Audiobooks TBR

It's been a good little while since I put out a list for you guys.

I like audiobooks because you can "read" while also doing a lot of other things like driving & cleaning. They have become a big part of my life. 

 So naturally as an audiobook lover, I've have had Audible for about 2 years now. I originally got it so I could get the Harry Potter books on audio & then I was going to cancel it. Obviously that didn't happen...but I'm happy about that. It's been a great resource over the years & I really enjoy it. I also get audiobooks with my various library cards & I subscribe to a discount audiobook service as well. The discount audiobook service is called Chirp. It's run by the same people as Book Bub I think & I subscribe to that as well. Everyday they send you an email with discount audiobooks that you can buy for dirt cheap! You have to sign up & tell them your preference but it's super easy.  I started thinking about all the audiobooks that I own that I haven't read or want to read. The list of books on my library wishlist is VERY long, so is my Audible wish list. These are just the books that I own that I haven't read yet excluding Audible Originals. I get 2 of those every month but have yet to listen to one. 

Audible Audiobooks

The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey
Goodreads
I just recently listened to book#1 in this series so this is a fairly new addition to my library.

Property of the Rebel Librarian by Allison Varnes
Goodreads
This book has been read by several other friends of mine so I added it to my list.

Beach Party Surf Monkey by Chris Grabenstein
Goodreads
Our library has the first book & the third book of this series on audio...it happens a lot so I got book #2 with my account.

Mr. Lemoncello's All-Star Breakout Game by Chris Grabenstein
Goodreads
This is a similar situation to the previous book. My library has all the previous ones in this series on audio but not this one so i got it!

 Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Goodreads
I have heard great things about this series so I added it to my library to try it.

Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard
Goodreads
I read book #1 in this series when it first came out years ago & I have been waiting for them all to be released so I can read this series.

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Goodreads
Obviously I've read/listened to the HP books before but I want to do a reread...eventually. I've been saying that since last year!

Outlander #1 & #2 by Diana Gabladon

Goodreads
I saw the TV show & I was hooked. So I got the first 2 on audio & several in book format so I can try them & see if I like them.

ACOTAR by Sarah J Maas
Goodreads
I need to get #2 & #3 in this series on audio. The reader is fantastic & of course I love the stories. I have all of this authors books in ebook form as well. 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chirp Audiobooks

A Date with Darcy by Tiffany Schmidt
Goodreads
I got book #2 in this series as an ARC. So when I saw this one on audio & realized it was first I snagged it. haven't read either but I love the concept.

The Menagerie by Tui Sutherland
Goodreads
I saw this book when I first started working at my current library & I have always wanted to read it.

The Land of Stories #1 by Chris Colfer
Goodreads
This is the same situation as the previous book but this book is ALWAYS checked out!

The Librarians & the Lost Lamp by Greg Cox

Goodreads
I love the librarian movies & I have seen a few episodes of the show so this was a no brainer.

The Kiss Quotient by Helen  Hoang
Goodreads
I have heard such good things about this author & these chick-lit romance books that have been coming out so we'll see if this one as good as the hype.

Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand
Goodreads
My mother really likes these books so I got this one to try for myself.

November 2019 TBR

So this month I have a few days off cause the holidays & I'll also be traveling so hopefully I can get some actual reading done. I've also become obsessed with games on my phone since I discovered 2 new ones (P.S. Mario Kart has an Android app now). I want to make a conscience effort to read every night before bed & listen to my audiobooks as much as I can. We'll see what happens!

The only book I "have" to read this month is the one for our book club meeting on the 18th

Sourdough or Lois & Her Adventures in the Underground Market by Robin Sloan

Goodreads 

So funny side story about this book. I buy the books for our book club most of the time because I don't want to take one from the participants. I bought this book like 2 months ago when we first decided we were going to read it. No joke the next day I get it on my little discount book list & it's $2.99 instead of like $10 or whatever I got it for. SO MAD!!! But if you are interested in discounted e book you should really consider signing up for Book Bub, that's how I get a lot of my books & it's a great site. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These are the books I "want" to read this month. I'm sure I won't get through all of them but I have some choices at least. 

The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman

Goodreads

Alice Hoffman is one of my favorite authors of all time! But since this book is about the Holocaust we'll see if I can get through it. Sometimes these books are hard for me.  

The Thickety: A Path Begins by J.A. White

Goodreads 

So funny story...I saw book #3 in this series come back in the bookdrop & I was like oh cool. Then damn it it's a series! I am cursed you guys! I always fall in love with series, WHY!?!? 

Here's To Us by Elin Hilderbrand

Goodreads

My mother loves this author so I get her the books from my library's book store. I've only read 1 of them & she has read almost all of them so I'm taking my turn reading them. This one ties into 2 others that I also have that she has already read. 

