Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

Julia wrote: "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 podcas..."

I've heard of this show - I'll have to give it a try and see if I can help me develop a taste for audio books - thanks :)

OMG this is so hard. I don't know how to just focus on the book playing and not let my mind do other things. I'm listening to Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales - as it was suggested here as short, compelling and full of great voices. All those things are true, but I'm less than an hour in and have zoned out at least 3 times. I don't know how you could do this for 11+ hours....

Heather-Ann wrote: "OMG this is so hard. I don't know how to just focus on the book playing and not let my mind do other things. I'm listening to Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales - as it was suggested here ..."

As a big fan of audiobooks, I'm not sure you can just sit quietly and listen without zoning out. The beauty of the audiobook is that you listen to it while doing things that occupy your hands, but not your whole mind. I listen while I'm driving, cooking, cleaning, or knitting. Try finding something to do with your hands, and you may enjoy it a little more. Good luck!

Heather - I would totally second what Ttrivium says. I couldn't sit quietly and listen to an audiobook. I would zone out or fall asleep. But if I am doing something not-too-challenging with my hands then it's perfect. Audiobooks make tedious jobs like ironing, and cleaning the bathroom, and so on soooo much more fun!

Same for me, I listen to audio books when I walk, always have one in the car for when I drive alone and when cleaning bathroom, kitchen and vacuuming...

Heather - Ttrivium and Viv and Carolyn are all right, the key is to zone out into the book, not away from it. Also, you can always rewind if you zone out or are interupted. It takes some training for the mind to get used to hearing long stories, but remember, this is just like when you were a kid and someone read you a story! You've done this before!

And, at risk of seeming like a poor reader, I sometimes give myself permission to zone out of a book. I have been trying to expand my horizons by reading some pretty dense nonfiction. So, while I may have occasionally let my mind wander while listening to five minutes of statistics about Mao's Great Famine, I came out of the experience knowing a lot more about the subject than I did going in. It's an auditory version of skimming a few pages.

Be aware of your favored learning style when approaching this task. As a Sp. Ed. teacher, many of my students were visual and auditory learners with a tiny percentage of kinesthetic learners (whole-body movement). So if you are primarily a visual learner, audiobooks may be a difficult experience. You may need to start with a very short audiobook, follow the text while listening, and begin with only a few minutes of listening at a time. Some listeners can do other activities while listening, some (like me, a strong visual) learner need the lights dimmed and a nice cup of coffee or tea to focus. Whatever works for you is OK!

I like to listen when I am cleaning or ironing (not in the summer - too hot).

At work I listen to audio books when I am doing routine things, but need a distraction from the noise, and need to concentrate (I sit beside a trading desk).

I read through the comments and am pleased to announce that my first audiobook will be The Graveyard Book!

I just finished listening to The Silkworm (Cormoran Strike #2)
by Robert Galbraith (Pseudonym), J.K. Rowling, Robert Glenister (Narrator). this audio book won Best Mystery in 2015. I really enjoyed this one. The accents aren't to hard to understand for my American ears and the acting was quite good. As for the story, i really enjoyed it. I didn't see who the murder is at all.

I just listened to Yellow Crocus which won the Audie Award last year for best solo narration - female. I thought the narration was very good, the story not so much! I must be in a minority though as the average rating is 4.22 which is super high!

I have never listened to an audiobook before, and honestly wasn't sure it would be for me. I am not good at this sort of thing. I have been practicing with podcasts the past several months, and have determined that I am capable of audiobooks if I am walking/working out/on the bus.

Anyway, I chose to go with Yes Please by Amy Poehler. I am probably two thirds of the way through, and loving it so far. The book itself is funny and enjoyable, and the narration is fantastic. The guests she has on it are really enjoyable to hear as well. I feel like this was the perfect audiobook to start with.

I listened to The Tao of Pooh in one sitting last night. I'm not really interested in audiobooks because I tend to tune them out after a while, but I actually think this book worked better as an audio. The narrator did a great job with the voices of all the Winnie the Pooh characters, and it was really interesting how they use them to explain philosophical concepts.

Dianna wrote: "Karin wrote: "I'm leaning towards The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism because Edward Herrmann (AKA Richard Gilmore) has such ..."

