AUDIOBOOK WEEK ~ Day 5: Listen Up!

Listen Up!

Where do you learn about great audiobook titles? Find reviews? Buy your audiobooks? Share your secrets with the rest of us!

Audible
Most of my audiobook purchases come from audible.com.  I am a member and for $22.95 per month I get 2 books.  And they also run sales all the time.  For instance, right now they have 150+ audiobooks for only $5 each!  And the best part about audible is their app.  I can download the books from my library straight to my iPod with no hassle.  I also get their newsletter, which keeps me up to date on new releases.

iTunes
I occasionally get audiobooks from  iTunes.  Usually they are much more expensive than what I pay as a member of audible.com, but iTunes has a Audiobook of the Month for $5.95.  I always make sure to check and see what they are offering every month.  It's usually something I've had on my wish list forever, and they also frequently put the first book in a series on sale when the next book is ready to release. 

Library
I also get audiobooks from my local library.  They have a digital library where I can get audio and ebooks, which is a great resource.  I also get some CDs from the actual library, although that's not my prefered method since I then have to convert them to mp3 format. 

AUDIOBOOK WEEK ~ Day 4: What Makes a Good Narrator?

What Makes a Good Narrator?

Who are your favorite narrators and why? What do you look for in a narrator? Have a preference between male or female narrators?
Alternate suggestion: Narration preferences – single narrator, multiple narrators, full cast, etc.

The most important aspect of a good narrator, in my opinion, is the ability to distinguish between the characters.  I love to listen to an audiobook where there are very distinct differences for each part the narrator plays.  I think this is especially true when you have a book with characters that have very different personalities.   Narrators that I've listened to that excel at characters:  Jim Dale is without a doubt one of the best narrators I've listened to, as I discussed yesterday.  Gerard Doyle narrates The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini and he does an amazing job. Other favorites for character definition:  Tavia Gilbert, Annika Boras, Angela Dawe and Amanda Ronconi.  I know I'm missing some really good ones here, so this is just a short list.  Another thing that is important is the flow of the reading.   I've listened to some audiobooks where the narrator paused in strange places or just didn't go with the flow, so to speak.  That can be very distracting.   

AUDIOBOOK WEEK ~ Day 3: Mid-Week Meme

Current/Most Recent Audiobook:

Right now I am listening to Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost, which is narrated by Tavia Gilbert.

Impressions:

This is the first book in a spin-off of the Night Huntress series, which I loved.  So far Once Burned is living up to my expectations.

Current/Most Recent Favorite Audiobook:

My all time favorite is the Harry Potter series, both to read and to listen to.  Jim Dale is the narrator of the audiobooks, and he is unbelievable.  I had already read this series, but decided that I wanted to experience them in audio, and I am so glad that I did.  Dale brings a magic quality to these books that is unparalleled. 

Here are a few fun facts from blurtit.com: 

"Jim Dale is the narrator of the American edition (Stephen Fry narrates the UK edition) of the Harry Potter audiobooks. He narrated all seven books, as well as the DVDs.  Dale has won many awards for his narration of the Harry Potter series, including a Grammy Award (in 2000), four Grammy nominations,seven Audie Awards, two Benjamin Franklin Awards and seven Audio File Earphone Awards.  Jim Dale won a Guinness World Record for creating 134 different character voices for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. He also won a Guinness World Record for having the first six entries in the 'Top Ten Audio Books of America' in 2005."

Favorite Narrator You've Discovered Recently:

I recently listened to the Tiger Saga by Colleen Houck, which is narrated by Annika Boras.  This series is unique to anything else I've listened to in that while the main character is American, most of the novels take place in India.  Not only does Boras do an amazing job with male and female characters she also handles the accents effortlessly. 

Other narrators I love:  Holter Graham, Amanda Ronconi, Emily Shaffer, Lorelei King, Tavia Gilbert, Scott Brick, Gerard Doyle & Jim Dale

One Title From Your TBL (to be listened) Stack or Audio Wishlist:

I've had Room on my Wish List for quite a while now, but I'm hesitating because of the fact that a large portion of the book is told from a child's point of view.  I'm thinking this may be better read.  Thoughts? 

