Audiobook Switch

Ever since having kids, I have a renewed interest in the audiobook.  I probably hadn't listened to a legit audiobook since my family took our annual summer road trips to rural Oregon when we were kids, bulky set of audio cassettes in tow.  However, these days, audiobooks are significantly easier to obtain, borrow, and buy, with the added luxury that bulky CDs and listening accessories are no longer necessary.  

For a while, I did the audible route.  You've likely heard of audible as they've dominated the audiobook market until recently.  After a few months, I grew weary of the high cost per book and began looking into other audiobook options that were A). both more affordable and B). supported small businesses in my local community.  

Enter - libro.fm.  Have you heard of them?  I hadn't either, but they're brilliant!  Libro.fm is your independent bookstore for digital audiobooks.  The same, easy, downloadable audiobooks you know and love fo cheaper AND Libro.fm works with independent bookstores to create co-branded audiobook storefronts.  When signing up, you select a bookstore in your local/preferred community, which will received earnings with each book sale. Basically, your audiobook listening benefits small bookstores in your local community.  Audible for sure doesn't do that!  Plus, to sign up today use the code "SWITCH" to get 3 audiobooks for the price of one. 

Here are a few of my recent favorites - and note, I'm a stickler for a good narrator.  I've been known to return many a book where the narrator did not fully capture my attention.

+ A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza

+ Educated by Tara Westover

+ Inheritance by Dani Shapiro

+ Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal

+ Blood, Bones, and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton

+ Becoming by Michelle Obama

+ At Home in the World by Tsh Oxenreider

+ Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

+ Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis

+ Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

And - for kids' books, there's also an enormous library!  My recommendation, Matilda by Roald Dahl (narrated by Kate Winslet).

So, there you go!  You ready to make the #audiobookswitch to libro.fm?

Last Great Book I Read: A Place For Us

This book.  There are very few books that I could say "took my breath away," and this is one of them.  Undoubtedly in my top 5, up there with Gone with the Wind and The Fountainhead.  I listened to the audiobook, which is excellent! It is narrated by Deepti Gupta, who reads Fatima Farheen Mirza's words with a soothing, gentle grace.  Also probably the best audiobook I've ever listened to.  I found excuses to run errands just so I could pop my headphones on and keep listening.

I first learned about this book on this podcast episode, A Place for Us is the first novel from Sarah Jessica Parker's new imprint, SJP for Hogarth.  The story chronicles an Indian-American Muslim family, as they reconnect for the oldest daughter's wedding.  The story is told throughout a series of flashbacks spanning decades and offering perspectives through the lens of different family members.  Perhaps what captured my attention most about this novel was the intimacy of a family Mirza is able to capture.  The thoughts we think but do not say aloud.  The wonderings had after challenging conversations. The worry parents carry for their children and hold close to their chest.  Every nuance of this story is told with such poise and clarity, honoring the devotion parents have toward their children and children toward their siblings.  If there ever was a well told story, this is it. I have nothing but good words.  I can always justify a good book if I'm still thinking about it days, weeks, even months after reading it...which I am.

Read it.  Trust me.

In Defense of Harry Potter

Are you a Harry Potter fan?  Before you abruptly stop reading, hear me out...

I feel like people seem to fall squarely into two camps with this topic.  Either you're 

A). Camp One: You love, love, love Harry Potter!  It's one of the most revolutionary book series of our time!  It is brimming with powerful life lessons to educate our children with tales of hardship, exclusion, discrimination, friendship, belonging, and love.

or

B). Camp Two: Nope.  Never read it.  Not really my thing.  

(Insert audible sigh here).  I am definitely in Camp One.  I adore this literary series for so many reasons, many of which can be explained far more eloquently by other writers I admire, such as Tsh Oxenreider and Kelle Hampton.  However, ultimately, I just believe it's a literary rite of passage and experience that I want my children to have, and ideally one we can share as a family.

Long story short, my husband fell into camp 2.  Where I am a voracious reader, he prefers to absorb content via podcasts or online, with a few sporadic books and magazines thrown in for good measure.  A few months ago I propositioned the idea of him reading Book One, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - just to try it!  Perhaps this was selfish of me, but I really want our kids to read and experience the magic of Harry Potter someday, and feel it would be useful for him to learn the language, terminology, and jargon specific to the series.  He begrudgingly complied and lo and behold, ended up devouring book one!!   From there he went on to finish (and enjoy) all seven books in six months!  Am I proud?  You bet I am!   I took a non-believer, reading skeptic, and converted him to a Harry Potter enthusiast.  We have since watched all eight subsequent movies on HBO to expand upon the experience.  If that's not a testament to the power of J.K. Rowling, I don't know what is!

And truth be told, if I'm going off genres of books I typically gravitate toward, Harry Potter is definitely an outlier.  Prior to reading the series, I had never read any fantasy fiction or stories concerning wizards, dragons, magic, and the like.  And aside from The Twilight Saga, I've really never ventured into this genre again since Harry Potter.  

