If you were too see me strolling down the street, from the outside I’d probably look like your typical modern day teenager, headphones on head, iPod in hand, lost in whatever hip new song is topping the charts. You may, however, be slightly confused when seemingly out of nowhere, tears start pouring down my face and I have to take shelter in a near by Starbucks to try to calm by sobbing. Because the truth is, I hardly ever listen to music, I only listen to books.
The ‘crying on the side of the road’ incident occurred last Sunday when after 3 weeks and 33 hours of audio book heaven I finally finished The Hunger Games and was so overcome with emotion I had to have a little (okay, maybe not that little) cry. Audio books truly are one of the most important things in my life (after knitting and Grey’s Anatomy).
A few years ago, I was having a lot of trouble reading due to various back problems so I started to really get into audiobooks. I started light – Princess Diaries, Gossip Girl, that sort of thing. But after getting a bit more used to listening instead of reading, I moved onto heavier books (does Twilight count as heavy?). I spend a fair bit of time on my own and to be honest, audio books provide such good company, I’m scared I’m going to end up an 80-year-old woman who still hasn’t bothered to make any friends. When I try to talk to people about my obsessive love of the talking book, a lot of people tell me they have never been able to get into them as they are often distracted or can’t find the time. So these are my top tips for how to begin your audio book discovery journey, and a few of my faves.
Tips:
- If you’re not sure what book to start with, try to find an autobiography of one of your favorite celebrities or comedians. Most celebrities read there own autobiographies on audio book and if you’ve ever dreamed of spending 12 hours with Mindy Kaling or Tina Fey, I’m pretty sure this is the closest you can get.
- Always make sure you are doing something at the same time. One of the easiest ways to get distracted while listening to an audiobook is if you just sit there, staring into space, trying to listen. Your mind will start to wander and pretty soon you’ll realize you’ve missed a huge chunk of Katniss/Peeta action. The best way to not get distracted is, weirdly, to do something a little distracting. Make sure it’s something easy that doesn’t use a lot of brainpower like knitting or painting your nails and it will help you to focus a lot better.
- Give a book a good try, but if you’re not feeling it, turn it off. There’s nothing worse than being stuck on a 12-hour long audio book that you hate. If you feel like you’re getting bored or want to murder the person who is reading your book, just turn it off and try to find one you like a bit more.
- Go to audible.com – a lot of people complain that audiobooks are too pricey but audible .com is the best website ever. You get 2 books a month for £14.99 and they have all the same selection as iTunes.
- Listen to a sample of the book before you buy. A few years ago, when I had to read Jane Eyre for school, I accidentally downloaded an audiobook with an American reading it. She pronounced everyone’s names wrong and when I came into school on the first day I was ridiculed for the rest of term for my crazy pronunciation.
My Favorite Audio books.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – Obviously this is a completely brilliant book no matter what format it’s in, but it’s also a really great audio book. The woman reading it does each character perfectly and if you’ve already read the books but need some more Hunger Games action while your waiting for the film, I would recommend these.
[...] check out this “love letter to audiobooks” from Scarlett Curtis — a pretty good summary of why listening is awesome. Share [...]
I’m so glad someone else does this. I love reading soooo much (I’m a literature major
) but there are some authors that I find so much easier to stomach in audio format, namely C.S. Lewis. I have tried multiple times to read the Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe series and failed each time. But with the audio books I get it. It just clicks, I’m so glad someone else out there does this too <3
I never thought to try it before… I’ll give it a thought due to this awesome promotion.
Never Let Me Go is my favorite book too!! I’m sure it would be great as an audiobook too!
Another great post from my new favourite writer. Looking forward to your first book, Scarlett, whatever the format. Re audio books – I have weird shaped earholes, which makes it hard to find earphones that don’t fall out – could you maybe crochet me some special ones?
I LOVE listening to audiobooks. I work in research and sometimes my job can be a bit monotonous so I’ll listen to an audiobook while working. My coworkers think I’m nuts when I randomly burst out laughing. Any book by Sophie Kinsella is pretty easy to listen to and very funny.
Thank you for the tip about doing something else, I’ll try that next. So far I’ve been pretty much falling asleep every time I try to listen to an audiobook lol
I love audio books. Several times a year my mom and I make a few trips to Mississippi and love going to the base library and see what new Janet Evanovich or Carol Higgins Clark books. It is the best way to spend the 6+ hours on a trip. I have her addicted to the Stephanie Plum series. I also spent about a year in the hospital and would fall asleep to them at night. It’s always great to go on long trips now.
I feel the same way about audiobooks. They make my daily 2 hour drive so much better! After reading the Harry Potter series I needed more so I’ve been buying it on audio. BEST AUDIOBOOKS EVER! They are captivating, and before I know it my drive is up! Also, Kathryn Stockett’s THE HELP is my absolute favorite on audio, as four women speak the different parts…just fantastic!
There are a lot of good places online to get free audiobooks. I listened to all of the Brontes’ works and a good bit of historical detective fiction/mystery novels while spending a few months at a particularly boring job. I’ve literally listened to hundreds of audiobooks, never subscribed to a service, and only paid for maybe a dozen or so.
Books on tape (I can’t seem to train myself to say audio book…) and I go way back…my mom always listened to them in the car, and they’re pretty much the best things ever. There is nothing more satisfying than sitting down with a quick knitting project and a really great book on tape. Except maybe sitting down with a quick knitting project and Grey’s Anatomy….
I sobbed when I finished hunger games too! Audiobooks are an essential part of any drive over an hour… so are twizzlers.
I’m blind so audio books are my main reading luxery! Love, obsessed, nothing wrong. Plus makes reading an multitasking uber easy.
A vote for Harry Potter with Stephen Fry here though
Audiobooks are amazing! They keep me from going crazy spending two hours driving each day.
I second the comment about the library, they do have a surprisingly good selection!
Also second the comment about the Jim Dale audio books. He is amazing!!
Other book recommendations: anything by Jacquline Carey, American Gods by Neil Gaymond, and books by Gary Pullman. There are a million other that I love, but I can’t remember them right now. lol
The Harry Potter ones are the best audiobooks ever!!
The Jim Dale versions!
Agree! Although I love the Stephen Fry versions, could listen to him talking about anything really so reading my fave books is a dream!
Another good option is going to your local library for audiobooks! I was amazed at my library’s selection and it is so much cheaper than buying them! Also, I listen to them as I am falling asleep, which is so much more calming than watching TV (unless you get to an exciting part in the book!)!
SOMEONE UNDERSTANDS ME! I started listening to Audiobooks when I drove four hours to New Jersey on my own and needed some company. I’ve been listening to the Pretty Little Liars series on audiobook because I LOVE the girl who narrates them. So PLL (and Kathy Griffin, which was the first I listened to) has been my gateway into the world of audiobooks. They’re so nice to listen to in between classes and guilt free because I don’t have to worry about how I should actually be reading for class.
Ive been wanting to subscribe to audible.com but I was wondering if there was different voices to each character…i love the old time radio app its almost the same has different genres and I love the suspense they have different actors playing a part I listen to it while cooking, they also have the outerlimits
Oh my gosh, I LOVE audiobooks. I read a lot of books, but I also spend a lot of time in the car. It’s impossible to read while driving, so I checked out an audiobook. It was so fantastic that I kept going. Last year I listened to the unabridged version of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. I think that was the longest book so far, but the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon are right up there too. People probably think I’m nuts too, what with all the crying, laughing out loud, and yelling at characters that I do.