Vagabond Treehouse (2023) [Beware of Chicken 3 - December 4th] Showing 151-200 of 5,829

[Choko]

You guys are amazing! I am just trying to hang in somewhat close:):):)

[Veronica]

I really only use audiobooks while driving but now that my husband and I are carpooling to work, that's gone way down. He likes to talk, go figure. I do still prefer reading the words myself though. I really only resort to audiobooks if it's a book that I'm not super keen on or if I need to double up to keep up in a BR. But if it's a book that I'm really looking forward to reading I want to be the one reading the words, lol. I do also use them for re-reads of favorite books. In fact, the majority of the audiobooks that I own are ones that I already own in physical copy.

[Soo]

I didn't think I'd love audiobooks as much as I do now. I love the convenience. There are caveats. Like, I have to enjoy the narration, etc. Super lucky that there are a lot of talented narrators out there now.

I've become the triple down person for books I love: hardback/paperback, ebook & audiobook.

My hobbies need to get cheaper! lol

[Choko]

I do the same. If I really love something on audio, I definitely get the ebook version and the actual book. It's just a given for me now...

[Narilka]

I agree about audio books. Never expected to love them like I do now. And the narrator can make or break a book for sure.

[Soo]

Quote from The Legendary Moonlight Sculpture (Korean Light Novel):

"Weed-nim," (MC named himself Weed for the Virtual Reality MMORPG Royal Road.)

"Yes, sir."

"I have a quest for you, though you must prove more patient than a caterpillar, more willing to survive than a cockroach, and more stubborn than a leech--or you will definitely fail. Are you qualified for this quest?"

LOL - Who would want a quest like that?!?! I am amused.

This LitRPG has great little twists that I haven't read before and that makes it fun to read. Even with the somewhat iffy translation from Korean to English. =D

[Soo]

*throws Middlemarch into time out*

- Reading this instead. A spin off series from Chronicles of Elantra. This is technically before CoE and features Severn, a badass. Woohoo!

I hedged on reading this so long that a sequel came out. Haha! Now I have two books to read and then I'll have to wait.

[Julian]

I’ve never before listened to an audiobook that I thought was narrated that well. In a lot of them they’re pretty monotone (don’t even get me started about if you try a nonfiction audiobook). With that said however, the amount of time that I would normally waste doing nothing or little is now being used by audiobooks instead. My dog is really high energy and requires a solid hour or so of exercise each day at a minimum. During that time I’m now listening to audiobooks.


Oh and Andrea Parsneau is godly when it comes to narrating.

[Veronica]

Soo wrote: "*throws Middlemarch into time out* ."

Well that didn't take long. lol

[Soo]

It's my brain. Totally finicky. I need to listen to Middlemarch at 1.5-2x speed for an hour or two. Get used to narrator's style, speed and accent. I kept being distracted by those aspects and didn't pay attention to the story being told. It was like hamster wheel frustration. LoL

Kept hitting chapter rewind. So annoying!

[Tonari no Emily]

Jumping in here, cuz why not lol

I've been doing audio since 2012/2013ish when I had a 3-4 hour drive at least twice a month when I was going back and forth from hometown to University... But damn, no where near some of yalls numbers! haha
I think my highest count was 116 which was 2021. Hoping to increase this year, but I don't wanna push myself and not enjoy it so we'll see :)

[Tonari no Emily]

Also, I absolutely hate when the narrator is bad. Most memorable for me (like I got irrationally angry) was Goldenhand. I don't remember the name of the narrator, but that was the first time I requested a refund on an audiobook. Maybe it was the contrast to the amazing Tim Curry with the original Abhorsen Trilogy, but it was just so grating to me.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Emily wrote: "Also, I absolutely hate when the narrator is bad. Most memorable for me (like I got irrationally angry) was Goldenhand. I don't remember the name of the narrator, but that was the f..."

Shame... pretty sure Curry stopped doing audiobooks because of his stroke and deteriorating health :(

[Tonari no Emily]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Emily wrote: "Also, I absolutely hate when the narrator is bad. Most memorable for me (like I got irrationally angry) was Goldenhand. I don't remember the name of the narrator, but ..."

I know, makes me so sad! :(
I do need to find some other things he's narrated bc he's so good. Have you listened to anything he's done?

[Soo]

Welcome to the Vagabond Treehouse, Emily. =D

I think I've only heard Tim Curry in the Audible's adaptation of Dracula. He was part of the cast. Looks like he worked on several of Anne Rice's books and Lemony Snicket.

I need to get back into Anne Rice. It's sad she died.

I like YA books, but can't stand some of the narrators for the genre. It's like they intentionally make themselves sound whiny.

Romances used to be my go to fluff reads, but that's harder in audio. Most of the narrators sound silly. Way too dramatic or do not enunciate well.