I'm very late to the party, but listened to this audio book. It was one of the first books I read for this challenge. I agree that it was very well read, and the writing itself was fantastic. Of course, I'm a Goodwin fan, so I'm biased. :)

I just finished listening to Bossypants by Tina Fey and really enjoyed the experience! This was one of the harder categories for me given the time needed to listen to the book. Since this one was only 5 1/2 hours, it was a little easier to make time -- I listened while cooking for most of that time, so that worked out well for me. While I would've read this one anyway, I think listening made for an even more enjoyable experience.

The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby- Volume 1 won the Audie Award in 2012. It took me several months to listen to the entire book. I did really enjoy it.

Like a lot of you, I listened to The End of the Affair as narrated by Colin Firth--powerful book with wonderful narration (and I'm pretty picky about audio fiction).

Anyway, thought I'd post in case anyone still has a few categories to complete because (and this is up for debate) you might be able to count this as a book about religion as well. Perhaps not its primary theme, but religion does play a large role in the story.

Leah wrote: "Like a lot of you, I listened to The End of the Affair as narrated by Colin Firth--powerful book with wonderful narration (and I'm pretty picky about audio fiction).

Anyway, though..."

Seconding your suggestion. End of the Affair is one of my very favorite books ever, and after many readings I listened to this audio version and LOVED it. Colin Firth's narration is wonderful. My only issue was that the narrator is not a noble or sexy one, and with Mr. Darcy voicing him he seduced me utterly :)

This is one I haven't done and I know I'm going to struggle - it took me months to listen to Yes Please last year and now I've got an 8 week old baby! I bought World War Z in January with the best intentions but haven't started it. Am considering the version of The Jungle Book that won this year (2.5 hours) but am tempted by the Young Listeners winner, which is only seven minutes... that really feels like cheating though!

I listen to my audio book while I'm doing house chores like laundry and cookies.

All the housework is done in short bursts or by my partner - when I was pregnant I was too tired and uncomfortable, and now smallest is here I'm usually either sorting him out or doing essential things like eating and sleeping when he's asleep. I don't iron or anything like that and I've no cause to drive very far now... yeah, finding it tough.

Do the 7 minute one, smallest can listen too.

I listened to Mandela: An Audio History for this challenge, which was the Audiobook of the Year for 2015. It was only 1 hour and 17 minutes long and could also count for politics if you need to double dip.

Many mothers I know choose feeding time as their time to relax and listen to part of an audiobook, but if you find that doesn't work for you, there's no shame in choosing an Audie Award winner that best fits your needs. Runtime shouldn't matter; it's still a winner. ;)

Jo wrote: "This is one I haven't done and I know I'm going to struggle - it took me months to listen to Yes Please last year and now I've got an 8 week old baby! I bought World War Z in January with the best ..."

Although I can't claim the distractions of a newborn in the house, I am listening to Yes Please for this challenge, and it is taking me FOREVER to get through. I can't play it while doing household chores because it would drive my husband bonkers: we live in a small space (a motorhome, actually!) so there's no way to listen to something in a separate room. So I listen to this at night with headphones. I can't tell on my reader how much more I have to go, but I am somewhere in Part 3. It is taking forever! I much prefer reading to listening to books!

Thanks for the encouragement all - I've started World War Z but I'm reserving the seven minute option just in case ;)

Tatiana wrote: "I think I will listen toDaughter of Smoke & Bone."

SO GOOD.

I finally, finally finished Yes Please. I am not a fan of audiobooks, as they seem to take me forever to get through vs. reading, but this book was well done in audio, with Amy P. reading and some excellent special guests. Still, I'd only recommend this one for her fans. I didn't know much about her at all when I started, and this contained far too much about her career and tons of name dropping. I enjoyed the chapters about other aspects of her life, especially the last few, much more than the endless ones about her roots in improv.

I thought I had this covered because I've been listening to the Harry Potter audiobooks this year because they're on Audible now - then I realised that it must be the US versions with Jim Dale that won the Audies, not the UK ones with Stephen Fry.

Does relistening to an audiobook count - I've realised I have a Terry Pratchett that won one (Monstrous Regiment) whichis one of my regular relistens...