An Ode to Audiobooks

I was just about to create a new SlideCast (like the one HERE about vampire books) interviewing patrons who love audiobooks. Now, if you don't use audiobooks, you may not understand the passion we audiobookphiles have for them. You may say they send you to sleep, or you can't pay attention to the sound input like you can text, or that the readers are lousy, or that you can't sit still and listen...I've heard all these reasons for not listening to them before.

But here's the thing: if you have the RIGHT audiobook, none of the above reasons for avoiding them will apply. Especially the one about not being able to sit still--because guess what? You can DO OTHER THINGS while listening. Like shovel snow, or knit, or drive, or dribble basketball, or build a block tower with your toddler (it's great for them to hear adult books because kids benefit enormously form hearing the complexities of language and book-speak, which is different from regular speech. Obviously, if you think some scene in a book will scar them for life, skip it or save it for later).

So what are the RIGHT audiobooks? I am going to do a SlideCast on this in depth, but for now let me tide you over with a few recommendations of my personal family favorites:

Anything Neil Gaiman reads. Start with The Graveyard Book. My family recently drove 11 hours to meet family at a beach house for vacation. We listened to this on the way. When we arrived, we sat in the driveway and listened for several minutes, even though we needed to go to the bathroom and grandparents were wildly beckoning us indoors--this audiobook is THAT good. I'd say kids as young as 6 will get it and be thrilled, though it is scary at times. Gaiman is an expert at deeply satisfying scary scenes--they're actually more scary for adults than for kids. NPR just did a great piece with Gaiman on audiobooks--check it out HERE.

The His Dark Materials series. Pullman's amazing adventure/fantasy/philosophy/science/love story/fill-in-the-blank is read by a full cast and narrated by the author himself. It's like theatre. Some people are bogged down by the fist 30 minutes, but no one in my family was--we were captivated from the first second. My son has heard this series from the time he was an infant and has always been charmed, so I don't think there's a "youngest age" for it. However, it is a book entirely suitable for adults with or without kids because it's complex enough that it can be enjoyed on so many levels. Don't be fooled by the "Pullman is an atheist" hype--he's one of the most deeply spiritual writers I've ever encountered. Start with The Golden Compass.

Tamora Pierce's fantasy adventures--ALL of these are good. The Alanna series and Trickster's Queen are especially fab. Trini Alvarado does a great job of reading these.

The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak. This is for adults and older kids (say 10 and up). Set in WWII Germany it's the story of a German girl and how they respond to the Holocaust. Amazing writing, very well read--this is a must for history lovers. A little more intellectual than the others on this list, if you're not into introspection you may find it dry.

Hank the Cowdog. This series is just plain silly. A combination of Sam Spade-like noir and westerns, told from the perspective of a dog who just can't get anything right. I have laughed until tears run down my face (e.g. the "squirrel" scene in The Case of the Swirling Killer Tornado).

Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson & The Olympians series. Fun take-offs on Greek mythology set in modern-day New York (and LA and St. Louis, etc.). Adventure for all ages.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (decidedly NOT for children but I loved it so much I'm throwing it on the list anyway--older teens could probably handle it, but be aware of the non-stop swearing and pretty graphic sex). The story of a chubby Dominican Dungeons & Dragons geek and his family. Gripping, intense plot, great writing--this book won the Pulitzer and deserved it. Extremely well read.

I could go on, but I'll stop here. The best thing about audiobooks today is that you can download them free onto an MP3 player and not have to worry about shuffling discs. Go to OverDrive and check out the PHENOMENAL collection of audiobooks here. Just download the OverDrive player and it's all pretty intuitive from there. Call the library (920.485.3535) if you have questions or email me, Shannon, at shannonb@mwfls.org. Whether you like the sound of the above audiobooks, or you're more into non-fiction, romance, mystery, or whatever--OverDrive offers everything you could possibly want. (Yes, they have Twilight--there's a waiting list, though.)