What are we listening to? (audiobooks)

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by orlok

Thanks, I had an idea it was that. but have not heard of audiobooks delivered that way before. Cheapest I can find it is about £25.



That's an idea . I have a full price Audible membership - it just isn't available on Audible UK. Not sure if I can sign up for a US membership? And not sure I really want to for a one-off.

Certainly. I have a US and a Canadian one. I've got the Canadian one dormant for now, because my US one is tied to my Amazon account and thus I can do WhisperSync books, but the Canadian one still has >300 books in it that I still have access to. I don't know what the requirements are to sign up for a US one, but I suspect there are ways -- certainly others have done it to get around geo-restrictions.

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Lots of audio books are available this way in the USA. It is an excellent way to deliver a product. Even if you have to use a computer to play them or move them off to a card you have an automatic backup in the original CD.

Dale

Yup. Much better than 15 CDs for a book!

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Certainly. I have a US and a Canadian one. I've got the Canadian one dormant for now, because my US one is tied to my Amazon account and thus I can do WhisperSync books, but the Canadian one still has >300 books in it that I still have access to. I don't know what the requirements are to sign up for a US one, but I suspect there are ways -- certainly others have done it to get around geo-restrictions.

I tried it the other way around--have a U.S. membership and signed up for a UK one. But once I was signed up for the UK one, I was geo-restricted anyway--limited to titles I could get at the U.S. site, which defeated the purpose, as I wanted a book that hasn't been released in the U.S.

I did get a free book out of it because of the one-month trial offer, but that wasn't the result I was after. I still want the darn book that hasn't made it across the pond.

Yup. Much better than 15 CDs for a book!

I back up my audio books as mp3 CDs, and most of them fit on one disc.

[CRussel]

It's possible to get around the geo-restrictions going to the UK. But you really need to create the persona of a person living in the UK. A nuisance, but there are firms that will help with it.

[orlok]

Originally Posted by CRussel

It's possible to get around the geo-restrictions going to the UK. But you really need to create the persona of a person living in the UK. A nuisance, but there are firms that will help with it.

Seems a bit extreme just to get hold of a book/audiobook, but then if you want it badly enough...

[booklover6]

Just listened to the 10 minute clip of the next Joe Ledger book, read by Ray Porter. It's coming out April 26. I've put in a request at the Brooklyn library, but not sure if I can wait. I might have to use a credit on Audible. I love Jonathan Maberry's Joe Ledger series! And I love Ray Porter.

In the meantime, I'm listening to Becoming Quinn by Brett Battles via Kindle Unlimited. BPL has the audio books #1 & 2 in that series. Then I'm done, unless I can find #3 at a library eventually.

[Catlady]

I listened to The Passenger, by Lisa Lutz, narrated by Madeleine Maby, who is rapidly becoming one of my favorite narrators. The story was fast-paced and engrossing, told in first person by a woman with a mysterious past, who is on the run after her husband's death. Despite some improbable things that happen to her along the way, it was easy for me to suspend disbelief and enjoy the ride.

[WT Sharpe]

I just finished Mycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse (Damian Lynch, narrator). For those of us for whom the name Mycroft conjures up a member of the smoke-filled Diogenes Club where men of like mind go to sit in silence while completely ignoring all other members, this book is quite a departure. I features a 23-year-old Mycroft whose younger brother is still in college and not yet living at 221 Baker Street. Mycroft is in love and has his future with his fiancee completely mapped out when she suddenly leaves for her home in Trinidad under mysterious circumstances with instructions for him not to attempt to follow her. His ignoring of that advice ultimately leads to an overseas journey where he takes up arms against ex-Confederate officers who are attempting to reestablish slavery away from American soil. This is story of love, strong emotions, and adventure; everything we've come not to expect from Sherlock's sedentary older brother. It was very enjoyable, but even though the Mycroft at the novel's end is far removed from the innocent dreamer we meet in the beginning, it was still hard to reconcile this gregarious man of action with the Mycroft Holmes we meet in the writings of Arthur Conan Doyle.

[Paegan2246]

I'm listening to The Beast by J. R. Ward. It's the latest in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series and one of my guilty pleasures. Jim Frangione is the narrator and one of the best in the industry.

[WT Sharpe]

Just started Skepticism 101: How to Think Like a Scientist by Michael Shermer.

Or as Alexa calls it, "Skepticism One Hundred One."

[ApK]

I'm listening to that Elon Musk biography that Audible has been advertising a lot recently (I guess the ads worked....except that I got the book from a library....)
It's pretty good. Much like the books on Steve Jobs I've read, it makes me both inspired by his vision and drive, and terrified at the thought of ever having to work with the man.

[Catlady]

I listened to Lacy Eye, by Jessica Treadway, narrated by Ellen Archer, one of several titles I picked up during the Audible half-price sale.

This wasn't a twisty thriller, though there were surprises; it was more psychological suspense. It revolves around the question of a daughter's possible involvement in the murder of her father and the attempted murder of her mother, who is the one telling the story. I couldn't stop listening; excellent book.

P.S. I meant to mention that the first four chapters of the e-book of Lacy Eye are free at Amazon and BN, in case anyone is interested in sampling the story.

[pwalker8]

Just finished Fall of the White Shop Avatar, the last of the Hobart Floyt - Alacrity Fitzhugh series by the late Brian Daley. Brian Daley wrote a number of wonderful books, but for some reason unknown to me was never able to break out of the midlist. This series is a wonderful SF romp read by Brian Holsopple, a very good choice for the series.

My next book is How Firm a Foundation, book 5 in David Weber's Safehold series. Rather oddly, the Safehold series started out being read by Oliver Wyman, IMPO, one of the top SF readers out there. Then, on book 3, they switched to Jason Culp. He did book 4 as well. The current book was read by Charles Keating. Book 6 was by Kevin Collins, then the last two went back to Oliver Wyman.

Having such different readers can be a bit strange. The current reader (Keating) is an English gent who is a reader rather than a voice actor. By that I mean that he reads the book without using different voices for the different characters. I'm roughly a chapter into the book, but so far I'm enjoying it. He sounds a bit like Simon Winchester, who reads his own books and whom I really like.

[issybird]

I've been listening to Arthur Conan Doyle's Memories and Adventures, read by Simon Vance. I have mixed feelings about this. It's a pleasant listen, replete with incident, but a tad tedious for all that. I enjoy some of the literary anecdotes (Doyle and Oscar Wilde and a dinner with an American publisher, who commissioned The Sign of the Four and The Picture of Dorian Grey respectively); I am far less fond of the casual racism and jingoism, a reflection of the times. Some of it's purely headscratching, such as Doyle's involvement in spiritualism. The Holmes fan might be charmed, as he traces the sources of various stories. I'll be glad to be done, but not to the extent that I'll abandon it.

[melmac]

Originally Posted by melmac

Thanks for posting, I just picked up Black Eyed Susans as the audible daily deal($3.95)

Originally Posted by Catlady

You're welcome; I hope you like it.

Recently finished Black Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin and I really enjoyed it
It's been a while since I've listened to a stand alone or a new author so it was really nice to meet new characters. I preferred the young Tessa to the old one. I thought it was well written and engaging she had obviously done some good research on forensic techniques and memory recovery. I will definitely read the author again.

[booklover6]

Listened to Dead of Night and Fall of Night by Jonathan Maberry, now the library has come through with my request for Kill Switch by Jonathan Maberry, so I will be starting it this afternoon! So excited!