Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

~ Monthly Audiobook Challenge ~

Each month we will have a different theme of audiobook for you to listen to.
Read one, two, three, or thirty. Up to you! Just post at the start of the month which books you will read in the category, update through the month and post a link to your Goodreads review (no links to external sites).

Let's find some great audiobooks together!

Duration: Monthly


April 2023 Theme:

◈ Celebrity Narrator
Category name says it all: Somebody famous narrates. Examples: James Marsters reading Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series or Anne Hathaway reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
For ideas, check out: https://www.audible.com/blog/article-...

How to Participate:

The Audiobook Challenge is designed to not only help you to read your audiobooks, but to also find out about other great audiobooks from other challenge participants!

Though you may pop in/out at any time, the Audiobook Challenge will run on a monthly basis so you are able to see progress being made.

There are no minimum page requirements, and you can read abridged or unabridged audiobooks!


1. At the beginning of the month, post :
a: How many audiobooks in total you want to read for the month
b: How many audiobooks in the monthly category you want to read
c: Post the audiobooks (as you decide on them) by linking them to Goodreads in your post

2. During the month, read the audiobooks that you can AND update your post with your reviews. (You can do this after each book or wait until the end of the month.)

3. At the end of the month, update your post and with:
a: What books you read
b: Link(s) to your review(s) - note: can only be linked to Goodreads and not an external site
c: How many audiobooks you have read for this challenge this year


Then start a new post for the next month!


FORMAT YOU CAN COPY AND PASTE:


Start of Month
Total audiobooks to read:
Audiobooks in monthly category to read:

Books in category:

FINISHED


End of Month
Total audiobooks read this year:
Audiobooks in monthly category read:

MY MONTHLY RECOMMENDATION (and why):

===============

EXAMPLE : (under spoiler)(view spoiler)[

Start of Month

Total audiobooks to read: 6
Audiobooks in monthly category to read: 2

Books in category:


FINISHED


End of Month
Total audiobooks read this year: 9
Audiobooks in monthly category read: 1

MY MONTHLY RECOMMENDATION (and why):

Great story about women, culture and love set in Nigeria. I loved the characters and the setting, and the audio narrator was great with the different voices and bringing the story to life (hide spoiler)]

r

Start of Month
Total audiobooks to read: 7
Audiobooks in monthly category to read: 1

Books in category:

FINISHED


End of Month
Total audiobooks read this year: 30 (was 22 end of March)
Audiobooks in monthly category read: 1

MY MONTHLY RECOMMENDATION (and why):

Loved it - made me (and kids) watch the movie again too

Me too.

I really MUST FINALLY read by Jim Butcher and narrated by james Marsters. 😅

Start of Month

Audiobooks in monthly category to read: 1 or 2, we'll see

Books in category:

FINISHED:

End of Month
Total audiobooks read this year: 27
Audiobooks in monthly category read: 1

MY MONTHLY RECOMMENDATION (and why): N/A

Melindam wrote: "Me too.

I really MUST FINALLY read by Jim Butcher and narrated by James Marsden. 😅"

Yes you should!!!!

Actually I just thought I can pull out another Julia Wheelan narration if we consider her a celebrity? (She is also an actress 😬)

Possibilities:

- Narrated by Wil Wheaton
- Narrated by Wil Wheaton
- Narrated by Paul Giamatti
- Narrated by James Callis
- Narrated by Hugh Fraser (and others)
- Narrated by Finty Williams
- Narrated by a full celebrity cast
- Narrated by Blair Brown
- narrated by Kevin Hart
- narrated by Cliff Richard
- Read by Dolly Parton

Start of Month
Total audiobooks to read: 30
Audiobooks in monthly category to read: 11

Books in category:

FINISHED

In Category:

- Not like author's usual work... - 3.5 stars
- HP stories in the collection read by HP actor David Suchet - 3 stars
- surprisingly good! - 4.5 stars
- meh - 3 stars
- everybody and their dog is in this - 4 stars
- boring start, got better - 3 stars
- good, but more action would be nice - 4 stars
- meh - 3 stars
- aaaand done! - 3 stars
- Fun! - 4 stars
- nostalgia! - 4 stars


