2018 May Reading Challenge...

[Elizabeth]

Your challenge for May is to listen to an audiobook. It can be any type of audiobook, fiction or non-fiction. You can even check out a book kit from the library, which is when a picture book comes with a CD that reads the story. For those Audiobook aficionados out there, who are your favorite narrators? I'm a fan of Jim Dale, Simon Prebble and Patrick Lawlor.

[Debbie]

I'm listening to Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond, winner of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for another group. May as well kill 2 birds with one stone.

[Stephanie]

aaaahh!!! this challenge will be way easy as I've been listening to quite a few audiobooks as of late. I'm new-ish to the world of audiobooks, but the few I've really enjoyed and would almost recommend in audiobook over print form:
Libba Bray's Beauty Queens
Carrie Fisher's The Princess Diarist
Phoebe Robinson's You Can't Touch My Hair

overdrive also has Twilight Zone radio dramas for those who are interested in stuff like that! It's been a lot of fun to listen to :)

[Becky]

Oh good, I can do this one, easily. I am currently reading/listening to The Grave's a Fine and Private Place, a Flavia DeLuce mystery, and the narrator is great!

[Donna]

I loved listening to SOMETIMES I LIE by Alice Feeney on audio. The narrator Stephanie Racine has the most beguiling British accent. I was totally riveted from the first sentence , an awesome psychological thriller and I believe a sequel is being written. Highly recommend!!!

[Rebecca]

I'm listening to A Gentle Thief written and performed by Utah's own Amanda Dickson.

[Greg]

This is a great challenge for me...in that I read most of my books on audio. I've already completed this challenge 7 times, this month!

I like several different readers I've heard. Some of them have very recognizable voices. Unfortunately, I don't know most of the names of the voices I like. I don't listen to a book based on its reader.

I do have one nemesis; one reader who, whenever I hear his voice I scream "no, I hate you Scott Brick." He's prolific. He read practically everything. But I hate his cadence and his word emphasis; it always strikes me as the wrong way to read the sentences, like he missed the point.

A few outstanding performers/performances in my mind include The Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher, read by James Marsders, The Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snickett, read by Tim Curry, and Jim Dale's readings of the Harry Potter books. I also love David McCullough's readings of his own books.

I would also HIGHLY recommend the Magic 2.0 series by Scott Meyer. The reader, Luke Daniels, completely nails the performance, which is critical in humor books.

[Carolyn]

Haven't completed this yet, but I've got something on hold for this challenge. I have gotten into audiobooks more in the past few years. I have previously enjoyed Stockard Channing's narrations of Beverly Cleary's Ramona books as well as Elaine Stritch's narration of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever."

[Teresa]

I started Redwall but the main bad guy/rat had a fake Russian accent, in my opinion. It was distracting.
I listened to The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq on YouTube and enjoyed it.

[Debbie]

I think the worst reading I ever started was Jack Kerouac's On the Road as read by Matt Dillon. It was so bad I stopped listening! He read quietly, rapidly, and with little, if any, inflection and barely any awareness of punctuation. It sounded like he thought he was reading it aloud to himself. An actor should do better. Madeline L'Engle's reading of her A Wrinkle in Time was also surprisingly poor.
Simon Prebbles (I think) and Jim Dale are wonderful.

[Donna]

Ha...this challenge was made for me. I listen to a lot of audios.

[Donna]

Greg wrote: "This is a great challenge for me...in that I read most of my books on audio. I've already completed this challenge 7 times, this month!

I like several different readers I've heard. Some of them ha..."


Greg.....I LOVE LOVE Scott Brick. I could listen to him read a phone book.

And I agree with you 100% on James Marsters and Jim Dale. Have you listened to any of Tim Gerard Reynolds' work? I like him too.


Other favorites:
Davina Porter
Simon Vance
Jayne Entwistle
Bianca Amato
Tom Stechschulte
........................just to name a few.

[Jackie]

I just finished Beyond Reason (Texas Trilogy #1), by Kat Martin. This is the 2nd book I have listened to on my phone this month, and I just discovered you can speed up the reading!! Yay! One of my irritations with a lot of narrators is that they read sooooo slow. I don't recommend the book, by the way. Gave it 2 stars.

[Debbie]

Jackie wrote: "I just finished Beyond Reason (Texas Trilogy #1), by Kat Martin. This is the 2nd book I have listened to on my phone this month, and I just discovered you can speed up the reading!! Yay! One of my ..."
I discovered the faster speed by accident. I envy you, though. I can't listen that fast. Mine can also set to read slower, though I've not yet needed that feature.