I should also point out that after reading other participants of this meme I have now added  Ready Player One to my Wish List!  Wil Wheaton...yes please!

Your Audio Dream Team (what book or author would you LOVE to see paired with a certain narrator, can already exist or not):

I think I have to fall back to Jim Dale with this one.  With a voicee made for strange creatures and magical beings he makes me think "magic and fantasy", so any books with a magical quality would be amazing narrated by him.  Take his previous work into account and I suppose I'm not the only one that thinks this.  He's also narrated Peter Pan, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Liesl & Po, and The Night Circus...among others.

AUDIOBOOK WEEK ~ Day 2: So You Want to Review Audiobooks…

Audiobook Week ~ Day 2
So You Want to Review Audiobooks…

Today's topic of discussion:

Discuss the essentials of audiobook reviewing. What do you make sure to include? What do you want to see when you read other people’s reviews?

When I first started this blog I didn't put much distinction between a book I read and a book I listened to in my reviews.  Since I'm a new blogger I'm definitely learning with every book/audiobook that I review, and with each audiobook I review I seem to add more information.  I try to think about what is important to me when I read someone else's review, but also when I choose my next audiobook.  Of course, I want to know the book title and author on any book, but with an audiobook you also have a narrator.  If you're just an occasional listener this won't matter as much to you, but when you listen to just as many (or more) books as you read you will start to recognize the narrators and you will most definitely have your favorites.  Sometimes I will even find myself searching for my next purchase based on the narrator instead of the author, and that shows an amazing narrator.  Another thing that is important to me is the length of the book.  If the book is short I would prefer to read it.  I love long audiobooks!  This isn't crucial to my decision, but it is definitely information that I like to have so I think it's important to include.  When I write my review I break it into two parts:  Story and Narration.  When I'm reading a review I want a short synopsis of the book, the reviewer's opinion of the story and thoughts about the narration.  How did the narrator handle emotion?  Accents?  Can he/she switch between characters without trouble?  Did the narration flow effortlessly?  If there were any issues, things the reviewer didn't like, I want to know about it.  So when I review an audiobook this is the information I give.  A great book is only as good as the narrator so this is the absolute most important part of any good audiobook review.   

I am having so much fun with Audiobook Week! Thank you to everyone that visited and commented on my posts yesterday. I hope you all are enjoying this as much as I am. And best of all, I'm learning so much! Take today's topic for example. It really made me think about what MY reviews were lacking. 

AUDIOBOOK WEEK ~ Day 1: Your Audiobook Year

Audiobook Week ~ Day 1:  2011-2012 Your Audiobook Year

Are you new to audiobooks in the last year? Have you been listening to them forever but discovered something new this year? Favorite titles? New times/places to listen? This is your chance to introduce yourself and your general listening experience.
Welcome to Audiobook Week 2012 hosted by Devourer of Books.  Anyone that has followed my blog knows how much I love audiobooks so I couldn't resist participating in a full week of audiobook reviews and discussion.  This is my first year of participation in Audiobook Week, but I have been listening to audiobooks for years!  Since June 2011 I've listened to 52 audiobooks, 5 of which were 30+ hours each.  That adds up to A LOT of listening time!  I live 30 minutes from town so each and every car trip I'm listening.  It's my favorite time to listen because what would otherwise be a long boring trip just to get groceries seems to take no time at all.  I also listen while I'm cleaning house, when I need a bit of my own quite time (I do have 3 kids after all) and I love to listen when I get in bed at night.  I can't see in the dark to read a paperback book, the light from my Kindle bothers my husband while he's trying to sleep, but I can pop my earbuds in and listen for as long as I want!  I have been known to have to go back and find the last place I remember because I fell asleep listening, but I can promise you my dreams are always interesting!  I wouldn't recommend Stephen King or Dean Koontz while night listening.  You never know what your dreams will be!

Do you listen to audiobooks?  I'd love to hear all about your favorite place to listen.  Comment below, and if you want to participate in Audiobook Week head on over to Devourer of Books and join us!