Not in category:

- tentacles! - 3 stars
- Good sequel - 4 stars
- some great stories - 4 stars
- series getting good - 4 stars
- good characters - 3.5 stars
- fun re-read - 4 stars
- fun enough - 3.5 stars
- good enough close to series - 3.5 stars
- again 3 stars for Atwood... - 3 stars
- not my fave in the series - 3 stars
- also not fave in series - 3 stars
- good once it got going - 4 stars
- awesome! - 4.5 stars
- all kinds of missed potential - 2 stars
- a lot of repetition - 3 stars
- pretty good, even if the main villain was obvious - 3.5 star
- ok - 3 stars
- audio not best medium for this - 3 stars
- different, but not bad - 3.5 stars
- very difficult to read - 3 stars
- Braaaaaaaiiiiins! - 3 stars
- Always much fun! - 4 stars
- average - 3.5 stars
- one of my favourite books - 5 stars
- Pretty good collection - 4 stars

End of Month
Total audiobooks read this year: (111 in Jan-Mar) + 35
Audiobooks in monthly category read: (8 in Jan-Mar) + 11

MY MONTHLY RECOMMENDATION (and why):

In category:

, narrated by the fabulous Blair Brown (Nina Sharp on Fringe among lots of other things) - I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Historical fiction about theater folk, in particular one young lady, who we follow through her life. 4.5 stars

Not in category (and not read before):

- Great book! I am really loving the Orphan X series, and this was a great one. I recommend the series for people who like action thrillers (or what my old co-worker would have termed 'men's books'. daft woman. Having said that, I am buying hubby all the books for Christmas, lol)

Richard Armitage counts... ;)

Yuss! Or Dan Stevens. ;)

Of course I just recently read all my Richard Armitage TBRs, lol.

A dire situation.

It is rather... I may need to book shopping to fix that :D

I'll join. Still need to look for books. :)

Plan to read: 1

Books in category:
The Boy from the Woods - Steven Weber
Win - Steven Weber
I Will Find You - Steven Weber
The Life and Loves of a He Devil - Graham Norton
Of Mice and Men - Gary Sinise
Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard - Tom Felton
The Hobbit - Andy Serkis
Dracula - Tim Curry
Journey to the Center of the Earth - Tim Curry
Suspect Zero - Wil Wheaton
The Ugly Duckling - Stephen Fry
Casino Royale - Dan Stevens
The Light We Carry - Michelle Obama
Sea Wall / A Life - Jake Gyllenhaal, Tom Sturridge

Book chosen: Of Mice and Men - Gary Sinise
Review:

Audiobooks read for this challenge this year: 3

I listened to the Aristotle & Dante books in March narrated by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

found 9 in my tbr, not a bad lot to be getting on with :)

I think I will have Andy Serkis read Tolkien to me in April <3

Ann-Marie wrote: "I think I will have Andy Serkis read Tolkien to me in April <3"

Very good idea. I thought he was brilliant! :D

April 2023 Theme:

◈ Celebrity Narrator
Category name says it all: Somebody famous narrates. (view spoiler)[Examples: James Marsters reading Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series or Anne Hathaway reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
For ideas, check out: https://www.audible.com/blog/article-...

Lin-Manuel Miranda narrating Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World
Wil Wheaton narrating Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
Meryl Streep Narrates Heartburn by Nora Ephron
Amber Tamblyn narrating Faithful by Alice Hoffman
Stephen Fry Narrates The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes
Etc... (hide spoiler)]

FINISHED
Changes (The Dresden Files #12) by Jim Butcher - 4/28/2023 ~ Narrated by James Marsters

The Princess Bride by William Goldman - 4/28/2023 ~ Narrated by Rob Reiner

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (HP #2) by J.K. Rowling - 4/29/2023 ~ Narrated by Jim Dale


End of Month
Total audiobooks finished this year: 19 in January, 32 in February, 25 in March 25 in April
Audiobooks in monthly category done: 0 in January, 1 in February, 0 in March, 3 in April

Sammy wrote: "Ann-Marie wrote: "I think I will have Andy Serkis read Tolkien to me in April

Very good idea. I thought he was brilliant! :D"

I adore him!

