While I have been trying to pick up a book and read more I find myself having zero problem uploading a new Audible selection on a weekly basis. January and February have been filled with mystery, crime and a few gasps. I also found myself talking outloud to my car speakers when I was shocked or proud of myself for making good predictions.
Here are some of my winter listens. I might have left a few books off my list that I didn’t enjoy or finish because I didn’t want to waste time on something I didn’t like. All of the books here I would recommend.
I obviously liked this author.Not usually into something about an affair, but I liked this. There is a third book in this series that I will eventually get to.This book was very pleasant to listen to.Waiting for this author to release the next book!!!This book was a bit different, but it was easy to listen to in between my schools. This one was good. I could see as a movie…maybe a TV movie.This wasn’t very long and was a fast listen.
Check these out if you like a mystery and an interesting female lead character. I am currently listening Verity by Colleen Hoover. I have heard a lot, but not a lot about it, and thought why not. Totally keeping the mystery streak going. I’ll keep you posted.
This year I did a lot more reading with my ears, than I did with my eyes. When I opened our Audibles account I wasn’t sure how much I was going to like hearing a story. I am typically a fast reader and a control freak, so I enjoy reading and skimming at my pace, but with listening I get every word the author intended.
Audibles
Every book listed here I would recommend and enjoyed. I feel like I sort of had a few categories.
Mystery, stories with strong women and guilty pleasures.
This cover and title caught my eye. Sometimes I judge a book by it’s cover…truth. I adore that chair. Granny chic at it’s best. This was a sweet listen.
This book was along timencoming. I remember reading the leaked chapters from a decade ago. I always had hoped Stephanie Meyers would revisit the idea of telling Twilight from Edwards perspective. I read the series when it came out and wasn’t a die hard fan, but I love a series whether it be pages or on the screen, so reading this was inevitable.
This is one guest list to not be on! I loved the flow and narration of this book. I highly recommend.
I am glad I gave this book a chance. I thought it was going to be a rip off of The Giver of Stars. NOT. It is about a pack horse librarian, but the details are a very different story. If you enjoy a tale based in some historical context-give this a try.
This book was a deal and I very much enjoyed it.
I enjoyed this story….very curious tonsee hownit will translate to film.
Can’t go wrong with a classic title with British narration.
This was GOOD. Read it! Listen to it…gasp!!! I recommend to my book club and we selected it for our next meeting….that was almost a year ago. My huge hope is once we are living normally again we will get together and discuss this book, among any others we read in the time apart.
This selection was because I let my mini read the Twilight series and she discovered this book. I guess I was to busy reading other types of books to even realize she wrote this flipped Twilight. I actually enjoyed the story. We listened in the car during our rides to and from school. I love that my little reader and I can listen, discuss and share books!
I pray I never get amnesia….even to forget some aspects of this unreal year! This thriller was good and I enjoyed the narration.
These two books (above and below) were Hallmark like and perfect when I needed some sweet, happy endings.
Paperbacks
So, I have to say that I picked up a book much less than I thought this year. Maybe it was the stress of what this year brought or that I was loving Audible books. Whatever the reason it looks like I need to step out up in 2021 and read the titles that long to be read.
This was a juicy read. Might try another by this author.
I needed some small, chill but of information to digest. This book was perfect with coffee in the morning before I hit the distance learning/teaching.
This book was recommended by my yoga instructor. I love it. I love that it can be picked up, turn to any page and take in the message. There are short passages and passages that take about a minute to read, so essentially it is a noncommittal book. This was perfect for me this year. I didn’t have the mental focus to digest a full novel, so being able to really think or just not was a blessing on the page.
This is my current read. My plan was to finish it, but like everything this year….eghh. I want to keep reading it for fun and I wasn’t going to push myself. I think that has been a huge take away this year. I don’t have to. I don’t have put pressure on myself, especially when it comes to things I should be doing for enjoyment. I will get to this and when I do I’ll let you know how it was.
Until then, I will keep listening and reading what and when it suits me. 2021 is going to be what it will be. Hopefully it will be another healthy, safe and productive year. Read on friends!!!
How do you drive??? My new obsession, while I’m accumulating milage, is listening to books. I used to listen to a book every once in a while, via CD. I have know about Amazon Audibles for a while now, but I didn’t really embrace it until we decided to get unlimited data. Now I am an audio book eating machine.
Oh and I am getting nothing from Amazon…I am just genuinely pumped how this is making my work day better.
I first started with a book club book because I thought I could get those “pages” completed while I drive from school to school. I totally thought this was awesome mom juggling, but unfortunately our book selection was Where the Crawdads Sing. This book is a fantastic story, but not one for the school day. I found it to be a very emotional story. I was sort of bummed out going from school to school. I recommend this highly praised and purchased book if you are not a total over thinker like me. I let myself get lost in books and characters, sometimes to a fault, so my lack of desire to push play is no reflection on the text.
As someone recently pointed out to me I like being a problem solver, so giving up audio books was not an option. I needed to find the right stories for my stop and go school day. I have been selecting titles that range from sweet and sentimental Hallmark-ish stories to nail biting, gasping out loud thrillers. I am finding these types of titles fill my rides with pure delight.
I love this cover…makes me want to wander a museum.
The Dutch House was a fantastic book. I love the cover and once I pressed play, I couldn’t get enough. I was incredibly delighted to realize Tom Hanks narrates the book….he is the perfect voice to tell the ups and downs of this unique family. Being a sister to a younger brother I could very much connect to the characters codependent relationship and struggle for survival among adults who seems to make interesting life choices.
This thriller was very good. The two women who narrated this web of lies and deceit were perfect. I could not relate to either of these characters…well except for they are women, but regardless this was a book I could get lost in and it made the routine itinerant drive spicy!
I was on a thriller/mystery kick for a bit and this book did not disappoint. This was my first book by Lisa Jewell. I do not think it will be my last. I very much enjoyed the British narrator. It took me a few beats to get used to her tone, rhythm and inflection, but once I was channeling my inner Mary Poppins or Eliza Doolittle, I couldn’t wait to see where this story was going to go. If you enjoy reading about messy, less than perfect characters…give this a listen or read.
This was a light, quick chic flick “read”. I laughed, caught myself talking outloud and could genuinely relate to this modern day busy mom. Amy Blyer’s life is a tad different from mine, but I think any working mom can relate to the struggle to be super mom, super wife and still hold onto a bit of who you think your are or once were, before acquiring new titles. I really liked this book and was very happy to see I could pick up a free book from Kelly Harms.
Every time I see the cover I salivate and want to eat pie!!!
This was my freebie with my Amazon Audibles membership. It is a quick little novella. The story was not as funny as The Overdue Life of Amy Byler, but I kept listening. It tugged at heart strings, without taking me down a overthinkers rabbit hole. It took a day or 2 of driving to zip through.
I think because this is something I am loving and because I am pumped every time I listen to a new selection, I am going to start to post smaller posts…easier to read and digest, about my ever growing library. If you are a reader or a listener I hope you look for my posts. I’ll also take recommendations.
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The Listening Ladybug 