Top Ten Tuesday: Ten things your ears will thank you for listening to

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by the fabulous Jana at The Artsy Reader Girl. You can join in with future topics here!

Insomnia is kicking my butt at the moment, which is exhausting, but does leave me with a lot of time for listening to things... So, silver lining!

Here are ten things I think you should be listening to at the moment!

Audiobooks

A Court of Mist & Fury by Sarah J Maas
When the world is particularly scary and my head is an in-fun place to be, I come back to this book. It's a special book that's got me through a lot of tough times, and I come back to it often. It doesn't hurt that it's a really wonderful narrator.


The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
I adore this book. It also took me completely by surprise. I wasn't a fan of Shannon's previous work, but I am hook, line, and sinker in love with this novel. Half way through, I'm trying to make it last as long as possible, and listening to it is a wonderful way to enjoy the story.

Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince by J K Rowling
There's something about this particular Potter instalment that is comforting in the dead of night. Maybe it's the slightly lighter feel of a lot of it, the time spent at Hogwarts, the lessons, the romance, the rivalry, Whatever it is, I love this audiobook, and particularly enjoy the feeling of coming home when we reach Hogwarts once more.


The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
One of the first audiobooks I ever listened to, this remains one of my favourites. It's an incredible story, with two wonderful narrators, and I've probably returned to Thisby more times through this audiobook than I have physically reading it. I adore it.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Another incredibly good narrator, and a wonderful story that you can really lose yourself in. I really enjoy the rest of the series too, but there's something perfect and magical about this first book that I love coming back to.

Podcasts
The Adventure Zone
Do you like fun? Then you should really be listening to The Adventure Zone. Three brothers and their dad formed a D&D group and insanity ensued. I'm slowly catching up with their back catalogue, and can frequently be found crying with laughter when I'm listening to this. I've now been banned from listening to it in bed after I woke my husband up in the middle of the night from laughing too loudly. However he is also a fan, so once I played him the episode I'd been listening to, all was (mostly) forgiven.)

Getting Curious with Jonathan van Ness
Everyone needs more JVN in their lives. I adore him on Queer Eye, I've loved the Queer Eye special episodes where he talks to each of the guys individually, and I love that he engages in such intellectual curiosity. He constantly wants to question and learn more about the world around him, whilst spreading positivity. I love this podcast.


Why Won't You Date Me?
This is definitely not for younger listeners. Filthy rude, but absolutely hilarious, Nicole Byer (host of Nailed it!) explores the crazy world of dating in this day and age.

Directionally Challenged
Candice Accola and Kayla Ewell try and navigate being a thirty something and trying to have everything together. I've admired both women for a while, so I was really excited when they announced this podcast, and so far I'm loving it.


Drunks & Dragons
Technically I have not yet started this one, but it's on my list to listen to after a recommendation on The Adventure Zone. Essentially, a dungeons and dragons podcast with alcohol - expect hilarity.

There are my ten audio recommendations, now tell me some of yours! And have any of these piqued your interest?

What's Lurking in my Currently Reading Pile

You may have noticed that this site hasn't been updated in a while, a good long while in fact. Sadly, as has been the case for a lot of people this year, 2016 has really been giving me a beating which meant that a lot of things have had to go on the backburner. But I'm slowly pulling things back together and that means more post, more books, and a lot more reviews.

And whilst I tend to read a lot less when I'm stressed (I just can't settle to a book) I have still been reading. The odd page here and there of several books at once, just to keep me sane in amongst the madness.

So what's currently lurking in my reading pile? I thought I'd share a few.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
Because who doesn't need heartbreak when they're already being emotionally crippled?! In all seriousness though, I saw the film and loved it (although I did sob like a small child at the end) and felt I really ought to catch up and read the book. It's fresh, it's engaging, and when I actually sit down with it I storm through a good chunk at a time. It's surprisingly funny in along with the heartbreak, and it's giving me a well written character I can root for in Lou. Definite thumbs up and a recommendation to check it out if you haven't yet.


