Let's Talk Audiobooks!

 LUCY BURDETTE: I know some of you, Debs in particular, are big fans of audiobooks. John is too, he always has his EarPods in listening to something. Usually when I’m out walking, I prefer to be looking around at the world or trying to come up with plot ideas. One time I do listen is when I’m trying to get to sleep. This is very particular, though. The story has to be something that I’m already familiar with so I’m not worried about keeping up with what will happen. One of my favorites is Jenny Colgan, especially The Endless Beach or others in her Mure series. Since I love those, I bought two other titles when I saw them on sale. But oh horror of horrors, it was a different narrator—one that I did not feel the least bit soothing. I tried listening a little more while I was walking to see if I could get used to her voice, but it was like nails on chalkboard.

So that’s the question of the day. If you listen to audiobooks, how important is the narrator, and when do you most enjoy listening? And one more question, do you like the narrator acting out the voices or would you prefer they just read the darn book? (I guess you can tell what side I’m on!)

HALLIE EPHRON: I’m not (is it anathema to say this?) a huge fan of audio books or of narrators who get into all the voices. Plus I fall asleep and then have no idea where I tuned out when I restart the thing. 

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Yeah, um, oops. Well, I cannot listen to them. I HAVE listened to mine, although I have to say it’s really difficult to listen to one’s own audiobooks for a million reasons, but I adore my actors and am happy with the terrific response to them. The actor who reads  ALL THIS, Sarah Mollo-Christensen, is incredible, and shows how a good reader can make a book fully realized.

 But me, listening to an audiobook? Is me, sleeping. Boom, done, I am out. (I think it has something to do with not knowing where to look.)

If I try to do something else while I’m listening, I cannot do either thing, god forbid I should drive, which would be deadly. 

I’ve just downloaded one now, though, because someone told me it was unmissably fabulous, so we shall see. 

Adding this later: wow. This is interesting. The book I am “hearing” is great--but I can sort of tell that if I would have been reading it on paper, I would have thought: ”backstory backstory get on with it” but because I am hearing it, it’s like someone telling me a story, and that’s fine. Whoa.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I’ve adored audiobooks ever since they were cassette tapes in HUGE boxes. The audiobooks of the Harry Potter series and novels like The Wizard of Oz and The Boxcar Children made many a long, long car trip bearable when my kids were small.

I tend to lean more to nonfiction for my audiobooks, interestingly. Right now I’m listening to Becca Syme’s ENERGY MANAGMENT FOR WRITERS. Next up will be 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History by Andrew Ross Sorkin. 

I’m going to give a shoutout to the reader who performs my audio books, Suzanne Toren. She is SO good, and I can’t tell you how many readers love her. I’ve listen to her narration for other books as well, and she always knocks it out of the park. The performer/reader/narrator is SO important to the enjoyment of the book!

JENN MCKINLAY: Like Julia, I’ve been a listener since the old “books on tape” days. I used to listen during my commute in CT and now I listen at the gym, while gardening, etc. My latest love is the graphic audio books where they have multiple narrators and sound effects! I listened to all of Sarah J Maas’s ACOTAR and Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing on audio — so good! 

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Well, obviously, I am a fan. I did start with the books on cassettes, how many ever years ago, then CDs, but that was mostly in the car on long trips. (I can't listen to audio books while driving in Dallas traffic.) But the digital audio books were revolutionary. I think my gateway books were the Harry Potters, read by the marvelous Jim Dale, because I knew the stories and didn't have to worry if I didn't understand or was missing something. (The new full cast audio of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is really good and is unabridged, but I think I prefer one narrator.) I do like readers who do different accents and character voices!

Lucy and Hank, I listen while I am cooking (as long as not following complicated recipe!), washing dishes, doing mindless chores like watering and cleaning out catboxes, and I do listen in bed at night. I just set the Audible timer on my phone, so if I fall asleep I only have to back up a bit the next day.

RHYS BOWEN: there was a huge upheaval in my world when the narrator for the Royal Spyness series died. Not only because she was so young and it was so unexpected but because she was so talented. She was nominated for an Audie award every year and one year she won, beating out Meryl Streep. So the fans had a hard time accepting a new narrator, who was quite good. But this time she was nowhere to be found so I had to choose yet another new narrator. Luckily the actor who has done the Molly series was available so all is well. But the narrator makes a huge difference. A grating or inappropriate voice and the book is ruined!

Red readers, are you audiobook fans? How important is the narrator?

But Who Is She? a guest post by Cara Black

 LUCY BURDETTE: Reds, I’m delighted to welcome our long-time friend Cara Black back to the blog. You probably know her as the author of 21 bestselling Aimee Leduc mysteries set in Paris, but she’s here to introduce something new. You know I will always follow her to Paris...Welcome Cara!

CARA BLACK: 

Bienvenue, Reds and readers, to Huguette! 

But who is she?

Unlike most of my stories, which begin with a “What if . . .?” Huguette began with a “Who is she?” 

I referred to the mistress of Aimée’s treasured grandfather Claude in several of my Aimée Leduc books set in Paris. he always remained a cipher, making me wonder—who is this woman? Granted, she was only a small detail within the Aiméeverse. Aimée herself wasn’t even born when this novel takes place. If you haven’t read the Aimée Leduc series, no worries, this story stands alone.

