June is Audio Book Month
Since moving from Ohio to Texas, we have driven back and forth several times. It is 19 hours. 19 hours trapped in a car with a teen and a 4 year old. They fight. They ask if we are there yet – a lot. But behold the magic of Audio Books! They really do make travelling better.
June is Audio Book Month. In part because school is ending and everyone is thinking about taking those long vacation drives somewhere. It is, in fact, a great time to listen to an audio book. Of course, you can also listen while you work out, clean your house, do yard work and more.
During Reluctant Readers week, we talked a lot about how audio books are a great tool for reluctant readers:
Confessions of a Librarian Raising a Reluctant Reader
What is a Reluctant Reader
Take 5: Resources for Working with Reluctant Readers
Top 10 Tips for Parents (and teachers and librarians) for Helping Your Reluctant Reader
What if We Read More?
What If It’s More than Reluctant Reading? A story of Dyslexia
Challenge Accepted! A school librarian talks about Reluctant Readers
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But audio books are more than just for reluctant readers. They are for anyone who wants to listen to a great story. This month, in celebration of Audio Book Month, we will be posting periodically about audio books. We will have an audio book narrator share with us how an audio book comes into being, an Odyssey member share with us her experience on the committee, and Christie is going to talk about how – and why – her branch recently added Playaways to the library.
And we’re going to have a Giveaway. We all have some audiobooks that we have reviewed laying around and we’re putting a little prize package together for you. You have until the end of the month to enter if you are a U.S. resident. Included in the prize package will be my full review copies of Scowler and Rotters by Daniel Kraus, which I talked about listening to here: True Confessions of an Audio Book Virgin.
So let’s get this giveaway and our discussion of audio books started. Leave us a comment telling us your favorite audio book and what makes it stand out above the rest. Or, if you don’t really like listening to audio books, leave us a comment telling us why.
Filed under: Audio Books, Giveaway
About Karen Jensen, MLS
Karen Jensen has been a Teen Services Librarian for almost 30 years. She created TLT in 2011 and is the co-editor of The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services with Heather Booth (ALA Editions, 2014).
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I prefer audio books that I've read before so that I don't end up lost when I inevitably get distracted! My favorite is Harry Potter.
I loved the Code Name Verity audiobook. I decided to go with that version after hearing that people who didn't enjoy the printed book liked the audio. I also recently enjoyed Libba Bray's The Diviners in the audio format.
For me (and, I assume, most people), the narrator makes or breaks the audiobook. My favourite narrator is Nick Podehl, who is incredibly talented and engaging. I especially love his work on the Carter series by Brent Crawford and the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness.
My kids and I love audio books! Great post.
I love audiobooks so much. My favorite narrators are Bahni Turpin, Bill Bryson (best books ever), and Katherine Kellgren. There are a lot of other great ones out there too.
Anything narrated by Simon Jones is wonderful. The Bartimaeus books written by Jonathan Stroud are some of my favorite.
I haven't actually tried an audio book before (I'm a visual person, so I'd rather have the book in my hands). I'd like to increase our audio book collection in my library because they are really good for students who do not like to read.
I LOVE audiobooks, especially if I've already read and enjoyed the title in print. They're not just an alternative to reading print books – they offer a way to experience a book you've already read in a completely different manner.
Thus far, I have only listened to two audiobooks, which were short children's books. I would like to begin an audiobook library.
Has anyone listened to A Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix? I loved it! Audiobooks make driving awesome.
Audiobooks are the best! I love Cinder on audiobook!
I'm currently listening to Inkheart on audio. It's one of my favorite books. I've also enjoyed Harry Potter, agatha Christie and many others!
Thank you!
I love audiobooks! I listen to them on my way to work, while I work out, and while I clean house. They're also great for home-improvement and craft projects. My favorite was Thirteen Reasons Why – I felt like I was actually listening to the tapes Hannah left behind along with Clay. If you've never listened to an audio book before, I highly recommend this one!! There were several times that I drove around the block instead of pulling into my garage just so I could listen a little longer!
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I'm going to be commuting 1 hour and 20 minutes 4 days a week next fall for an internship, and I am going to need AUDIOBOOKS to get through it! I've had success with nonfiction and poetry, but I listening to novels while cleaning and working out hasn't worked the best for me, but I with this new commute, I'm going to be able to listen to a book a week!
My brother and I grew up listening to audio books in the car. Our favorites were the Redwall series (a full cast audio!) and anything read by Jim Dale, “narrator of the Harry Potter audio book series”. Each character in these audio books has a different voice which enriches the storyline immensely.
I pack audiobooks for long trips and prefer really funny memoirs. I took up sewing lately, and they are great for that. I just pause them when I have long seams to sew LOL.
I listen to audiobooks all the time. I don't have one going right now and I kind of miss it. I find that contemporary stories are easier for me to follow on audio–fantasy worlds get a little hard for me since I listen while driving. For YA, Jesse Eisenberg narrated Holly Black's curseworkers series (White Cat, etc.) and those are fantastic. Established actors usually make great readers, although I've followed some voice actors to different books just because I liked their narration so much. Amazon makes that really easy.
I have a road trip coming up with my 11 year old daughter and thought audio books would make the time go by faster.