Musing Monday: Audio books, Yae or Nae?

Musing Monday is a weekly meme by Should Be Reading. This week’s musing asks…

Do you listen to audiobooks? Why, or why not?

I do listen to audio books, though not religiously. I still prefer reading print where I can flip back to certain passages, reread a section with ease, and read at my own pace. Plus, I sometimes have a hard time concentrating on the audio; I get distracted easily, and suddenly I have no idea what's going on with the story nor how long I wasn't paying attention.

That being said, I do enjoy a well-read audio book. I'm currently listening to The Throne of Fire, the second book in the Kane Chronicles, by Rick Riordan. It is awesome! I listened to the first book in the series several months ago, and knew that I would have to listen to the second book, too. I also loved listening to the Harry Potter books read by Jim Dale (though I really want to hear the Stephen Fry versions!) and The Eyre Affair was also excellently read. These are great for while I'm working or for long car rides; I prefer print for every other occasion.

But for every winning reading, there's a reading that can turn you off the medium. I listened to some of the Sookie Stackhouse audio books, and while the reader was fantastic as Sookie, her rendition of Eric cracked me up (and not in a good way). It brought me out of the story to marvel at the horrendousness of the strange generic-European deep voice she took on to portray the character.

When it comes to audio books, the reader can make or break the story.

Musing Mondays (3)

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading. This week’s musing asks…

Do you have a favorite children’s book? Either one that you loved as a child, or one that you discovered later, and still enjoy? Tell us about it!
When I was little, my momma read to me ALL the time; I had a lot of books and we also went to the library all the time. I remember going to library and leaving with a stack of books in my arms that was half as tall as I was.

I remember a few books that I made my mom read to me over and over. First was Whiskers and Rhymes by Arnold Lobel (of Frog and Toad fame). And the evil in me made her read the poem that she wanted to avoid because it got stuck in her head (bwahaha). This book is still awesome, with sweet, moving, and funny poems - if you can find it, you should read it :)

The other book, which I find strangely ironic, was titled Cranky. Alas, the interwebs have failed me and I couldn't find a link to this book. But it was about a little monster? creature? thing who was bummed that he had to go to bed at this bedtime. Then an evil witch came along and gave him a magic lantern so he could stay up late and play. But then THEN he was so tired the next day that he became a crankypants. Moral of the story: go to bed when your parents tell you to. I wonder why my mom loved to read this one to me...

Books to the ceiling, books to the sky, my pile of books is a mile high. How I love them! How I need them! I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.  ~Arnold Lobel

Musing Mondays (2)

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading. This week’s musing asks…

Do you prefer deep, intellectual, “meaty” books… or light, “fluffy” books? Why? Give us an example of your preferred type of book.

I like books that entertain me, and "deep, intellectual" books rarely do that. I want something fun, something that draws me and makes me laugh or, occassionally, provides a good mope (that's where the Twilight series fits in for me, specifically New Moon - it's great for a good wallow). I particularly like books with a sense of humor, like Jennifer Crusie's Agnes and the Hitman or Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series. A book doesn't have to be "fluffy" to be fun - and I look for fun in my entertainment.

Musing Mondays (1)

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Today's musing asks:

Where is your favorite place to find new books to read? Blogs? The library? Newspapers? Magazines? In the backs of other books? Suggestions from friends/family? Online bookstores? On the shelves of the local bookstores? (I don’t necessarily mean, ‘where do you find books to buy’ — I mean, ‘where do you discover new titles that you add to your to-be-read lists’?).


I rely on my friends' and fellow librarian classmates' and professors' suggestions, websites like Goodreads or Amazon, lots of fabulous book bloggers, and browsing stores like Half Priced Books and Books A Million or the stacks at my library (or their website).

I'm an equal opportunity book browser!