If you are a book nerd like me (and if you are reading this, you probably are) the summer months can be especially delightful for audiobooking. It’s beautiful out, so you want to leave your house (or people are forcing you to leave the house). Like a true “indoor kid,” I want to be reading pretty much all the time. Audiobooks are great for hikes, lounging by the pool, road trips, and whatever else you have planned for these summer months.
Sponsored by the new summer must-haves: freshly picked audiobooks from bestselling author Warren Adler. Discover them all here.
Want a free Warren Adler audiobook of your choice? Just email bookreviews@warrenadler.com with the subject line “Audiobook Month” and the title you’d like to receive and we’ll send it to you! Limit to 20 entries.
In July, I’ll be braving a two-week road trip from California to Oklahoma (don’t ask). Audiobooks are going to play a VITAL role. I’ll be journeying with a sci-fi lover, which is not my typical genre. I’m trying to think of books we’ll both enjoy for the trip. If you have any suggestions, tweet them to me at @msmacb or email me at katie@riotnewmedia.com and I’ll compile a list of whatever suggestions I get and post it on Book Riot. Then, I’ll listen to as many as I can on the trip and report back.
If sci-fi audiobooks that are palatable to non-sci-fi listeners is also an interest of yours, I strongly recommend the Ready Player One audiobook, written by Ernest Cline and narrated by Wil Wheaton. Set in the not-too-distant future (2044), Wade Watts is a high school student living in “the stacks,” trailers stacked atop each other. There’s never enough money, food, or space, and the only escape Wade has is “the Oasis” a virtual reality world with infinite possibilities. Buried inside the Oasis is a buried treasure that could solve all of Wade’s problems. Filled with ’80s nostalgia, corporate bad-guys, and magical treasure hunting adventures, this is an incredible book that’s even better an audio.
Another one from the backlist:
I watched *all* of Big Little Lies this weekend and while I think it was so well done (and talk about a killer cast–-pun very much intended), I’m happy I listened to the audiobook first. For the uninitiated: “Big Little Lies focuses on three women, all of whom have children at the same preschool. One is a great beauty married to a fabulously rich businessman; they have a “perfect” set of twins. One is the can-do mom who can put together a mean pre-school art project but can’t prevent her teenage daughter from preferring her divorced dad. The third is a withdrawn, single mother who doesn’t quite fit in. Right from the start–thanks to a modern “Greek chorus” that narrates the action–we know that someone is going to end up dead. The questions are who and how. Miraculously, Moriarty keeps this high concept plot aloft, largely because she infuses it with such wit and heart. She also knows not to overplay the message she’s sending: that we all tell lies–to each other and, more importantly, to ourselves.”
Over at Book Riot:
One Rioter discusses how audiobooks reignited her love of poetry.
New Releases:
The great Carl Sagan was the voice of the original Cosmos and a hero to many. Three of his books have just-released audio versions: Cosmos, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, and Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space.
The current voice of Cosmos also has a newly-released book on audio: Neil de Grasse Tyson’s Astrophysics for People in a Hurry is narrated by the author (yay!) and explores questions like, “What is the nature of space and time? How do we fit within the universe? How does the universe fit within us?”
Theft by Finding: Diaries (1977-2002) by David Sedaris, read by David Sedaris.
David Sedaris audiobooks are pretty much a sure thing…especially his memoir/non-fiction. This has all the makings of an excellent book–what more could you want than David Sedaris literally reading the highlights of 25 years of diary entries?
File Under: Things Everybody but Me Has Probably Known About Forever
Did y’all Know that Spotify has a Spoken Word Option? Under which you can find audiobooks? [insert seventy-five million heart eyes emojis]. Right now I have the free version of Spotify because I don’t use it enough to warrant the $10/month premium version but depending on how much I start using the audiobook collection, I’ll likely be shelling that $10/month in the not-too-distant future.
Links for Your Ears (this is such a gross image; I keep picturing sausage links hanging from someone’s earlobes but I’m also kind of attached to the phrase, so…)
7 Best Audiobooks for Dog Lovers
I’m so happy that Inside of a Dog’s Mind is on this list. I love this book so much; I gave it to my grandmother for Christmas and she loved it, too. What’s that, you say? You’d like me to take this opportunity to unnecessarily insert a picture of my dog here? Ok, well if you insist. Here’s one from World Book Night in 2013, when she “helped” me pass out copies of The Handmaid’s Tale.
People doing cool things to support audiobooks and accessibility
Last week it was Bangkok, this week it’s Glasgow and Odisha, India. Awesome, right?
Partially sighted Glasgow man skydives for charity
For Writers:
Audiobook Narration, Production, Distribution, And Marketing Tip
Audiobook Review:
Between the World and Me Audiobook Review
Until next week, Audiobookers, and say hello anytime!
~Katie
Shacking Up
Trade Me
Losing Her
Milena, or The Most Beautiful Femur in the World
What would you like to see less/more of in the mystery genre? I’d like to see more mysteries set in unusual settings and occupations. For example, I’ve just read a mystery by Danish writer Sara Blaedel about the world of undertakers, and it was both grim and utterly refreshing. I’d also love to read contemporary mysteries set in countries such as Egypt or Turkey, because those cultures are so seldom featured in books available to Americans.
Murder in Matera: A True Story of Passion, Family, and Forgiveness in Southern Italy
The Long Drop by Denise Mina
Charcoal Joe
