2015 Audio Book Challenge

[[deleted user]]

I've just discovered audio books, and thought it would be fun to have an audio book mini-challenge in 2015!

2015 Audio Book Challenge

Start date: January 1, 2015 (or anytime during 2015)
End date: December 31, 2015

Levels

Level 1: 3 audio books
Level 2: 6 audio books
Level 3: 9 audio books
Level 4: 12 audio books

Feel free to do the challenge again, if you complete level 4 before the end of 2015!

This is a challenge for Audio Books only. Any genre/length counts!

[[deleted user]]

I'm going to aim for level 4: 12 audio books. I'd like to listen to one a month.


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[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

I'll also shoot for Level 4!

1) The Lord Is My Shepherd: Healing Wisdom of the Twenty-third Psalm
2) Aleph
3) Paradise Lost
4) Tales from Shakespeare
5) This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women
6) As You Like It
7) The Warden
8) The Haunted Hotel
9) The Cuckoo's Calling
10) The Wind in the Willows
11) Little Dorrit
12) Fever 1793

[Melissa]

Ok, speaking of ADD and not being able to focus when somebody is talking to me longer than five minutes. I'm game:

1)The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas; LibriVox; READ 1/17/15

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[Roseanne]

I am in for level 4. I listen to audios on my commute to work.

1) The One & Only 1/9/15
2) The Guardian 1/22/15
3) Juliet 2/11/15
4) Love Life 2/19/15
5) Glitter and Glue 2/26/15
6) The Sea of Monsters 3/8/15
7) The Titan's Curse 3/17/15
8) Olive's Ocean 3/19/15
9) The House Girl 4/3/15
10) The Leftovers 4/15/15

[[deleted user]]

Welcome to the challenge everyone, glad you're going to be joining me with this challenge!

[Cristal]

I'm going to give level 4 - 12 audio books a go, :-)

[Holly, That Geeky One]

Everyone is aiming so high!

I'm gonna go for Level 1, just because I don't know if I can listen to a whole book as an audiobook. So I'm gonna start small. I love the idea of audiobooks, I think it's just because I don't have a steady, regular commute or anything, so I'd find it hard to have like 10 hours to listen to!

I will, however, give it a go! :D

[Srividya]

I'm in. I will also go for Level 1 because I don't get audio books easily here and am still not sure whether I like it!

[Roseanne]

I only listen in the car but i have a long commute. 45 minutes each way 5 days a week adds up to a whole lot of time. So 12 doesn't seem like a big number to me. This year my total is 22 audios so far.

[Cristal]

12 is not a big number for me, it only works out to 1 audio per month.

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

I think that's why I like SJ's levels so much. Everyone can participate as much as they choose (like Karen's Bingo) and still feel a sense of accomplishment.

[Holly, That Geeky One]

The levels concept is such a good idea! I've seen it used in another group before, but it works really well for this type of challenge :)

[Brenda (aka Grandma)]

Melissa wrote: "Ok, speaking of ADD and not being able to focus when somebody is talking to me longer than five minutes. I'm game:

Melissa, I quit on my first few audiobooks because I couldn't follow or enjoy them. I tried a couple short story collections and experimented with different kinds of novels to see which ones worked for me. Now I feel like my brain's gotten "better at them", to the point where I don't want to be without an audiobook. (Not that I could listen to every book I want to read, though.)

So I love this challenge, and am going for level 4!

[Melissa]

Brenda wrote: "Melissa wrote: "Ok, speaking of ADD and not being able to focus when somebody is talking to me longer than five minutes. I'm game:

Melissa, I quit on my first few audiobooks because I couldn't fol..."

Yes Brenda, I'm up for a fun challenge and we'll see where this leads. :)

Good luck on your level 4, I'll have to take one level at a time.

[Stephanie]

I'm in! I going to try for a level 4.

[[deleted user]]

Holly wrote: "Everyone is aiming so high!

I'm gonna go for Level 1, just because I don't know if I can listen to a whole book as an audiobook. So I'm gonna start small. I love the idea of audiobooks, I think i..."

I don't have a long commute either (I'm a sahm), but I'm currently listening to The Neverending Story on Overdrive (through my library), and I have it set up on my desktop. I'm listening to it while I'm on the computer (I'm listening to it right now, as I play on Goodreads :) ). I can also turn up my computer's sound and listen to it while I clean my house/fold laundry/cook etc. I kind of wish I had a long commute now though, just so I could listen to audio books lol.

[[deleted user]]

Glad so many are joining in this challenge! I think it's going to be a lot of fun :D

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

Drat! I just checked my Overdrive. My library doesn't have this one. Disappointing since it sounds like you're really enjoying.

[Overbooked ✎]

Good on you S.J. for setting this up and good luck to everyone in this challenge!
Regretfully I have to walk away from this (I have 14 challenges lined up for next year and I had to stop LOL). Beside, I love audiobooks, so not really a challenge for me.
Glad you're enjoying The Neverending Story S.J. I still remember the 80s movie, it was a a huge success back then

[Lisa R.]

A question for the group. How will audiobooks tally into the 2015 reading challenge? Will they be added into count as books read? I only ask because when I enter a book as "currently reading" I don't choose a version of a book.

[Roseanne]

I don't bother with choosing a version. Its just too hard to find the right one so I normally go with the one with the same cover. My audios go into my total for the year. I have a separate shelf so I can keep track of my audios.

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

I don't differentiate between audio and eyeball reading in my counts or on my shelves. For me, both are good, and audiobooks are the reason I've been able to get back to my love of reading, even with a busy life.

