Okay, so I put the word reading above in quotes because (as those of you who follow me on social media know) I’m obsessed with my Audible.com audiobooks.
Audiobooks make my 1.5 hr commute bearable. I mean, I’m stuck in the car, might as well get something out of it…particularly since I just can’t seem to get through a traditional book since I had kids these days without falling asleep.
Sure, I do miss turning actual pages, but there’s also something cool about hearing someone read the words aloud — the narrator acting out the words, his or her voice coming across as angry or confused or excited adds more dimension and truly makes the story come alive.
(Although having a crappy narrator can just kill a story; there’s at least one audiobook that I just couldn’t get through because the narrator spoke in a soft mumble that I found infuriating).
I’ve found I can generally get through an audiobook in a couple of weeks. And, in the cases of my two most recent books, I also snuck in some “reading” when making dinner and running at the gym. When you’re hooked, you’re hooked, right?
Here are my two pieces of advice for my fellow audiobook fanatics:
1. Don’t think your kids aren’t listening if you keep the audiobook on when they’re in the car. They are. And they will ask questions. And then you’re forced to have to explain some really uncomfortable situations.
2. Shut your audiobook off when you pull up to a drive-thru window. Because, inevitably, there will be a steamy scene or the main character will launch into a litany of profanity. Yeah, the latter has happened on more than one occasion (sorry, Dunkin’ Donuts employees!).
Anyway, here are my two most recent audiobooks, and if I could give each of them twelve thumbs up I would, because they were both that awesome.
1. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Plot: The annual Trivia Night at Pirriwee School had always been a peaceful affair, but this year was different. First, there was a riot; then a parent was found dead; and before long, police investigators began piecing together clues of murder. Behind the apparent homicide are the intertwined stories of three women; their husbands and children; their ex-husbands and their new wives. This new novel by Liane Moriarty (The Husband’s Secret; What Alice Forgot) unlocks secrets hidden deep in suburbia. (from Barnes & Noble)
Why I Loved It: Ironically, I started listening to this one around the same time our PTO was planning it’s adults-only evening fundraiser. So while most of the scenarios and secrets (and the very ugly ways some parents behave) described in Big Little Lies bear no resemblance whatsoever to my life, there were a few situations and conversations that hit a little too close to home, especially as the mom of an elementary school student, just like the narrators. The three main characters take turns telling the story, starting six months leading up to the Trivia Night. Combine that with a fantastically compelling story, and all its twists and turns, and you have a story I couldn’t stop listening to. Oh, and the narrators have lovely Australian accents. Icing on the cake.
P.S. I read Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon already optioned the rights to this movie and will star in it … PERFECT casting, especially Nicole for the role I suspect she would play. When I thought of that particular character, I kept envisioning Nicole Kidman.
2. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Plot: Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good? (from Barnes & Noble)
Why I Loved It: There’s not much I can say without giving anything away with this psychological thriller, a la Gone Girl. I will say I thought it took a little while for the story to get going (the beginning is definitely slow), but the drama and intensity definitely build and gain momentum as the story progresses. Paula Hawkins’ writing is so engaging and this suspenseful and intense story takes you on such an emotional roller coaster that I couldn’t wait to find out what happened at the end (even if I suspected the twist a bit early). Like with Big Little Lies, this story is told from different points of view — three women connected to the main plot– but here the stories jump back and forth in time, told in more of a diary format prefaced by the date and time.
Next up for me? Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. Time to take a little break from the suburban dramas and murder mysteries.