Start of Month
Total audiobooks to read: 5
Audiobooks in monthly category to read: 4

Books in category:
Trixie and Katya's Guide to Modern Womanhood -- Trixie Mattel and Katya
I'm Glad My Mom Died -- Jeanette McCurdy
The Legend of Drizzt: The Collected Stories -- All-star cast
The Sandman: Act III -- All-star cast

FINISHED
Trixie and Katya's Guide to Modern Womanhood -- Trixie Mattel and Katya
I'm Glad My Mom Died -- Jeanette McCurdy
The Legend of Drizzt: The Collected Stories -- All-star cast
The Wizards of Once -- David Tennent

End of Month
Total audiobooks read this year: 22
Audiobooks in monthly category read: 4

MY MONTHLY RECOMMENDATION (and why):
I recommend 2 books this month!

If you want a great memoir listen to

If you want a great narrator and something family friendly listen to

Start of Month
Total audiobooks to read: 15
Audiobooks in monthly category to read: 5

Books in category:
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

FINISHED



End of Month
Total audiobooks read this year: 71
Audiobooks in monthly category read: 28

MY MONTHLY RECOMMENDATION (and why):
In Category:
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch


Out of Category:
Death Dates The Oracle

Start of Month
Total audiobooks to read: 5
Audiobooks in monthly category to read: 3

Books in category:



FINISHED


End of Month
Total audiobooks read this year:
Audiobooks in monthly category read:

MY MONTHLY RECOMMENDATION (and why):

I found a 10th in my tbr. Nice round number, lol.

ETA: Forgot about Dolly!! Oh well, 11 is considered a lucky number by some, lol.

My goal for April:
Of Mice and Men ready by Gary Sinise
Completed - fantastic narration!

I've already listened to the following, and highly recommend them:

Travels with Charley: In Search of America read by Gary Sinise

Boys in the Trees read by Carly Simon

A Natural Woman read by Carole King

Good Omens read by Neil Gaiman

Actually, ANY Neil Gaiman book read by the author is GOLD.

The Dutch House read by Tom Hanks

Melissa wrote: "Actually, ANY Neil Gaiman book read by the author is GOLD."

There are 3 volumes from his Sandman series that are just full of famous narrators (including him) that I absolutely loved.

Monthly Audiobook Challenge: April 2023
Theme ~ ◈ Celebrity Narrator

Start of Month
Total audiobooks to read: 10
Audiobooks in monthly category to read: 4

Books in category:
, , .

FINISHED


End of Month
Total audiobooks read this year:
Audiobooks in monthly category read:

MY MONTHLY RECOMMENDATION (and why):

Nothing But Reading Challenges
Monthly Audiobook Challenge: April 2023
Duration: 4/1/2023 - 4/30/2023

Progress: 5 out of 5

Each month we will have a different theme of audiobook for you to listen to.
Read one, two, three, or thirty. Up to you! Just post at the start of the month which books you will read in the category, update through the month and post a link to your Goodreads review (no links to external sites).

Let's find some great audiobooks together!

April 2023 Theme:

◈ Celebrity Narrator
Category name says it all: Somebody famous narrates. Examples: James Marsters reading Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series or Anne Hathaway reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
1. I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara - ***** - 4/15/2023 - 352 Pages - Patton Oswald
2. Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid - ***** - 4/6/2023 - 368 Pages - Narrated by: Jennifer Beals, Benjamin Bratt, Judy Greer, Pablo Schreiber
3. Taste: My Life through Food by Stanley Tucci - ***** - 4/3/2023 - 291 Pages - Stanley Tucci
4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - ***** - 4/18/2023 - 323 Pages - Sissy Spacek
5. You Can't Joke About That: Why Everything Is Funny, Nothing Is Sacred, and We're All in This Together by Kat Timpf - **** - 4/5/2023 - 248 Pages

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "...Actually I just thought I can pull out another Julia Wheelan narration if we consider her a celebrity? (She is also an actress 😬)"

I have her with a question mark on my list too. lol She is an actress, but I'm not sure if she's a "celebrity."

