Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. They love to share lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!
Top ten recommendations for becoming an audio addict
Most of you know that I’m an audio addict. If it weren’t for audio books, I wouldn’t read half… hell two-thirds… of the books I read. And I take great pride in having converted several naysayers to audio addicts as well. So today I’m giving you my top ten recommendations for becoming an audio addict.
You’ll notice quite a variety of books here and they MAY NOT be the books to make YOU an audio addict, but they have the elements you should be looking for if you’re ready to get hooked on audio.
- Nice Girls Have Fangs by Molly Harper, narrated by Amanda Ronconi I think that finding something light and funny is a really good way to go when you’re getting started on audio books. They don’t require quite as much focus and train you to stay engaged. And you can’t go wrong with a narrator like Amanda Ronconi!
- Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham, narrated by Lauren Graham I don’t read much non-fiction, but I’ve found that grabbing an autobiography, written by someone that you (1) like a lot and (2) has an on-screen personality you enjoy, is always a hit. It’s like you get to have a conversation with this person you already love. Lauren Graham’s autobiography is just one in a series of good ones. Find YOUR person and have a blast.
- My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland, narrated by Allison McLemore. Maybe you like your humor to get a little gritty? You want more than just light? Well there’s some really good ones out there for that too. I still say stay away from the heavy fantasy with tons of world-building, you need to focus for those and that’s more for after you’ve become a skilled addict 😉 This series is a favorite because it is funny, but it also has depth and amazing characters. And once again, the narrator is amazing!
- First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones, narrated by Lorelei King This is a good example of humor that really takes you into the urban fantasy world without overwhelming you with world-building. Partly because it’s kind of a cozy mystery series, especially in these early books and also because it gives us a bit of sexy fun. Both lighten the mood and keep it from dragging on the ability to focus. And again… Lorelei King is an amazballs narrator.
- Carrots by Colleen Helme, narrated by Wendy Tremont King Speaking of cozies, they are great for audio. If you’re a mystery reader, they are a great way to break you into audio without the heaviness and hard core details of some more serious mysteries. They tend to be lighter – with an element of humor. And you can find them in every variation, you’ve got small-town, you’ve got paranormal, and like this favorite of mine, you’ve got suburban housewife with a little extra woo-woo. Oh and Wendy Tremont King is a solid narrator that brings these characters to life. Surprised?
- The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley, narrated by Angela Dawe Of course if the romance is what pulls you, you can’t go wrong with a historical romance. I swear, IMO, historical romances were MADE for audio. I think that could be my own preference for British accents, which many have, but there are also quite a few that are light and fun. This one is has some light elements, but mixes it with some amazing characters and complexity. Oh and it’s narrated by Angela FREAKING Dawe!
- Sugar Daddy by Sawyer Bennett, narrated by Christian Fox and Lucy Rivers Of course if you weren’t looking for such proper romance, there’s plenty grittier romance out there as well. I still say stay away from heavier Paranormal Romance (just for getting started) because you don’t really want tons of world building when you’re getting the hang of audio. But most contemporaries are going to fit the bill nicely, if that’s your cup of tea. This particular one is very gritty- so it doesn’t have to be light romance! Oh and the narration team of Christian Fox and Lucy Rivers is to die for! I’d love to have Christian read me a phone book…
- Cinder by Marissa Meyer, narrated by Rebecca Soler If you’re really itching for something more complex with some world-building, I’d recommend going the YA route. YA fantasy and dystopia often feels more adult, but the world-building isn’t quite as complex, so again… easier to adjust to listening. This is a very popular one, and Rebecca Soler’s voices for the variety of characters is really the ONLY way to experience this series IMO!
- My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent, Narrated by Amanda Ronconi Again, if you want fantasy with some world-building YA is the way to go. And some fantasy YA does still give you that complete YA feel, if that’s what you like. This series even takes place primarily IN high school, so you definitely get the full YA experience. Oh, and yeah, this is Amanda Ronconi again… because you can’t go wrong with Ronconi!
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling narrated by Jim Dale (or Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, narrated by Stephen Fry for the original British) And a favorite reread is a perfect way to experience audio! (Yes, I went there… Harry Potter should be on every ones re-read list by this point ;)… just sayin’). Rereads can have the crazy world building because you know the details, so they won’t bog you down. And a classic that you should have read but haven’t could also work really well on audio, many of them have 5 star narrators, thanks to their classic status. Harry Potter certainly has amazing narrators – whether you go American with Jim Dale or British with Stephen Fry you’re in for a treat!