[Tonari no Emily]

Soo wrote: "Welcome to the Vagabond Treehouse, Emily. =D

I think I've only heard Tim Curry in the Audible's adaptation of Dracula. He was part of the cast. Looks like he worked on several of Anne Rice's books..."

Thanks Soo :)

Oh yeah, I forgot about Anne Rice, that is really sad :(

I don't think I've ever really read/listened to a pure romance novel, but there were a few books on the romance side that caught my eye published last year. But yeah, I probably wouldn't want to do audio for those.

[Soo]

There are some that work well in audio format. Will dig up a few ideas if you want.

[Tonari no Emily]

Sure, if you dont mind! :)

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Just don’t accidentally unpause without earbud in public ;)

[Tonari no Emily]

heheh

[Narilka]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Emily wrote: "Also, I absolutely hate when the narrator is bad. Most memorable for me (like I got irrationally angry) was Goldenhand. I don't remember the name of the narrator, but ..."

Awww, I was wondering why Tim Curry stopped narrating the Garth Nix books :( The change in narrator is why I continued the series in regular format instead of audio.

@Emily - I had that problem with the narrator of Revenger. It was also my first book returned to Audible.

[Narilka]

The other Tim Curry narration I listened to was Journey to the Center of the Earth. His narration was fantastic. I just didn't like the story. The science is so dated it kept popping me right out of the story when something that had been advanced since Verne's time was talked about as the newest thing. It also taught me to stay away from older scifi or to at least really read the reviews first to make sure I don't run into that again.

[Tonari no Emily]

Narilka wrote: "The other Tim Curry narration I listened to was Journey to the Center of the Earth. His narration was fantastic. I just didn't like the story. The science is so dated it kept popping m..."

Oh yeah I read that one some time ago and it was definitely dated. I tend to not enjoy any scifi before the 20th century.. then again I haven't read a whole lot of it haha

Also the narrator of Clariel actually did a decent job. Wish he would have read Goldenhand too lol

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I struggle with fiction that uses computers alot, from the 90s… that limbo before everyone had cellphones is interesting… stories with pagers… like Greywalker from the early 2000s…

[Narilka]

Timelord Iain wrote: "I struggle with fiction that uses computers alot, from the 90s… that limbo before everyone had cellphones is interesting… stories with pagers… like Greywalker from the early 2000s…"

I can still do that though depending on how it's used in the story. Sometimes I can read them as a period piece and the old tech doesn't bother me as much. I don't know why I can't do that with all books though.

[Tonari no Emily]

I think it just depends on how good the story is 🤷‍♀️

[Yanique, Thread Master]

As a scientist myself I feel nostalgia for the older sci-fi. It’s fun to see how people thought back then, and realize that with this limited understanding they were able to achieve such great things. And older sci-fi gave so many ideas to real scientists that gave us so much of our technology today.

[Choko]

Yanique, this is how I feel. I like seeing how they achieved so much with so many technological limitations. So much so, they actually came up with the bases for those technologies. I find it pretty amazing...

[Soo]

Audiobook Romance Recs for Emily - Lots of ones I enjoyed reading. Trickier to find audio that I enjoyed listening to. Heh

PNR:
- Seven series by Dannika Dark
- Cainsville series by Kelley Armstrong

Romance Series:
- Temptation series by Ella Frank

Rom Standalones: (Some are part of a series but can read as standalone.)
-
-
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-
-
-
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Read on Kindle Unlimited:
- Terraway series by Mary E. Twomey (PNR/UF)
- Vemreaux series by Mary E. Twomey (Dystopian)
- Gamer Girls series by Auryn Hadley & Kitty Cox (I've read up to #5)
- (Hilarious Short)

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Yanique wrote: "As a scientist myself I feel nostalgia for the older sci-fi. It’s fun to see how people thought back then, and realize that with this limited understanding they were able to achieve such great thin..."

I'm fine with most "dated" books... there's just something about PC-talk in the 90s... like trying to watch the original La Femme Nikita series... or read the early Kay Scarpetta books...

[Soo]

Old SF doesn't throw me out of the story. It's when it's a newer work and had outdated stuff that throws me out. Also, how well tech is written within story context.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Good thing I didn't commit to attempting 1000 books this year... they've cracked down on earbuds at work... they're saying 2 idiots with earbuds in Indianapolis got into an accident... one on forklift, one of foot, presumably before the store opened...

The facts don't make sense, but they SAY the forklift guy hit the personal shopper and didn't notice and drove away...

But then they say the shopper's leg was run over, and had to be amputated above the knee and is in critical condition... if you run something over with a forklift, you FEEL it... I've run over wood chunks a number of times, and it's jarring bordering on painful...

Anyway, alot less book time at work, for now... new corporate policies and strictness...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Some of this is probably like the game of telephone... embellishment in the retelling...