Yes I agree, Kristie. I ended up not putting her on my list as most people wouldn’t know who she is.
Whereas Cary Elwes and David Tennant I feel are more in that category

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Yes I agree, Kristie. I ended up not putting her on my list as most people wouldn’t know who she is.
Whereas Cary Elwes and David Tennant I feel are more in that category"

Not saying Julia is one or the other.
BUT both Cary and David will be fan girled at Cons so they for sure count.

Haha for sure 😊

Haha.. true! I took her off my list too. I think there are a lot of narrators who fit the task better. (Which is too bad because I'm listening to something she is narrating now! Of course, lol.)

Dang it! 🤪
She is my favourite narrator atm. I have books on my list based off the fact she narrates - didn’t even check the synopsis 😆

I was looking at it like: If actor/actress, do they have a regular/large part in a well-known movie or tv show? If yes, then it works for me, lol.
There is a huge gulf between megastar and minor celebrity, of course, but if it's someone that would conceivably be at a signing event or somesuch, I would say they qualify.

Ann-Marie wrote: "Melissa wrote: "Actually, ANY Neil Gaiman book read by the author is GOLD."

There are 3 volumes from his Sandman series that are just full of famous narrators (including him) that I absolutely loved."

I listened to "The Sandman: Act 1" by Neil Gaiman and Dirk Maggs . It also inspired some pretty crazy dreams for me, as a bonus. I have the next two Acts in my queue. Thanks for the recommendation!

So, there has been a change of plans, but I managed to listen to 1 audiobook that may fit the category:

by a full audio cast that included Rupert Everett, who I think can pass as celebrity.

He was a brilliant Captain Hook, but he and the all the lovely cast was wasted away, I think, on this total mess and hard-to-follow adaptation.

I've got to agree... That one was an audible freebie a couple of years ago, and I still felt I'd paid too much for it :D

Sammy wrote: "I've got to agree... That one was an audible freebie a couple of years ago, and I still felt I'd paid too much for it :D"

Still is... and no big mystery why. That is... it is included in the Audible+ catalogue, thankfully.

Fun fact and statistics: out of the 47 books I have read so far this year, more than 50% are audio, 27 to be precise. :)

Listened to narrated by Eleanor Bron and narrated by Mark Elstob.

While both are (were) established actors, I am not sure they fit the celebrity category. I found them to be really good narrators, though. ;)

143 out of 165 for me! though I should have another of each format done by the end of the day, lol.

Melindam wrote: "Listened to narrated by Eleanor Bron and narrated by Mark Elstob.

While both..."

Maybe in their day they might have been, especially Elstob, as he was on Eastenders and an obscene amount of people watch(ed) that. But I wasn't one of them (hate soaps!), so not too sure.

May thread is open :)

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

What was the final decision on Julia Whelan?
My IRL Library book club for today's meeting is Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes and she was the narrator.
Just finished it, and as an fyi, it was a good book.

I decided to go with Of Mice and Men narrated by Gary Sinise for this month. Sad story with excellent narration.

Alison (Lady Coffin) wrote: "What was the final decision on Julia Whelan?..."

I also listened to a book narrated by her this month and I was hoping to sneak it in as my challenge book, but we decided she wasn't really as well-known outside of her audio work and took her off our celebrity list.

Glad you enjoyed it, though Alison. I am seeking out more of the books she has narrated!

Ok thanks
I did not use her, but she is very good at what she does, and I do like all the variety she brings to the books.

I agree. She is an excellent narrator.