Features | Re-reading Via Audio Books

Friday, 19 October 2018

Features | Re-reading Via Audio Books

Recently I've discovered that my library has access to Overdrive, which is an eBook and audio book borrowing system. In the past, I haven't really listened to many audio books (just the odd one here and there, including an excellent dramatised version of Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman) but these past few months I've been really enjoying listening to them at work if I'm doing a job that doesn't require much brain work. Having access to the Auckland Library Overdrive books has been amazing and if you haven't discovered it yet, then check out your local library website and see if they use it.

Anastasia has talked about her thoughts on audio books before (and you can find her feature post here), and I agree with her when she talks about not knowing what to do while you're listening, or zoning out and missing the story. I totally struggle with the same issues, and find that I don't really enjoy a lot of audio books I listen to if I don't know the story.

However! What I have discovered this year is that I love audio books for re-reading. There have been books I've read over the years that I have added to my 'must re-read these books' list, but haven't got around to them because of increasing amount of new books that come into our lives every week. I've discovered so many of the books I want to re-read on Overdrive, that that's exactly what I've been doing.

I'm learning that because I know the story already, it's much more enjoyable to listen to an audio book version and not lose track of what's happening. If I don't pause it in time to answer a question from someone and miss a few seconds, or if I zone out or have to use my brain for a few minutes, it's no big deal and I don't have to go back and find my spot, because I know what's happening.

This year I really wanted to try and re-read some of my favourite books, and so while I actually haven't done that physically, I've re-read four books via audio.

If you're not into audio books for the reasons both Anastasia and I have talked about, why not have a go at listening to one you already know? Check out our 2015 group post on the topic to see what some of the team and our readers think about audio books.

If you're an avid audio book listener, do you re-read books by listening to them, or just stick to ones you haven't read yet? 

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Neverwhere | Neil Gaiman | BBC Radio 4 | Dramatised Audiobook | Reviewed by Anjali

Friday, 24 October 2014

Neverwhere | Neil Gaiman | BBC Radio 4 | Dramatised Audiobook | Reviewed by Anjali

A few weeks ago, while I was doing a mindless task at work, listening to my iPod, it dawned on me that I could be ‘reading’ while I was working. Of course, I don’t mean reading reading, but listening to audiobooks. While scrolling through some of the options on the Audible website, I came across Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman. It was one of the BBC Radio 4’s dramatisation series, and it was a book that I have been meaning to read.

One of the main things that caught my eye when picking this book to add to my ever growing audio-book collection was the cast. The main character, Richard, is voiced by James McAvoy, and the other characters are voiced by Natalie Dormer, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anthony Head, and Christopher Lee, to name just a few. All those awesome people (and more!) in one radio series? Ah, yes please! It was so much fun, listening to these actor’s without seeing their faces. I know that sounds weird, but it’s amazing how you can recognise someone (even without knowing it’s them) without seeing their faces. Voices like Christopher Lee and, of course, Benedict Cumberbatch are so easily recognised.

Although I didn't know the story (I’m still going to read the book one day), it was so easy to follow along, and though you couldn't see anything, the sound effects were brilliant, and such that the scenes were easily brought to life in the mind’s eye. Because it was an adaptation, I’m not sure if all the book and it’s events/scenes were in the radio series (I’m assuming not), so it’ll be interesting to read Neverwhere and compare the two.

It was a great way to a) pass the time at work while doing jobs that don’t use any brain power, and b) be ‘reading’ while working. I don’t think that these dramatized versions of books will count towards my Good Reads goal in the year, but I think if I listened to a book that was simply being read, word for word (as opposed to actors being the characters, and it being an adaptation of a book), then I think that that would count. I wonder if there are Good Reads Challenge rules…

Anyway! If you’re not into audiobooks, but want to get into them (they’d be great for commuting to work in the car, or on the bus, or train etc), then I suggest starting with a dramatised version. It’s a bit more exciting that just one person reading the book aloud. Neverwhere was only 3 hours and 48 minutes long, but that included about half an hour of extra features at the end (bloopers and alternative scenes). Because this one was a radio series, it’s broken up into 6 parts. The first is an hour long, the rest are half hours. Definitely have a listen!


