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Any audiobooks you’ve enjoyed recently?

madteaparty

By madteaparty,
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madteaparty

madteaparty

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My quarterly request. I’ve listened on audio to everything Kate Atkinson has written. Another recent decent one was O Caledonia and Where the Crawdads sing. I also liked one by Liane Moriarty (I think the Big Little Lies one) but somehow never got into the rest. The books I’ve been reading recently don’t lend themselves to audio (too many characters). I also don’t love non fiction these days
Grateful for any recs. 

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maize

maize

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Do you do fantasy at all? I've spent the past couple of years mostly listening to Brandon Sanderson--in English and then in various translations. I listen to audiobooks mostly to make doing dishes and folding laundry bearable, so fantasy worlds I can immerse myself in for hours on end work great.

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Amethyst

Amethyst

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Crying in HMart was fabulous. Read by the author. I especially liked the first half. 
 

Currently listening to The Alice Network. Nothing deep. It’s keeping me interested. I’m not finished yet. Sometimes a bad ending can ruin a book for me, but for now I’ll recommend. 
 

 

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madteaparty

madteaparty

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2 hours ago, maize said:

Do you do fantasy at all? I've spent the past couple of years mostly listening to Brandon Sanderson--in English and then in various translations. I listen to audiobooks mostly to make doing dishes and folding laundry bearable, so fantasy worlds I can immerse myself in for hours on end work great.

Not much fantasy. My chore listen is On Being (which is mercifully back after a hiatus lol)

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stephanier.1765

stephanier.1765

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4 hours ago, maize said:

Do you do fantasy at all? I've spent the past couple of years mostly listening to Brandon Sanderson--in English and then in various translations. I listen to audiobooks mostly to make doing dishes and folding laundry bearable, so fantasy worlds I can immerse myself in for hours on end work great.

I'm presently listening to Mistborn as I cross stitch. Fantasy and scifi are my favorite audiobooks. I recently went through The Expanse series, and while I've read the books previously, the audiobooks are joy.

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maize

maize

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1 hour ago, stephanier.1765 said:

I'm presently listening to Mistborn as I cross stitch. Fantasy and scifi are my favorite audiobooks. I recently went through The Expanse series, and while I've read the books previously, the audiobooks are joy.

I should try that one next, I keep hearing good reports. I wonder if it has been translated into other languages? I like to do series that I can listen to in Spanish, French, German or Japanese once I have been through the English. 

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Pam in CT

Pam in CT

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20 minutes ago, maize said:

I should try that one next, I keep hearing good reports. I wonder if it has been translated into other languages? I like to do series that I can listen to in Spanish, French, German or Japanese once I have been through the English. 

( in **awe** that you're that proficient in that many languages )

That's a great idea.

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Farrar

Farrar

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Most of the things I've really loved on audiobook lately have been fantasy. I tend to read more literary stuff as books and more plot-driven stuff as audiobook, which for me often means more fantasy stuff. Sounds like you like realistic stuff with an emotional component and female characters. How about The Midnight Library? It was decent and might suit your taste. It does have a fantasy element - a woman is given the opportunity to try out different versions of her life based on different decisions she's made. It wasn't groundbreaking for me, but I did enjoy it. It had a nice pace.

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stephanier.1765

stephanier.1765

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8 hours ago, Farrar said:

Most of the things I've really loved on audiobook lately have been fantasy. I tend to read more literary stuff as books and more plot-driven stuff as audiobook, which for me often means more fantasy stuff. Sounds like you like realistic stuff with an emotional component and female characters. How about The Midnight Library? It was decent and might suit your taste. It does have a fantasy element - a woman is given the opportunity to try out different versions of her life based on different decisions she's made. It wasn't groundbreaking for me, but I did enjoy it. It had a nice pace.

I like my audiobooks to be fantasy or scifi is because those genres often have names and places with the weirdest and most unpronounceable words I've ever seen. It's like they go out of their way to make them difficult. At least with audiobooks, the pronunciation is on the reader and I can sit back and enjoy.  🙌

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maize

maize

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11 hours ago, Pam in CT said:

( in **awe** that you're that proficient in that many languages )

That's a great idea.

Spanish and French I'm genuinely comfortable in. German and Japanese are a stretch, I don't actually follow more than maybe 40%. Knowing the story already though means I get enough of the gist to find listening interesting, and audiobooks are the best substitute I have found for true immersion. Immersion is the only way I have ever been able to truly learn a language.

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ktgrok

ktgrok

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I recently was out of books that I wanted to listen to that I could do so for free (I have kindle unlimited, so some books are listen and read for free, and I'd run out). I went back and re listened to some romantic suspense series I liked in years past - the are linked in geography and a few characters but each series can be read alone- Scarlet Falls Series, followed by the Morgan Dane series followed by the Bree Taggert Series. They are not the great american novel type thing, just fun genre fiction. 

