This week, I learned all about audiobook narration from David H. Lawrence, a professional actor and audiobook narrator who helps authors narrate their own books.
If you've ever dreamed of being a narrator — or wondered what it's like — this episode is for you!
I’m no fan of #Audiobooks, yet there’s one title I have no hesitation recommending to people who are. STAR WARS: THRAWN (UNABRIDGED), is a great showcase of how good the audio format can be, even for listeners who have no interest in #StarWars.
Narrated by, Marc Thompson, get your copy from #AppleBooks today, and follow Thrawn’s rise to power—uncovering the events that created one of the most iconic villains in Star Wars history. @bookstodon
Listening to the English audiobook of "A Man Called Ove" by Fredrik Backman narrated by J.K. Simmons. While I enjoyed Tom Hanks in the English film adaptation, Simmons would have made a truly FANTASTIC Ove / Otto. I don't normally do audiobooks (I have a book group that I really need to finish the book for) but this one has been nice.
As an extension of having really gotten into #audiobooks lately as somebody who doesn't drive and walks or rides the bus everywhere, the next nerdy thing I want to get into is radio plays. I found a collection of episodes of the original The Shadow series and have started researching BBC productions and radio play style podcasts too.
If anybody has any recommendations please let me! Especially into like #horror and #scifi
Anyone else see the #libby app for #audiobooks start losing it's place, restarting, or jumping to wrong chapters randomly when stopping/starting? Last two books I listened to I had to constantly remember to set a bookmark so I could find my place again when stopping because at least 25% of the time it would lose place.
So I quite literally don't understand why sighted people like AI narrated audiobooks. Some of the best audiobooks I've found have been following my favorite narrators and seeing what other books they've narrated and, obviously, with AI audiobooks, well, there's nothing to celebrate. #Audiobooks#Audiobook
I've finished: The Sky is Your's by Chandler Klang Smith.
My first attempt to read The Sky is Yours ended with me throwing it in the Audible App's archive. It starts with a rich brat crashing on a garbage island and immediately taking advantage of a naïve girl. I wanted nothing to do with it.
I forgot about it and when I encountered the title again, I gave it a listen. When you continue reading, you understand that his is a satire about late stage capitalism and no one likes the rich brat.
As we follow the three main characters, the afore mentioned rich brat, a naïve girl raised alone by an insane mother with anti-technology beliefs and my favorite, Swani a rich well educated and over achieving girl. We learn more and more about the corrupt world they are inheriting.
This is a mix of stupidity, and smarts. Some parts are dumb on purpose and some are dumb for comedic effect. Some parts are smart and some downright poetic. Each of our protagonists will find a mentor that will help them grow, but they are not being cuddled and their paths are winding. Again, I was impressed with Swany's journey.
Swany is also overweight, I'm not saying it's never referred to as unattractive, but men are attracted to her both physically and intellectually.
The ending detracted a bit from my rating, as we step back from the interesting characters and take a more distant view of the aftermath.
I couldn't swear to it, but that is very likely a clip from Protective Love by Kelsie Calloway, a short romance about a professional baseball player who comes to a sultry southern belle's rescue in a dive bar. I had a blast narrating those voices!
If that sounds like your cup of (sweet) tea, you can check out Protective Love on Audible, Amazon and Apple Books. https://geni.us/ProLo
I've finished: Six-Guns Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente
This one has been on my wishlist for a while. It was hard to get in audio with an Israeli credit cart and I wasn't completely sure about it since I'm not much of a western fan.
I'm very glad I managed to get my hands on it.
I love Velente's writing. I love that the Snow White reimagining is only one aspect of the novella. I love that Snow isn't the only character in distress and that the oppression and dispossession is explored in more than one way. I love how far she had to go to find peace, that there was no quick magic fix.
If you are interested in DRM-free #audiobooks I found https://www.downpour.com convenient. Apparently https://libro.fm is also a good place too, but I chose the DownPour for almost no reason and went with it 😅
Last night I bough the Sophie's World and everything (purchase, download, ...) went down smoothly and I got MP3 files which I later converted to OPUS and added it to my library.
I've finished: The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera
This is a story about revenge, about revolution, about the power to change the world, about an anti-hero who wants to escape his destiny.
It is a story of myth, of political philosophy, of religion, of racism, of classism, of pogroms and oppression.
There is a creation myth, there is a fractured city, there is a plague, there are doors to nowhere, there is a support group for unchosen ones, and at the center of it all there is Fetter, Who just wants to make a normal life for himself. But there are more forces trying to manipulate him into action than he suspects.
There is so much here, I'm sure I missed allot of cultural and historical references, but at it's core, this is a book about an autocrat that needs to be stopped and at it's center is a reluctant anti-hero and it is brilliantly written.
LibriVox is such an amazing service! One of those rare "this is what the internet was made for"/"humanity at its best" services that there's not that many of.
But the fact that you can not sort the books by popularity kinda baffles my mind.
There's a big range of quality of sound and narration skills when you let anyone at all be an audiobook narrator. Seeing the most popular books could help you find a good one.
For this run, I went back to my old route I used extensively last year. It felt like coming home, and I ran several kilometers under five minutes while listening to HEAVEN‘S RIVER by Dennis E. Taylor. Great start into this Saturday! #Running#applewatchultra2#audiobooks
I've finished: A Spindle Splintered by Alex E. Harrow
A Spindle Splintered has all the right elements, examining the sleeping beauty archetype in folklore through a feminist lens. Connecting the dying princess story to that of a contemporary terminally ill girl.
So why didn't I enjoy it? The writing is clunky, there is hardly any challenge, Zinnia can just walls into a mediaeval castle and do as she pleases. All she needs is attitude. The opposition is ludicrously inept or turns out to be on her side.
I recommend reading: Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir instead.
My new hobby is blocking tens of thousands of crap titles on hoopla, publisher by garbage publisher, until carpal tunnel sets in. #hoopla#ebooks#audiobooks@librarians
Why haven’t I listened to audiobooks while running before? The eight miles just flashed by this morning, while listening to Thirteen Storeys by Jonathan Sims.