This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Audible. The opinions and text are all mine.
When it comes to audiobooks, people tend to either love them or hate them. I, for one, am in the love-them camp. There was a time in the distant past when I didn’t quite appreciate them the way that I do now but I find myself listening in almost every day while cleaning, driving, or walking, etc. I predominantly use Audible, which is run by Amazon, with a monthly subscription. The discount gives me (and you!) one free book a month and discounts on additional books. I have a feeling that now that I’m not working at home anymore, I will be buying more books because I finally have a commute again (not to mention I joined a gym and like to listen on the treadmill). If you’d like to learn more about how a subscription can work for you (and get your first book free!!), click here.
If I’m being honest, my audiobook listening tends to be non-fiction, typically related to science or politics, and within the 7-10 hour range, but I’m thinking of branching out and picking up The Turn of the Screw. It’s different for me because it’s only 4 hours and 40 minutes, is a book that I didn’t *love* in print, and is fiction. That said, Audible has been promoting it because the lovely Emma Thompson narrates it and I’m pretty sure everyone wants to hear her tell a creepy, scary story.
Part of why I’m optimistic that branching out of my normal listening habits will garner positive results is because the few times I have done so in the past, I was thrilled. Below are 3 audiobooks that I listened to using Audible that were “different” for me but that I loved, anyway and 3 of my all-time favorites.
Branching Out
Ice: A Memoir of Gangster Life and Redemption-from South Central to Hollywood by Ice-T
I loved, loved this audiobook. Before I listened to it, my knowledge of Ice-T consisted of Law & Order: SVU and Cop Killer, both of which are important parts of his life but by no means tell his life story. While he didn’t narrate the book himself, Mirron Willis did an incredible job and after a while I completely forgot that Ice-T wasn’t telling his own life story. You can read my review here.
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Technically, this one is related to science and technology but it was out of my wheelhouse because the audiobook is over 25 hours long. This is a really long time and I admit I struggled early on. But then I learned you can increase the speed of the narrator. Once I did that, I flew through the second half of the book and rely on the speed toggle option for every single book until I find my groove.
The Sparrow by Jason Mott
I adore Jason Mott’s books, The Returned and The Wonder of All Things, but thanks to Audible’s recommendations feature I found out that he had a prequel to The Returned that I didn’t know about. It was extremely short by my standards but hearing a story that I was already familiar with was different and rewarding.
Favorites
You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero
This book pretty much changed my life. I listened to it on my way back from Las Vegas and was unhappy with my job and needed a change. You Are a Badass, which is about getting over your qualms, figuring out what you want in life, and going for it was exactly what I needed. In the few months after watching it, I had a new job, was happier all around, and am still raving about this book. It’s narrated by the author, which gives it more spunk, and it is going to be very hard to bump this one from my list. You can find my review here.
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
If you want an audiobook that will equally infuriate you and make you cry, then this is the one to pick up. This stunning book is a long letter from a father to his son about what it means to be black in America. It won the National Book Award for Non-Fiction last year, which tells you something about how powerful it is. If this isn’t enough to convince you to read it, here’s my full review.
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Granted, this book is absolutely hilarious and is narrated by Fey, herself, but this one holds a special place in my heart because it’s the first audiobook I listened to in full. Not only is it the first one I listened to in its entirety, I listened to it straight through on a trip from North Carolina to Florida. The timing was so perfect that it literally ended as I was pulling off the highway in Florida and the book’s hilarity kept me going on what could have been a miserable drive.
So now that you’ve gotten to know a bit about my audiobooking habits, tell me about yours! And if you don’t have Audible already, click here to learn more and listen to your first book for free.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Audible. The opinions and text are all mine.