June is Audiobook Month! What Stories Do You Have in Your Head?

June is National Audiobook Month!

What Stories Do You Have in Your Head?

June is Audiobook Month! It's Storytime for adults! Sit back, relax and let someone tell you a story! Why audiobooks?! Audiobooks put the pleasure of "reading" back into your busy day, when you're commuting, driving, working out! How about when you're wandering the grocery store? Basically any time you aren't able to flip a page, you can still relax with a good book.

Choosing an audiobook is a bit different than a "paper" book. First you have to consider abridged or unabridged (abridged is a slightly shortened version of the original book, where some of the non-essential parts surrounding the story may be cut). Then there's the narrator. Who's reading the book? Do you like their voice? Do they read well? A narrator can make or break an otherwise wonderful book. Listening to samples of audiobooks before hand is a big help, and all audiobook publishers have excerpts on their sites, but iTunes is also a great place to listen to excerpts of audiobooks too. But WHERE to start?! How do you choose from ALL THOSE BOOKS!? Well, it just so happens that last week The Audies were awarded! What are the Audies? They are the awards for the best in audiobooks! What better place to start? Let's take a look at the some of the winners...

Audio book of the Year... Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales, an anthology read by such people as Gillian Anderson, Benjamin Bratt and LeVar Burton.

Best Literary Fiction... Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, read by Simon Slater

Best Mystery/Suspense... Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley, read by Michael Boatman

Best Romance... The Untamed Bride by Stephanie Laurens, read by Simon Prebble

Best Children's Book for Ages 8 to 12... Operation Yes by Sara Lewis Holmes, read by Jessica Almasy

One of my favorite audiobooks this year was The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova which had a group of narrators, here's a link to the review if you missed it, I really enjoyed Scott Brick narrating Absolute Power by David Baldacci and I've heard a lot of great comments about Jim Dale's narration of the Harry Potter audiobooks. Jim Dale has a wonderful voice and you can listen to a sample of him reading any of the Harry books at Random House Audio. But there are just as many choices in audiobooks as in "paper"books! Check out Hachette Audiobooks, Macmillan Audio, Harper Audio, and Blackstone Audio. Feel like renting an audiobook? Simply Audioboks works similar to Netflix! Like to listen to Classics such as Pride and Prejudice? LibriVox offers free downloads of books in the public domain, as well as BooksShouldBeFree.com.

Do you read audiobooks? What are YOUR favorites?! Share them here so we can all enjoy a good story! And check back later in the week AND this coming "Memoir Monday" because I'll be having audiobook giveaways!

Hey! Here are some GREAT suggestions from some GREAT Book Bloggers who've stopped by...

* Laura from I'm Booking It shared with me some of her favorite audiobooks, thanks Laura!, and here they are...

• The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King, (actually she says all of her Mary Russell audiobooks are good!

• The Help by Kathryn Stockett (this won an audie for distiguished production this year!)

• Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

*Natalie from The Book Inn shares one of her favorite audiobooks! Thanks Natalie!

• I Am Ozzy by Ozzy Osbourne

*Carla, who tells us she has enjoyed a lot of audiobooks, adds her favorites... Thanks Carla!

• Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill
• Lord Foulgrin's Letters by Randy Alcorn
• The Chronicles of Narnia series
• The Harry Potter Books read by Jim Dale
• Hank the Cowdog series by John Erickson (just for the fun & laughs) (*I've listened to some of these adventures myself and laughed at what Hank gets himself into!)

*Mel from The Book Nook tells us she's an enormous fan of audiobooks! She shares 2 of her favorites, plus recommends Audible.com for more great audiobooks! Thanks Mel!

• Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon (one of my FAVORITE series!)
• Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

*Diane from Bibliophile By the Sea shares what she's been listening too and what she's going to listen to next! Thanks Diane!

• Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
• Matterhorn (that's next!) by Karl Marlantes

Giveaway: Dear John by Nicholas Sparks Audiobook!

A Modern Day Romance

Congratulations to Jennifer, Melissa and Janet! They each won a copy of the audiobook for Dear John! Thank you to everyone who joined in, Tweeted and Blogged about the giveaway!

An angry rebel, John dropped out of school and enlisted in the Army, not knowing what else to do with his life--until he meets the girl of his dreams, Savannah. Their mutual attraction quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah waiting for John to finish his tour of duty, and John wanting to settle down with the woman who captured his heart. But 9/11 changes everything. John feels it is his duty to re-enlist. And sadly, the long separation finds Savannah falling in love with someone else....

Nicholas Sparks' novel Dear John, will soon be released in movie theaters this coming Valentines day! Well known for his touching stories that bring to light the drama,hope and tragedy in our every day lives, Dear John will touch your heart. Read the book before watching the movie! Or better yet, Relax to the soothing voice of actor and voiceover artist Holter Graham as he reads the audiobook version of Dear John... How?! I have a giveaway for the CD audiobook edition of Dear John! Courtesy of Anna of Hachette Book Group, I have 3 copies of the audiobook to give away! BTW, here's an excerpt of the audiobook, Dear John. AND, here's my review of the audiobook now too!

To Enter this giveaway...

*For one entry leave me a comment with your email address!

*Get an extra entry for following my blog! Just leave a comment letting me know you're a follower! ( Not a follower yet? No problem, sign up by clicking on the 'followers" button! Just let me know you became a new follower!)

*Blog or tweet about this giveaway and leave me the link.

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only.(No PO boxes). The books will be shipped to the winners directly from the publisher. Contest ends 11:59pm EST on Dec. 19th. I will randomly pick the winners the next day and email them! (please check your email.. winner must reply to me within 3 days! Thanks!) Good Luck!

Audie awards 2009... or the best bedtime stories for grown-ups!

Do you remember the last time someone read a story to you? Well, these aren't bedtime stories but last Month the APA (Audio Publishers Association) announced the 2009 audie award winners! The audies is "the premier awards program in the United States recognizing distinction in audiobooks and spoken word entertainment." There are over 30 categories- a little something for everyone!

My commute to work isn't that long, so I generally listen to either the radio or a podcast (*Books on the Nightstand podcast my fav!)... But when I do get in the car for a longer ride, and vacation time is here, I love to pop in an audiobook in the CD player....

How to choose an audiobook is a little different than a 'paper' book - there are things to consider- abridged or unabridged (abridged is a shortened version of the original book and the plot may be altered a bit ). Who is reading the book? The narrator is important - do you like the way the person is reading the book- a bad narrator can make a good book boring.... So it's nice to hear a sample of the book being read if you can. (iTunes is one site that offers a free preview before downloading an audiobook MP3 from them) The audies reward the best audiobooks! What could be simpler than starting there to look for a good 'listen'...

Here are some of this years winners....

* Fiction - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Burrows, Narrated by A full cast. (this actually tied with Duma Key by Stephen King)

* Mystery - Voice of the Violin, by Andrea Camilleri... Narrated by Grover Gardner

* Romance - The Dark Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning... Narrated by Phil Gigante

* Children's Titles for Ages up to 8 - The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman... Narrated by Neil Gaiman

Do you listen to audiobooks? Have any favorites? And if you do like audiobooks, what's important to you when your listening- voice, the way the narrator reads? Share your thoughts!

* Books on The Nightstand just did a post on their blog on AUDIO books! Check out their website for some great recommendations: BOTN

For the complete list go to: The Audio Publishers Association Site. And enjoy listening to someone read to you once again! (hey, why not make it a bedtime story?!)