The Wicked King & The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

Goodreads 

For real I think my friends might lynch me if I don't read these books LOL! I got hooked on The Cruel Prince then I got them hooked. I ordered all 3 of them but I never read #2 & #3 comes out this month. SEND HELP!!! 

Fever & Burn by Maya Banks

Goodreads 

I read #1 in this series a few months ago & loved it so I'm hoping to read these next 2, we'll see. Same thing happened with Thoughtless, I loved the first one but never read the last 2! 

Shopaholic Takes Manhattan & Shopaholic Ties the Knot by Sophie Kinsella

Goodreads

So...I started reading book #2 of shopaholic but never finished it...like months ago...I have the first 3 in a big one volume edition & I'm going to be sharing this series with my mother so I need to get on it! Story of my life LOL. P.S. this (book #2) is the only book in the series not available in audiobook literally anywhere. What is up with that?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These are my audiobook choices for the month. I'm not sure which ones I'm going to read yet. 

Wedding Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke

Goodreads

This is book #16 in this series...I think. I started it several months ago but I got bored. If I read too many of these in one month I can't focus so I'm coming back to it this month after a little break. 

The Forbidden Library by Django Wexler 

Goodreads 

I have seen this book on the shelf at my library a million times so I finally checked it out. But guess what? ITS A SERIES! See it really is a curse. 

The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey

Goodreads

This is the 2nd book in The Girl With All the Gifts duology. It apparently is a prequel & not a continuation of the story which had a crazy ending! 

 

October 2019 Wrap-Up

SHAME! *rings bell* SHAME! *rings bell* SHAME! *rings bell*

HAHAHA sorry I couldn't resist. But of course all the images & videos of this scene from GOT are copyright protected so I can't share one but you get the idea. I only read 2 books this month.....I can't even! Needless to say I think I dreamed the month of October & I need a redo! Maybe next month will be better?

The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey

My review is here.

Goodreads 

So this book was recommended to me by a previous coworker & it was great! Never would have guessed that I liked it but I did & now I'm hooked! I already have book #2. 

I Ain't Doin' It by Heather Land

My review is here.

Goodreads 

I asked for our library to buy this book & I was not disappointed. Hilarious!

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

Goodreads 

This book was actually a DNF for me but I'm putting it on here cause I read a good portion of it before I had to give up. Great writing, really interesting story, but kinda wordy & drawn out so I couldn't get through it. Maybe an abridged audio version will come out? Books like this are the only time I think an abridgement is a good idea. 

The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey

The Girl With All The Gifts

Author: M.R. Carey
Publisher: Orbit/Hachette Book Group
Year: 2014
Genre: Sci-Fi/Horror
Age: Adult 18+
Page Count: 403

Audio Publisher & Year: Blackstone HBG, 2014
Audio Reader: Finty Williams
Audio Length: 13 hours

Rating:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So it's October 28th & this is the only book I've read this month!!! How did that happen! Things have been a little crazy with me this month I guess. Hopefully with a few days off next month I can read a little more. Anyway...

This book was recommended to me by a previous co-worker & I was a little shocked that she read it. It seems that it wouldn't be her style or mine really but it was fantastic!!! I have mixed feelings about the end that's why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5, but overall it was a great book. I want to read the second one & some of the others by this author as well. The second book is apparently a prequel even though it comes second. I already have it on audio because it was only available at a library in my district that I do not order items from...long story...and it's a bestseller, so it's a no go for now. I'm excited to listen to/read the next one!

I listened to this book on audio & read it because there was times I was just freaking out & the audio wasn't fast enough! The reader has an accent in case you don't like that but was very good. Melanie's little voice just broke my heart at times & at others you want to scream with excitement. I will give a word of caution that there is some gore in this book that is described in detail, I thought it was cool but some may not feel that same way. There is also quite a bit of language. Once again I wasn't bothered by this but some might be.

This book...let me tell you....the three words I would use to describe this book are zombies, apocalypse, & love. I know it's a weird combo. You'd have to read the book to understand.

Basically an epidemic occurred about 20ish years ago in the UK & this virus took over people's bodies, but instead of killing them it turned them into flesh eating zombies that are called Hungries. Some people that survived were moved to an army base & it's on the base that most of the story takes place. On the base there is a psycho evil doctor doing experiments to try & figure out what is up with the virus. She does her experiments on zombie kids that are still somehow human...kind of. That's why we meet Melanie. Melanie is different & special even for a zombie child. She is so extraordinarily smart & kind & thoughtful & just aware of herself & the world.

We also meet her exceptional teacher Ms. Justineau. She reminds me of Miss Honey from Matilda. Actually now that I think about it Melanie also reminds me of Matilda. Our story leads us off the base & into the very scary desiccated real world where the world stopped turning so to speak about 20 years prior. Our group has a private in it's company that literally has never know the world before the apocalypse, it's trippy. He doesn't know what money is or computers or public transport. There are a lot of people in the world like that I presume, unless they became zombies.

