2014 Audiobook Challenge Update

June is Audiobook Month 

I love audiobooks. I have a 30-minute commute, plus I go on business trips on a semi-regular basis. I found myself getting rather bored with the radio, so on a whim, I decided to give audiobooks a go. I was worried I wouldn't be able to concentrate on them or on my driving. As it turns out, audiobooks have saved me from boredom in my car. They also have made mundane household chores like folding laundry or doing the dishes a lot more fun too.

I find audiobooks to be very much like watching TV without looking at the screen. Narrators do a fantastic dramatic presentation of the book they're reading from, and I find it makes the characters and situations explode to life.

I signed up for the 2014 Audiobook Challenge, hosted by The Book Nympho. We are nearly halfway through the year, and I thought it was time to update everyone on my progress. I'm currently about 1/3 through my 15th audiobook, so at this pace, I should finish a minimum of 30 books. I have a few business trips coming up (which means 4+ hours in the car at a time), so I might get through a few more than that. 

Challenge Level:  My Precious (I had my earbuds surgically implanted) - 30+

1. Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer
2. Unbroken (Beachwood Bay #1) by Melody Grace
3. The Perfect Game (The Perfect Game #1) by J. Sterling
4. The Game Changer (The Perfect Game #2) by J. Sterling
5. Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer
6. Unholy Ghosts (Downside Ghosts #1) by Stacia Kane
7. Unholy Magic (Downside Ghosts #2) by Stacia Kane
8. City of Ghosts (Downside Ghosts #3) by Stacia Kane
9. Night Broken (Mercy Thompson #8) by Patricia Briggs
10. Through the Zombie Glass (White Rabbit Chronicles #2) by Gena Showalter
11. The Naturals (The Naturals #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
12. Not a Drop to Drink (Not a Drop to Drink #1) by Mindy McGinnis
13. Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs (Jane Jamison #1) by Molly Harper
14. Sacrificial Magic (Downside Ghosts #4) by Stacia Kane
15. Sixth Grave on the Edge (Charley Davidson #6) by Darynda Jones (currently listening to)

Favorite Audiobook Narrators

1. Rebecca Soler - Rebecca narrates Marissa Meyer's The Lunar Chronicles series, and she is absolutely my favorite audiobook narrator ever. Her dialects are wonderful, her expression is perfect - she absolutely made this series come to life for me.

Read my interview with Rebecca Soler here.

2. Bahni Turpin - I know I wouldn't love the Downside Ghosts series as much as I do without Bahni Turpin reading them for me. The Downside lingo that Stacia Kane has created would be really rough to read it right off the page. But, Bahni's delivery of it is flawless, and because of her, Downside is a real, live place with these amazingly beautiful flawed characters. She is truly brilliant.

3. Kristine Hvam - Kristine Hvam has narrated a number of series, but I fell in love with her work when I listened to Jeri Smith-Ready's Shade series last year. OMG - it's awesome. I mean, they're incredible books in their own right, but Kristine's narration took them to the next level. Particularly, her rendition of Scottish hottie, Zachary.

4. Tavia Gilbert - Tavia Gilbert has narrated all of Jeaniene Frost's books, of which I've listened to nearly all of them (and those I haven't listened to, I've read hard copies). Although it took me awhile to warm up to her voice for Bones, eventually, that was all I heard in my head for him when I was reading the hard copies. Her female voices are great - I think I could listen to Tavia read to me all day long.

5. Lorelei King - Lorelei King narrates two of my most favorite urban fantasy series - the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs and the Charley Davidson series by Darynda Jones. She's got such a nice reading voice and she always does the male and female voices so well. My only problem is that I can't listen to Mercy books and Charley books back to back because I confuse myself when I hear the same voice reading!

Do you listen to audiobooks? Who are some of your favorite audiobook narrators? Which book series do you LOVE in audio?