[Izavel]

Level 1 for me, only in the interest of trying something new. I've never finished an audio book in my life. I'm afraid it'd be all in one ear and out the other, especially if I were occupied with anything else.

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[Melissa]

Izavel wrote: "Level 1 for me, only in the interest of trying something new. I've never finished an audio book in my life. I'm afraid it'd be all in one ear and out the other, especially if I were occupied with a..."


Izavel, I'm the same way. :)

[Dianne]

I'm in, just got into Audiobooks they allow me to read more in my busy life, like Rene. I will listen when travelling, knitting and exercising in 2015 so level 4 should be achievable.

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

Izavel and Melissa-

This might seem a little weird, but sometimes I eyeball and listen at the same time. Especially with denser, more complicated books. I did both for Moby Dick and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It made the experience really rich.

[Melissa]

Renee wrote: "Izavel and Melissa-

This might seem a little weird, but sometimes I eyeball and listen at the same time. Especially with denser, more complicated books. I did both for Moby Dick and The Hunchback ..."

Thanks Renee, I'll try that!

[Izavel]

Renee wrote: "Izavel and Melissa-

This might seem a little weird, but sometimes I eyeball and listen at the same time. Especially with denser, more complicated books. I did both for Moby Dick and The Hunchback ..."

Oh my word, I can't believe I didn't think of that myself. That's actually the perfect solution for me, thank you! :D

[[deleted user]]

Dianeterry wrote: "I'm in, just got into Audiobooks they allow me to read more in my busy life, like Rene. I will listen when travelling, knitting and exercising in 2015 so level 4 should be achievable."

Didn't think about listening to them while exercising-brilliant!

[Lisa R.]

I'm in. Level 4 for me as I like to listen to long books. I have an Audible membership and I use my library's overdrive system as well. It will be great to see the reviews of not only the books, but the reader (s) as well.

[Becca]

I like audiobooks when I'm on the road and when I am crocheting. However, I feel frustrated because it takes so much longer to complete a book than it does when I read it. Anyone else have this problem?

[Roseanne]

It typically takes me two weeks to get through an audiobook. I only listen on my commute to work. Its more the break from the commute home on Friday to the commute to work on Monday that bothers me. Sometimes i have to go back a little on monday morning. I also don't like to be in the middle of a book when I go on vacation.

[Lisa R.]

Becca wrote: "I like audiobooks when I'm on the road and when I am crocheting. However, I feel frustrated because it takes so much longer to complete a book than it does when I read it. Anyone else have this p..."

For me it can depend on the reader. I agree that listening does take longer but, I find that if the book isn't holdong my interest or if it's late, I don't read every word.

[Happy]

Becca wrote: "I like audiobooks when I'm on the road and when I am crocheting. However, I feel frustrated because it takes so much longer to complete a book than it does when I read it. Anyone else have this p..."

It does take longer to complete an audiobook, but remember, you're reclaiming 'lost' time, such as crocheting or driving, when you wouldn't have been able to read text. So the best thing to do is pick a genre that isn't going to bother you to go slowly. Perhaps Classics or Nonfiction? If you usually race to get to the end of a Thriller or Mystery, you probably won't want them on audiobook!

[Roseanne]

I am personally very picky about what I choose to listen to. I always check to see if it is unabridged and if I dont like the narrator I ditch it. Just not worth the time. Books I am dying to read I never listen to so it is usually the stuff I never seem to get to that I end up listening to. I love when an author reads their own book too. The people at the library must think I am crazy when I go I spend like an hour in the audio section trying to decide and I bring a list with me.

[megan]

I'm in! Level 4. There are tons of audiobooks in the Kindle Unlimited library. It's how I do most of my classics 'reading'

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

Okay, well, it looks like S. J. dropped GR, but we're gonna continue the challenge because it's a good one. I'll plan on running it,so if you have questions, you can ask me, going forward.

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

One more audio and I reach Level One!!

[Heather]

Audio Books are something I am only just discovering so I am going to give this a go and aim for Level 2:

1. War and Peace
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[Melissa]

I found The Three Musketeers on Librivox and will give this a go. I can listen and stitch a 17th Century Sampler at the same time -- two challenges in one!

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

Level One achieved!!
Moving on to Level Two. Huzzah!

[Lisa R.]

I am working on my first audiobook of the year

[Dianne]

This is the start of selected audiobooks I am going to listen too

1. The Rosie Project
2. the Children's act
3. H is for Hawk
4. The Gingerbread house
5. Elizabeth is missing
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[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

Level Two! Woot! Woot!
(Yeah. I ran a lot of errands and did a lot of laundry while listening this week.)

[Becca]

Didn't intend to do this challenge, but I've almost finished by second audiobook of the year..

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

Nice, Becca!

[Celena]

I added audio books to my regular reading formats last year and was amazed by how many I got through, so sign me up for a Level 4. I finished 8 audio books last year so would love to top that. I would highly recommend Garth Stein's latest as an audio book - A Sudden Light and if you're having a long drive and want to conquer a classic The Grapes of Wrath Jon Steinbeck on audio is very good.

[Lisa R.]

I started my second audio book this year as well. I'm listening to An Impartial Witness by Charles Todd. It's the second Bess Crawford novel.

[Brenda (aka Grandma)]

I've finished two:

The Rook
Narrator Susan Duerden: Part of me thinks she did a phenomenal job, but there were several passages where her voice sounded singsong-y to me in a way I got very tired of.

The Scarlet Pimpernel
Narrator Michael Page: I never noticed his narration— and I mean that as a compliment.