Author Archives: Christine

About Christine

Christine loves sports, travel and photography. At the end of the day, you can find her unwinding with an audiobook!

Top 5 Winter Activities to Listen to Audiobooks

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Winter is here in full force and doesn’t want us to forget. Need the best way to fend off the winter blues? Embrace the outdoors with winter activities! Below are our favorite winter activities that help us tolerate the cold (and still let us fit our audiobooks in).

 

Cross Country Skiing

Cross country skiing is one of the oldest winter sports. It originated in Northern Europe as a method to travel long distances across snow covered ground. Now, the sport has gained popularity across the world and is a staple at the Winter Olympic Games. The individual nature of the sport makes it a perfect pairing for an audiobook!

 

 

Snow Shoeing

Snow shoeing is becoming an increasingly popular sport because it is suitable for all skill levels. Whether you are walking leisurely or racing through the woods, snow shoeing makes for an excellent opportunity to listen to a book. Next time you get a fresh dusting of powder, strap on your snow shoes and plug in your headphones!

 

 

Hot Tubbing

Not feeling quite as adventurous? That’s okay, we’ve still got you covered. Relax by soaking in an outdoor hot tub. The contrast between the frigid air and the stifling hot water is bound to have you leaping back into your house.  But before you do, take some time to unwind with an audiobook in the tub!

 

 

 

Ice Fishing

How do you ice fish? Do you set up an ice shanty or do you brave the cold and sit outdoors? Whatever your method, bring an audiobook to pass the time between catches!

 

 

 

 

Skating

Skating is possibly the most popular winter activity of all time. It’s practiced recreationally by figure skaters and hockey players alike. Not only can you workout your body, but you can also exercise your brain. Next time you lace up, don’t forget to set up your next listen!

5 Audiobooks to Keep You Inspired in the Kitchen

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It’s a fresh new year and with the Holiday rush behind us we have time for all the things we didn’t get to try in 2017. One of those things for me is upping my food game. From eating healthier to making more elaborate meals, I found a few titles that will keep me inspired. Better yet, I’ll be listening while I cook to make the most of my time in the kitchen. If you’d like to join me on this journey, channel your inner-chef and give these audiobooks a listen!

 

1. Pretty Fun: Creating and Celebrating a Lifetime of Tradition by Kate Hudson, narrated by the author

Celebrate all of the special moments in your life, big and small, with this warm and welcoming, lifestyle and entertaining guide, complete with delicious, healthy recipes, from actress, fashion icon, entrepreneur, and New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Happy Kate Hudson.

Read more and sample the audio.

 

 

 

 

2. My Life in France by Alex Prud’homme and Julia Child, narrated by Flo Salant Greenberg

From the moment the ship docked in Le Havre, en route to Paris, in the fall of 1948, Julia had an awakening that changed her life. Soon this tall, outspoken gal from Pasadena, California, who didn’t speak a word of French and knew nothing about the country, was steeped in the language, chatting with purveyors in the local markets, and enrolled in the Cordon Bleu.

Read more and sample the audio.

 

 

 

3. Cork Dork: A Wine Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste by Bianca Bosker, narrated by the author

Amateur drinker and professional tech reporter Bianca Bosker didn’t know much about wine—until she stumbled on an alternate universe where taste reigned supreme, a world of master sommeliers who could, after a single sip, identify the grape a bottle was made from, in what year, and where it was produced, within acres. Where she tasted “wine,” they detected not only complex flavor profiles, but entire histories and geographies. 

Read more and sample the audio.

 

 

 

 

 

4. What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women and the Food That Tells Their Stories by Laura Shapiro, narrated by Kimberly Farr and Laura Shapiro

Everyone eats, and food touches on every aspect of our lives-social and cultural, personal and political. Yet most biographers pay little attention to people’s attitudes toward food, as if the great and notable never bothered to think about what was on the plate in front of them. Once we ask how somebody relates to food, we find a whole world of different and provocative ways to understand her. Food stories can be as intimate and revealing as stories of love, work, or coming-of-age. 

Read more and sample the audio.

 

 

 

5. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan, narrated by Scott Brick

We are indeed what we eat, and what we eat remakes the world. A society of voracious and increasingly confused omnivores, we are just beginning to recognize the profound consequences of the simplest everyday food choices, both for ourselves and for the natural world. The Omnivore’s Dilemma (brings) a completely fresh perspective to a question as ordinary and yet momentous as “What shall we have for dinner?”

Read more and sample the audio.

Get awarded for listening!

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One of our favorite app features is the My Achievements tab. Diligent listeners know how satisfying it is to say the number of books we’ve enjoyed or to know the cumulative amount of days we’ve listened. The My Achievements section will track all of this for you and more! We automatically track your progress and award fun badges for certain tasks. Did you listen all weekend? Have you listened to lots of book series? See how many achievements you can earn!

 

How to navigate there:

Click the three bars in the upper right corner.  A menu will appear on the left-hand side of the screen. Scroll down to My Achievements. Within the My Achievements section, there are three options to choose from: My Achievements, My Info, My Stats.

 

 

The Achievements:

For each of the achievements, on the right-hand side it indicates what you need to achieve for your next star. Once you’ve collected all three stars, you have earned the achievement!

Crammer – This keeps track of how many audiobooks you add to your library. To get it, download a certain number in under a month!

Diligent Member – This is the easiest accomplishment to achieve. Simply follow the instructions in the My Info tab to edit your profile and voila, you have achieved a goal!

Collector – This is considered one of the trickier achievements because it tracks how many titles you’ve accumulated in your library since you began your subscription.  How many can you collect?

Serial Listener – This keeps track of how many individual series you have listened to. For it to count, you must listen to at least three books in the series. The first star only requires one series, so get listening.

