sarah, desirous of everything

i am super thrilled for today's post!  we hit the jackpot with sarah being kind enough to guest post for us on loan from her blog, 'desirous of everything'.  {don't tell her but i am a little bit jealous that she gets to work with books all day.  shhhhh!}

Hi Tiny Little Happies readers!  Don't you just love Chrissy's blog?  I do too, which is why I'm so excited to be guest posting today!  I blog over at desirousofeverything.com where I tend to focus on books a lot (probably because I am a librarian and a writer and just all around bibliophile) so I thought it would be really fun to come over here for a day and talk about one of my favorite things- audio books!

Me listening to an audio book with my super cute Urbanears headphones!

Reading should be a time for relaxing.  Especially in the summer time- books should be synonymous with deck chairs and margaritas.  But let's face it, things like grocery shopping, cleaning and cooking dinner still need to get done in the summer time too- and that's where the beauty of audio books comes in.

When you're hooked on listening to a good book, suddenly cleaning the bathroom and doing laundry doesn't sound so bad!  In fact it sounds kind of great.  For me, it can be hard to just sit still and listen to a book, as opposed to how easy it is to sit still and read a book, but when my hands are busy with something, I just love getting lost in a good story.  Below are my top five audio books to get you started if you've never tried it- and if you are already an audio book fan, then these will not disappoint.

1. The Dive From Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer- This was the first audio book I ever listened to and I was addicted from the first sentence.  The book is actually narrated by Scarlett Johansson and I loved hearing her voice as the main character.  It's also abridged which seems really weird.  I actually didn't realize it was abridged while listening to it.  I feel weird recommending this one because I don't want you to think most audio books are abridged- they're not.  This one just is for some weird reason.  HOWEVER I loved it so much, so I have to put it on the list.  I remember I was listening to it in January when I would jog around the track at Astoria park in the freezing cold.  That's another thing I love about audio books, for some reason, I always remember what I was doing while listening to them.
2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett- If you guys are readers, you've probably read The Help already, or at least heard of it.  Well, I love this book so much and I think part of the reason I do is because I listened to it, rather than read it.  There is a different actor for each narrator of the book and they all have fabulous southern accents that added so to the story much for me.  I remember actually just laying on the couch and listening to this book because it was sooooo good and I couldn't stop listening. I didn't have to be cleaning the bathroom or anything!
3. I Know I am But What Are You? by Samantha Bee- I love listening to memoirs (especially funny ones) on audio.  This book is laugh out loud funny.  It will have you looking crazy on the subway.
4. When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson-  This book is intense- but awesome.  It's actually a murder mystery but I didn't even realize that I was listening to a mystery until like half way through the book because the writing is so literary.  Kate Atkinson knows how to tell amazing stories.  Her mysteries are perfect for audio books.
5. We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han- I usually only listen to adult books on audio and read children's and YA, but this YA book is so good and I'm so glad I listened to it.  It's one of those falling in love stories that gives you butterflies while you're folding the laundry.  If you've never read Jenny Han before though, don't start with this one (it's the last in a trilogy) read The Summer I Turned Pretty instead.

Bonus- Bloodroot by Amy Greene and Lit by Mary Karr.  These books are just amazing.  I was addicted to them while listening.

And PS- I think the price of audio books is a little frustrating- shouldn't they cost less than an actual book if you have nothing to put on your book shelf when you're done?  However, I joined audible.com and the monthly fee is similar to Netflix.  I pretty much listen to one book a month, so never really have to buy a book, but as a member you're constantly getting coupons for sales that I have occasionally used.  So if you're not sure about the price of audio books, I'd look into Audible.  

Also, tons of podcasts are sponsored by audible and offer a free book if you use their advertisement code.  This American Life, and Savage Love are two that I've heard that on.

Thanks for having me Chrissy!  Do you have any fave audio books that I should add to my wish list, Tiny Little Happies readers?

xo

Sarah

my sincerest thanks to sarah for guesting with us today.  if you haven't already stopped by 'desirous of everything' i urge you to do so.  sarah's blog is one of those great blogs that i have no idea how i came across but am oh-so-glad i did!

there is always room at the party if you would like to guest post here at the happie.  email me at misschrissyg@yahoo.ca if you want to hang with the cool kids.