Pick-a-Shelf discussion

Which audiobook did you read? Or rather listen to?

What do you think of the narrator/s?

I chose to read We Were Liars as my first book of 2015. I absolutely loved it. The story was excellent with a huge twist I didn't see coming. I highly recommend it to everyone!

Finished - this book has a very different vibe to the first 4 books in the series. Although it has its ups and downs, it is quite good overall with many significant plot developments and a huge twist in the tale.

The biggest problem is with the pacing, which is rather slow for the first half with a lot of new world building. It does liven up at the 40% mark and after that there is a lot of action with some slower sections interspersed. With some editing this could have been one of the best UF books I've read.

Liv Andersen's narration is really slow so the book should be read at minimum x1.25 speed if not more.

I chose Enclave by Ann Aguirre for another reason, but it ends up that the audiobook shelf is on the first page of shelves listed for it. It's a bit too gory for my taste -- I like my dystopias without zombies or other creatures that eat human beings. I probably won't read the others in the series. I give it 2.5 stars.

I finished listening to Divergent this morning. I have mixed feelings about both the book and the narrator's performance. On one hand, I like the idea of the dystopian world Roth tries to create, but there are just too many unanswered questions, the world doesn't feel whole to me. The plot was interesting, the characters intriguing, but the writing was sometimes incredibly predictable. I was almost finishing the narrators sentences in key parts of the storyline. The narrator portrayed the "I'm dead inside because I live in a world that makes no sense" feelings that Tris had pretty well, but unfortunately that carried on throughout the rest of the book, even when Tris was going through some pretty heavy stuff and was somewhat confusing.

I give it 3 stars.

I will read the rest of the series, as I'm hopeful the world is explained better in the next two books, but I don't think I will be listening to any more audiobooks by the narrator.

If anyone can suggest a really good audiobook, I may give it another try, but for the moment I think I prefer to read.

I chose Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card, which is the forth book in the Ender Quintet. It's been one of my favorites, if not my favorite so far, in the quintet. (I can't quite decide if it's better than Ender's Game or not. It was a faster read than the previous three, had fewer laggy spots, and was overall, more hopeful. I love that it was unpredictable and sensitive to social issues. As if true of all of the Ender books, I could have done without the crude humor. 4 Stars. An overall great read.

I don't have my real choice for this month from the library yet, but I think every book out there is listed on the audiobook shelf. I just finished Tricks by Ellen Hopkins, and gave it only 2 stars. It may be well-written, but it was so depressing I could hardly keep reading it.

The second book I read this month was Landline. It's an absolutely excellent book. Once I started reading I couldn't put it down. I literally devoured the book in 2 settings less than 24 hours apart. I am glad to know I am not the only one with a dog who likes to get in the dryer! I can say I saw lots of ellements of different movies and tv shows through out this work. Which for me only added to my admiration of it because it seemed to pick the best element of each and utilize it. For example, the the mother reminded me of the mother on Mike and Molly. Of course the whole thing had echoes of The Lake House and Frequency. But like I said I enjoyed these similarities and it made me feel more at home, more comfortable so to say with the book. I also loved the writing style. I had to share a very well written quote about marriage on facebook because it blew me away when I read it. If this book isn't on your TBR you need to get it on there ASAP because its super fantastic!

Lyndi wrote: "The second book I read this month was Landline. It's an absolutely excellent book. Once I started reading I couldn't put it down. I literally devoured the book in 2 settings less th..."

Oh, I loved The Lake House! Adding this to my TBR now. Thanks, Lyndi :)

I've started like a million books since the beginning of the year but only finished one on audiobook. A re-read in audio of - loved it again and concur with my all rating of 4.5 stars. An excellent book, so complex.

Ironskin- listenined in audio - narrator was Rosalyn Landor - she normally isn't a favorite author of mine (but i've mostly tried her on books i've already read) - so in a new to me book she wasn't that bad - but I was kind of disappointed in the book - it was a retelling of Jane Eyre with a PNR/Fae twist, but just didn't quite work for me - 3 stars

I just finished Bossypants on audiobook. I knew a couple of people who tried to read this and it was definitely meant for audiobook. Tina Fey was great and I can see how it was much more humorus and funny with the audio versus hardcopy version.

I read (sorry didn't listen to it as I already had it out from the library in paper form) The Museum of Extraordinary Things. I enjoyed it although the writing style took a little to get used to with long, long sections at the start of each chapter covering the backstory of the main characters in italics which made the reading a little less smooth. That said, I managed to knock it over in a day, something I haven't done for a while, so it was engaging enough to keep me reading.

First book for the year ! (I already feel so far behind).

Finished listening to The Descendantsthis morning. Could have watched the film on the weekend, but didn't want any spoilers.