This review was written by regular reviewer Anjali, get to know her here. 
Image from here. 

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The Rest of Us Just Live Here | Patrick Ness | Review

Friday, 6 November 2015

The Rest of Us Just Live Here | Patrick Ness | Review

What if you aren’t the Chosen One? 

The one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, 

or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death?

What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom 

and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before 

someone goes and blows up the high school. Again.

Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world, 

and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life.  

*********

Mikey is mostly your standard teenager - dealing with school, girls, family, OCD - but what he's not is the chosen one. Mikey lives in an earth which is the same as ours, except that previously there have been all sorts of crazy supernatural going-ons ... and the characters know that something like an apocalypse, or a zombie attack is a actually something that is likely to happen. The Rest of Us Just Live Here is a fascinating angle of a story we don't really read. Mikey and his crazy family, and his school life and friendships are the characters in stories we never hear about.

What were all the other students doing at Hogwarts while Harry was off defeating Voldemort? Did the other people in Sunnydale realise Buffy was kicking butt and saving their lives every night? Patrick Ness takes those characters, the ones that don't usually get a main spot light, and makes them the main story line. At the beginning of each chapter, you read a short snippet of what the Chosen One is getting up to, how they are saving the world or fighting zombies, but the rest of the chapter, the 'real' story, is about Mikey and his friends. Their every day lives, their own struggles and flaws, their real life battles, their relationships with each other and their families, and this all plays out like nothing else is happening around them.

I actually listened to this as an audio book, so at first the chapter beginnings were a tad confusing, because I couldn't see the difference...if that makes sense. But I loved this book a lot. It was so clever, and I was so excited to see/hear that someone had actually written this story. It's one of the things I'm always wondering in books and movies - but what about that other character? What are they up to? It was a fantasy story, with supernatural elements, but it was also your standard YA teenage-issues books, which took place in the foreground of the Chosen One saving the world.

It was a brilliant book, and I recommend it if you haven't read it yet. Definitely worth picking up. If you're interested in he audio book, here's one you can get on Audible. 

Have you read it? What did you think? 

Image and synopsis from Goodreads

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Features | Quicksilver Book Launch | Oxford, England

Sunday, 5 May 2013

Features | Quicksilver Book Launch | Oxford, England

Source

Yesterday I posted a review of RJ Anderson's book, Quicksilver. I also mentioned that I went to the book launch for it, and that I was going to tell you all about! So here we go!

Have you ever been to a book launch? I hadn’t. I didn’t really know what to expect other than books…and the author being there. But it was really nice! It was on Tuesday 23^rd, in Oxford, England (which is only about an hour or so from where I live), and that was perfect because my mum was making the trip there that evening anyway. I was a few minutes late, after missing one of the buses where Mum dropped me off, but not by too much. When I snuck in the book store (Waterstones), I grabbed a seat at the back of a group of about 10-15 people and hoped I hadn't missed out on too much. I hadn't. Anderson was just talking a little about Ultraviolet, reminding us, I guess, what had happened in that book.

She then introduced Quicksilver, giving a brief description of what it was about, and then read a short excerpt from one of the first couple of chapters. It was really cool to hear her read from her own story, no mistakes or slip ups (as would have happened if I were reading anything aloud), and it was nice to actually be read to. I know that sounds silly, and like I should be a 2 year old being read Where’s Spot? or something, but there’s just something nice about not having to think, and only listen. I guess you get that with audio books, though I've never listened to them. After she read for a little while, she answered some questions from the audience. It was really cool to hear how she went about writing her stories. 