Huguette’s life reflects the reality of existence  in postwar France, a little-addressed subject in fiction, though very real and within living memory. This time fascinated me. I knew there had to be more than just what is seen in Libération–era photos of GIs kissing French girls on the Champs-Élysées, popping Champagne, and handing out chocolate. That, combined with the stories I heard about the French cinema from a friend’s mother, spurred me to explore this era. The more I researched, the more I wanted to understand what it would feel like if I wasn’t one of the lucky wearing Dior’s new look in 1947. If, facing rationing, power cuts, and equipment shortages in postwar France, I had to fight to survive. 

That brought me to the character of Huguette. An orphaned young woman struggling with the odds stacked against her—and forced to make tough moral choices for the sake of her own survival. Once I had answered the question “Who is she?” I could pursue “What is her story?” and finally, “What if . . . ?”

Though many of Huguette’s circumstances are specific to the times she lives in, I’ve faced plenty of struggles and hard decisions of my own. Difficult choices when it seems like one can’t win for losing. Maybe you can relate to this, Huguette’s journey and resilience may resonate with you. 

Have you experienced a dilemma and knew the outcome would be life changing? And in so doing find an inner strength? 

Let me know.

Cara Black is the author of twenty-one books in the New York Times bestselling Aimée Leduc series as well as the WWII thrillers Three Hours in Paris and Night Flight to Paris. She has won the Médaille de la Ville de Paris and the Médaille d’Or du Rayonnement Culturel and received multiple nominations for the Anthony and Macavity Awards; her books have been translated into German, Norwegian, Japanese, French, Spanish, Italian, and Hebrew. Her latest book HUGUETTE, a novel of Libération comes out in December.

All I Want for Christmas Is...

 LUCY BURDETTE: Here come the holidays, sprinting toward us again! For some of us, that means we need gift ideas, yikes! I almost always end up giving books, unless the recipient has made it clear this would be unwelcome. (Like one great nephew who opened his present a couple years back, burst into dramatic tears, and said “A book! That’s not a present!” We’re giving him a game this year LOL.) Of course we love to have our own books given as gifts, but this year I have several other suggestions.

The New York Times Book of Games is perfect for a wordsmith who doesn’t have all the time in the world. Next to that is a gorgeous book of poetry by women and girls by Ella Risberger. (Debs told us about this a couple months back and I immediately ordered it for our granddaughter. It’s so lovely!)

And two cookbooks–the newest by my Paris-loving idol, Dori Greenspan, and the Key West Woman’s Club cookbook for fans of history and Key West, which can now be purchased online.

HALLIE EPHRON: My yearly challenge is what to get for my grandchildren. Last year I knocked it out of the park with a personalized soccer ball light for my grandson who regularly scores goals for his soccer team. It comes from ETSY. So there’s a real person out there who makes them to order.

I’ve also found gorgeous silver (earrings) for my daughters on ETSY. (My fave: Liz Blanchflower at Stone and Sterling Design.)

And more. I like that there’s a real craftsperson who made the gifts. And if you read the customer reviews carefully you get a sense of whether the workmanship is up to snuff.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I am so eager to hear what you all have to say! I have nothing, and need help. I saw some slippers (see photo attached)  that look like you have monkeys climbing up your legs and was tempted. Because I am clearly scraping the bottom.  I used to try incredibly hard to be perfect but there’s no way, so I gave up. 

JENN MCKINLAY: When the Hooligans were youngsters, we implemented the four gift rule to mitigate the conspicuous consumption: So it’s something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read for the entire family (Hub and I included) and I really haven’t had to stress about gifts ever since. I await their lists and will shop and wrap in an afternoon and go back to cookie baking - the real holiday joy for me! The only other gift recipients are nieces and nephews and they get a Venmo transaction and we call it a day. 

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Shopping for my family is easy, because, like Jenn, we have protocols. Santa leaves cold weather necessities (lip balm, hand sanitizer and pocket-sized hand cream), candy, good socks, a book and something small and fun. Now they’re all grownups, everyone gets ONE gift from me beneath the tree. We all exchange Christmas wish lists right after Thanksgiving.

I have two suggestions for hostess/neighbor/I wasn’t expecting a gift from you needs. First, the Bed Bath and Beyond Fresh Balsam candle. I promise this isn’t sponsored; I love this candle SO much this time of the year. It smells just like fresh pine, and it lasts FOREVER.

The other is super cheap and easy. I get a few Christmas-themed mugs at a Dollar Store, a box of fancy Ghirardelli hot cocoa packets, and a box of candy canes. Each mug gets a few cocoa packets, a couple of candy canes, and voila, the perfect last-minute present. I usually tell the recipient it’s a cheap mug and they can recycle it in the new year - nothing to hang around cluttering your kitchen!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I have two books for my granddaughter, the Ella Risbridger-edited volume of poems for women and girls, EVERYTHING WILL BE GLAD TO SEE YOU, which is, as Lucy says above, absolutely gorgeous. I think it is available for less and more quickly from Blackwell's in the UK than from Amazon. Blackwell's does not charge shipping to the US! And Jane Langton's THE DIAMOND IN THE WINDOW, as recommended by some of you here. I also may get Wren her first fountain pen. Lamy Safari now has Hogwarts pens, a different color and badge for each house. So cute!

My daughter will want a book, but she usually gives me a list to choose from.

Here's an idea for cooks in your life: Naomi After Cooking Hand Scrub, which was raved about in Bon Appetit and supposedly smells fabulous and will really, truly, get the smell of onions and garlic off your fingers. I ordered some to try, but if it is as good as advertised it may be too late to order as a gift for anyone else as it is apparently selling out. Bon Appetit recommended Bergamot and Pepper but there are other fragrances.

For the guys in my life, no idea. Hopefully they will have suggestions.

Weigh in please Reds, any gift suggestions from you?