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2012 Listening Challenge - Details Here - Let's Go!
Surprise Me - Quarter 1 - Finished - 29 FebChoice #1 - Listen to a romance narrated by one of the winning narrators in the Favorite Romance Audiobooks Poll - Dark Peril narrated by Phil Gigante and Natalie Ross - Finished - 9 February 2012 Its been a while since i'd read any of Feehan's books because they were all starting to blur together, but I'm glad I found this one to listen to. Gigante and Ross did a great job of voicing Solange and Dominic and it was nice to see a fairly kick-ass heroine, as opposed to the milk-saps that typically show up in Feehan's work.
Choice #2 - Listen to a romance produced in the first three months of 2012
A Little Night Magic - Finished - February 23 - narrated by Amanda Ronconi, this book had the feel of a Molly Harper, so it was a cute listen. I liked the story as it developed, but the conflict between the H/h was a bit weak, when I think back over it - however, i'll be interested to see how it continues because I believe it is the first in a series.
Choice #3 - Listen to a romance with a tortured hero - Breathless - Lucien is a nice tortured hero - Finished - January 20, 2012 - I know I should have hated Lucien in this book for what he was willing to do, but there was just something about him...Erickson did a great job once again (when has she not) of narrating this book and I look forward to finishing out the series in the near future.
Choice #4 - Listen to a Cabin Romance - Prey: A Novel - Finished - 29 February - Abby Craden's narration def. drove me nuts at first, but as the book progressed it got better. Her rendition of female voices was good, but her male ones not so much. I think this is def. a book that would have benefited from 2 narrators, a male and a female. I'm not sure if i'll seek her out as a narrator in again in the future, it will have to depend on the book.
Spread Your Listening update:So far:
Historical
An Infamous Army 5*
Then Came You 4* (2* for Rosalyn Landor's narration)
Devil's Bride 3* (Simon Pebble's narration 4.5*)
Late to the Wedding by Amanda Quick 4* (good narration by Josephine Bailey)
Paranormal/Sci-Fi
A Hunger Like No Other 4*
Slave to Sensation 4* (narration 3*)
After Dark 3*
Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold 5* book and a 5* narration by Grover Gardner. Amazing!!
Contemporary
Whitehorse 3.5* (4.5* for Kate Reading's narration)
Sea Swept 3*
Faking It 4* (5* narration by Aasne Vigesaa)
One more contemporary to go, and I'll be done with this challenge. I'll jump in the Surprise Me by Quarter Challenge in April.
Carrie wrote: "Spread Your Listening update:So far:
Historical
An Infamous Army 5*
Then Came You 4* (2* for Rosalyn Landor's narration)
Devil's Bride 3* (Simon Pebble's narration 4.5*)
Late to the Wedding by Am..."
It's actually called Slave to Sensation. =)
By the way, does anyone know how to pronounce the name Aasne Vigesaa?
Hannah wrote: "It's actually called Slave to Sensation. =)"I knew that. :::sigh::: I went back and changed it in my post. I can't imagine why I wrote "seduction."
And no, I have no real idea how to pronounce that name. In my head I've been saying "Ahs-nee (or Ahs-nay) Vig-ay-suh. But I have no idea if that's even close. ;-)
Carrie - I agree with your narration rating on Slave to Sensation. I wanted it to be soooo much better.
These Old Shades is a perennial favorite for Heyer lovers, so that's highly recommended. You can see my review here:http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
The Quiet Gentleman is a very enjoyable regency romance and very typical Heyer. (I didn't write a review of this one, but I've listened to it twice. Great book)
The Reluctant Widow is more a mystery with romance, but is excellent with great characters. My review here:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31...
ETA--This was accidentally posted in the wrong thread. Sorry. I'll leave it here anyway. ;-)
Ahz-nee Vig-a-saw. Is that a great name or what? She reads Smoke in Mirrors (JAK) with her hub James Daniels. And I love her interpretation of Sophie Dempsey.
