Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

I listed to The Goldfinch for this task. I really don't get the hype over this book. Way too long for the amount of interesting events. I wouldn't have made it through a print version that's for sure.

I have just finished Dracula, in this version - http://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Classics/...

Obviously the book is fab anyway, and pacy around what happens to Lucy, and this version has each character recording their own chapters. Sadly the vocal talent is terrinbly mixed. The bulk of the narration, thankfully is Alan Cumming as Dr John Seward and he is truly brilliant. Tim Curry is Van Helsing, another smart choice. The rest of the cast is not so great and the casting of Mina and Lucy is particularly disappointing. It's also apparent that non of the cast heard anyone else's recording so we get all manner of accents as people quote Van Helsing in their record of activities.

ANYWAY, if you have the time (it's 13 hours) and a love of Alan Cumming and Stoker, I'd absolutely recommend, otherwise this may not be for you. But yay! Another one off the list :)

I just started All the Light We Cannot See to complete this task. Before the challenge, I wasn't really interested in this book based on the description. But after listening to the first hour, I think that I might be regretting my lack of interest. So far, so good.

Currently listening to Bossypants by Tina Fey, loving it!

I am in the midst of Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming. It took me a moment to get "into" it, but now I am loving it and do not want to turn it off! Excellent listen/read.

Louise, The Adventures of a Chicken by Kate DiCamillo was adorable. It's a picture book that won the 8 and under category some years back. The narrator did a wonderful job with the various voices needed in the story. I'm not an audio book fan and my commute is roughly 10 minutes, so I went for something short.

Just finished listening to Life by Keith Richards. It won Audiobook of the Year and Best Bio in 2010. It was LONG but fascinating, read alternately by Johnny Depp, Joe Hurley, and Richards himself.

Nicola wrote: "I'm currently listening to Amy Poelher's Yes, Please and I've also downloaded The Martian by Andy Weir and might give that a listen before I read the book...

This is my first actual foray into li..."

The Martian is so excellent on audio, I feel like people who read the text are missing something!

I'm going to listen to Lucky Man by Michael J Fox (Biography/Memoir
Lucky Man, by Michael J. Fox, read by Michael J. Fox (Simon & Schuster Audio) - See more at: http://www.bookweb.org/news/audie-awa...).

I think it's gonna be a good one. I've always love Fox, since I was a little kid in the 80s and watched Back to the future. And I think that this book might help me to understand my big brothers struggle better. He hasn't got Parkinson's, but SLE (Systemic lupus erythematosus, often abbreviated as SLE or lupus, is a systemic autoimmune disease (or autoimmune connective tissue disease) in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue.) and walk with a cane, is in pain most of the time, takes chemotherapy shots and struggles immensely with the life puzzle. He's only 37.

Maria wrote: "I'm going to listen to Lucky Man by Michael J Fox (Biography/Memoir
Lucky Man, by Michael J. Fox, read by Michael J. Fox (Simon & Schuster Audio) - See more at: http://www.bookweb.org/news/audie-aw..."

Michael J Fox definitely has Parkinson's and he was born in 1961, he's 54.

Anna wrote: "Maria wrote: "I'm going to listen to Lucky Man by Michael J Fox (Biography/Memoir
Lucky Man, by Michael J. Fox, read by Michael J. Fox (Simon & Schuster Audio) - See more at: http://www.bookweb.org..."

:) Anna, I think Maria was referencing her brother who has SLE and his age...not Michael J. Fox.

Bea wrote: "Anna wrote: "Maria wrote: "I'm going to listen to Lucky Man by Michael J Fox (Biography/Memoir
Lucky Man, by Michael J. Fox, read by Michael J. Fox (Simon & Schuster Audio) - See more at: http://ww..."

ahhh, that makes more sense :)

I'm working my way through two iterations of the Read Harder Challenge, and for my second audio book (I posted earlier about Mandela: An Audio History I went with Euphoria. I really enjoyed it! Loved the book and the narrators were terrific. I think this may be the book that gets me hooked on audio books as a form.

Shannon wrote: "I am in the midst of Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming. It took me a moment to get "into" it, but now I am loving it and do not want to turn it off! Excellent listen/read."

I loved this audiobook! So well read and so interesting. Glad you enjoyed it too!

