Let's Talk About Audiobooks

I always thought I wasn't an audiobook person. I always had a hard time focusing and could never remember what was going on in the story and they're so expensive!

Then one day, The Green Ember was an audible deal of the day (discovered through Modern Mrs. Darcy, of course.) It was only $2.99, so I figured, why not give it a shot. The only book I had ever tried to listen to previously was The Good Girl and something about male narrator in that story didn't sit well with me. Plus it had some iffy language, so I couldn't listen to it at work, which is where I do most of my listening.

I gave The Green Ember a shot and.... I didn't love it. The story would be beautiful if I were reading it myself, but the audio and I just didn't fit well together. So to me, this just reinforced my "no audiobooks" mentality.

Then I got an email from Amazon about an Audible free trial including two audible credits, so I decided to give it a shot. I signed up and chose Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as my first book because I've heard such wonderful things about the narrator, Jim Dale. It definitely lived up to the hype. I thought it was fantastic and I loved it and I immediately got Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets with my second free credit and loved that as well. So to me, this mean that I could enjoy books that I've read previously and still follow the story, but no new friends, ok?

BUT THEN, I was flipping through my libraries digital library looking for anything else that might strike my fancy figuring that I had nothing to lose since they were free. I chose Mindy Kaling's Why Not Me? since it was read by the author and I love her. It was amazing! Just so so good! So to me, this meant I could enjoy fiction that I've read previously AND author read memoirs. To test this further, I checked out Troublemaker by Leah Remini. That book is INSANE. I always thought that Scientologists were crazy - but I never knew just how crazy they were until listening to her story. It was honestly kind of heart breaking.

AND THEN, I learned that the first Veronica Mars book was read by Kristen Bell, and we all know how much I love Veronica Mars. I absolutely loved it. I wish there was more Veronica and Logan, but what can you do? So to me, this meant I could enjoy fiction I've read previously, author read memoirs, and light, fun, nothing-too-deep fiction. Then I picked up Landline and Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Landline was a little whiny for me. I'm not sure if it was the writing or the reading, but I thought it was just ok. I'm listening to Fangirl now, and I'm enjoying it more. I think it might be the same narrator, but I really identify with Cath.

So to me, this means that I should stop trying to pigeonhole myself and just listen at my whims. Because I am infinite.

Are you an audiobook listener? Or strictly eyes only?