Diana wrote: "Ahz-nee Vig-a-saw. Is that a great name or what? She reads Smoke in Mirrors (JAK) with her hub James Daniels. And I love her interpretation of Sophie Dempsey."Okay, so I was close. Good. She is really great.
Lea's Audiobooks wrote: "Carrie - I agree with your narration rating on Slave to Sensation. I wanted it to be soooo much better."It wasn't horrible, but not good enough to tempt me to buy the rest of the series in audio. I'll check them out from the library in print if I keep reading. Her voice was too flat--no inflection.
I finished my last contemporary and last book for the Spread Your Listening Challenge.
Narrated by Erika Leigh3.5* overall
Narration 3*- okay but not great. This book has so many characters, and so many different age groups, etc, that it would be a good candidate for a dual narration. The narrator needs to do old and young women, old and young men, country accents, southern accents, west coast sophisticated, etc, etc.
Do we have the categories for the 2nd Quarter Surprised By Quarter yet?
They will be announced in the upcoming column - probably Monday. I'll let you know!
It’s time for Round Two of the Surprise by the Quarter track in our 2012 Listening Challenge! Continue with this round of your 2012 Challenge or, if you want, jump in for just this quarter. Round Two covers April – June.The Four Categories:
Choice #1 – The Funnies – Listen to a romance that is also a hoot!
For recommendations, take a look at Speaking of Audiobooks: The Funny Ones (http://www.likesbooks.com/blog/?p=3296), AAR’s Special Title Listing of Favorite Funnies (a list of print books but many are available in audio - http://www.likesbooks.com/funny.html), or just ask our group for suggestions.
Choice #2 – Listen to a romance narrated by a man.
Choice #3 – Rounding Out the Family – Listen to a romance where a child (under 18) or pet plays a significant role.
For pet recommendations, there is an extensive list at AAR’s Special Title Listing of Amazing Animals (once again – a list of print books but many are audiobooks as well http://www.likesbooks.com/pets.html). For children, I’ll need to ask the group for suggestions!
Choice #4 – Listen to a non-romance.
I was just checking out the categories and wanted to suggest Dogs and Goddesses by Jennifer Crusie. She is a hoot and this was a fun story.
I'm listening to Outlander by Diana Gabladon for my Listening to the Top Hits challenge.Do you all have a suggestions for the child or funny selections? I might go with Dogs and Goddesses but still looking at my options. I have listened to MANY funny Cruisie books. She's reliable for laughs.
I successfully completed the Surprise by the 1st Quarter challenge. My two listens were:#1 Romance narrated by one of the winning narrators in the Favorite Romance Audiobooks Poll – Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost, read by Tavia Gilbert.
I gave in and decided to listen to this (I was avoiding it because I DID NOT want to start another series!). But I just had to see what all the chatter about Chapter 32 was about...lol. Imagine my dismay when the book ended way before a Chapter 32 - come to find out, it's in the 2nd book. Oh boy, but I was game and listened to that too. So, I wasn't that crazy about Halfway to the Grave. It was my first Tavia Gilbert reading and I did enjoy listening to her. Those who compared Bones to Spike (from Buffy) were spot on and I really enjoyed that. It probably helped that I'm a big Spike fan and had not read these books in print. But anyway, I thought the book was just okay. Feeling forced to read One Foot in the Grave, I was happy to discover that I enjoyed it more than the first book and Chaper 32 met expectations! I will most likely go on to listen to more in the series but I'm not in any hurry.
#2 Romance produced in first three months of 2012 – On Thin Ice by Anne Stuart (though this could fit the other three categories as well), read by Xe Sands.
I enjoyed this book a lot. I love road romances and I found Finn to hold his own with the majority of Anne Stuart's bad boys. The sex was sizzling, I loved the secondary characters, and the romance was more than satisfactory. There was one point where Ms. Stuart had me very nervous that she was going to lose me, but she pulled through and saved it from being a wallbanger (not literally - where I'd have no compunction in hurling a 7.99 pile of bound paper against a wall, no way was I throwing my Zune HD...!). This was my first listen of Xe Sands and it was a rousing success.