I also recently listened to a romance novel I thought was delightful - Improbably Yours. 

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Pam in CT

Pam in CT

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https://www.overdrive.com/apps/libby

On 2/14/2023 at 4:34 PM, ktgrok said:

I recently was out of books that I wanted to listen to that I could do so for free (I have kindle unlimited, so some books are listen and read for free, and I'd run out). I went back and re listened to some romantic suspense series I liked in years past - the are linked in geography and a few characters but each series can be read alone- Scarlet Falls Series, followed by the Morgan Dane series followed by the Bree Taggert Series. They are not the great american novel type thing, just fun genre fiction. 

I also recently listened to a romance novel I thought was delightful - Improbably Yours. 

If your own local library doesn't offer Libby... look for a regional one into whose network you can tap into. I haven't paid for any audiobook in years.  I sometimes have to wait a few months for newly published bestsellers, but once I've placed the hold they just... arrive on my phone when I've moved up the list.  And anything that's been out for more than a year I can just download pronto from wherever I am.

It.is.actually.magic.

 

(So many downsides to living in this toxic screen-directed instant age of many millions of maladies, I figure I may as well avail of its blessings as well.)

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ktgrok

ktgrok

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3 hours ago, Pam in CT said:

https://www.overdrive.com/apps/libby

If your own local library doesn't offer Libby... look for a regional one into whose network you can tap into. I haven't paid for any audiobook in years.  I sometimes have to wait a few months for newly published bestsellers, but once I've placed the hold they just... arrive on my phone when I've moved up the list.  And anything that's been out for more than a year I can just download pronto from wherever I am.

It.is.actually.magic.

 

(So many downsides to living in this toxic screen-directed instant age of many millions of maladies, I figure I may as well avail of its blessings as well.)

oh, I use Libby too, lol. Can't have just one supplier for my addiction 🙂

But..I really really like to both read and listen. So I'll read while I have my coffee, then switch to listening as I wash the breakfast dishes, etc. I switch back and forth all day. So with Kindle Unlimited ones that are read and listen they use "whisper sync" so I never lose my place in the book as I switch back and forth. Totally spoiled me!

I do sometimes borrow both the ebook and the audiobook, right now I'm listening/reading one that way, from Libby. But then I have to keep figuring out where I'm at when I switch back and forth, and I always stop due to "kid needs a drink/laundry is buzzine/dog wants to go out" rather than "end of the chapter" so it's a pain. I mean, total first world problem, lol, but still a pain. 

I do also sometimes listen to one book, and have a different one to read, but I don't like doing that. 

Also, I have the patience of a gnat, so having to wait for a book is torture. I wear cheap clothing and never eat out, but my book budget...yeah...

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shawthorne44

shawthorne44

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10 hours ago, ktgrok said:

...

I do also sometimes listen to one book, and have a different one to read, but I don't like doing that. 

...

 

Have you tried making them completely different books?  Like maybe the book is a Romance and the audio is a biography?   

I am the opposite of you and internally laugh whenever someone asks, "What book are you reading?" because the question assumes only one.  One of the reasons I wanted to homeschool my child even when I was in school was how utterly ****bored**** I was.  Mind-numbingly bored.   So I'd read during school pretty constantly.   I always did fine on the tests and if they made me stop reading, I'd talk so they let me.  Carrying books around got annoying.  So I'd leave books wherever I was allowed to read and I've have 2-3 going at a time.  

 

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ktgrok

ktgrok

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5 minutes ago, shawthorne44 said:

 

Have you tried making them completely different books?  Like maybe the book is a Romance and the audio is a biography?   

I am the opposite of you and internally laugh whenever someone asks, "What book are you reading?" because the question assumes only one.  One of the reasons I wanted to homeschool my child even when I was in school was how utterly ****bored**** I was.  Mind-numbingly bored.   So I'd read during school pretty constantly.   I always did fine on the tests and if they made me stop reading, I'd talk so they let me.  Carrying books around got annoying.  So I'd leave books wherever I was allowed to read and I've have 2-3 going at a time.  

 

I have, and yes, having two genres helps. At one point a few weeks ago both books I was reading were romantic suspense, both set in the mountains, and I kept getting totally confused, lol. Learned my lesson!

I also read through much of school. I actually had a special library pass that let me on to school grounds before the bell rang so I could go to the library and read, and again at lunch. So in elementary school I would check out a Bobbsey Twin book in the morning, read all through class instead of paying attention, read during lunch instead of socializing, and then return it and get a new one after lunch. I had a teacher call my parents concerned about me reading so much. Even in highschool I did this - but always one book at a time. I just forgot to bring my textbooks to class. 