Had to laugh early on when the narrator discusses his daughter is wearing a t-shirt saying "Mrs Clooney", knowing that the character was played by Clooney in the film.

Bittersweet, made me cry, hit home in so many ways, but the watching the family relationship build, and imagining what it will be like with a slightly older daughter, I really got this book and am so glad I took that chance and picked it up when nothing else looked interesting.

Finally finished Inkspell, which sounds really bad, but I did enjoy it. I am trying to read the series after having fallen for the story when watching the film.

The story is enjoyable, the characters well drawn out, but the books are soooo long. I am just not used to trying to physically manage a 700 page book, and it wears me out, so I can only read 3 chapters at a time. How does one get over this, as I will not pay to put books on my Kindle!

Amanda wrote: "How does one get over this, as I will not pay to put books on my Kindle! "

More and more libraries are making electronic books available these days, Amanda. Check out what yours has. You can usually download something for 2-3 weeks, and read it on your computer or tablet.

So you won't buy kindle books? Color me confused

Nope, I only download out of copyright books. Too many ebooks that I have looked at have been far too expensive in my opinion. If I can get a physical copy for the same or less, then the price of the electronic copy is too much. There is a lot less cost that goes into producing an ebook, and it just doesn't have the character or personality that a physical copy does.

That I said, I also buy majority of my books secondhand. It has to be something REALLY special for me to buy new release, which would only be a small handful of books a year.

Susan, I have gotten into audiobook downloads, but the 2 week timeframe would be tough for me to manage currently with the other 11 books I have out. If I can get my number of borrows down ( I am trying ! I have a dozen of my own books on my reading shelf to get to. 2 library visits yesterday, very strong, one book and one audiobook only!) I will see if I can make the switch.

oh,gosh, Amanda. You sound like a kindred soul. I seldom buy books - even Kindle ones. I am a BIG library user.

Right now I am starting to read seven library books that I have to have back on 1/21/15. I can't renew them online since I have already done so once. (My problem was taking out too many over the holidays.)
I will probably get 4-5 read, but I doubt that I will finish all 7.

I also use the digital version of my library and download ebook (sometimes Kindle format) onto my Kindle. I can also renew them, but, the drawback is the limited availability of those book formats.

I also use interlibrary loan. Finally, I will buy a Kindle book IF it is a BIG BOOK that I have been wanting to read and only a couple of dollars.

I hear that there is a very good and LARGE used bookstore in Augusta, but we haven't tried to visit it yet.

My library systems are great - in NYC, we have 3 - so I don't buy many ebooks at full price (if I want it, I just recomend it to the library and they buy it.) But I still buy lots of ebooks...if an ebook not available at the library is 2.99 or less, I buy it.

For authors I really like, I'm willing to shell out the money even if it's full price. I don't have room in my apartment (or purse) for printed books.

I just read the non-fiction Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World. It's on the "audiobook" shelf, but I read a paper copy. 4 stars.

(I tried 3 different audiobooks, all supposedly exciting reads, but wasn't able to get more than about 10 minutes into them before I lost track of the storyline. I worked hard at getting into them for this particular shelf choice, but my mind just went off on tangents. I finally gave up. I think the problem for me was just how slowly you have to listen to them. I was amazed to see that many books take 6-12 hours to listen to! That's a LOT of concentrated listening!)

Bea wrote: "oh,gosh, Amanda. You sound like a kindred soul. I seldom buy books - even Kindle ones. I am a BIG library user.

Bea, right now I am starting to read seven library books that I have to have back on 1/2..."

At one point I had about 21 books from the library, and that really tipped me over the reading edge, couldn't do it. I am down to 2 cookbooks, 5 fiction ( + 1 for hubs, who now has his own card in a different regional library ) and an audio book from the library, plus an audio download from the digital library.

I do, however have 10-13 holds I am waiting for, and over half of them see me next in line.

Inter-library loans save me. Most of what I want just doesn't seem to be in my region of libraries :( That said, I did a search yesterday on 3 Haruki Murakami's I haven't read ( decided yesterday to make it a goal to finish reading everything he has written by the end of the year ) and nowhere seems to have them !!! So, I will have to buy these, probably when my birthday comes around next month I will get someone to get me an Amazon voucher, because I am not sure my regular secondhand stores will have them.

The secondhand bookstore in my town is AWESOME. The owner is extremely knowledgable ( his main interest is pulp crime, which suits my hubs ), if he doesn't have it in the shop he will check to see if it is in storage, and if you buy more than 10 you get 50% discount. Apart from library book sales, there is only one other store I like to go to, because they have an incredible variety, but I don't think they will have the Murakami :(

D.G. wrote: I don't have room in my apartment (or purse) for printed books. "

Space is a HUGE factor. We have one bookshelf left in the dining area, which has to go because I replaced all of its sister shelves, one next to my desk, and 6 1/2 large and 1/2 small shelves in the lounge ( there are another 4 mid shelve and 2 half shelves of dvds ), and most of these are now double stacked. Looking at getting 3 more half shelves for the hallway, and then putting shelves in our bedroom. Daughter is already telling us " NO!!!!! " , LOL.

