Vaginal Fantasy Book Club discussion

They offered a free trial, and I admit it. They hooked me. Both services hooked me. (Though I might cancel Audible at some point, since Scribd has some audiobooks, and they're unlimited).

Anyway. I'm on the hunt for more awesome stuff from both vendors.

This month's pick (Driven) is on Scribd. The whole G.A. Aiken "About a Dragon" series is on there (though the first one is listed under her pen name Shelly Laurenston - that was a club pick a while ago). If you're in the mood for some contemporary erotic romance, most of the Beautiful Bastard series is on there, too. A bunch of Charlotte Stein's backlist, as well.

As for Audible, I need recommendations. I'm more hesitant to try unknowns because I have to spend a credit to get something. Do you guys have any favorite audiobooks?

I have SO many favorites on audio- over 400+ Audible titles in my library has made me a connoieseur. I need a little more input for suggestions:

Do it need to be primarily a romance?
Do you like YA?
How do you feel about goofy (humorous) books?

Off the cuff recommendations without knowing anything:

pretty much the pairing of Molly Harper and the narrator Amanda Ronconi= a guaranteed 'happy' listen for me. Well, the paranormal stuff, anyway. I've tried one or two of the contemporary romances and wasn't as happy. Driving Mr Dead is probably one of my faves from this pairing.

If you can do YA: Daughter of Smoke and Bone series is fabulous and the Lunar Chronicles is amazing. If you liked The Hunger Games and wanted to try out similar - I recommend The Testing (series) and/or The 5th Wave (series). Oh- Sci-fi/Fantasy mashup- Under Different Stars & Sea of Stars (Kricket series) is great, too - and the steam ramps up to adult in book 2

If you don't mind little-to-no romance but BIG on magic (urban fantasy): The Dresden Files (make sure it's the ones narrated by James Marsters - Spike from Buffy) or The Iron Druid series.

If you don't mind building to the romance:
Darkfever (Fever series - especially the beginning of the latest book, Burned- even as a girl that beginning of a book set up a frakin' tent in my pants - how, I sure don't know - but wubba)
Either October Daye series OR Incryptid series from Seanan McGuire. They are on the tame side, and build to romance but fantastic urban fantasies.

Urban Fantasy w/ Romance
Feral Sins (Phoenix Pack)


'Regular' Romance:
Marked Men series (Starts with Rule)
Stage Dive series (starts with lick)
Knitting in the City series (starts with Neanderthal Seeking Human)
Love Unscripted & Love Unrehearsed

Mystery & Romance:
In Death series by J.D. Robb

I adore audio books and consume them at a rapid rate.

Outlander series is EXCELLENTLY read by Davina Porter. If you enjoy Scottish accents this is for you.

Gail Carriger's Soulless series is also a wonderful audio series.

Anything by Terry Pratchett! If you aren't familiar with Disc World Equal Rites or The Wee Free Men are a good place to start.

Rachel Bach's Paradox series too.

What kind of book are in the mood for? I'm interested in trying out Scribd's audio books. How's the selection?

Oh, you're living up to your subtitle, Alana. :) And Viktoria, too!

I've been cross-pollinating Romance and SF/F sections since I was a teenage, so anything from either genre works for me. I also like most YA, if it has elements of either of those genres.

Some stuff I've liked in Audiobook form:

Jim Butcher's Dresden books really are good. James Marsters is amazeballs. I checked those out from my local library using Overdrive before I even got Audible, and might have to go back and buy them.
I'm just finishing The Necromancer, which is good and I'm enjoying the narrator.
Anansi Boys read by Lenny Henry was amazing.

I lean a little more towards the fantasy/sci-fi end of things for audiobooks, because sex scenes feel a little silly when read aloud, to me. (Though I did get the audio-only Sweet Filthy Morning After and it was hot).

Of the stuff you mentioned, I've read (eye-reading, not ear-reading):

Some of the Iron Druid series
Most of the Fever series (there's a new one? Buying it!)
All of October Daye/half of Incryptid
Stage Dive
Knitting in the City (loved these)
Soulless series (need to get Prudence, which I hear is amazing as audio)
All of Discworld, but not much of Tiffany Aching
The whole Paradox series, which was seriously good. Is the narrator especially good on these? If so, I'll re-read/hear them!

I'm psyched, the remaining recommendations will hold me for a while!

Oh, and Viktoria, the audiobook selection on Scribd is good, extensive, but kind of old. I'm finding a good bit of non-fiction and travel writing I'm interested in, but less in terms of recent stuff. I'm pretty happy to have both services - but it's worth checking out Scribd, as they do surprise you sometimes. For example, they have The Perilous Sea available, which is very good and very recent as an audiobook, but they don't have it as a text file.