One of the questions asked was something along the lines of ‘Do you have the entire plot thought out, or do you just go with the flow and see what happens?’. To this she answered (something along the lines of) that before she started writing Quicksilver, she had the title in her head already. She had no idea what Quicksilver meant, nor what it was or what it was going to be, but she knew that that was the title. She also said that she knew that she wanted to tell the story from Tori’s perspective (the main character of Quicksilver), rather than stay with Alison (the main character in Ultraviolet, the book previous), because she felt that Alison’s story had already been told. When I went to the book launch, I didn't actually realize that Quicksilver wasn't really about Alison, so when I heard this I was a little taken a back. I guess I hadn't thought that it wouldn't be from Alison’s perspective, but, as I mentioned in the review yesterday, after a page or two into Quicksilver, I realised that I didn't mind that it wasn't a continuation of Alison’s part of the story – it was time to hear from someone else.

I'm pretty sure she also said (though don’t quote me on this! R.J., if you’re reading this, please confirm!) that while writing Quicksilver she didn't have the whole plot outlined, that she had some idea of where things were headed, but more went with the flow of things. Being someone who likes to write, and have had tried to write novel-length stories (I'm getting there), it was really interesting to hear a little bit about how a real live published author went about writing a book, and their thoughts, ideas and processes that went with it. Very cool. There were a few more questions asked, but to be honest I can’t remember them. That was the one that stuck out to me the most.

After answering questions, she thanked us all for coming, and then signed books. I introduced myself, we had a quick ‘it’s a pleasure to meet you’ and then I had to rush off to make sure I didn’t miss the bus again and then miss my Mum and get stranded in Oxford. But if you have the chance to go to a book launch, I highly recommend it. It was a great opportunity, not only to get a sign copy of the book (yay!), but also to put a real live face behind the words I had been reading and the story that I loved. Go to a book launch. You won’t regret it. 

Own image.

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The Upside of Unrequited | Becky Albertalli | Review

Friday, 4 October 2019

The Upside of Unrequited | Becky Albertalli | Review

"Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love—she’s lived through it twenty-six times. She crushes hard and crushes often, but always in secret. Because no matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be careful.

Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly’s totally not dying of loneliness—except for the part where she is. Luckily, Cassie’s new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. Will is funny and flirtatious and just might be perfect crush material. Maybe more than crush material. And if Molly can win him over, she’ll get her first kiss and she’ll get her twin back.

There’s only one problem: Molly’s coworker Reid. He’s an awkward Tolkien superfan with a season pass to the Ren Faire, and there’s absolutely no way Molly could fall for him. Right?"

After reading (and loving) Simon vs the Homo-sapiens Agenda last year, Leah on the Offbeat this year, and also What if It's Us (co-written with Adam Silvera), Becky Albertalli's The Upside of Unrequited had been on my list of books to check out. I managed to score the audio-book from the library and listened to it on a solo road trip I did recently.

I didn't love this book as much as any of the others she's written, but it was still an enjoyable story. Molly was a fun character but she was a little bit too obsessed with boys and crushes and falling in love and girl! Just cool it a little! There's a lot of that throughout the book, and at times it did get very old very quickly (one of the reasons I didn't give this a higher star rating).

But there are wonderful things about this book too. Molly and Cassie are twins to mothers, who have a baby brother too, and a somewhat complicated family (though aren't everyone's?). Their friends are wonderful in their own ways, and the love interests are sweet and quirky, too. As Molly tries to figure out if Will is actually flirting with her (and tries hard to ignore Cassie pushing her towards him in a 'you guys need to go out!' sort of way), and how she feels about her co-worker Reid, the story follows her over the course of a summer as she celebrates milestones with her family, watches her sister fall in love, and wrestles with all the weird and wonderful aspects of being 17.

It's a fun book, but like I said, definitely not a favourite from Albertalli. There is, however, a Simon cameo in this book (which I didn't realise until after I read it - like, duh, Anjali, come on), and it's kiiiiiinda a spoiler, so if you haven't read Simon vs the Homo-sapiens Agenda, I would suggest you play it safe and read that first.