So there you have it, my 10 book guide to finding the books that will make you an audio addict. And I’m hoping you noticed they all had 1 thing in common… REALLY GREAT NARRATORS! No matter how good the book, a great narrator makes it better, a less than great narrator makes it… not so great. Listen to the samples, ask audio addicts like me, get a good narrator!
I have Sugar Daddy on my TBR and now I’m thinking audio might be the way to go. And I do love Christian Fox. His narration of Asa by Jay Crownover was one of my favorites. I’ve had Cinder and the whole Lunar Chronicles series on my shelf for ages. Maybe I should just realize the only way I’m ever going to get to it is by listening on audio.
I have to do that with books all the time – I get through way more audio than I do physical reads. At least those all have fantastic narrators though 🙂
I loved the audio version of Cinder! Rebecca Soler’s voice was perfect for the book. I loved Lorelei King’s voice on First Grave on the Right too. A good narrator is so important and not every narrator is right for every book. I’m adding the rest of these to my list!
Those are a couple of my favorites for sure 🙂 I hope you enjoy the rest (when you get a chance!) 🙂
I’m not a big audio book listener, but I do enjoy them from time to time. I see myself working up to audio book lover eventually. 🙂 This is a great list, and I’m making a note of all the titles you’ve mentioned. I’m still learning what works for me and what doesn’t. I know fact based nonfiction is out. Haha. Thank you for sharing!
Hahaha yeah, I’m a definite audio addict and that wouldn’t work for me! I hope you get to enjoy some of these titles 🙂
Good list! I would add… ANYTHING by Ilona Andrews and read by Renee Raudman. They are marvelous. They are more UF and slow burn romance, but amazing. Also, for UF, I’d suggest Mercy Thompson series as read by Lorelei King or its counterpart Alpha and Omega series, read by Holter Graham. If into Contemporary Romance – Jill Shalvis books read by Karen White.
I agree with all those recommendations! It was so tough making this list 10 long because there’s so many good ones out there. But yeah, great picks!
I have really grown to love audio books! I listen in the car on the way to and from work {I have a ridiculously long commute} and have gotten most of my reading done this year through audio books!
Audiobooks are the key to my reading anything these days… They’re the multitasker’s dream 🙂 I listen while cooking, cleaning, dressing, and driving. My commute isn’t long, but it’s enough to get in a chapter or two each way usually. Gotta love them!
Nice Girls, White Trash Zombies, and The Madness of Lord Iam Mackenzie were all great listens for me. I’ve read Carrots, but didn’t listen; I bet it was a good listen. I may have to check some of these out to listen to. Love audio books!
Have you read more of the Shelby series? I would recommend it on audio for sure, the narrator does a good job capturing Shelby’s personality.
Is Shelby the character from Carrots? I got a book bundle of three books, but never went past Carrots. It’s been awhile but I remember liking it.
Since I have listened to pretty much half of those I would have to agree with you and you got a great list there. 🙂 I still need to try the White Trash Zombie ones even though I am not much of a zombie fan. 🙂
I’m not a zombie fan really at all either. WTZ is so much better than typical zombie. You can borrow that too 🙂
I wish I could get into audio books. However, I love music and the only time I really get to listen to it is when I’m driving or doing things around the house. Audio books would cut into my music time. I am envious of people who listen to them a lot though because they seem to get so much more read. I think I’m too ADHD (not really).
It’s funny you mention music – I’m not a music person. I like music when I can dance, but otherwise, most the time I’d rather have silence than music. So maybe that has something to do with audiobooks have been so good for me.
Great list. I haven’t tried some of them, but Soul Screamers is on my list. I love that author and narrator. I would shout out to Ilona Andrews/Renee Raudman pairing. I could make a really long list, but I will just give a shoutout to them because they nail every book together.
Yes, that’s a really good pairing too. When I started this I was just thinking narrators and then I realized my list was going to get too long – do I tried to think of other factors that made good reads for audio newbies 🙂
Nice Girls Have Fangs and White Trash both seem like they’d be good choices for audio, espcially for a beginner. Nice to have fantasy without a ton of complicated worldbuilding to drag it down, I know I’d get distracted! 🙂
And I imagine the narrator is a HUGE factor in making an audio accessible.
The narrator is so important! But story does matter too. Both those books are a ton of fun and easy to follow, so when combined with awesome narration, they are perfect for a beginner.