Glitter by Aprilynne Pike
This book isn't due out until October, and I'm currently having a bit of a love hate relationship with it. There are some brilliant ideas involved, and it's surprisingly addictive (ha!) but there are a huge number of problems and a whole lot of mess to contend with. Despite that I'm getting through it at quite a pace which is definitely something in my current reading state.

Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead
I picked this up based purely off a postcard I saw at YALC that amused me, and whilst I'm not very far in, this is definitely piqued my interest and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes.

The Graces by Laure Eve
I've not actually cracked open the book yet, but when it showed up in this months Illumicrate box I did a little gleeful dance. I've heard a lot of good things already, and I feel incredibly lucky to have got my hands on an early copy. Magic, twistiness and darkness - this sounds right up my street.

Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon
I'm enjoying taking my time with the Outlander series. It's something I know I'll enjoy, I know where I stand with, and I know I can come back to whenever I want and savour it at my own pace. With the end of the second season on TV, I decided that now was the time to see how listening to audiobooks on my commute to and from work could work for me. So far so good, although it helps that I like the narrator for the series. I'm not far in yet, but it's wonderful being back with Claire and Jamie already.

The Planetary Omnibus by Warren Ellis
It's not an exaggeration to say that the Transmetropolitan series by Warren Ellis saved me in multiple ways at the end of last year and the start of this one, so of course I was going to get my hands on this omnibus by him. I've not started it yet (it's a hefty tome!) but I'm looking forward to seeing more of his work and immersing myself back into some graphic novels. They appear to be a wonderful way for me to get back into reading when I'm not managing well with fiction books.

So there you have my (quite large) currenty reading/about to read pile. As you can see it's a fairly wide and varied mix, but it's keeping me out of trouble and slowly getting me back into the habit of reading again.

But over to you - what have you been reading lately that you think I should pick up? Let me know in the comments below.

Review: Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Publication Date: April 9^th 2013 (audiobook release)
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Length: 7hrs 29 mins

A lyrical novel about family and friendship from critically acclaimed author Benjamin Alire Sáenz.
Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship--the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be. 

So many people have loved this book, so many people whose bookish overlap mine, so I was expecting to love this book when I finally sat down to listen to it. Unfortunately it ended up being a bit of a rocky road. I don’t know if it was that I didn’t get along with listening to it and would have loved it had I decided to read it instead, or whether I was in the wrong frame of mind, but this novel and I really did not get along until around 80% of the way through. And that was heart-breaking.

I couldn’t connect with the characters, I found both Ari and Dante frustrating. I was irritated by the emotional swings – people crying all the time. The writing style was at times abrasive and abrupt, intermittently littered with truly beautiful prose. It was just such a mix and I couldn’t settle into the story.

Finally at around the 80% mark I settled more into the rhythm of the story and found myself beginning to really care about these characters, so by the end I was thoroughly engrossed in the story, but it was so frustrating for it to have taken that long to pull me in.

There is so much to love about this story though. Like I said, it has some truly gorgeous prose and some really profoundly beautiful phrases and quotes that I loved. I loved the content, the subject matter tackled, the two polar opposites we find in Ari and Dante. I loved their parents. Too often in young adult fiction parents are portrayed as awful, absent, or ignored completely. Here both Ari and Dante’s parents are complex individuals who round out the story and complete it in ways that would never be achieved if the focus was purely on the two boys. Their love for each other shines through, and each of them is individual bringing their own fears, hopes, and personalities to the narrative.

I think part of the problem for me was that the story is incredibly slow. There is no driving force to the plot to really propel it and keep the momentum going. It ambles, it pauses, it takes tangents, and at times that can be incredibly frustrating. I think that would have been less of a problem for me had I been reading this, but listening to someone else take these narrative rambles didn’t hold my interest.

I can see why people love this book. I can see why others have found it frustrating and hard to engage with. It isn’t a favourite for me – yet. I think this is one of those times I need to go away and forget it for a few years, then come back and read it rather than listen to it. 

Audiobook Review: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Release Date: April 28th 2015
Narrators: Steve West & Fiona Hardingham
Length: 15 hrs 22 mins

I am incredibly picky about my audiobooks. The narrator has to be right and it has to be a book I know otherwise I can't focus. I can't ever seem to listen to a new book the first time around, I need to know a story before I can start to listen. So I tend to end up with a few staple favourites that I return to when I have a migraine and can't read, or when I can't sleep. The good thing about a book that you know inside and out is that if you drift off and wake up several chapters later, you still know what's going on...