I'm all set for the 2nd Quarter Surprise Me challenge. I'm going to listen to a non-romance, Love You More by Lisa Gardner and a Funny, Call Me Irresistible by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.
Jo-Ann W. wrote: "There was one point where Ms. Stuart had me very nervous that she was going to lose me, but she pulled through and saved it from being a wallbanger (not literally - where I'd have no compunction in hurling a 7.99 pile of bound paper against a wall, no way was I throwing my Zune HD...!). This was my first listen of Xe Sands and it was a rousing success."So glad you enjoyed it, Jo-Ann! And I think I know exactly what scene you're talking about...if it's the same one, imagine my shock and gut reaction as I was reading it in prep! I did almost throw my tablet!
Jo
Round Two of Surprise by the Quarter:Choice 2: Listen to a romance narrated by a man--
No Rest for the Wicked (Robert Petkoff)
Choice 3: Rounding out the family (pet plays a significant role)--
After Glow (Fuzz, the dust bunny)
Choice 4: Listen to a non-romance--
The Vor Game By Lois McMaster Bujold
I don't know if I'll get Choice 1 finished in time. ;-) I can't seem to think of a funny book I haven't already listened to.
guess I should probably listen to my books in the next month...lol!
Carrie wrote: "I don't know if I'll get Choice 1 finished in time. ;-) I can't seem to think of a funny book I haven't already listened to. "If you are still looking for a funny listen, two Kristan Higgins books are releasing via Tantor on 6/18: Catch of the Day, narrated by me, and Somebody to Love, narrated by Justine Eyre. Just a thought!
Update on my Listening Challenge. I listened to Diana Gabaldon's Outlander for the Top Hits Challenge and have started Susan Elizabeth Phillips' Kiss an Angel. For my second Surprise by the Quarter, I listened to a romance narrated by a man - Into the Dreaming by Karen Marie Moning and narrated by Phil Gigante. My second book for the Surprise by the Quarter will barely make it into June - Catch of the Day by Kristan Higgins for Rounding Out the Family as a dog plays a significant role.
Can someone point me toward the Surprise Me options for April May June? I haven't checked in with my challenge for ages and it occurs I might have some catching up to do! :)
Here they are Kaetrin:It’s time for Round Two of the Surprise by the Quarter track in our 2012 Listening Challenge! Continue with this round of your 2012 Challenge or, if you want, jump in for just this quarter. Round Two covers April – June.
The Four Categories:
Choice #1 – The Funnies – Listen to a romance that is also a hoot!
For recommendations, take a look at Speaking of Audiobooks: The Funny Ones (http://www.likesbooks.com/blog/?p=3296), AAR’s Special Title Listing of Favorite Funnies (a list of print books but many are available in audio - http://www.likesbooks.com/funny.html), or just ask our group for suggestions.
Choice #2 – Listen to a romance narrated by a man.
Choice #3 – Rounding Out the Family – Listen to a romance where a child (under 18) or pet plays a significant role.
For pet recommendations, there is an extensive list at AAR’s Special Title Listing of Amazing Animals (once again – a list of print books but many are audiobooks as well http://www.likesbooks.com/pets.html). For children, I’ll need to ask the group for suggestions!
Choice #4 – Listen to a non-romance.
I've got Choice 4 covered - will have to check if any of my other listening will fit into any of the other categories. Thx Lea :)
Lea's Audiobooks wrote: "My second book for the Surprise by the Quarter will barely make it into June - Catch of the Day by Kristan Higgins for Rounding Out the Family as a dog plays a significant role. "
So glad! Very much looking forward to your thoughts on it. FWIW, Kristan and I are doing an interview on her blog that should hit the same day as the audio releases - 6/18. I think she's doing a giveaway of Catch of the Day as well.