LynnB wrote: "I just read the non-fiction Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World. It's on the "audiobook" shelf, but I read a paper copy. 4 stars.

..."

I'm mixing and matching audio and paper for this. Most audiobooks I borrow are over 14 hours, but I never do more than a 1/2 hour sitting. Depending on who is reading it is whether I can completely immerse myself or not.

Am also finding the transition from headphones to car speakers a bit of a challenge to maintaining concentration.

LynnB wrote: "I was amazed to see that many books take 6-12 hours to listen to! That's a LOT of concentrated listening!"

That's nothing! Most fantasy books are in the 20-30 hr. range. I think the biggest audiobook I've listened was A Breath of Snow and Ashes, at 58 hrs. :)

A few times I've listened 4-5 hours straight. I don't usually have a problem concentrating, unless the book is boring or if I'm doing something else that needs my attention. I can usually exercise, do chores around the house, walk the streets and commute listening to a book.

Tien wrote: "Lyndi wrote: "The second book I read this month was Landline. It's an absolutely excellent book. Once I started reading I couldn't put it down. I literally devoured the book in 2 se..."

If you oved Lake House you'll definitely love Landline. Make sure and let me know what you think after you read it.

I have completed two more books for the audio book shelf, 14 and The Martian.

14 was a really cool book about a really crazy apartment building. I love books where there is a crazy mystery to solve and this is one of the most crazy mysteries yet. What are you supposed to do when your average apartment building starts to show signs of being paranormal? Investigate of course! When the tenets start seeing things like 7 legged glowing cockroaches, hidden codes under the paint on the walls, doors with an exuberant amount of locks, regular light bulbs that suddenly turn into black lights, and of course an apartment building with no power lines but plenty of power. The discoveries they make are mind blowing and dangerous. Now the tenets must work together to save the world as we know it and set everything back in balance before it is too late. This is not your typical apartment complex or you typical horror novel! Definitely a must read!!!

I absolutely loved The Martian. I can't wait until the movie comes out. My 10 year old son listened to it with me and loved it just as much as I did. Now at times it does get a little technical and that can get a bit tedious but I guess some people might enjoy that like an engineer or botanist or chemist because he covers all areas in detail. However the fun parts way out weigh the technical parts. At times I was white knuckled gripping the edge of my seat thinking this was the time he was going to die. The last few lines of the book make a very good point and kind of sum up the entire purpose of the book but, I am not going to ruin that for anyone. Word of advice if you start to get bored just skim the detailed technical stuff it doesn't add anything to the story line. Overall highly recommended for all ages and genders.

D.G. wrote: "That's nothing! Most fantasy books are in the 20-30 hr. range. I think the biggest audiobook I've listened was A Breath of Snow and Ashes, at 58 hrs. :)"

OMG! I can't even begin to comprehend taking that much time to listen to a book. That's 5 or 6 times longer than it takes to physically read it. You have mighty powers of listening concentration!

Lyndi wrote: "I have completed two more books for the audio book shelf, 14 and The Martian.

I read The Martian last year, and think it was really well done and interesting. Nothing was too much of a stretch for events and resolutions to be believable, even by the non-technical.

I finished the The Dark Tower this month which was 28 hours long! It was the last book in the 7 book series. I bumped the speed up to 1.5X on my Kindle to pick the narration pace up a bit. That seems to help get through these longer books at a more reasonable time for me.

I usually listen to one book a month on my commute to work. I am currently listening to Eleanor & Park which would probably not be a book I would read...It is part of my 'Moving Mountains' list, and is actually becoming one of the best books I have listened to. The narrators do a great job, and can really make the book!

LynnB wrote: "OMG! I can't even begin to comprehend taking that much time to listen to a book. That's 5 or 6 times longer than it takes to physically read it. You have mighty powers of listening concentration! "

Hahahaha, it's not really 5-6 times longer than it takes to read it because an audiobook lenght is tied to the lenght of the book - around 30 pages per hour which is closer to the speed I read myself. That 58 hr audiobook I listened was over 1500 pages in MMPB.

Matt wrote: "I bumped the speed up to 1.5X on my Kindle to pick the narration pace up a bit. "

Depending on the narrator, I bumpt it up too. Most of them, I speed up to 1.25x but I was just listening to a book where I had it at 1.75x and the narration still worked.

Finished my 2nd audiobook -

I actually started this in paperback a couple of years ago and couldn't get into it. The audio, however, had me hooked from the start so I'll be listening to the rest of the series.