Which means that adding to my audiobook collection is a rare occasion indeed, but there are some times when the stars align and an audiobook is perfect, such as now with 'An Ember in the Ashes'.

My all time favourite audiobook (and probably if you forced me on pain of torture to choose just one book, my favourite book as well) is The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. It is perfect. There is nothing like escaping back to Thisby with Puck and Sean and George Holly as narrated by Steve West and Fiona Hardingham.

So when I discovered that not only was 'An Ember in the Ashes' available in audio format, but that it was narrated by none other than Steve West and Fiona Hardingham, I actually whooped with joy.

They are a dream to listen to. Quite frankly I could listen to Steve West narrate shopping lists I love listening to him read aloud so much, and Fiona brings such a vibrancy to her characters. Together they bring an audiobook to life in such vivid clarity that listening to the book gives an extra depth that isn't accessible when reading.

I've already detailed just how much and why I love 'An Ember in the Ashes' in my review, and the audiobook offers all that I loved and more. Steve and Fiona are the perfect people to voice this story and these characters and I've found myself retreating frequently for 'just one more chapter...' ever since I first discovered the audiobook a few days ago. 

They are both such incredibly skilled narrators and give each character such distinctive voices that you immediately know who's speaking and where you are. You become invested in the story, the stakes seem higher, the cost and fear more real. It's a rare gift to not just read a story, but to bring it to life in such vibrant clarity.
It's a brutal, heartbreaking and beautiful book and Steve and Fiona more than do it justice as they lovingly bring it to life. I cannot recommend it enough.
So if you enjoyed the book I highly recommend trying the audio. Or if you haven't yet had chance to pick up a copy but can fit in audiobooks on your commute then Steve and Fiona can transport you to the brutal world of the Scholars and the Empire.

(Of course now I've discovered that Steve and Fiona have also narrated 'The Fair Fight' by one of my Bath Spa Alumni Anna Freeman, so that's going on my to listen to list asap!)

Review: As You Wish - Inconceivable Tales from the making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes

From actor Cary Elwes, who played the iconic role of Westley in The Princess Bride, comes a first-person account and behind-the-scenes look at the making of the cult classic film filled with never-before-told stories, exclusive photographs, and interviews with costars Robin Wright, Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, and Mandy Patinkin, as well as author and screenwriter William Goldman, producer Norman Lear, and director Rob Reiner.
The Princess Bride has been a family favorite for close to three decades. Ranked by the American Film Institute as one of the top 100 Greatest Love Stories and by the Writers Guild of America as one of the top 100 screenplays of all time, The Princess Bride will continue to resonate with audiences for years to come.
Cary Elwes was inspired to share his memories and give fans an unprecedented look into the creation of the film while participating in the twenty-fifth anniversary cast reunion. In As You Wish he has created an enchanting experience; in addition to never-before seen photos and interviews with his fellow cast mates, there are plenty of set secrets, backstage stories, and answers to lingering questions about off-screen romances that have plagued fans for years!
With a foreword by Rob Reiner and a limited edition original poster by acclaimed artist Shepard Fairey, As You Wish is a must-have for all fans of this beloved film.

I am a rather huge fan of The Princess Bride. I’ve been watching it ever since I was seven and my sister brought home a copy of it on video and I watched it on repeat. It has everything, it is a classic, it is utter genius and pure brilliance and if you haven’t seen this film or read the book, you need to remedy this immediately. As brilliant as the book is, I highly recommend watching the film first.

So when it was announced about a year ago that Cary Elwes would be releasing a behind the scenes making of book extravaganza, I was one of the people whose shrieks of joy could be heard the world over.

The book is beautiful, lovingly created with some gorgeous photographs and a wonderful piece of art hidden inside the dust-jacket. The whole thing reflects the film itself, it’s a labour of love with everyone involved coming together to provide stories, musings and recollections about the process and filming of The Princess Bride. It’s like putting on a favourite sweater and slippers and drinking a hot mug of tea – warm and comforting, familiar and wonderful. I laughed, I got a little teary eyed, and the whole thing was a magical experience, a beautiful way to go back and revisit the film and to hear from the team that brought it to us so many little tales from behind the scenes that helped make it even more brilliant.