My husband is pretty psyched about them, because he's found a bunch of old Battletech audiobooks that have some very old-fashioned narration, but they have hilarious sound effects! He read them all in print years ago, in the 90's, and is nostalgia "reading" them now. I'm think he's on book 5. So you run across stuff like that. If you decide to check it out, make sure you Google for promo codes before subscribing, I got three months free, and I think there's a 2-month trial offer right now on RetailMeNot. That way, if it's not for you, you can cancel fast.

Jocelyn and Alana,
Thanks for all the great recommendations. I'm taking notes!

More to recommend:
Patricia Briggs series about Mercy Thompson is well read.
James Corey's Expanse series is an amazing space opera with lovable, flawed characters. Leviathan Wakes is the first.
The Handmaid's Tale read by Claire Danes is phenomenal! It had been on my must-read list for years and I'm so glad I listened to her version.
Shakespeare's Landlord is the first of the Lily Bard mystery series by Charlaine Harris. Her Grave Sight, Harper Connelly series is paranormal/mystery and the audio books are great. I plan to listen to them again.
The audio for Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters series is really well done too.

I started reading the Paradox series so it took a little adjustment from the voice in my head when I switched to the audio. But I was happy with it to the end of the series. Just love the main character!

Thanks for mentioning Battletech; my hubby with LOVE those!

You should have seen Chris' face when he found those. He was so excited to play one for me.

"This narrator isn't very good."
"But Honey, LISTEN TO THE EXPLOSIONS!"

And two minutes later, the bombing started and we both laughed our heads off.

Also: your experience with the Paradox novels is the same as my experience with the Dresden novels. I'd read them in print, and Harry just didn't sound very gritty. And then I started listening to them, and suddenly, the books got both much more gritty and much funnier. But it did take a little adjustment. "Harry doesn't sound like that! But, you know... maybe he should."

OK... trying to come up with a few more treasures I've listened to:

Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy:
(Penton series)
(Rachel Morgan series)
(Women of the Otherworld series)
(Night Huntress series- though I'm not overly fond of the Bones voice)
(Two-part story)
& (*First book in a series- for both, builds to romance like Kate Daniels)
... It's almost like a collection of stories all revolving around a central theme, and it also had a little 'Supernatural (TV show episode) from the ghosts' perspective' going on. Little to no romance in this one.
*
*

YA PNR/Urban Fantasy/Etc

(*AMAZING story, but it's a series and there is very very little romance... kind of straddles the YA and NA category)
*Haven't tried the first audio book in the series but I really enjoyed #2 & #3
*
*
*

Erotica:
(HOT RUSSIAN ACCENT)


Non-Fiction but FUN:


'Reglar' romance



(YUMMY Scottish accents)




* Like an adult Princess Diairies
*

M/M - If you're game


YA into NA:


All books marked with * - I considered these 4 star reads

Jocelyn wrote: "They offered a free trial, and I admit it. They hooked me. Both services hooked me. (Though I might cancel Audible at some point, since Scribd has some audiobooks, and they're unlimited).

Anywa..."

Scribd also offers audiobooks now. I'm so hooked on Scribd it's not funny... I add books daily I'll nev... ummm I mean absolutely get to read!

Okay I think I'm weird... I don't like hot romance/erotica audiobooks in that they're spoken out loud. It creeps me out. I can only read them. lol

Coral, I totally get it. But hey, it looks like Alana's rec of "Written in Red" is available on Audio on Scribd! And she mentions it's not very romance-y.

Alana, thanks for the additional books! Oh my gosh, I went from not knowing what to read next because I had no information, to not knowing what to read next because I have SO MUCH information!

Coral wrote: "Okay I think I'm weird... I don't like hot romance/erotica audiobooks in that they're spoken out loud. It creeps me out. I can only read them. lol"

I would recommend to you:
and

- All of these are vanilla and tame with mostly 'YA' takes on romance if they even have romance.

Also, Seanan McGuire's books ( - October Daye series and Incryptid are very vanilla and tame. There may be some romance, but it's not the main part of the story and there is very little nookie in those books. But Tybalt, the King of cats is mine, I tell you. And the Aislin mice are the shiz-nit. I totally want my own colony of Aislin mice.

Oh, I love Tybalt. Is it bad to admit that [spoiler] I was happy when that other love interest died? He was pretty lame.[/spoiler]?

I should try the Incrypted series in audio. One odd thing I've noticed: funny novels work better for me as audiobooks. They seem to drag a bit when I'm reading on paper, but the performances add another level to the humor, and I tend to breeze though them.

Alana ~ The Book Pimp wrote: "Coral wrote: "Okay I think I'm weird... I don't like hot romance/erotica audiobooks in that they're spoken out loud. It creeps me out. I can only read them. lol"

I would recommend to you:
[bookcov..."

hahah okay I won't fight your for Tybalt. Thanks!!

