It's Audiobook Week: My Year In Audiobooks

Devourer of Books has set up a great finale to audiobook month and I wanted to help her celebrate audiobook week she has put together some great discussion topics, be sure to stop over there and check out all the other blogs that are taking part. So to start everyone out here are today’s topics: Monday: 2011-2012, Your Audiobook Year

Are you new to audiobooks in the last year? Have you been listening to them forever but discovered something new this year? Favorite titles? New times/places to listen? This is your chance to introduce yourself and your general listening experience. 

I didn’t go all the way back to last June I started this on Jan.1^st you can see my 2011 Narrators Year in review from last year here .

As I look over the list of audiobooks I’ve listened to this year ( since Jan.1^st) I realized I have listened to a lot of new to me narrators  including a few very famous narrators that it’s about time I listened to! I have listened to 15 tried and true narrators and 24 new to me narrators

I have actually had a slow reading year this year; I have only read 53 books so far this year with 39 of those being on audio.

Looking through my list I’ve listened to some great books so far this year, however these are ones I’d like to highlight:

The Best Melding of  an Author’s Words & Narrator’s Voice- The Silence of the Trees by,Valya Dudycz Lupescu narrated by, Xe Sands Produced by, Iambik-This book evoked such emotion and the narration by Xe Sands brought those emotions through beautifully, the combination of Valya’s writing and Xe’s narration is so great both story and narration are lyrical. Xe’s soft delivery lends beautifully to the written word. My Review is here 

The Best Author Narration: A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by, Joshilyn Jackson narrated by the author, published by, Hachette Audio-I must say Joshilyn Jackson narrates this book like a pro and I think if you didn’t know it you wouldn’t think twice of recommending this narrator, I see that she narrates most of her book so I will continue with this author on audio! My review is here 

Most Surprisingly Enjoyable book- Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by, Seth Grahame-Smith narrated by, Scott Holst published by, Hachette Audio - I was so surprised at how much I loved this book it read like a real biography and Scott Holst’s narration was just wonderful Abe’s Midwestern accent with just the barest touch of twang from his roots was spot on! My Review Here 

Funniest Family Book for all ages- The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by, Christopher Healy narrated by, Bronson Pinchot published by, Harper Audio - This was a great fairytale retold from the prince’s point of view. Wow I now understand the Bronson Pinchot love! All of his voices in this one are so fantastic! He made me see animation and characters in my head each one with a distinct personality, look and facial expressions he totally brought this great book to life for me! Between Christopher’s fun writing and Bronson’s narration this one will be a go to book when I am feeling down! And if you are listening to the audio make sure you listen all the way to the last second! My Review here 

Best Non-fiction that reads like fiction- Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie narrated by, Mark Deakins published by, Random House Audio- This audio book is 23 hours long but I enjoyed every minute of it; Mark Deakins did a great job on the narration and would definitely listen to others by this narrator. My Review Here 

Best Book to Feed Your Inner Nerd-Ready Player One by, Ernest Cline narrated by, Wil Wheaton published by, Random House Audio-From my Review -  Wil Wheaton's narration was perfect can't imagine anyone else narrating this one.