The audiobook is also fantastic, read by Elwes himself with the other cast lending a supporting role for their own tales. It’s a labour of love for the people who love the film, by the people who loved bringing it to life.

My only complaint is that the writing does have a tendency to go round in circles and make the same point twice – it could have done with some tightening up and a bit of editing in places. On the whole though, this is a beautiful book, lovingly written and created, and one that adds another piece of magic to an already magical tale.

Finding my way back to books

So you may have noticed the somewhat sporadic posting over the last year or so, as I fell off the radar, attempted to climb back onto it and failed spectacularly by going straight back into hospital. Basically I should never say I'm back, it is guaranteed to jinx it, I should just sidle back in when no-one is paying any attention...
It was quite an interesting time, because I was suddenly faced with multiple crises all at the same time, and for the first time in my life I reacted in a different way to usual. I stopped reading. I have so many books, I constantly have one in my bag or within easy reach just in case I get a spare two minutes to read a couple more pages. At no point ever in my life have I gone so long without picking up a book. I tried, oh believe me I tried. I tried new books, but they were usually discarded within a page, three pages, several chapters slogged over several months. I tried old favourites and could usually manage to get about half way through before giving up, but nothing managed to stick with me until the end.

Which meant I had an awful lot of free time to spend pondering all the things I really didn't want to think about that had caused the reading crisis in the first place.
It was a really pretty awful time, although some of the things that have come out of it have made up for it in spades. But it meant that I started trying to find new ways to fill in the gap that the books had left.
I went back to audiobooks. Although there was never anything so exciting as listening to a new book, I listened to my three favourites 'The Scorpio Races' by Maggie Stiefvater, 'Graceling' and 'Fire' by Kristin Cashore. I can now pretty much recite them all word for word from memory. It became one of my favourite things to curl up at night with my headphones in and disappear to Thisby or The Dells, or the Seven Kingdoms. They were familiar, and something about having someone else read the story to me was comforting, and snuck them in around the reading block.

Then there were the TV shows. I've always had a couple that I followed avidly and loved, but suddenly I was watching so many more, and boy was this the year to get invested in American TV. There was such a wide breadth of variety across the board. The staple supernatural in 'The Vampire Diaries' and 'The Originals', and boy did 'The Originals' knock it out of the park in its first season. It started off as quite a safe predictable show, and within a few episodes had completely twisted everything on its head and turned into one of the most compelling shows out there.
Then we had 'Starcrossed' sadly only for one series before it was cut. The incredible period drama 'Reign' which will get its own blog post because it was so incredibly awesome, detailing the life of Mary Queen of Scots when she was a teenager at French court. 'The Witches of East End', based on the novel by Melissa de la Cruz and due back for its second season this Sunday. Third seasons of both 'Revenge' and 'Once Upon a Time', of course the brilliant and breath taking fourth season of 'Game of Thrones' and a new discovery for me 'Sleepy Hollow' which I am currently forgoing sleep to plough through.

And finally after months of ignoring my books and watching TV shows and listening to audiobooks, I was stuck in hospital again and very, very bored, when I felt the first stirrings of wanting to read. I begged The Boy to bring me the first three Harry Potter's to re-read and to my surprise, devoured them. Once I got home I worked my way through the rest of the series, finding comfort in some very old friends. And once I'd finished? I picked up a new book.

Since then I haven't stopped, I've been working my way through books I have been desperate to read for months, consuming words like someone who has been starved for the last year. I can't put into words how relieved I am to finally be able to enjoy reading again, and to know that I will finish a book that I start. It felt like I'd lost access to a part of me that I'd taken for granted, and I am so grateful to have it back.
But whilst I missed all the books during that year, I loved discovering so many new things. Now it's just trying to find a balance between the two!

Which brings me, in a very roundabout way to the question I wanted to pose through this post. Have you ever had a patch where you couldn't read, or where you didn't want to? And what did you do to help yourself through it, and did you find other things in the process?