Jocelyn wrote: "Oh, I love Tybalt. Is it bad to admit that [spoiler] I was happy when that other love interest died? He was pretty lame.[/spoiler]?

I should try the Incrypted series in audio. One odd thing I'v..."

I agree, some of my favorite ones have been big on humor. :)

So I took the plunge and tried Scribd last week. So far I'm really enjoying the streaming audio from desktop, to phone, to car. Finished Written in Red and am half way through The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee which is hilariously read by Sarah Silverman herself. They also have some graphic novels. :)

Thanks for the recommendations!

Currently ear-reading Nice Dragons Finish Last on Audible. I'm enjoying the book, but the narrator is really not good at all. Terrible female voices.

So, I've really gotten into audiobooks this year and it's totally thanks to Scribd! I've found that I love listening to fiction and that doing so lets me read more nonfiction, which is always a goal for me.

Anyway, I have add mine to the pile of votes for The Dresden Files as read by James Marsters. I had read the first three books and wasn't wild about them, but then I gave audio a shot and loved Harry's voice.

Also, The Vorokosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold! The voice actor isn't as skilled in accents as Marsters, but the adventures Miles gets into suits audio.

The Girl on The Train has three different narrators (one of whom is the actress who plays Molly on Sherlock) and it works really well.

I've also been listening to Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle trilogy and I really like it, but I do think some of the accents are over done.

Just a quick FYI: Uprooted by Naomi Novik the audiobook was added to Scribd! I'm super pumped!

Kate wrote: "Just a quick FYI: Uprooted by Naomi Novik the audiobook was added to Scribd! I'm super pumped!"

Okay, so I'm really, really considering getting Audible or Scribd.

Can someone run through some of their personal pros and cons? I've looked up reviews on the services, etc. I'm just more concerned about price vs. availability. Plus I hear Scribd is stepping up their game.

Tiffany wrote: "Kate wrote: "Just a quick FYI: Uprooted by Naomi Novik the audiobook was added to Scribd! I'm super pumped!"

Okay, so I'm really, really considering getting Audible or Scribd.

Can someone run thr..."

I've had both programs and I ended up dropping Audible and Kindle Unlimited for Scribd. They have books and audiobooks for one price and it's a step up from Goodreads in that I can add all kinds of books to my lists and organize them and then read them or remove them as I see fit. There's no forum on Scribd like Goodreads but they just acquired another company that had a social media component to it so that might be changing. The books are a good mix of Indie and trad pub and I have been able to find SO MANY BOOKS! The downside is their apps suck!!! iPhone freezes up (which would be great for audio) and on a Kindle it's clunky but it works. They have customer service and I pester them. I'm hoping by being a squeaky wheel they'll eventually get this worked out.

Audible = too expensive
Kindle Unlimited = only can check out 10 books at a time (I'm a hoarder so this does not make me happy) and no way to organize them. I don't like the selection as much as the one on Scribd.

Hope this helps!!

Viktoria wrote: "So I took the plunge and tried Scribd last week. So far I'm really enjoying the streaming audio from desktop, to phone, to car. Finished Written in Red and am half way through [book..."

What phone are you using? My iPhone 4 locks up every time. :(

@Tiffany - I have both Audible and Scribd but I really just need to cancel my Audible subscription. It's too expensive. $15 a month to own one audiobook versus Scribd's $8.99 for unlimited access to audiobooks, ebooks, and comics.

I will say that Audible has the better app. The whole being able to set the sleep button to the end of the chapter is great and something every audiobook app should have. The audio quality is better as well. Scribd's audio can be tinny, but it's not enough to bother me. Lastly, Audible does have a better selection, but again, it's only audiobooks and you're only getting the one a month.

Scribd all the way!

Coral wrote: "What phone are you using? My iPhone 4 locks up every time. :( "

LG Optimus G Pro E980

It's a smooth transition back and forth from desktop to phone. Sorry your's isn't working! :(

Scribd to drop 80-90% of Smashwords romance and erotica: http://blog.smashwords.com/2015/06/sc...

Sean wrote: "Scribd to drop 80-90% of Smashwords romance and erotica: http://blog.smashwords.com/2015/06/sc..."

Ugh! I was going to post this... I just hope they can find a way to keep their service running. The rumor is SF&F may be next. :(

Yup, it seems to have already taken effect. I have a handful of Bold Stroke Books- a small publisher of lesbian romance who uses Smashwords for their editions- in my library, but when I search the catalog, those titles, those authors, are not there.

I read the Endagaget article, apparently, any title that you're reading or that is saved in your library that is due to be purged, will stay for 30 days.

I was surprised to learn Scribd pays wholesale prices for any book that's been read through 10% or more. That's admirable but clearly unsustainable. Lowering the prices paid to publishers may be the first step.