[Linda]

I listened to The Further Adventures of Ebenezer Scrooge. This was a short book. If you like A Christmas Carol, you will like this book. In this book Scrooge is totally reformed and goes about doing good and changing lives.

[Greg]

Donna wrote: "Greg.....I LOVE LOVE Scott Brick. I could listen to him read a phone book. "

To each their own, I guess.

It's funny, I told my librarian sister about hating SB, and she was talking to her fellow librarians about it. Apparently, there's a whole group dedicated to hating his readings. Which is sad but funny.

I'm not familiar with the name Tim Gerard Reynolds, but that doesn't mean I haven't heard him. I listen to a LOT of audiobooks. I've listened to 85 books on audio, so far this year.

[Debbie]

Greg wrote: "I've listened to 85 books on audio, so far this year."
Holey Bajoley! Do you ever sleep? ha ha! Actually, my number of audio books radically decreased this year after I retired. But the number of ebooks I read soared, by comparison.

[Britt, Book Habitue]

I find audio books really problematic.... Generally my computer is my best option for listening, which is fine, except I have little kids coming to find me periodically (read constantly) so I either have to be crazy fast with the pause button or it has to be totally appropriate for little ears.

[Greg]

Britt, Book Habitue wrote: "I find audio books really problematic.... Generally my computer is my best option for listening, which is fine, except I have little kids coming to find me periodically (read constantly) so I eithe..."

I might recommend headphones. I rip cds, dump them onto my phone, then listen with bluetooth headphones. When I need to interrupt, the pause button is handy. I love it because I can listen while doing various mindless tasks and commuting.

[Greg]

Debbie wrote: "Greg wrote: "I've listened to 85 books on audio, so far this year."
Holey Bajoley! Do you ever sleep? ha ha! Actually, my number of audio books radically decreased this year after I retired. But th..."

I do. Occasionally.

Most of my listening is during my commute and in the early morning while getting ready for the day.

[Greg]

Debbie wrote: "I'm listening to Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond, winner of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for another group. May as w..."

That's a great book!

[Audrey]

Scott Brick is good for certain books, not all. I’ve started to really hate Jim Dale! He said the dialogue all wrong in Harry Potter. I heard Stephen Fry did a new narration, but the library doesn’t have that.

Tim Gerard Reynolds is very good, but kind of slow, so if you can speed up the playback, I recommend that. Tim Curry is really good; he did Sabriel.

The Illuminae Files trilogy on audio is excellent: full cast, sound effects. Simon Jones is an excellent narrator.

Michael Kramer does most of Brandon Sanderson’s and Robert Jordan’s books. He’s great, but I can’t stand his wife’s narrations (Kate Reading). After listening to her in The Way of Kings, I had to quit using audiobooks for that series.

I’ve listened to about 12 audiobooks this year so far; I got 34 in all of last year.

[Becky]

I love Toni Morrison reading her books on CD. Her voice is so smooth. I also only listen, rather than read, to two series on audio: The Number One Ladies Detective Agency has a good reader, and The Isabel Dalhousie series.

[Jackie]

I think the Maisie Dobbs series is so fun to listen to. I prefer that one over reading it, just because the reader is just how i picture Maisie to sound.

[Jackie]

Also, Confessions of Georgia Nicolson is read by the author, Louise Rennison, and she is hysterical if you are looking for a crazy series that sends you right back to the thoughts you had as a teenager.

[Becky]

I finished The Grave's a Fine and Private Place.

Jackie, I completely agree about Louise Rennison!

[Becky]

I finished The Grave's a Fine and Private Place.

Jackie, I completely agree about Louise Rennison!

[Debbie]

I have finished Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond. The 1998 Pulitzer winner for general non-fiction, Diamond approaches the question of why Eurasians conquered, displaced, or decimated Native Americans, Australians, and Africans, instead of the reverse without falling into the racist trap relying on an idea that Eurasians are more intelligent or more "beloved of God". Well written and thought provoking.

[Susan]

I listened to The BFG by Roald Dahl.
I am also listening to Across theWide andLonesome Prairie by Kristiana Gregory.

[Audrey]

I finished Obsidio and Something Wicked This Way Comes.

[Donna]

So far I've listened to 18 books this month. Some of my favorites were:

The Caine Mutiny
Into the Black
Into the Drowning Deep
Among the Wicked

[Teresa]

Thanks to a recommendation here, I'm listening to Maisie Dobbs Journey To Munich and enjoying it!

[Elizabeth]

Wow you guys are reading so many audiobooks, I love it! Keep it up and keep those recommendations coming.

[Alyson]

I experimented with an audio book on the elliptical, and I think I will try a second! I picked something on the shorter side that was nonfiction and immediately available to borrow, which is why I listened to "Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho." I have to say it was generally fascinating, if a sort of macabre mental space to keep returning to.