Choice #1 – The Funnies – I listened to the Jane Jamison Series by Molly Harper.Choice #2 – Listen to a romance narrated by a man. I'm currently listening to Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night by Kresley Cole narrated by Robert Petkoff
Choice #3 – Rounding Out the Family – Listen to a romance where a child (under 18) or pet plays a significant role. I listened to Proud Rancher, Precious Bundle by Donna Alward
Choice #4 – Listen to a non-romance. Still looking for something that interests me. Any suggestions?
Taria wrote: "Choice #4 – Listen to a non-romance. Still looking for something that interests me. Any suggestions? "
Have you ever listened to anything narrated by Robin Sachs? I adore his narration, but much of what he narrates can be a bit harsh. However, I've heard wonderful things about The Tiger's Wife and 22 Brittainia Road.
Just a thought!
Taria wrote: "Choice #1 – The Funnies – I listened to the Jane Jamison Series by Molly Harper.Choice #2 – Listen to a romance narrated by a man. I'm currently listening to Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night by ..."
How about a biography? I read Jenny Lawson's mostly true memoir, Let's Pretend This Never Happened recently which is narrated by the author. She's The Bloggess and she's very very funny. The book was great and I'm sure the audio would be wonderful. I haven't been able to get it but the print version was such fun.
I also listened to Rob Lowe's autobiography recently, Stories I Only Tell My Friends - he narrates also. It was interesting and reminded me of my 80's roots!
Another suggestion would be The Curse of Chalion - it's a fantasy with a very very small romance in it but the story and narration are excellent. There's review of all of them at my blog www.kaetrinsmusings.blogspot.com if you're interested. Look in the May Reads post - I'm pretty sure they're all in there. :)
Finished SEP's Kiss an Angel for my Listening to the Top Hits Challenge.The Top Hits challenge has been particularly rewarding since I don't often find time to relisten to my favorites. Now I have listened to 6 of the required 12 and having a great time.
To date:
Dream a Little Dream SEP
After the Night Linda Howard
To Die For Linda Howard
Outlander Diana Gabaldon
The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie Jennifer Ashley
Kiss an Angel SEP
I'm waiting on Higgins Catch of the Day to finish out my 2nd Surprise by the Quarter.
I like Mary Roach's non-fiction (Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex or Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void) and Sandra Burr who does the narration does a good job. I am also listening to Ellen DeGeneres narrated her book, Seriously...I'm Kidding right now which is cute - and short (only about 3.5 hours)Taria wrote: "Choice #1 – The Funnies – I listened to the Jane Jamison Series by Molly Harper.
Choice #2 – Listen to a romance narrated by a man. I'm currently listening to Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night by ..."
I successfully completed the Surprise by the 2nd Quarter challenge. My two listens were:#1 The Funnies – Call Me Irresistible by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, read by Shannon Cochran
Oh boy, this book shows why I am not a good reviewer of books. First of all, I read the book in print and I did enjoy it. Having been a huge fan of the SEP/Anna Fields pairing, I was fine with skipping the audio version of What I Did For Love, especially when I heard all the bad things about the reader. Not even going into the whole “Really? This is who they picked to replace Anna Fields?” thing…. Also not to mention that I pretty much hated What I Did For Love. Anyway, I was ready and willing to get back on the SEP audio train when I heard good things about Shannon Cochran. So here’s my take: at first hearing, I didn’t care for Ms. Cochran’s reading hardly at all. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what wasn’t working for me but I continued to listen and I really believe I gave it a good long listen before I came to any conclusions. And please know that these are all very personal – I believe Ms. Cochran to be a very talented reader, but her narrator voice and Meg’s voice just jarred me. It made me feel like Meg was a cranky fifty year old woman. Don’t yell… I told you it was all very personal. Even though I didn’t like Meg’s voice, I did really like some of the other characters’ voices and her male voices were good enough. So I would definitely listen to a Shannon Cochran audio again since I’m sure I’d enjoy her reading the right characters in the right book – she is very talented. Here’s another conclusion I came to - I probably won’t be listening to any more SEP audio books! I discovered that though I do enjoy reading her books in print and will continue to do so, apparently I only listened to the audio books for the Anna Fields performance! If she isn’t reading them, there really isn’t any reason for me to listen if I’ve already read them. Did that make sense? Did I even talk about the book? So yeah, I’m a terrible reviewer!
