Audiobook Review: Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater

Continuing my winning streak of Maggie Stiefvater books, I downloaded Shiver in audiobook:

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human… until the cold makes him shift back again.

Narrator Voice: 8.  First Sam chapter I was all, "heck no, voices for characters pretending to be other characters" but 5 minutes later, in love. Maggie S. doesn't skimp on her audiobook productions, and just like the Raven Boys, I loved this.

Originality: 6. Werewolves in a cold climate.  But the non-originality of the subject matter doesn't matter when Stiefvater is telling the story, because her voice makes it different. Points for the temperature readings at the start of each chapter.

Absurdity: 8 I spent the first 5/6ths of this book all "Just move to Florida already where it is warm," but otherwise, the high levels of absurdity is the flirtation with insta-love that is happening here.  Thank god we never get to imprinting a la Twilight...teenagers in high school with no parents/absent parents and sneaking boys into their rooms? CC and GS's mom would have smelt out a boy in a room.. well, faster then a wolf could....

Level of Paranormal Romance: 9. This book is all about Sam and Grace and their connection.

Level of Harry-Potterness: 7.  In spite of some questionable material, the story is captivating.  Could not stop listening...Linger, The Wolves of Mercy Falls Book 2, has already been downloaded...

Audio Book Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater, The Raven Cycle

Loved my cover edition

GS reviewed this way back when... how am I so late to the party?

Full confession time, I could not get through The Scorpio Races (this link is to GS's glowing review)... I KNOW I KNOW.  Consequently, I did not jump on the Steifvater bandwagon, even at the promise of a group of high school boys from a private school and magic.  My bad.


Blue Sargent, the daughter of the town psychic in Henrietta, Virginia, has been told for as long as she can remember that if she ever kisses her true love, he will die. But she is too practical to believe in things like true love. Her policy is to stay away from the rich boys at the prestigious Aglionby Academy. The boys there — known as Raven Boys — can only mean trouble. (via)

I loved this.  Yesterday, with 7 minutes left of the audio book, I considered sitting in the parking garage at work to finish.  Alas, deadlines called, but as soon as I was done I made a beeline for my car.

Narrator Voice: 8- It is narrated by a man and at first I was all up in arms and ready to throw in the towel, BUT he was amazing. Great voices, creepiness, and pace.  Totally fit the book, as did the music at key plot points and between chapters  (some of which was composed and played by Maggie herself! Impressive).  

Cant wait to get my hands on book 2!

Review: The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Audio Book)

I ventured into my first audiobook to see how it made my commute. Though it took getting used to ( i.e., focusing on the road AND the story) I REALLY enjoyed listening to this production of the book!

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.
In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women - mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends - view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.

I am going to bypass some of our normal review criteria for this audiobook review:

Narrator Voice: 10- MAN I loved these voices, I thought they were great fits to the story.  I know that narrator is a huge aspect of audiobooks, and the southern drawls, sass, and fear that came through this performance was just top notch.

Originality:  9- I have really never read a book like this.  My favorite character was Aibileen, but i loved Skeeter as well, for the cultural prejudices she faced and her realization of the impact of this on her life.

Absurdity: NA

Level of Paranormal Romance: NA (there is some romance, but in reality, it is just a tool to show Skeeter's growth and sassiness.)

Level of Harry-Potterness: 9- I thought this story was wonderfully told, at times incredibly detailed and others skipping ahead in time so we could so how the events all unfolded.  I loved the various points of view of the characters and it allowed their strengths and weaknesses to be seen.

While I may be like 4 years behind the trend on this, even my boyfriend has seen the movie surprisingly, but I bet the wait list is very short ( or nonexistent) for this book at your library and if you haven't read it, I would highly recommend!

A reflection on audio books & Buzzfeed's input

I have just entered/ ventured into the world of audio books.... a place that is unexpectedly full of pitfalls. Some of you may already be aware of these aspects, but in case there are other audiobook newbies out there, let me share: 

1) NARRATION MAKES A HUGE IMPACT ON THE STORY!

Maybe you already knew this, but wow.  My first audiobook, The Help, I luckily stumbled into a narration I loved with sassy southern accents.  Then I tried Delerium, because everyone I know has read it and I came to lesson two:

2) SUPER SAPPY YA BOOKS ARE CRINGE-WORTHY WHEN READ SLOWLY OUT LOUD.

Somehow it became too embarrassing for me to handle, and I had to quit. RIGHT away, it hurt, like when you were a kid and there was kissing in a movie and you had to hide under a blanket or run out of the room, expect I was on the highway in my car my hands dashing at the buttons to change back to the radio.(shuddering still).  As if Grad Student was reading my mind telepathically up in New England, she sent me this link yesterday "16 Audiobooks Read by A-List Celebrities", and my gosh do I have some new audiobook direction!  Huzzah!  Here are a few top hits from the list:

1. Graham Greene’s The End of the Affair read by Colin Firth. To quote Buzzfeed "Honestly, I would listen to Mr. Darcy read me the phonebook. So bring on the classic literature"

2. Carson McCullers The Member of the Wedding read by Susan Sarandon.   
I will always love her for her role in Bull Durham.

3.  Tina Fey’s Bossypants read by… Tina Fey. "Welcome to the best 5 hours and 35 minutes of your life"

Any other suggestions from audio book veterans out there? What are your favorite audiobooks to keep my commute (and chores, and metro riding, and ironing) interesting?