[Greg]

Alyson wrote: "I experimented with an audio book on the elliptical, and I think I will try a second! I picked something on the shorter side that was nonfiction and immediately available to borrow, which is why I ..."

Careful, you'll get addicted.

[Amanda]

I listened to Tarkin by James Luceno. I also listened to Storm Front by Jim Butcher and A Witch Before Dying by Heather Blake.

[Audrey]

After about three Dresden Files books, James Marsters gets really good at it.

[Amanda]

Yeah, I’ve listened to them all before. Storm Front is the only one I own on audio so for long car rides I listen to it a lot.

[Debbie]

I've finished a second audio book, Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, a Newbery winner. I'm amazed by folks who are reading so many audio books! I'd read more if I didn't keep reading books that are 30 and 40 hours long!

[Greg]

Amanda wrote: "Yeah, I’ve listened to them all before. Storm Front is the only one I own on audio so for long car rides I listen to it a lot."

The library has them all. Before a trip, check one out. I usually rip it and put it on my phone so that it's easily portable.

[Greg]

Here are my Audiobooks read during May (so far):

UnDivided Neal Shusterman
Congo Michael Crichton
The Emporer's Revenge Clive Cussler
How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World Steven Johnson
The Outward Mindset Arbinger Institute
The Geek Feminist Revolution Kameron Hurley
All Our Yesterdays Cristin Terrill
Mr. Mormon: Advanced Discourses for Latter-day Saints, Mere-Mortals & Super-Mormons John S. Pennington Jr.
Into the Black Evan Currie
Inferno Dante Alighieri
Purgatorio Dante Alighieri
Paradiso Dante Alighieri
Redshirts John Scalzi
The Fallen David Baldacci
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince J. K. Rowling
We Have No Idea Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson

[Stephanie]

I haven't finished a book this month via audiobook because I've been in a weird "can't finish anything" place. I have started listening to Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows and the narrator is fantastic and between her narrative + the story itself, I'm SUUUUPER intrigued and excited to keep reading.

I've also been recommending Libby/Overdrive to like everyone I talk to because I've been loving listening to books through overdrive. It's given me a chance to learn to enjoy listening to audiobooks without spending money. (Prior to this year I was a, "I respect people who enjoy audiobooks but I cannot for the life of me read audiobooks". thankfully I have people who gave me some good recs and I was interested enough in trying again that I have now realized the error of my ways! Also, the best feeling with reading audiobooks is when you're on the bus listening to a story and it's SO GOOD that when you get home you literally HAVE TO FINISH THE BOOK OR ELSE. that happened for me with When Dimple Met Rishi )

[Audrey]

How do Overdrive audiobooks work? I have not figured that out.

[Teresa]

As long as you have the updated Overdrive app, you can play the audiobook within the app. Just touch the book as you would an ebook and it will start.

[Teresa]

I also listened to The Wall by Marlen Haushofer and I'm listening to Calling on Dragons. So that's 4 audiobooks this month.

[Becky]

I also finished listening to Woolly: The True Story of the Quest to Revive One of History's Most Iconic Extinct Creatures.

[Donna]

Here's my list of audios for this month:

The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss, and Long-term Health

The Better Brain Solution: How to Start Now-at Any Age-to Reverse and Prevent Insulin Resistance of the Brain, Sharpen Cognitive Function, and Avoid Memory Cognitive Function, and Avoid Memory Loss

Manhattan Beach
From a Certain Point of View
The Devil Wears Prada
Less Than A Treason
Excuses Begone!: How to Change Lifelong, Self-Defeating Thinking Habits
Educated: A Memoir
The Empire Strikes Back - So You Want to Be a Jedi?
Warcross
Arcadia
Where There's Hope: Healing, Moving Forward, and Never Giving Up
Eat Fat, Get Thin
A New Hope - The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy
Path of Destruction
Among the Wicked
North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail
The Girl in the Castle
Foodist: Using Real Food and Real Science to Lose Weight Without Dieting
Into the Drowning Deep
Iron Gold
Into the Black
Pandemic
The Caine Mutiny

[Carolyn]

I'm probably not going to get anything read for this month's challenge, but I have enjoyed seeing everyone else's choices.

[JoAnn]

I read The Myth of the Spoiled Child: Coddled Kids, Helicopter Parents, and Other Phony Crises and The Bird and the Sword.

[Greg]

Becky wrote: "I also finished listening to Woolly: The True Story of the Quest to Revive One of History's Most Iconic Extinct Creatures."

I bet that was really interesting!