While I finished reading the series long ago, I've enjoyed re-listening to them via audiobook. The narrator throughout all seven books, Jim Dale is phenomenal!  He is a brilliant performer, and is truly able to emulate the essence of each character's distinct voice and personality through his reading.  It was almost as good as reading it for the first time.  If reading a tactile book is not your thing, I highly recommend listening to the series.  These books can be pretty pricy but they're available via downloadable audiobook or audiobook CD at your local library.  Also available on audible.com (first book is free), and if you become a member, you can download each subsequent book, one per month for the $14.95 monthly membership fee (instead of the $35+ original price). {FYI - This post is not sponsored in any way, just want to give you any insider advice I can to save some $$}

And if you're really a true HP fan, you ought to check out the Ringer's Binge Mode Harry Potter podcast, where super fans Mallory Rubin and Jason Concepcion do a deep dive into the themes, character development, motivations, and undercurrents of all seven books, chapter by chapter, starting with book one.  This is not a G rated podcast, there is ample swearing, inappropriate but hilarious fodder, and spoilers everywhere, so please make sure you've already completed the series before listening.

Alright, enough about Harry Potter for one day.  If I've somehow managed to sway you just an inch toward to "perhaps I'll ready this someday" camp, I consider that a small victory.

Last Great Book I Read: Landline

Normally I'm a paper book kind of person.  I tried the kindle for a while, but honestly, I love the tactile nature of a book in the hand.  The passage of pages, seeing your bookmark slowly creep through the volume.  The sound of an aggressive page flip when you can't wait to find out what happens next.  There's just something about it that can't be replicated digitally (in my humble opinion).  

However, there have been a few books that I just couldn't get into in paperback form, but that I really loooved via audiobook.  Landline by Rainbow Rowell is one of those.  After reading Attachments for my book club which I absolutely adored, I picked up Landline at the library and was underwhelmed.  I don't know what it was exactly about this title, but after several attempts and impending boredness, I just couldn't get into it.  

Normally, I'd just let it go and move on, after all there are plenty of books in the sea...but I kept hearing friends mention this title, offering their own rave reviews, which led me to try it once more via audiobook.  Boom!  Such a difference!  Rainbow Rowell write great dialogue and there was just so much energy and life brought to these conversations when listened to that was somehow missing in the written word.  

I felt the same way about Maria Semple's Where'd You Go, Bernadette and Gabrielle Hamilton's cheffy memoir, Blood, Bones, & Butter, which I could not get into in paperbook, but have now listened to twice on audiobook.  

So moral of the story is, when in doubt, try the audiobook!

image via rainbowrowell

Last Great Book I Read: Where'd You Go, Bernadette

Technically, I didn't actually read this book, I listened to the audiobook on CD.  I tried reading this book in the flesh, and perhaps it's the plot or my recent lack of attention span, but I just couldn't get into it.  However, my mom's book club read it and she recommended I try again, hence - the audiobook.  A brilliant way to keep myself occupied in transit and make traffic to and from work far less mundane.  

Where'd You Go, Bernadette is a unique story.  It vacillates between different viewpoints, monologues, character narratives, letters, and chains of emails to piece together the story of this unique family, it's matriarch and her unusual past that contributes to her odd personality and unorthodox behavior in a variety of situations.  

One thing I really enjoyed about this book?  Learning about Antarctica! Yes, you read that correctly. Early in the story, Bea (Bernadette's daughter) propositions her parents to take her to Antarctica as a graduation present.  While I never thought Antarctica would ever sound appealing as a travel destination, author Maria Semple somehow portrays the mystery, intrigue, and adventure of the white continent as incredibly captivating.

Have you read it?  What did you think?

P.S. - Other great audiobooks I'd recommend:

* Blood, Bones and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton

* My Life in France by Julia Child

* Left Neglected by Lisa Genova

image/amazon

Last Great Book I Read: Blood, Bones, & Butter

Always a fan of memoirs, it was only a matter of time before I picked up Blood, Bones, and Butter by New York City chef Gabrielle Hamilton.  This book has officially become one of my favorite books...EVER.

Yet, if we're being honest...the first time I picked up this book, I couldn't really get into it.  I had a stack of books on my bedside table, and sipping in a few precious minutes of reading before drifting off to sleep simply didn't suit this book.  However, I couldn't shake the notion that this book was worth my while, especially since I had heard such glowing reviews.  Inevitably, I decided it merited a second look.  On my second attempt, I checked out the audiobook from my local library, and once the CD began rolling, I was captivated!  

The audio book is narrated by the author herself, Gabrielle Hamilton, who recounts her childhood, trials and tribulations in the world of chefdom, and many a culinary and familial experience with a beautiful grace and sharp wit.  She swears, she makes analogies dripping with description, and writes with such beautiful fluency, it was hard to stop listening.  I found myself making excuses to drive my car, simply so I could continue listening to her articulate her story, and I was quite sad when the last chapter of the last disc ended and the story was complete.  

Here's a sample from the audiobook to wet your appetite.

image/beattiesbookblog

Book On Tape

I just checked out Julia Child's "My Life in France," book on tape from the library. I've been eager to read the memoir of the famed chef's years spent Paris & Marseilles since the movie Julie & Julia premiered last year. Yet despite my best attempts and efforts, I just couldn't seem get into the book.

However...the book on tape is a totally different story. The narrator has a pleasant, captivating voice, and I find myself making excuses to drive the long way home just so I can continue listening to her tale as she describes amazing culinary adventures in and around her Paris home.

Any of you fans of books on tape? What audio-tales are not to be missed?

image/julieandjulia