[Soo]

Aw, that sucks, Iain. Best to be careful. Have you looked into the Beats by Dre earphones? They're suppose to be one of the best and I believe you can use just one bud at a time. I didn't look into those because I'm leery of the sizing.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Soo wrote: "Aw, that sucks, Iain. Best to be careful. Have you looked into the Beats by Dre earphones? They're suppose to be one of the best and I believe you can use just one bud at a time. I didn't look into..."

I'll experiment with bluetooth, I think...

[Soo]

That's all I use nowadays. Beats by Dre are mostly bluetooth.

The other ones I recommended are bluetooth.

[Soo]

*grumbles* What the heck is it about Khristine Hvam's narration? She's a good narrator, but she has a way of making stories sound more whiny or the annoying type of teen angst. That's part of the reason why I'm not a big fan of listening to the Chronicles of Elantra vs reading them.

The same is happening for the Emperor's Wolves. Bah

I even dug out my paperback and skimmed the intro. I thought about ditching the audio to read. Except I CAN HEAR Khristine Hvam's narration in my head as I read the words.

Yuck.

I may be going back to Middlemarch and putting the Emperor's Wolves down until I can forget Hvam's narration. Then read the paperback.

The characters in the story are not teenagers. Should not sound like teens.

[Soo]

Or I can play music and read the Legendary Moonlight Sculpture. I like the MC. He's the bottom of the barrel, scruffy and tenacious type that claws/fights his way to succeed. Plus, I really like this mash up of fighting and sculpting that's in the story. =D

[Julian]

Oh hey, I have some beats earbuds. That's what I use usually when going to the gym or somewhere. Got them for "free" many years ago when I bought my last phone.

Also welcome Emily!

[Soo]

Stubbornness for the win. I kept playing the Emperor's Wolves until I got into the story and could ignore the voice. Not the best reading experience but it's what I expect to do for the Elantra audiobooks.

[Soo]

Making the Romance Rec list made me realize how much I rely on reading romances vs listening to them. Listening brings out the critic in me more. Haha~

Last year, I got some of my romance fix in the Asian comics & webnovels. That will probably continue this year.

There's no romance package/etc on Audible now and the options on Audible Plus are iffy.

It's cool and weird how some stories are great when you read them and sound terrible (even with good narrators) on audio.

[Choko]

When are you doing Elantra? I will totally do them with you!!!

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Soo wrote: "Making the Romance Rec list made me realize how much I rely on reading romances vs listening to them. Listening brings out the critic in me more. Haha~

Last year, I got some of my romance fix in ..."

Yea... Audible Plus was their replacement for Audible Romance... some of the entries on Romance were already stretching the definition of Romance, so I think they wanted a broader thing... that and unlimited romances tends to be a bad business model, I guess, since romance readers read so much... Scribd tried it with Harlequin deal, for a bit...

[Soo]

Choko wrote: "When are you doing Elantra? I will totally do them with you!!!"

I'm down for a re-read of Elantra later this year. Did you know that Sagara wrote a side line series based on Severn?

Wolves of Elantra:
#1 The Emperor's Wolves
#2 Sword and Shadow - New Release on 2/22

I'm currently listening to #1. If you read it, we can technically call it a BR here at Vagabond. =D

[Narilka]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Good thing I didn't commit to attempting 1000 books this year... they've cracked down on earbuds at work... they're saying 2 idiots with earbuds in Indianapolis got into an accident... one on forkl..."

Do you need them to be ear buds? I wonder if the bone induction headphones would be acceptable to your job since they leave the ears open.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Narilka wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "Good thing I didn't commit to attempting 1000 books this year... they've cracked down on earbuds at work... they're saying 2 idiots with earbuds in Indianapolis got into an ac..."

I've wondered the same, but can imagine them being aggressive... probably better to be discrete with bluetooth earpiece...

Altho, I AM curious to try bone conduction, see if it gives me headaches (I hear that's a common issue)...

[Soo]

Aftershokz Aeropex are bone conduction and can be lowkey. They are bluetooth. Hooks over your ears and hangs down on your neck.

I tie up my hair in a ponytail/bun and rest the Aftershokz on it. That & a hat keeps them secured on my head when I hike/climb.

[Veronica]

Yikes, Iain! That doesn't sound good if even a little bit of that story is true.

Soo wrote: "Aw, that sucks, Iain. Best to be careful. Have you looked into the Beats by Dre earphones? They're suppose to be one of the best and I believe you can use just one bud at a time. I didn't look into those because I'm leery of the sizing"

I have Galaxy earbuds and will only wear one if I'm, say, in a store shopping. That way I can hear if someone says something to me.

[Tonari no Emily]

@ Soo thanks for the recs! Will definitely check some out :)

@ Iain, oh no that's horrible! I use one bluetooth earbud at work and can usually hide with my hair.. but most people don't care. I'm using these right now:
https://www.amazon.com/Donerton-Headp...
I've had a hard time finding ones that actually stay in my ears and these tend to stay pretty well.

[Soo]

1st Audible Sale: $5 and up

Note to Self: No spree!