But I've always always preferred one book at a time. I also LOVE LOVE LOVE to read series. So don't want to wait for the next book in the series if it is already checked out and don't like switching series while I wait. I know...Im spoiled, lol. 

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Storygirl

Storygirl

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58 minutes ago, Ottakee said:

I don’t have any great ones to suggest right now but I appreciate these threads as it makes my hold list (max of 10) full and my wish list grow and grow

Do you know that you can add multiple library cards to your Libby account (assuming you are referencing library holds)? I have five library cards on my Libby account, and the allowance for holds varies from 10 to 50. If I maxed out all of my hold capability, I could have 145 holds. I only have 80, so I'm showing restraint 🤪.

Three of my cards are for local library systems -- each of these systems is within 15 minutes of my home. One card is from the system where we used to live (and the library that I used to work at). And one is the Broward County Library system in Florida, which is not where I live, but they allow non-local people to sign up. I just added that one, because I heard there is a large selection, and sometimes there are books that I cannot get from one of my other cards.

So, you can explore adding other cards to your account, if you want to have more holds.

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ktgrok

ktgrok

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28 minutes ago, Storygirl said:

Do you know that you can add multiple library cards to your Libby account (assuming you are referencing library holds)? I have five library cards on my Libby account, and the allowance for holds varies from 10 to 50. If I maxed out all of my hold capability, I could have 145 holds. I only have 80, so I'm showing restraint 🤪.

Three of my cards are for local library systems -- each of these systems is within 15 minutes of my home. One card is from the system where we used to live (and the library that I used to work at). And one is the Broward County Library system in Florida, which is not where I live, but they allow non-local people to sign up. I just added that one, because I heard there is a large selection, and sometimes there are books that I cannot get from one of my other cards.

So, you can explore adding other cards to your account, if you want to have more holds.

I may need to explore this more. (Broward is only free if you were born there, or live there). I want to say there are some libraries that are free for anyone? Or minor fee maybe. 

Right now I finished a book, borrowed via Libby. But the next book in the two book series has an approximately 5 week waiting period if I put it on hold. So I ended up splurging and buying it. Sigh. 

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Storygirl

Storygirl

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10 hours ago, ktgrok said:

I may need to explore this more. (Broward is only free if you were born there, or live there). I want to say there are some libraries that are free for anyone? Or minor fee maybe. 

Right now I finished a book, borrowed via Libby. But the next book in the two book series has an approximately 5 week waiting period if I put it on hold. So I ended up splurging and buying it. Sigh. 

When you sign up on Libby for a Broward county card, it does not ask anywhere if you were born or live there. It does ask for address, and I submitted my true address and was not rejected. Applications in person or on the website may have stricter rules, but residency wasn't a requirement through Libby.

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ktgrok

ktgrok

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9 hours ago, Storygirl said:

When you sign up on Libby for a Broward county card, it does not ask anywhere if you were born or live there. It does ask for address, and I submitted my true address and was not rejected. Applications in person or on the website may have stricter rules, but residency wasn't a requirement through Libby.

Oooh! thank you! i wonder if they don't bother since it is only digital stuff and no worries it won't get returned. 

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stephanier.1765

stephanier.1765

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I usually have one book I'm reading, one audiobook I listen to while cross stitching, and one audiobook I listen to as I fall asleep at night or when driving long distances. Last week, I had a second physical book I was reading because it was a genre I don't really enjoy but needed to read to meet a challenge. So, I read it for an hour a day and called it good. I'm so glad that book is finished.

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PeppermintPattie

PeppermintPattie

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21 hours ago, Storygirl said:

Do you know that you can add multiple library cards to your Libby account (assuming you are referencing library holds)? I have five library cards on my Libby account, and the allowance for holds varies from 10 to 50. If I maxed out all of my hold capability, I could have 145 holds. I only have 80, so I'm showing restraint 🤪.

Three of my cards are for local library systems -- each of these systems is within 15 minutes of my home. One card is from the system where we used to live (and the library that I used to work at). And one is the Broward County Library system in Florida, which is not where I live, but they allow non-local people to sign up. I just added that one, because I heard there is a large selection, and sometimes there are books that I cannot get from one of my other cards.

So, you can explore adding other cards to your account, if you want to have more holds.

Thank you so much for posting this! I now have access to sooo many more audiobooks - yay!!!

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Ottakee

Ottakee

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3 hours ago, stephanier.1765 said:

Those of you that use Libby can you listen to the books through Alexa? I much prefer the sound of her speaker and it's easier to adjust the volume, stop and start, and put it on pause since I don't need my hands to do that.

I don’t have Alexa but I do have a small Anker brand Bluetooth speaker that I use to listen to my audiobook and pandora on.  
Cost about $20 or so

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