#4 Listen to a non-romance – Love You More by Lisa Gardner, read by Kirsten Potter and Katie MacNichol
I love Lisa Gardner on audio. I believe she is very fortunate to have had terrific narrators of her books. Whereas I most likely would not pick them up in print (for a variety of reasons – most important being the size of my TBR pile), I haven’t missed a single one of her books on audio (don’t hold me to that, I’d have to double-check..). Anyway, I first listened to her Quincy/Raine books narrated by Anna Fields because, well, it was Anna Fields – duh. Then the Bobby Dodge books (isn’t that a great name? – so simple yet flows so well) also read by Anna Fields. By then, I came to also appreciate Ms. Gardner’s stories on their own merit, so when her character, D.D. Warren, took off on her own series, I followed her too and enjoyed every one of the talented readers of these books. Kirsten Potter as D.D. Warren excellently portrays a tough, dedicated, caring and intelligent police detective. Ms. MacNichol also did a very good job reading her part as the distraught, yet focused mother. This book (as does the other DDW books) has multiple readers of different points of view which adds to the experience. As for Love You More in particular, this book hit the ground running and you didn’t stop until the end. It was very suspenseful, lots of twists and turns and ultimately very bittersweet. I would have listened to this audio regardless of the challenge, and as expected, it was up to par!
Now I'm looking forward to the choices for the Surprise by the (Third) Quarter!
Ahhh! 3rd Quarter coming up! I'm lost in the Audio Poll...
Two weeks late! I guess we can call that a challenge as well!Third Quarter Challenge
1. Listen to a romance audio by an author who has at least ten books in their audio backlist.
2. Listen to a romance book narrated by one of our five top narrators from the 2012 Favorite Romance Audiobooks Poll. Winners will be announced the week of July 22nd.
3. Listen to a romance audiobook featuring one of the following: a vampire, an author, a soldier (historical or contemporary), an untitled hero in a historical setting, or an attorney.
4. Listen to the first in a series that is either categorized as romance or has a romantic thread.
Continue with your 2012 Surprise by the Quarter Challenge or join us just for the third quarter!
This third quarter challenge will be formally announced in next week's Speaking of Audiobooks column.
Thanks for patiently waiting!
Oh, I'm glad I found this - I was running out of Quarter! . I didn't see it on the Blog at AAR. Now which to choose???
3rd Quater Update:1. Play Dirty by Sandra Brown. Narrated by Viktor Slezak. 4*
2. A Gentleman Undone by Cecelia Grant. Narrated by Susan Eriksen.
Jo-Ann W. wrote: "Oh, I'm glad I found this - I was running out of Quarter! . I didn't see it on the Blog at AAR. Now which to choose???"
Sorry for not including at SOA this last time. That Favorite Audiobook Poll column was sooo long. And I trimmed it by 1200 words! There was so much more I wanted to say...
This will be in next week's column.
@ Lea - I just went back and reread the Favorite Audiobook column. I was so rushed the first time I had to mostly skim it for the pertinent details. It's a great column and I learned so many new things. Thanks for all your hard work. Your comments are really helpful.
Carrie - thanks so much for the good word! I was seeing cross-eyed the last two days before submitting. I kept rewriting and cutting and then adding part of the cut material back in. I had so much more bragging to do on our winners!
Got a new author on my fav author list. Ms. Courtney Milan. Her writing reminds me of Lorriane Heath shes a new author to me so well. Loved this book and LOVED the hero. This is a series so I'm going on to book two. "I want to know when we're apart... your missing me". that statment came stright from the Hero him self.