Sarah wrote: "I have just finished Dracula, in this version - http://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Classics/...

Obviously the book is fab anyway, and pacy around wha..."

Dracula was not on my reading list for this year, but in light of this being read by Alan Cumming, I may have to reconsider! Thanks for the heads-up, Sarah.

Pauline wrote: "I listed to The Goldfinch for this task. I really don't get the hype over this book. Way too long for the amount of interesting events. I wouldn't have made it through a print versi..."

I had the misfortune of having to read 'Secret History' by Donna Tartt years ago for a book club. There went several hours of my life I won't get back! I also don't understand all the hype about 'The Goldfinch.'

I listened to The End of the Affair, narrated by Colin Firth, Audie Book of the Year for 2013. This is an intense, often troubling book, but the writing is masterful and Colin Firth's narration is exquisite. Thanks to those who recommended it!

I listened to The Nazi Officer's Wife by Edith Hahn Beer for this challenge. I really recommend it- the narrator was very good.

I'm currently listening to Amy Poehler 's Yes Please - really funny so far.

Leanne wrote: "I'm currently listening to Amy Poehler 's Yes Please - really funny so far."

Me too! It's so good. I actually look forward to washing dishes and folding laundry now (when I listen to audiobooks). :)

sitting at work listening to Yes Please! Amy Poehler is abso-freakin-lutely hilarious!

I did the L.A. Theatre Works cast of Lorainne Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun (Audie in 2012) it was interesting to listen to the play instead of reading it. I might just do that again.

I listened to Yes Please by Amy Poehler for this task. It was a really enjoyable listen and I ended up re-visiting some of the SNL sketches on You Tube - great fun :-)

I will be reading (listening to) The Auschwitz Escape for this task.

I'm listening to The Goldfinch and holy crap is it long! I'm enjoying it and it's keeping my interest fine. The narrator does an exceptional job with all the voices, but man, it's gonna take me forever to get through.

The 2016 Audie awards are being awarded tonight. I don't know if we'll know the winners by tonight or tomorrow. I may end up changing my choice for this particular task with all the new ones to choose.

Martha wrote: "The 2016 Audie awards are being awarded tonight. I don't know if we'll know the winners by tonight or tomorrow. I may end up changing my choice for this particular task with all the new ones to cho..."

Good to know, thank you for posting this information. Worth a look to see if there's something that catches my eye.

The Gala is tonight and it will be live streamed: https://audiopub.org/members/audies
I'll probably just wait for the list of winners.

I read Tina Fey's Bossypants. I giggled all the way to work in my car. :D

Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America, a 2014 Audie winner. The www.audiofilemagazine.com description says, "...this biography of Thurgood Marshall..." so I got it thinking I would use it for 2 categories. I may still do that if things get tight at the at the end of the year, but it doesn't seem like a biography to me because there are so many characters that Thurgood Marshall just seems like one of many. But I still have about 90 minutes left in the book so I my opinion may change. Regardless, it's a fascinating book about horrible events in the 1940s-1950s South & I strongly recommend it.

I listened to L.J. Ganser read Arnie the Doughnut, a children's picture book by Laurie Keller. It was hilarious. Ganser did a good job with the voices. I think many children would love this.

We just finished listening to The Martian. Loved it!

Listened to Yes Please by Amy Poehler. Started out strong but for me lost steam by the end.

Laura wrote: "We just finished listening to The Martian. Loved it!"

100% agree!

Monica wrote: "Listened to Yes Please by Amy Poehler. Started out strong but for me lost steam by the end."

Was hoping to hear it was better when read by Poehler herself. Do not get why this is such a popular book. She does not come across as likeable or funny in contrast to her friend and fellow memorist Tina Fey.

Kristine wrote: "I listened to The End of the Affair, narrated by Colin Firth, Audie Book of the Year for 2013. This is an intense, often troubling book, but the writing is masterful and Colin Firth's ..." NOW you tell me! I read the book and didn't even realize there was a Colin Firth audio book. Agree that it was intense.

Nicola wrote: "Just finished listening to Amy Poehler's Yes Please ... It was funny but I don't think I'm one for Audio Books ..."