We take a turn at some point in the story & we get to see the science & mechanics of the world & of the virus itself & let me tell you, it is amazing! This story makes you think that maybe something like this could actually happen which is both terrifying & fascinating all at once. The relationship between Melanie & Miss J is so heartwarming it is almost too much! That really kept me going when things got really bad. Melanie is just such an amazing character, you will love her right away. The ending was conflicting to me because I didn't think that was going to happen. But about 4 or 5 chapters from the end I knew what our group had set out to do in the first place definitely wasn't going to happen so then I was a little lost. What happened had to happen I guess you could say, but it wasn't pretty or fair. Although that's the way the world works isn't it?

This book would be prefect for fans of The Passage & Crichton lovers alike. I only saw the TV show of The Passage but I've had the book on my list ever since then. Reading & enjoying this book has given me the reassurance that I needed to be able to really say that I am going to read that book, hopefully soon. I have also heard that there is a movie that is based on this book. I'm also planning on watching that soon. I'll let you all know what I think of it.

October 2019 TBR

This month I'm hoping to read 5 books. One of which I've already finished so I think I can make it. I've already read the book club book, I read it after we did the first book late last year I think...maybe we read it earlier this year. I wasn't planning on reading it again, maybe just skim it or read my review. I'm also going to try & do a reread of a book I read 3 years ago, give or take. The series is finally over so I can read them all now!!! 

I Ain't Doin' It by Heather Land

My review is here.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42202016-i-ain-t-doin-it?ac=1&from_search=true 

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31409135-the-radium-girls?from_search=true 

The Wicked King by Holly Black

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26032887-the-wicked-king?ac=1&from_search=true 

Ink & Bone by Rachel Caine

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20643052-ink-and-bone?ac=1&from_search=true 

This is the reread book & I remember REALLY loving it so I'm excited to get into this series now that it's all been published. 

Here's To Us by Elin Hilderbrand 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27161845-here-s-to-us?ac=1&from_search=true 

September 2019 Wrap-Up

I was hoping to read more this month but I blinked & it was over! So I read 3 books & then the book club book. This month (October) I'm hoping to read 5 books but to be fair I'm already done with one book so I have a good feeling I'll make it. This is what I read in September.

Blackberry Pie Murder & Double Fudge Brownie Murder by Joanne Fluke

My reviews are here & here. 

I'm taking a little break from these for now. I'm gonna pick up again probably next month. 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22544406-double-fudge-brownie-murder?ac=1&from_search=true 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18051941-blackberry-pie-murder?ac=1&from_search=true 

Good Riddance by Elinor Lipman

My review is here. 

I'd like to read some of her other books now that I've read this one. 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37569327-good-riddance?from_search=true 

Plantation Shudders by Ellen Byron

This was our Cook the Books book club pick for September. 

I didn't get to do a review of this book cause it's been so crazy busy but it was ok, I'd say 3.5 stars. I do not recommend the audio though, the reader was awful!  

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24402497-plantation-shudders?ac=1&from_search=true

I Ain't Doin' It by Heather Land

I Ain't Doin' It

Author: Heather Land
Publisher: Howard Books (Simon & Schuster)
Year: 2019
Genre: Comedy
Age: Adult 18+
Page Count: 236

Audio Publisher & Year: Simon & Schuster Audio, 2019
Audio Length: 5 hours & 53 mins
Audio Reader: Heather Land

Rating:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We've all seen Heather Land's filtered face on Facebook in her hilarious videos. Her sarcastic tone makes us laugh at events that we've all witnessed. Similar thoughts have crossed our minds on a daily basis but I don't think I could articulate it in the same hysterical way Heather does. This book is like a 200 page long video. You will be laughing as soon as you open the cover.

Heather dishes out one comedic story after another. Each chapter covers a different topic, some of you may have also experienced in your own life, others we can all hope we never experience. There is also some great references including My Big Fat Greek Wedding & Ricky Bobby. I started the book in regular form then switched to the audiobook once I figured out Heather was the reader, her southern accent really adds to the story overall.

I will say the only thing that I didn't love about the book (which is because of my own personal opinion) is the numerous references to the Bible & Jesus. If you are a religious person I think the presence of it throughout the book will make you enjoy the story. If you are not religious like me it may or may not bother you, I still enjoyed the the book & wasn't bothered by it in the long run. I'm used to it being apart of other people's lives & so it comes into mine occasionally, to each his own is how I see it.

If I had to pick my favorite chapter it would be chapter 15 "The Babysitter and the Bibopsy", although chapter 18 "Holidays" is a close second.