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Features | Reading Challenge 2019 Complete | Five Fave Books so Far

Friday, 18 October 2019

Features | Reading Challenge 2019 Complete | Five Fave Books so Far

Like many of us book lovers, I take part in the Goodreads Reading Challenge each year. If you're unfamiliar, it's basically a chance for you to set yourself a book reading goal to achieve in the coming year. Usually I go for something between 40 and 50 books, and last year I managed to get through 76 (though, granted, about 10 of those where were super short and about the same amount were graphic novels), so I knew I should go for the higher end.

My goal for the year was 50, and I'm pleased to say that my goal was achieved on September 30th when I finished listening to The Upside of Unrequited, by Becky Albertalli. That doesn't mean I'm slowing down or not reading any more - far from it! I have so many books that I really want to read this year, and a literal pile next to my bed for all the ones I'm reading next.

I thought to celebrate this wee achievement, I'd share with you my five fave books that I've read in 2019 so far (although obviously subject to change come December).

• Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
• The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson
• The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee
• Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte
• King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

Both Truly Devious and The Vanishing Stair were so so so excellent and I can't rave about them enough. The third and final book in this latest series by Johnson is The Hand in the Wall and it comes out in January. I cannot wait to get my hands on it! 

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy is the companion novel to The Gentlemen's Guide to Vice and Virtue and was just as fun as it's buddy. I actually read this for the first time earlier in the year and then re-read it via audio book later in the year; I've never re-read a book that I read for the first time in the space of a year, let alone months apart. 

Four Dead Queens is a YA debut novel from Scholte, an Australian author, and it was so good! I loved every single second of it and I can't wait to read more of her books in the future. She's also an artist, and does paintings of all her characters which I think is so amazing, and also helpful to visualise exactly what her characters look like. 

King of Scars was the latest in the Grishverse books by Leigh Bardugo, and it follows Nikolai Lanstov, who was one of my favourite characters in the Shadow and Bone series. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and reading more about the world Bardugo has created, but from Nikolai's perspective. 

So there we have it! Five of my fave books so far from 2019. How is your reading challenge going? Are you on track? Think you'll make it? Let us know what your favourite reads have been this year; we'd love to add some to our TBR lists! 

(Also check out our Vow To Read list from the beginning of year! I've read 4/5 so far!)

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Features | MG Books to Look Out For

Sunday, 29 January 2017

Features | MG Books to Look Out For

Whilst I spend a lot of time reading mostly YA books, I have had my eye on a few books aimed at a group of slightly younger readers. Generally, these books are called MG books, and they're a great category of books too. I'm hearing about a lot of really good MG books at the moment, and I'm even branching out and reading a few.

If you want to give reading these books, which I assure you would be a good decision, a go, then here's a few that you might want to try.

1. See You In The Cosmos, Carl Sagan by Jack Cheng. OK, this one isn't out until March here in the UK. But, Penguin Random House were nice enough to send me a proof copy, and it's honestly a heartwarming and heartbreaking tale, about a boy named Alex who has started making audio recordings on a Golden iPod, in order to launch them into space for an extraterrestrial race to listen to. His life is rather complicated though, and his mission to blast off will send him on a great roadtrip. I may be pushing it by calling this book MG, because I don't think it's worth limiting this book to one age group. I really enjoyed this book and the way it's told. 
2. Radio Boy by Christian O'Connell. This book is out now, and listeners to radio in the UK may be familiar with Christian's name already. Christian presents the Breakfast Show on Absolute Radio in the UK, and Radio Boy, his first novel, tells the story of Spike who is the first presenter to get sacked from hospital radio. He decides to carry on from a makeshift studio in his shed, disguising his voice and presenting an online show. But as he gets more successful, can he remain anonymous? Whilst I haven't had a chance to read this particular title just yet, I've heard a lot of really positive things about it from bloggers I follow in the community, and I do want to give this book a go in the near future!
3. Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson. This is another book I haven't yet had the chance to read yet, but again many bloggers I follow are talking really highly of this book and there was plenty of buzz around this at last week's Scholastic Blogger Feast too. Matthew has OCD and he's trapped in his bedroom by it. That's until he's the last person to see his neighbour's toddler, Teddy, go missing. Matthew must turn detective and help unravel the mystery. It's billed as perfect for fans of The Curious Incident of The Dog In The Nighttime (which I loved), so I will eventually give this one a go. 