Let's Talk About Audio Books

I have an admission – I’ve never really been a fan of audio books. Yes, yes, I love my kindle, but aside from that I am a print and pages kinda gal. A book never seems to have the same impact for me unless I’m reading it and exploring it myself.

This could also have something to do with a youthful encounter with a sample of the ‘Twilight’ audiobook which scarred me for life. Because the accent and the voice were just so wrong when I listened to it. I know the majority of books that I read are American, but I’m a British girl through and through, so on the whole (there are some notable exceptions) characters have a British accent in my head when I’m reading. So it’s such a jolt for me to then go and listen to an audiobook where the main characters don’t sound how I expect them to. Silly but true.

Anyway, I’m digressing. The fact remained that I really wasn’t fussed on audio books. If I listen to one it tends to be when I’m in bed falling asleep, which is not helpful when trying to listen to a book I don’t know, because I either stay awake all night to hear what happens, or the more frequent option, fall asleep part way through and the next morning I have no clue where on earth I got to. Then I end up listening to the same opening section over and over again and inevitably lose interest.

But then something happened. Something magical, in the form of ‘The Night Circus’ by Erin Morgenstern. Because this is a book I have read so many times I can quote most of it. I love it inside and out, and it’s one of my favourite books to dip in and out of. And then I listened to the audiobook, and it didn’t matter if I fell asleep part way through or started somewhere in the middle, because I knew it so well that I could pick up where we were and everything made sense. It was a sense of familiarity and comfort, listening to these words that I’ve read countless times, soothe me to sleep when the insomnia kicks in.

I had gripes with it sure, there were some voices that didn’t sit right with me, the most notable being Poppet and Widget who just weren’t Irish in my head, at any point. Ever. But other than that Jim Dale’s reading of ‘The Night Circus is utterly captivating. It transports me back to the circus, whether I’m in bed trying to get to sleep, or in the office tackling a mountain of paperwork, or suffering from a migraine so bad that I can’t read, or do anything really except lie there and listen to the soft voice of a well loved book.

And it got me thinking, yes ok I’m not a fan of coming to a book first time through the audio version, but what about those books that I know inside out, that are favourites that I read time and time again? Would they cause the same sense of irritation or would they, like ‘The Night Circus’ provide a sense of escapism that I could dip in and out of without having to take to much care where I came in or what happened.

So I started hunting around to see if there had been audiobooks made of some of my favourite books, and there were…

It started with ‘Silent in the Grave’ read by Ellen Archer, who voiced Lady Julia so perfectly that I will admit to giggling with glee when I started to listen to it. My love for this series knows no bounds, so to suddenly be able to listen to it at any time without carting around the book was fantastic. I haven’t managed to catch all of it all the way through yet, so I don’t want to comment on anything much more, but Archer is utterly brilliant as Lady Julia, and even as Brisbane. She captures the mood, the tone, the humour – everything. And it’s so fascinating to hear a story like this come alive for me through someone else’s voice.

And then I hit gold. I wondered idly what ‘The Scorpio Races’ would sound like, who would have read it, whether it would sound how I imagined it. So I tracked it down and it completely blew me away. Read by Steve West and Fiona Hardingham they completely capture everything I love about the book. The voices are absolutely perfect, particularly West’s which I’m not ashamed to admit does send shivers down my spine. The story that I love on paper, suddenly came alive in a way that I hadn’t truly anticipated, and swept me away back to Thisby and the races and the island that is as much a character in its own right. I never thought that an audiobook would move me or take me away as effectively as the book, and I’ve been, quite happily proved wrong. 

I’ve listened to this one countless times since I bought it, every night going back and finding new bits and old bits and letting the tale wash over me.

So I’ve been converted, quite thoroughly it seems, to the idea of audiobooks. I still wouldn’t want to listen to a book I don’t know, but in the mean time I have plenty of favourites to come back for over the next few months. Next on my wish list are Graceling, Fire and Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore, and read by Emma Powell (the samples sound fantastic.) And Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, read by Mandy Williams and Justine Eyre.

But what about you? Are you a fan of audiobooks or not? And if so what type do you most like to listen to?