Guys, this post has been sitting my drafts for so long. Like, I’ve listened to a dozen new audiobooks since then, long. Like, I hope I can even remember what these books were about, long. Like, I was listening to these back when I could run 26.2 miles straight, long. And I’ve been watching Gilmore Girls every night instead of blogging, so I don’t know when to make my list rambles stop. Anywho, here are some books I listened to on tape a long time ago (can I still call them that?) and my emotional reactions to them. Do with them what you will.
“Girl On The Train” – Paula Hawkins
This murder mystery book-recently-turned-movie started off sloooow. I am all for making up stories in my mind about the random people I see on trains and getting a little too hammered sometimes, for that matter, but it took me a while to get into this one. Once I did it was compelling for sure, and even though a couple of the voices featured in the audiobook are jarring, I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a read you can get lost in.
“On The Road” – Jack Kerouac
This classic was pretty much everything I’d built it up to be in my mind all these years. Adventure, literature, drunken debauchery, so much epic road tripping and a littttttle too much creeping on the lady characters (especially the young ones–chill out there, Jack). Definitely worth the listen though. Dude does a great job of reading even if he does pronounce huge without the H. 😒
“The Martian” – Andy Weir
If you’re surprised that this one made the list, that’s okay–so was I. I’m not usually a sci-fi kind of gal, but I am very trusting of a majority of stellar reviews. I still haven’t watched the movie, but I will say that for a book that is almost completely an inner dialogue mixed with very technical space things, it was really flippin’ funny. The reader was excellent too–the bro-iest nerd ever.
“The Unbearable Lightness of Being” – Milan Kundera
UGH don’t do it. Just don’t. The best part of this book was the very minor role of the dog. I believe much of the meaning is lost in translation, so please enlighten me if this is your fave. But otherwise, do yourself a favor and do not listen to it on tape. There are some effed up dream sequences and waaay too many anus references. I regret spending a full credit on this guy.
“Modern Romance” – Aziz Ansari
Oh, Aziz. I already loved him for his role in Parks and Rec, but it was his Netflix show “Master of None” that really turned me into a fan (I highly recommend you watch the first season ASAP). I figured this book would be funny and full of anecdotes, but I didn’t really expect to learn as much as I did. He dives into some super relatable modern dating research, conducts studies, gets experts to weigh in and fills you in on the goings on of dating culture in other countries as well. It’s quick, it’s informative, it’ll make you laugh and he reads the audiobook himself, so there are plenty of extra giggles to be had.
“Luckiest Girl Alive” – Jessica Knoll
This is not a book for everyone, particularly not for those of the masculine species, but I liked it. That plot twist, man. It’s a fast-moving mystery, but it’s buried under 556 too many designer name drops and body/eating issues (but not in a constructive way. I’m all for an educational moment on disorders–that’s not what this was).
“Gone Girl” – Gillian Flynn
YAS KWEEN! I don’t know why it took me so long to get to this one. Clearly everyone already knew this twisted story was awesome before I did, but the audiobook particularly rocks. The voices are on point, and I plowed through all 19 hours and 11 minutes of it in maybe a week? Maybe less? If you don’t already know the plot of this book, I’m not even going to describe it. Just go read or listen, but please, for my sake, do not watch the movie first. It’s good, but it’s way more fun to watch after you’ve read it.
“The Gifts of Imperfection” – Brene Brown
Meh. I may have completely overdone the self-help genre at this point in time (ahem, all this was happening), but I wasn’t all that impressed by this one. Granted I was trying to learn why it’s okay to be imperfect when I’ve always, always embraced imperfection while doing the longest training runs of my life just as the weather was getting hot AF, so who knows who the real culprit here is. All I know is the cover art is fugly. Why.
“Flowers For Algernon” – Daniel Keyes
Did you guys have to read this a million years ago? It was never on any of my reading lists back in school (Why yes, I did read every single book that was ever assigned to me. How did you guess?), so I decided to go for it as an adult. It was lovely, heartbreaking and super interesting. The reader on this one did a great job–not an easy feat when the author depicts changes in the lead character’s mental capacity and health through spelling and grammatical errors in the journal. It’s certainly not a happy-go-lucky story, but it’s important.
“Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear” – Elizabeth Gilbert
This one’s for my creatives out there. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, incapable of creating or scared to start/finish, I suggest you read this one immediately. It’s very inspiring, and far less annoying than others in its genre (promise).
I’m getting on a plane to Florida tonight and I’m almost finished with my longest audiobook yet (32 hours!!). Any suggestions for my next Audible credit? Any IRL books you’ve loving lately? Let’s talk books! See my up-to-date reading list and be my friend on Goodreads.
PS: Check out old book reviews here, here, here and here.
PPS: Need new music? Here’s my 2017 list so far. If you don’t have Spotify, you’re doing it wrong.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.