So those are some of my picks if you want to give MG a go, which I think is a great idea if you do! 

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Book Club | November 2020 Roundup

Monday, 30 November 2020

Book Club | November 2020 Roundup

It's time for our penultimate book club roundup for 2020 and this month's theme was to read a book with food on the cover. Here's a quick look back at Team BB's picks...

With The Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo

"After enjoying Clap When You Land I was really looking forward to reading With The Fire On High and I definitely wasn't disappointed! I loved following Emoni on her journey balancing her life as a teen mum alongside her ambition to become a chef. The addition of recipes was a great touch too." - Erin

James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl

"There's something about reading a book from your childhood that a) gets you out of a reading slump and b) has your reminiscing about long road trips. I say the latter because we used to listen to the audio version of James and the Giant Peach when we visited family in other parts of the country. While it is definitely a children's book (and there were moments when I was like 'wait what'), it's somehow wonderful." - Anjali

We'll be introducing December's book club tomorrow so don't forget to check back! Use the hashtag #bloggersbookshelf or tag @bloggersbookshelf to share your photos and mini-reviews with us throughout the month.

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The Secrets We Keep | Trisha Leaver | Unabridged Audiobook | Reviewed by Anjali

Friday, 22 May 2015

The Secrets We Keep | Trisha Leaver | Unabridged Audiobook | Reviewed by Anjali

If you cast your mind back to October last year, you may recall a post about the BBC's dramatised audio-book of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. In that post I mentioned that I had started listening to audiobooks during mindless tasks at work, and I've really been enjoying them. Another audiobook adventure that I've had in the last month or so was The Secrets We Keep, by Trisha Leaver. I had seen it on Good Reads, and loved the cover, so I thought I'd give it a ago. For the most part, I really enjoyed it.

Maddie and Ella are twin sisters, but they couldn't be more different. Maddie is one of the most popular girls at school; Ella has a friend or two. Maddie wears make up and is always styled just-so; Ella loves her jeans and t-shirts, and throwing her hair up into a pony tail. Maddie goes to raging parties; Ella stays home to sketch. One night, after a heated argument after Ella goes to pick Maddie up from a party, they have a car accident...and only one of them survives.

When Ella wakes up in the hospital, she doesn't know where she is or who she is. People keep calling her Maddie, and while it seems familiar, it doesn't seem quite right. It's only when she sees her sister's dead body that she realises the truth: she is Ella, not Maddie, like everyone thinks. In a split-decision, Ella decides that what is best for everyone around her, what's best for Maddie's memory, is to pretend that she is really Maddie. Ella would be no longer, but Maddie would live the life she deserved. But Maddie wasn't who Ella thought she was, and she is thrown into a world of boyfriends, of parties, of catty 'friends', of deep secrets. Caught in a web of lies and deceit, Ella has to decide whether to continue living as Maddie, sacrificing her own goals, dreams and friends to keep her sister alive, or to come clean and tell the truth.

I quite enjoyed this book. Even after hearing the entire story, and seeing into Ella's mind, I still don't understand why anyone would ever do what Ella did - I don't think it would ever cross my mind to do that - but I did like Ella as a character. She's torn between living her own life, knowing that she was to blame for her sister's death, or giving up her dreams of art school, and having a life with Josh, her best friend, for her sister to have a chance at life. She thinks that everyone would rather have Maddie than Ella, so that's what she gives them. It's a story of family, friends, secrets and lies, of discovering who she is without her sister, of realising that people love her for her.

