I have been doing a lot of reading lately. I finished 3 books just this weekend. While I love reading books both on my Kindle, and physical books that I can hold in my hand, I have been listening to audiobooks a lot lately. Why do you ask? Is it even reading? My short answer to that second question is a resounding..YES!
The reason I have turned to audiobooks as of late is because I am getting frustrated with the lack of good music and all the talk with the morning shows of my radio stations. It is just mind numbing. I have been wanting to do a lot more reading so I decided to take advantage of an Audible trial recently (thank you Toast Pop) and decided to continue by subscription. I am glad I did. The books I have downloaded and listened to so far have been wonderful. I am currently listening to Prince Lestat by Anne Rice which is great so far.
When it comes to audiobooks, it is important to have a great narrator. If the narrator is bad, or even just not great it can drag the whole experience down for me. Thankfully, I have not run into that yet. Most of the time, narrators are chosen because the author or publishing company believes they will be a good fit. Sometimes they are correct, other times they are not. It really can be hit and miss.
Another reason I enjoy audiobooks is because it reminds me of being read to as a child. Something I loved growing up was having one of my parents read to me at night before going to bed. It was a cherished time in my life and listening to books brings that feeling back in spades. When I settle in to listen to an audio-book I frequently close my eyes and allow those happy memories to flood my mind.
I mentioned earlier in this post that some people do not qualify listening to books as reading them. I have to disagree. I think that whether you are physically reading or listening to that same book, you get an enjoyment out of it. I would even argue that listening to books can evoke more emotions than simply turning a page. I experienced that recently with a few books I had not liked reading in physical form. The amazing thing was that when I listened to them, I loved them! Listening is no different than putting your eyes on a page when it comes to qualifying it as reading a book. I know this is going to cause some contention, but this is simply my opinion and I welcome the comments for discussion:)
On a closing note, I just want to say that audio-books have their place in the pantheon of reading. They should be thought of as books in their own right, added to your Goodreads accounts, and enjoyed for the awesomeness that they are. Next time you have an issue reading the physical copy of a book, try picking up the audio version if it is available, you just might like it better!
This will not be a normal fiction review. I wanted to shake it up a bit, and share a review of a non fiction piece that I just finished.
Being a book reviewer for the last two weeks and having many of my books reviewed by others, I tend to see a lot of commonality in reviews. Mistakes, gestures, and things that are just inappropriate for a book review. It is one thing to tell someone that their book is great and others should read it. It’s practically a cliché at this point. Reviewers have to make prospective readers thirsty and energized in interest to the point where they want to purchase the book. Book reviews have the same flavor and sensitivity as a sales pitch.
These pieces to a book review are great, but the most crucial and last component of the book review should be recommendations. Make the sales pitch! State the type of audience who should be reading the book and address any internal/external feelings they may run into. Is the book full of adventure and suspense? Is it religious? Are profane words and derogatory remarks made in the book? Why is this so important? The prospective reader wants to know if they’re the right audience! For instance, I’m a poet and when I read reviews for poetry books, I want to know if the books are centered on the same themes I write about and read about. If I was a counselor and the book is full of adventure, but doesn’t hold a dramatic event requiring counseling for someone, this may not be the book for me. Make your recommendations and state why such audiences are the right candidates.
When we think of technology, we think of wires buzzing and high speed information traveling through cables and connections that we can’t even see. It’s all fascinating, but what if we merged technology with basics that we are already familiar with and materials that we can fully trust and rely on? 
Do you ever look at the selection of headphones and earbuds and think to yourself, “What year is this? I still have to control my music experience from my phone or device?” We wonder that ourselves sometimes. It seems like the majority of headphones on the market are dull bland colors and lack some of the most basic of features. We’re not asking for the world here, just a pair of headphones that makes listening to our music enjoyable!
I can’t decide whether stars are overrated, underrated, or cliché. The celestial activities in the wild blue yonder had some very important bearings on life and culture in world history. In early centuries—before GPS, MapQuest, and even commonplace physical maps—sailors, merchants, explorers—anybody who took to the open seas—navigated their way with what was in the sky. Before eclipses were recognized, ancient cultures feared that a great monster or other being was swallowing up the sun. If you know the religious accounts to the history of Christmas, you probably know that the Protestant Bible speaks of wise men following a bright star which led them to Bethlehem where Jesus Christ was born. (The story is detailed in Matthew, chapter 2) Also, Greek and Roman culture named star clusters and planets after their gods and goddesses. Philosophers like Aristotle and Plato proposed theories about the universe that were studied, challenged, approved, and adapted by the scientists of the Renaissance and Scientific Revolution. Men like Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler, helped shape the field of Astronomy (and even some other sciences) to what is had and known today.
Whenever I was growing up, I was notorious for losing things. I mean seriously, my parents would get so angry at me and I would go through multiple lectures a day about how I needed to grow up and be more responsible. Which is totally fine, all those loud yelling matches really helped… NOT. I still lose things all the time! Which I’m not proud of in anyway! I have gotten extremely good at it though. Good at NOT losing things that is. This one time I left my car on… while I was at work. That’s a whole 8 hour shift… My car was on and running.. and the keys were in it. I got in the car and started laughing. It wasn’t funny at all but there was literally nothing I could have done. I knew at that point I needed to really watch it… It wasn’t up until I started searching on the internet how I could keep up with my self when I started getting better. That whole car thing was a real huge mess up and a wake up call. So I found a couple ways technology helped me out. Hopefully they can help you too!
