I always have an audiobook on my iPod (I used to be high tech. Now I’m old school). I listen to them when I drive. But sometimes one will grab me and won’t let me stop listening to it when I pull into the garage.
Side effects of binge listening include:
- Ear buds permanently attached to your ears
- Only feeling soothed by the sound of the narrator’s voice
- The feeling of emerging from underwater when forcibly removed from your earbuds
- Needing to reintroduce yourself to the real world when the story is off
The Others by Anne Bishop
These are the worst for absolutely sucking you in so you lose giant blocks of time! Vision in Silver is over 16 hours long on audio and I finished in under a week. That’s basically a part time job.
They also ruin me for other audiobooks because I love this world of shape shifters and the humans who should fear them a lot more than they do. Anything I try to listen to next is going to suffer badly.
Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs
I love the Mercy Thompson series but I was able to keep myself under control and keep it in the car until I got to this spin-off series. There are only four so far so I’ve been rationing myself but I’m up to date now unfortunately.
The Spiritwalker Series by Kate Elliot
Cold Magic was the first book that I let myself binge listen to. I wanted to know what happened. I’ve not let myself listen to the next book yet since I know how I get.
On the other end of the spectrum are the books I force myself not to binge on
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
I’ve never let myself binge on Dresden but I could. I listen to the Dresden Files on audio because I know that it is going to be at least a year until the next book in the series and if I read it I will stay up all night to finish it. With audio I stretch my enjoyment of the story out. Besides, James Marsters narrates.
Armada by Ernest Cline
It is generally accepted that one of the best audiobooks of all time is Ready Player One. The sequel is coming out this summer. I squealed when I heard. I don’t even know what it is about but I don’t care.
How Do You Do Audio? Binge or Slow It Down?
Binge reader but these sound interesting. Getting rid of cable this week so I’ll be doing more listening to books.
[…] week, I loved Heather’s thoughts about books that are good enough to binge *listen* to. Sue from Book by Book is also hosting a summer reading challenge that is simple (my favorite kind). […]
I find my concentration wanders when I listen to audiobooks, so I tend to avoid them, but there are some books that are definitely better in audio!
P.S. Found you through the Lit Lovers Link Party!
Ha! This sounds like me! I listen while I’m cooking and totally tune out my family – lol Hate to pull those earbuds out!
I haven’t listened to any of the ones you recommended – thanks for the new ideas!
Sue
2015 Big Book Summer Challenge
I listen way TOO slowly. I’ve been listening to the Wheel of Time series and every book is like 40 hours long. This last book has taken me months because I go long stretches without listening! Sigh. (But if James Marsters was narrating, I’d definitely have to pull myself away!)
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
If audiobooks are too long I get distracted and don’t finish them. I haven’t ever finished 11/22/1963 even though I liked it. I usually listen to ones between 9 and 16 hours.
I usually binge listen to books that suck me in. The latest binge read (to the extreme) was when I read The Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost read by Tavia Gilbert (7 books and 2 novellas in a couple of weeks! Narrator is just AMAZING!
I usually listen when I drive and have stayed in the car for a couple of minutes to finish a scene. I have my audiobooks on my mobile so I can listen to it anywhere 🙂
I only recently started listening to a book on audio and I totally got sucked in! The Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater! great narration – I’ve binged the whole series! 🙂 I don’t do a lot of driving, so I’ve started listening to it while multitasking and when I’m falling asleep. I’ve heard good things about The Dresden Files and The Others series, but I’ll have to check out the others you mention.