While it was a great story, I found there were moments in about the second quarter where it dragged a little, and the ending was a little predictable, and the secrets that Maddie was hiding. However, it was a great YA fiction story, and definitely pick it up sometime. If you're interested in the audiobook version, I got mine from Audible, and it was just over 7hours long.

Tomorrow on Blogger's Bookshelf we'll be talking all things audiobooks, so make sure you head on back here if you want to know what we think about them!

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Features | Favourite First Lines

Friday, 10 August 2018

Features | Favourite First Lines

They're the beginning, the start, the first ... they're the pull, the grip, the tug. They're the sentences that make or break that very first chapter. First lines in stories are important, and most of the time authors do a great job at hooking you from the start.

There are some first lines, however, that just stick out; ones that you read and think 'oooh, yeah! Great line, let's do this!', ones that suck you into the story you may not even be ready for. While the list of my favourite first lines below is in no way complete - I'm sure I've missed some of my most favourites! - it's a selection of brilliant lines from even better stories, written by wonderful authors.

These are some of my favourites; what are yours?

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1 | "Mr. and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."
As far as first liners go, this isn't actually one that captivates much imagination or a 'need to continue ready, stat' sort of feeling. But it's the beginning of the greatest series ever, and has to be my favourite opening line of all time.


2 |  "Joost had two problems: the moon and his mustache."
Leigh Bardugo has written some excellent stories - if you're familiar with the Grishaverse then you'll know what I mean. This is from the first in her duology, Six of Crows.


3 |  "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
Ah, Jane Austen. I'm sorry, but little needs to be said about this epic first line from Pride and Prejudice. 



4 |   "There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it."
Out of all the Narnia Chronicles, this has to be my favourite first line, which is from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Poor Eustace. Although C.S Lewis is right, he really did almost deserve the name.


5 | "Kell wore a very particular coat."
Oh, hello V.E. Schwab. Your writing is spectacular and I will read everything you write. This first liner is from A Darker Shade of Magic, and everything about Kell's 'particular' coat is wonderful. If you haven't read this series, I highly recommend it.


6 | "My big brother reaches home in the dark hours before dawn, when even ghosts take their rest."
An Ember in the Ashes, by Sabaa Tahir, has to be a favourite read of mine. It's an epic tale, with an epic beginning.


7 | "Scarlet's feelings came in colors even brighter than usual."
So I kinda cheated a little bit with this one. The actual first line of Caraval by Stephanie Garber is 'it took seven years to get the letter right", which is also a great line, but then for the next 10 or so pages it's copies of that letter. This line I've shared is beginning of the actual story, when the letters have been shared and the story of Caraval really begins. I love the idea of feelings being in colours (Inside Out anyone?), so I really enjoy the way Garber words this.


8 |  "Chapter the first, in which the Messenger of the Immortals arrives in a surprising shape, looking for a permanent Vessel; and after being chased by her through the woods, indie kid Finn meets his final fate."
This was a funny read for me because I 'read' it via audio book. Can I suggest you not to do that? It was super hard for me to understand the format (which is very clever) when I couldn't see the actual page. This first line from The Rest of Us Just Live Here, by Patrick Ness, is brilliant, however; what a way to begin a novel.


9 | "It's a weirdly subtle conversation. I almost don't notice I'm being blackmailed."
Technically two sentences, but it would work with a semi-colon so I'll allow it (you can't stop me!). I read Simon VS the Homosapiens Agenda earlier in the year and loved it, but this first line/s is the most perfect way to begin the story of Simon and Blue.


10 |  "The problem with my life was that it was someone else's idea."
I love this first line from Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. It begins how it means to continue: wonderfully. (Read my review here, and Sophie's here.)

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So there we have it. 10 of some of my favourite first lines in novels. Of course, there will be many more, and I'm sure I've missed some that would actually be bumped into my top 10, but it's a look into that list anyway.

What are some of your favourite first lines? 

Photo by Dexter Fernandes on Unsplash

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