Tiered pricing makes sense, I suppose, but if Scribd specifically targets romance, the largest and consistently most profitable genre, the way they did today, they're going to lose their base usership. Tricky, tricky business...

I just came to mention this on here! I was thinking of getting rid of my Audible subscription (mostly because most of the books I want cost less than the price of one "credit" so it's kind of a false economy). But I was also thinking of canceling because I like Scribd better.

But then Scribd slashed their romance collection.

They still have a lot of stuff I'm interested in reading, so I'm not cancelling just yet (I like knowing that I have access to a lot of stuff, and their audiobook library alone is a big draw), but I was a little sad when their backlist of Charlotte Stein came down.

If you're looking at joining one or the other, I'd still say go with Scribd. I did the math, and as long as my hubby and I read at least three books a month on there (which is super easy to do) it's worth the $8.99.

Before shelling out the $$$, though, I'd suggest checking out your library's online lending services - the Bay Area has an amazing amount of stuff on OverDrive, and so do most urban libraries. OverDrive has audiobooks as well as ebooks in most libraries.

Now to book reviews! I checked out Beauty's Kingdom from OverDrive as an audiobook, and it's really not very well done. I thought the female narrator was fine, but the male narrator sounds a bit... old? Dated? His pronunciation made me think he's a baby boomer, which sounds weird to say, but that's how he struck me. And the material just doesn't translate well to audio. The descriptions are so florid and repetitive, which I don't mind in print, but I hate in audiobook. My rec: if you want to get it, get the print. I got three chapters in and gave up.

In happier news, I saw that one of Alana's rec's, Midnight Riot, was available as a discounted deal on Audible, and so I snatched it up. I've already read the whole series, but am thoroughly enjoying the re-read in audio format. The narrator is awesome.

The reason I prefer Audible to Scribd (beyond the whole 'slashing' of 80-90% of their romance titles) is because Scribd is like a library- you only get to borrow the titles. I have a resource for digital content (including audiobooks) that I can use for free without paying a monthly subscription... it's my local public library. But while I may only get one title a month (in the cheapest monthly subscription to Audible) - I own that title. That audiobook is available to me and my Audible app whenever I want to listen to it. Their sales, while not as exciting as they have been in past years, is also a huge incentive for me (and only available to subscription members). Whispersync titles between Amazon & Audible means that I can get some audio books for as low as $1.99. Sometimes they have 2 books for 1 credit (or 3 for 2) sales. So there are opportunities that don't break the bank. However, I am a regular rereader of my favorite books so that heavily leads me to desire to own my audio titles rather than just borrow them.

Just my two cents, though I was really considering adding Scribd until they destroyed their romance offerings. That's my bread and butter and it's just not worth it to me without a wide variety in that genre.

Scribd has a new policy where you get 1 credit for 1 audio-book per month. I'm NOT happy about this. I joined for the audio and go through a couple per week. I will probably be switching to Audible soon.

Circling back with my shiny new author profile to say: Penny Reid's new books are available on Scribd right now! Woo-hoo, subscription cost justified for another month!

However, I'm pretty irritated with Scribd about the new credit system. I understand it was necessary for them to stay in business (and the audiobook library is keeping me with them for now), but 'pricing' comic books, kids books and short fiction as a full credit (the same as a 500-page fantasy epic?!) seems a little... dumb.

Ugh.

Anyway, I just sped through the new Winston Brothers romance and Penny's new Rugby title (co-authored with L.H. Cosway) and they were both super fun. The Player and the Pixie felt a little new-adultish, in a nice way. Grin and Beard It was more adult, and had a very cool POC as a female lead.

Jocelyn wrote: "Circling back with my shiny new author profile to say: Penny Reid's new books are available on Scribd right now! Woo-hoo, subscription cost justified for another month!

and are worth the price of admission. Too bad they don't have more of her audio books available. *pout*

I know! I just listened to the OverDrive "Professional Book Nerds" podcast about audiobooks, and one of the guys recommended a string of audiobooks by comedians, and Scribd had nearly all of them! They also have Ben Aaronovitch's Peter Grant books on audio, and I know I've recommended them earlier.

I'm still thinking of dropping my subscription, but those audiobooks will keep my subscribed until September, at least.

Ooh, where do I find that podcast?

I found it through the "Podcasts" button on my iPhone. :) The "Smart Podcast, Trashy Books" is another good one, done by the "Smart Bitches, Trashy Books" website people. It makes me feel so up-to-date on the genre, even when I'm not reading all that much!

Jocelyn wrote: "I found it through the "Podcasts" button on my iPhone. :) The "Smart Podcast, Trashy Books" is another good one, done by the "Smart Bitches, Trashy Books" website people. It makes me feel so up-to-..."

Thanks! :)