I hope you don't give up on audio books yet. It takes hitting on the right one. It took me years of on and off just giving this one or that one a try. Then I listened to Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel narrated by Simon Vance. It was perfection for me-what story telling is all about. Same thing with the Jack Reacher novels. Not my thing at all, but love listening to Dick Hill. You really have to hit on a great performance. Then, you might be hooked.
The other thing that took a while to adjust to was not drifting off while listening. Hard to do a task while listening and hard to sit still and just listen.

Theresa wrote: "Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America, a 2014 Audie winner. The www.audiofilemagazine.com description says, "...this biography of Thurgood Marshal..."

That was a great book and I agree it wasn't as much about Marshall as it was about the times and the place. But honestly, I think it works for the biography task as well; if not about Marshall, about the sheriff and the people of Florida and all those unsung heroes.

Leslie wrote: "Kristine wrote: "I listened to The End of the Affair, narrated by Colin Firth, Audie Book of the Year for 2013. This is an intense, often troubling book, but the writing is masterful a..."

This is one of my favorite books ever, I have read it half a dozen times over the past 30 or so years. I just listened to the Colin Firth version, and it is SO GOOD. I always thought the book was creepy, but that man makes pathological obsession sound sexy as hell.

Ok, I'm cheating : I'm disregarding the "that has won an audie award." Even doing half of this task is a challenge enough, and I'm actually excited about listening to George by Alex Gino.

Theresa wrote: "Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America, a 2014 Audie winner. The www.audiofilemagazine.com description says, "...this biography of Thurgood Marshal..."

Glad to hear that someone else liked this. I was so appalled but also fascinated by this story.

Man, we got some Donna Tartt haters up in here. Very sad -- I loved reading The Secret History for the "Read a Book Someone Has Recommended to You" challenge last year. Oh, well!

I decided to listen to the 2013 Audie Classics winner version of Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens. It was a HUGE time commitment (40+ hours), but I think it's now one of my favorite Dickens novels and the production was superb, even if I think I would have preferred to actually read the book. (I reviewed it here.)

I listened to The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman. It was a full cast performance and I loved it! I shared it with two other people - so I listened to it 3 times. I'd love to hear of other full cast recordings.

Meg wrote: "I listened to The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman. It was a full cast performance and I loved it! I shared it with two other people - so I listened to it 3 t..."

Have you tried the full cast recording of The Graveyard Book? I'm currently listening to the version recorded just by Neil Gaiman. I opted for that version over the full cast because I love listening to Gaiman. You've planted a seed, though. Maybe when I'm finished with the Gaiman-only version, I'll listen to the full cast version for a comparison.

I listened to The Handmaid's Tale narrated by Claire Danes. She is a powerful voice! I highly recommend it.

I listened The Graveyard Book. I loved it, the characters were lovely and the story is something young and old alike will enjoy.
I don't listen to a lot of audiobooks (any really), but I found myself enjoying the narrator and pacing. I tend to lose my focus on slower stories, but that wasn't an issue with this book!

Leslie wrote: "Nicola wrote: "Just finished listening to Amy Poehler's Yes Please ... It was funny but I don't think I'm one for Audio Books ..."

I hope you don't give up on audio books yet. It takes hitting on ..."
I can only listen to memoirs on audio. I've only tried 2 fiction audio books, but hearing the story 'acted' rather than simply read out loud is jarring to me. No matter how talented the actors/readers, it sounds artificial to me. Maybe it's that listening to a book being read vs acted lets me hear the characters in my head with the voice and mannerisms I've given them. The narration becomes invisible and it's still just me and the book. I haven't tried nonfiction, but I think my mind would wander - I'd have to continually pause and rewind. I'll have to check some out of the library and give it another try. To be honest, I only listened to about a minute before I had to stop ;)

I listened to The Graveyard Book, full cast. It was 8 hrs long, and excellent. I am surprised it's a children's book.
My other option was My Man Jeeves. The Graveyard Book was available first at my library.

I listed to Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan for this. It is also a middle grade novel. Music is an important factor in this book and each (or at least most?) bit of music that is mentioned is played in the audio. Which for me really added to the novel.

Nadine wrote: No matter how talented the actors/readers, it sounds artificial to me.

Do you know the public radio show "Selected Shorts?" If you don't listen to radio, you can find it as a podcast. It's professional actors -who may tour to near your city this summer- reading classic and new short stories, poems and short pieces of non-fiction.