Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Product Review: Books on CD

Ok, so I know this is a JUMP from my usual beauty related reviews, but I just had to share!! I'm a HUGE book reader and always have been. Now that I'm out of school and my big kid job is across the street from the library, I have been reading new books left and right. I kept thinking to myself how I wish I could read while I commute to and from work without getting into an accident or getting car sick (gross!). Then it dawned on me, it came to me in a dream and I realized "HELLO bombshell (Victoria Secret ads totally stick in my head), they make audio books!!". This is totally a two-for-one deal, and we all love those!

So, I requested my first audio book from the library and have been a happy camper ever since. I drive 2.5-3 hours a day for work and this little gem has saved me. Traffic doesn't bother me as much, I don't mind waiting in my car if I arrive somewhere early, and I find myself bummed out when I have passengers in my car and have to turn the book off for my guests.



You might be asking what I've been "reading" and it's the Harry Potter Audio Books! I'm already on the fifth book and started with the first. I've always liked the movies and now that I've started the books I'm a full-fledged fan. In fact, I'm trying to persuade my Fiance in letting us get a white pet that we can name Hedwig (like Harry's owl), I'm constantly Googling/Wikipedia-ing each book and character for more information and hidden meanings, I've also perused the website for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida...more than a woman of my age without children should ever admit to. My sister keeps pointing it out that she was a fan from the start (she picked up her books at midnight when they were released) and that I'm late to the game. I guess the best part of being "late" is that I don't have to wait years for the next book (I'm talking to you Charlaine Harris and The Southern Vampire Mysteries!).

So, since my sister is so cool, here is a picture of her and her bf on opening night of the new Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows film in matching shirts.

Isn't this cute? True love I tell you!

Besides my new found obsession with Harry Potter, listening to audio books have been the new best thing since sliced bread. The HP books are narrated by Jim Dale who does different voices for the characters and it's so entertaining! It's not cheesy at all and the voices sound very similar to the characters in the movie. The CDs book is read in 3-5 minute intervals so it's easy to listen to a piece again if you didn't catch it, started daydreaming, or you were laughing so hard that you missed some of it. For anyone who has a long drive or even a short drive for that matter, I would HIGHLY suggest trying audio books for the ride.

Since I've seen all of the movies (except for the new one, I'm waiting to read the book first) it's easy to listen to the books and visual the scenes and characters. I'm sure that even listening to a book where I've never seen the movie, it would still be the same since I do that subconsciously when reading anyways.

Are you guys big readers? I know Amanda, Kristin and Jessica are. Have any of you tried audio books before? Any ones you would suggest? Any HP fans out there?

PS Are you guys interested in book reviews or should I just stick to beaty related items?

9 comments :

Anonymous said...

i drive a lot for work so i love audio books. the only problem i have is that my library is small and doesn't have a good selection...and itunes books are so expensive! the key is a good narrator for sure. the one that does the Sookie Stackhouse (Charlaine Harris) books is really good.

Anonymous said...

ive never tried audio books..maybe bc i feel it may be too slow for me. I polish off a Harry Potter book the day it comes out in 6 hours.

and um..you need a buddy to go to the theme park with..bc im so ready to plan a trip.

Amanda said...

I have yet to try audio books, but I'm sure I would love them. I'm a fast reader though, so I would be afraid of getting too bored because they would read slower, but I think I'll give it a try!

AmandaG said...

I've loved audio books for a while now. I have a long drive too, so I always try and have one in the car with me. I get bummed if I finish one and don't have one to replace it.
Not all narrators are created equal. I still haven't found anyone to rival Jim Dale. He is THE MAN! {It could also be that the material is fantastic.} I have a couple of other narrators that I really like though. I agree with a previous comment that Sookie audio books are good (although I haven't listened to them all). If you haven't already read them, I highly recommend The Hunger Games trilogy (starts with The Hunger Games). I love talking about books, so if you decided to do book reviews, that would be fine with me!

AmandaG said...

Oh and if you haven't already become a member, I recommend checking out Goodreads.com. Helps in keeping track of what you've read and is a great place to find recommendations for other books based on what you like!

Marian said...

Oh my goodness...I absolutely love Harry Potter!!! I wasn't the biggest follower when they first came out and actually made fun of some of my best girl friends for being such Potter nerds for the longest time. But while I was on vacation, I picked up the first book and I was hooked. I have reread them twice...and though they totally beat the movies, I was a HUGE fan of the last movie.

And the audio books are amazing. I LOVE THE VOICES!!!

Anonymous said...

OMG this post cracked me up! I didn't really announce a whole lot on my blog (except for updating my current book in the sidebar) that I read all of these books in like 2 months. I had seen the movies before reading and I read all the books right after another. I actually was in the middle of the last book when the latest movie came out. I had to go see it even though I was only a couple chapters into the book. My commute is much shorter with my new job, but I have been really slacking on my reading. I've had the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for weeks and haven't gotten very far because I'm so much busier. I really need to get audio books, but my friends keep giving me books to read!! This long post is exactly the reason I need to be in a book club with you via Skype! And don't feel bad, I studied that crap outta HP while I was reading it. I had to stop because I would read stuff from future books and would get so mad! So when I was done I think I spent a week making sure I knew EVERYTHING HP. Tim mocked me constantly. I love HP too so don't feel bad.

REBrown said...

I'm so jealous! KB and I carpool and he's not a big book on tape fan, so I can't listen to them, but I'd love to try it.

At least I'm skinny said...

Yeah, narrator is key! My sister and I got a couple for a drive to see family and listened to The Alchemist which had Jeremy Irons as a narrator. He was amazing. Then we put in The Hours which was narrated by the author and turned it off after a minute. He was terrible.

I drive an hour and a half to go to class once a week and I've been trying to listen to them on the way there. I listened to Pride and Prejudice last semester which made the drive a lot better.