Burning Room together (and one of my "serial killer" challenge books!

Started The Ghost Bride written and narrated by Yangsze Choo this one is for bookclub.

Leslie wrote: "I am starting off the year with John Lee's narration of The Three Musketeers -- only about 15% in but am loving it so far!"

Leslie! If you enjoy this then you'll also love his narration of The Count of Monte Cristo.

Starting 2015 off by finishing up Station Eleven. This book has really impressed me. it's so much more than the synopsis of being post-apocalyptic. The fine writing and tone remind me of The Goldfinch , though luckily less bleak than that was.

I've started The Art Forger, wonderful narration by Xe Sands and good story so far (I'm from Boston so there is also local interest)

I read Guardians of the Night, an enjoyable sequel to Burning Man.

I am starting Tilt-a-Whirl next. Still reading Framley Parsonage

Juggling Tilt-a-Whirl and Framley Parsonage insures you sure as hell won't get those plots confused!

I liked The Art Forger.

@Travis - I know what you mean as I have that problem with Frederick Davidson.

@Fran - Thanks for the suggestion! I have read The Count of Monte Cristo but if I decide to reread it, I'll definitely keep that in mind :)

Jeanie wrote: "And I simply had to re-read As You Wish, even though I first read it last week. I confess, I'm a The Princess Bride movie fangirl and often watch it multiple times in a row, so reading the book multiple times isn't so surprising. I really love Cary Elwis' text and he's a great narrator of his own work in this one...."

I know how you feel! I just finished it and I missed it when it was done. I can only imagine how it must feel to have been a part of such a special film. If I was so sad for the anecdotes to end, it must have been REALLY hard to wrap on that set. I feel like I want to re-read the novel too.

I finished Hammered today. It didn't grab me as much as the first two, but I still enjoyed it.

Tomorrow, I start The Hobbit.

I've had a few false starts with Beyond the Beautiful Forevers in print, which I thought I would really enjoy. Maybe I should try the audio.

Joy wrote: "John wrote: "Gee, there's no way I could do that! I have to decide which one I "feel like" tackling next."

I'm with you, John, except for book club reads. That is also why I often have multiple re..."

Agree! Donna Tartt and Emily St. John Mandel are both 'total package' writers - they offer the perfect combination of beautiful prose and page-turning plots.

Holly wrote: "Starting 2015 off by finishing up Station Eleven. This book has really impressed me. it's so much more than the synopsis of being post-apocalyptic. The fine writing and tone remind ..."

I finished Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris, first in her new Midnight, Texas series. I really liked this one, although I'm not sure I liked the ending. It actually features two minor characters from two different Charlaine Harris series--Harper Conolly and Lily Bard--so there was both a very strange feel to the book but a certain familiarity at the same time. While it was clear from the start that all the inhabitants of Midnight--fourteen in all--were strange and had secrets, it wasn't clear until later that this meant paranormal. It seems to be in the same universe as Sookie Stackhouse in that there is a vampire and this seems to be "normal"... but we're only given hints as to what some of the others might be.

I was a little reluctant to start this one, given how the Sookie Stackhouse series devolved toward the end, but I thought the mystery was good and actually found I cared about these characters and want to see what happens next.

I've finished two. Customs of the World: Using Cultural Intelligence to Adapt, Wherever You Are I started months ago and listened to a lecture here and there. Anyone who travels or interacts with diversity in the workplace would enjoy this. He neatly covers some major cultural differences. Each lecture was only 30 minutes long and was comfortable to listen to at a faster speed. I also finished Broken Harbour. Good writer, good narration, decent mystery but so many flawed characters!

Jeanie: thanks for the comment on Charlaine Harris' Midnight Crossing. I started it in print and it went back to the library unread. How was the narration?

Ann wrote: "Jeanie: thanks for the comment on Charlaine Harris' Midnight Crossing. I started it in print and it went back to the library unread. How was the narration?"

I liked the narration, decent voices and it never felt like it got in the way. It has been long enough since I listened to the other two series that I didn't have any other voices for the two characters from them to still be in my head, so this wasn't an issue for me.

Question for the community.

I am thinking of queuing up "Dr. Sleep" and finding out... "Whatever happened to Danny Torrence?".

But first... shouldn't I revisit the Shining. It has been a long time between The Shining(1977) and the new sequel, "Dr. Sleep".

I have seen the movie of the "The Shining" multiple times but have not read the book since a young man. So ... should I read/listen to the book first or just watch the movie again before diving into "Dr. Sleep".

I'm now listening to Ken Follett's World Without End. It is the second book in The Pillars of the Earth series and an excellent audio book. Since I listen only when I'm walking, it will take me a month to finish this book.