Alright guys, I want to talk audio books. I LOVE audio books and I don’t care who knows it! I’ve been listening to audio books for about five years now and it baffles me that as a child, I hated them. I guess I just associated them with NPR and the monotone narrators of the news (I now love NPR – go local radio!). The first audio books I remember liking was called The Midwife or The Milkmaid or something like that – I seriously cannot remember. It was a YA story, though. Because I was a child, and my mother isn’t a monster. But I didn’t actually dive into the world of narrated literature until a couple of years ago when I was training for a half marathon. Sure, I’d had an audible subscription and would listen to something now and then, but I never took it seriously. It wasn’t until I was running miles on miles, that I realized I was bored. My music was boring. My surroundings were boring. My feet hurt and I. Was. Bored. Que Harry Potter. Seriously. I remember pulling out my phone, downloading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (because let’s be honest, who really wants to start with 1 or 2 when you can jump to 3) and feeling like I was ready to go another five miles. Which is what I did.
Going forward from that moment, I’ve had an audio book going at all times. Literally. At. All. Times. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a mood reader and therefore have multiple books going at once…one of those books is always an audio book. I like to listen in the car, while I walk into work, while I check emails. I listen while I shower, clean the house, and exercise. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes you need some good “pump me up” music, but most of the time I’m listening to a book. I know a lot of folks will say, “Listening to books is not the same as reading them.” I disagree. At the end of the day, reading a book is just telling yourself a story. Listening to a book is having someone else tell you that story. The outcome is the same. If you don’t believe me, go listen to some episodes of What Should I Read Next with Anne Bogel. She knows her stuff.
I am going to give you folks a few audio book suggestions for those who want to try it out but aren’t sure. So here we go!
1. Harry Potter (entire series) – this should not be a shocker to you. I recommend HP nearly every time I have a recommendation list. This is because it’s great for all ages. The audio books, however, reach an entirely different level of greatness and this is due to the narrator, Jim Dale. I literally cannot imagine anyone else ever narrating Harry Potter. He’s incredibly talented, and it helps if you’re reading a great story, too.
2. Garden Spells, by Sarah Addison Allen. I’m going through an Allen phase right now – pretty much listening to every single one of her books this summer. And why not? They’re PERFECT summer reads/listens. Garden spells is full of magical realism and the narrator, Susan Ericksen, is fantastic.
3. Becoming, by Michelle Obama. She narrates herself. Need I say more?
4. Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens and narrated by Cassandra Campbell. If you haven’t heard of this book, I demand that you go pick up a copy (or download one!) immediately. A beautifully written coming of age story with a unique twist and tragic circumstances. Truly one of my all-time favorite books in the world.
5. Born a Crime, by Trevor Noah, narrated by the author. Talk about culture shock. Noah talks about his childhood and how his very existence could have gotten his parents arrested. We know Noah as the witty comedian on The Daily Show, but he’s overcome a lot of adversity to get where he is today. If you want to feel inspired, if you want to feel grateful, and if you want to laugh, go listen to this book.
6. Lastly – only because I really need to stop myself – Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline and narrated by Wil Wheaton. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I know it gets a lot of flack from real gamers because it explains every little thing, but for those of us who have no idea how to do anything with video games ever, it was fantastic. I burned through this book and thought the narration was incredible.
Don’t be afraid to dive into audio books. If they’re not your style, they just aren’t. No one is here to judge. You do you, and don’t forget to read something!
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