Singh's world building is fantastic and I loved the characters and the storyline. There are some gruesome sections which were hard to listen to but the narrator, Justine Eyre, was really good with the male/female voices and she has a knack for accents.

I finished that up yesterday Lauren - I read it in 2011, but honestly, remembered very little of it - so it was fun to re-listen

I finished my second audiobook and all I can say is yikes! This couple had nothing going on for them, specially the heroine which I despised from previous books. I've only one book to go on the series though so I'll definitely finish it.

@D.G - the last few books in the series have been meh! I have high hopes for Wulfe's book. I really want it to be good but I'm afraid my expectations are going to be ruined :0(

i just finished listening to Island of a Thousand Mirrors about 2 young girls growing up during the Sri Lankan civil war - one who's family escaped to the US, the other who became one of the rebels - it was intriguing and well written - the author was born and lived in Sri Lanka for a while - excellent narration by Priya Ayyar - I gave it 4 stars - there is a pretty explicit rape scene (in case that is a trigger for people)

I just completed Water for Elephantson audiobook. I loved this book and the narration was fantastic. I gave it 5 stars.

Just needing to update, but I finished listening to The Sound of One Hand Clapping last night. THAT was a bit of a journey. Not for the faint-hearted as lots of physical abuse and emotional disturbed characters, but it ends on a happier note.

Same narrator as An Open Swimmer, and again I hated it when he did a broader Australian accent, but when he did the Italian and Slovenian accents it was like a different person was speaking.

Not interested in reading the book or watching the film, once was enough to ride this emotional rollercoaster.

Nothing to Lose by Lee Childs. Book is 3.5 stars and narrating 3 stars. I'm not a fan of narrating with unnecessary lengthening of words or pauses between words for effect. Readers that do that tend to way over do it. When the Narrator, Dick Hill, was doing dialogue, it was great.

Lauren wrote: "@D.G - the last few books in the series have been meh! I have high hopes for Wulfe's book. I really want it to be good but I'm afraid my expectations are going to be ruined :0("

I hope so too! I'm just waiting to be able to recommend Wulfe's audiobook to my library. It just came out so I can't recommend it yet but I hope to be able soon!

I finished a re-listen of . Loved that book and how the author was true to her character. He was so bad and funny in past books and that's how he stayed.

Finished - very different from the first two books in the series. Paige is a more likable heroine than Elena and Lucas is fantastic. I love the fact that he uses his words instead of his fists.

The narration was iffy - Laural Merlington sounds much older than Paige and her male voices all sound the same. Nevertheless, her voice for Savannah was pretty good - just the right amount of childishness and teenage rebellion.

I haven't finished listening to any of my audiobooks but three of the books that I've read are on the audiobook shelf so they'll do.

The Day I Shot Cupid: Hello, My Name Is Jennifer Love Hewitt and I'm a Love-aholic - 2 stars. The best I can say about this is that it was a quick read, I needed a book that could be read in a day and this was it.

Cream Puff Murder and Apple Turnover Murder - 2 stars. While I like most of the characters in this series I don't like the lead character. It annoys me that she thinks it is fine for her to date two men, and at one point in the series three, but if any of them dare to date someone else she has a hissy fit. Another problem I had with the second of these two books is that even before the murder happened it was really obvious who the murderer was. On the plus side I really like the recipes in this series.

I'm really enjoying listening to The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag, though I may or may not finish it before the month is over. Meanwhile, I finished reading Ink Exchange, which is also on the shelf. I didn't like it nearly as much as the first book in the series. My review here .

I just finished Ready Player One. It's kind of a left over from the previous month too. I actually read it, but it was great! A good blast from the past for us 80s kids :-) Video game addicts will love it too. Definitely out of my normal choosing, but very good none the less.

Goldfinger - 2 stars for the writing and 4 stars for the narration. Fleming's writing really doesn't stand the test of time but the new audio versions by Blackstone are vey well read. Each one is read by a different british actor, this one was done by Hugh Bonneville and he does a very good job but my favourite so far is Diamonds Are Forever which was read by Damian Lewis although that could just be because I have a thing for Damian Lewis.

I can recommend the Radio 4 productions of War and Peace and Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, they were excellent.

Finished 3rd audiobook - . Different from the first two books in the series. More UF than PNR.

The narrator is a bit problematic. She sounds much older than the heroine and her male voices all sound the same. Her voice for the teenager is the best - just the right mix of childishness and teenage drama.

I read Matched. I gave it 4 stars but the more I think about it the more I think its a solid 3.75 stars. I like the plot (even if it is very similar to another book I happen to really love) and the characters but the writing is a bit repetitive and flat at times. The cover of the book is beautiful.