I successfully completed the Surprise by the 3nd Quarter challenge, even though the books themselves weren't actual successes. My two listens were:#2. Listen to a romance book narrated by one of our five top narrators from the 2012 Favorite Romance Audiobooks Poll – Wild Ride by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer, read by Angela Dawe
I love Angela Dawe as a narrator. Just something about her inflections, her tone, etc. that works for me. The story here in this book...meh. I appreciate that this book was a farce and a lot of Crusie's trademark humor was present here, but it ended up being a ridiculous hot mess with too many contrived situations, too many things that didn't make sense and romances that didn't work.
And yet I kept listening. Largely due to the reader and a need to know how it all worked out.
#4. Listen to the first in a series that is either categorized as romance or has a romantic thread. – Raziel by Kristina Douglas, read by Karen White and Paul Costanzo
I really wonder how I would have liked this in print. I did not like it in audio. The readers were pretty good, but maybe it was their interpretation of the characters I didn't like. The heroine was just too feisty for me to accept in the situation she found herself in. Also, nothing happened for about 75% of the book and I found it very boring. I will give the next book a try and hope that this first was all about world building. (note:I did listen to Demon and I liked it a little better)
4th Surprise by the Quarter Challenge? I know...I'm a nudge...
Well, I have been off in la la land. My greatest apologies!Jo-Ann W, I'm sending you a personal message. Anyone else still need the 4th Surprise by the Quarter - please send me a message. Or just post here.
Our 4th Quarter Challenge will require completing two challenges out of four and the end date will be January 21, 2013. Back with the specifics over the Thanksgiving holiday.I'll also be updating my Challenges. Thanks for holding on!
We’re reducing the challenge from three to two to complete this last quarter challenge. And we’re extending this part of the 2012 Listening Challenge to January 31, 2013. All other challenge categories end on 12/31/12.Fourth Quarter Surprise by the Quarter Challenge:
Pick two of the following four categories:
Listen to one of the winning books from the following Speaking of Audiobooks 2012 Favorite Romance Audiobooks Poll categories: Favorite Romance Audiobooks, Honorable Mentions for Favorite Audiobooks, Favorite 2011 Romance Audiobook, or Honorable Mentions for Favorite 2011 Audiobook.
http://www.likesbooks.com/blog/?p=8556
Listen or relisten to a romance that includes a Christmas element.
Listen to an author’s first romance audio with a release date after 9/30/12.
Listen to an inspirational romance.
I'll try. The first choice is easy, but it will take a lot of research to come up one for any of the other three, especially since I get my audios from the library. Thanks.
Jo-Ann W. wrote: "I'll try. The first choice is easy, but it will take a lot of research to come up one for any of the other three, especially since I get my audios from the library. Thanks."
Did you see our Christmas Romance Audio thread running here at Romance Audiobooks? Lots of good suggestions.
I just listened to
- good listen.I have
waiting too.
Lea's Audiobooks wrote: Did you see our Christmas Romance Audio thread running here at Romance Audiobooks? Lots of good suggestions.I did, thanks. I downloaded Susan Wiggs' Lakeshore Christmas (I'm a sucker for a librarian!) and The Nine Lives of Christmas by Sheila Roberts. Not sure about that one, but I'm willing to give it a try.
Romance Audiobooks
Books mentioned in this topic
'Twas the Night after Christmas (other topics)Angels at the Table (other topics)
Angels at the Table (other topics)
'Twas the Night after Christmas (other topics)
Unveiled (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Jennifer Crusie (other topics)Nora Roberts (other topics)
Jennifer Ashley (other topics)
So far:
Historical
An Infamous Army 5*
Then Came You 4* (2* for Rosalyn Landor's narration)
Devil's Bride 3* (Simon Pebble's narration 4.5*)
Paranormal
A Hunger Like No Other 4*
Slave to Seduction 4* (narration 3*)
After Dark 3*
Contemporary
Whitehorse 3.5* (4.5* for Kate Reading's narration)
Sea Swept 3*
Faking It 4* (5* narration by Aasne Vigesaa)