I have mixed feelings about audio books because unless I pay 100% attention, chapters can go by and I realize I've been off in my own head and not in the book.
Bossypants was one of the best I've listened to lately, of course anything read by the author in her own voice, especially from a kickass comic, is bound to be pretty engaging.
Audiobooks have become more frequent in my life, between a local library that offers Overdrive, which now has an updated app that will allow me to search and download audiobooks directly to my iPhone. I also signed up for an Audible.com trial that I never cancelled, because I can probably listen to an audiobook a month. I try to save spending my credits for when I hear something is "not to be missed" in audio form, meaning the audio adds something to the experience. For my upcoming vacation, I've downloaded a few so I can just sit on a beach and lose myself in a book.
A few others I would personally recommend:
Bill Clinton - My Life
No matter what your politics, hearing his voice narrate his childhood is very moving.
Phillip Pullman - The Golden Compass
This is done like a radio show, with multiple voices for the characters, and narrated by the author, who has a really great storytelling voice. It far surpasses the experience of reading the print.
What are your favorite audiobooks?
It's a coincidence we both posted about audio books on the same day :P
ReplyDeleteI haven't listened to the Bill Clinton one but I have read it and it does read like he is chatting to you, so I imagine the audio version is very good. I tend to find my mind drifting at times too, which is why I prefer trash!
I have always wanted to be a person who can listen to audiobooks, but it's never happened. No matter how hard I try, I end up forgetting that I'm listening to a book...and even when I am paying attention, I forget character names and other details that I can't check by flipping back a few pages. Last time I tried was with "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter," which I listened to while washing dishes. Turned out that even that wasn't boring enough for me to keep my focus on the book. I can see something like Bossypants working better as an audio for me, though; clearly "serious literature" (however we define that) isn't going to work.
ReplyDelete-- Ellen