Critic – Loved a specific audiobook or narrator? Rate the title and write a review. The more reviews you write, the closer you get to earning another achievement.

Loyalist – This is our thanks to you for being a loyal member! It records how many consecutive days you have been a member for. To get the first star, you only need to be a member for 180 days.

Good Listener – This is one of the most challenging achievements. It tallies all your listening sessions — the top tier requires 1000 hours (over a month) of listening!

Notetaker – As you’re listening, leave as many bookmarks and notes as possible to earn your achievement. You only need to leave three notes for the first star.

Weekender – Earn this achievement by listening on as many weekends as possible. For a weekend to qualify, you must listen on both Saturday and Sunday.

 

My Info:

There are two parts to this section. First off, there’s your basic contact information which you filled out when you signed up. It will also display your account status and when your next credit is arriving (AKA  when you may listen to your next audiobook).

 

Next, we want to get to know you! Tell us your birthday, gender and favorite place to listen. You’ll instantly be awarded with the “Diligent Member” achievement.

 

 

 

 

 

My Stats:

This section keeps track of your basic stats; the number of titles in your library, your cumulative listening time and how long you’ve been a member. Can you make it to a Tier 3 customer by accumulating over 100 titles? Challenge your friends and family to see who can get there first!

 

 

 

 

You already love listening, so why not get awarded for it?

Listen as a family to these Christmas classics

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Gather the whole family together and make listening to audiobooks a part of your family’s holiday traditions. Which of these Christmas classics is your family’s favorite? Let us know in the comments below!

 

The Night Before Christmas, by Clement C. Moore and narrated by Jeff Bridges

Celebrate the holiday season with the only audiobook for The Night Before Christmas, read by the Academy Award-winning actor Jeff Bridges! No other narrator brings Santa and these merry scenes to life quite like Mr. Bridges—an instant Christmas classic! Mr. Bridges’ reading is perfect for the whole family, no matter if you are 1 or 101.

 

 

 

 

How the Grinch Stole Christmas, by Dr. Seuss and narrated by Walter Matthau

The Grinch, whose heart is two sizes too small, hates Who-ville’s holiday celebrations, and plans to steal all the presents to prevent Christmas from coming. To his amazement, Christmas comes anyway, and the Grinch discovers the true meaning of the holiday.

 

 

 

 

The Nutcracker, by E.T.A. Hoffmann and narrated by Thea Kliros

An enchanted nutcracker, an evil mouse king, and a faithful young girl has been a holiday classic for generations. Combined here with the much-loved music of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, the narrated story unfolds with a bewitching blend of wonder and drama that is sure to delight time and time again.

 

 

 

The Polar Express, including Dr. Seuss’s Gertrude McFuzz, by Theodor Seuss Geisel, Rob Kapilow, Chris Van Allsburg and narrated by various narrators

Two of the most famous and iconic Children’s Classics are turned into musical extravaganza by Composer Rob Kapilow, one of the most successful and most performed composers on the planet. He is joined by International Superstars Nathan Gunn, who sings Polar Express, and Isabel Leonard who sings Dr. Seuss’s Gertrude McFuzz.

 

 

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens and narrated by Paul Scofield

“Every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding,” says Scrooge. Mean old Scrooge despises Christmas … until Christmas Eve, when a haunted voice from the past changes his life overnight. You know the story; now experience the marvel of the book.

 

 

 

Happy listening!

Your favorite holiday movies are based on great books

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What came first, the chicken or the egg? Did these holiday themed audiobooks inspire the movies or did the movies inspire them? Share your best guess with us in the comments below!

 

The Bridge: A Novel, by Karen Kingsbury

Molly Allen lives alone in Portland, but she left her heart back in Tennessee with a man she walked away from five years ago. They had a rare sort of love she hasn’t found since. Ryan Kelly lives in Nashville after a broken engagement and several years on the road touring with a country music duo. He can still hear Molly’s voice encouraging him to follow his dreams; Molly, whose memory stays with him… Read more and listen here

 

 

Trading Christmas, by Debbie Macomber

Emily Springer, widowed mother of one, decides to leave Leavenworth, Washington, to spend Christmas with her daughter in Boston. Charles Brewster, history professor, curmudgeon and resident of Boston, wants to avoid Christmas altogether. He figures a prison town should be nice and quiet over the holidays – except he’s thinking of the wrong Leavenworth!… Read more and listen here

 

 

The Mistletoe Promise, by Richard Paul Evans

This book is about two strangers who forge a fake relationship for the holidays. The two intended for the arrangement to be platonic but finding an unlikely relationship blossoming from the situation… Read more and listen here

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dashing Through the Snow: A Christmas Novel, by Debbie Macomber

Ashley Davison, a graduate student in California, desperately wants to spend the holidays with her family in Seattle. Dashiell Sutherland, a former army intelligence officer, has a job interview in Seattle and must arrive by December 23. Though frantic to book a last-minute flight out of San Francisco, both are out of luck: Every flight is full, and there’s only one rental car available…Read more and listen here.

 

 

 

Marry Me at Christmas, by Susan Mallery

To bridal boutique owner Madeline Krug, organizing a Christmas wedding sounds like a joy-until she finds out she’ll be working closely with the gorgeous brother of the bride, movie star Jonny Blaze. How will a small-town girl like her keep from falling for the world’s sexiest guy? Especially with mistletoe lurking around every corner!…Read more and listen here

 

 

The Christmas Train, by David Baldacci

On a train ride to Los Angeles, cash-strapped journalist Tom Langdon encounters a ridiculous cast of characters, unexpected romance, and an avalanche that changes everyone’s Christmas plans…Read more and listen here

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maggie’s Miracle, by Karen Kingsbury

Maggie’s Miracle focuses on the power of a young child to change two people’s lives. A best-selling Christian author, Kingsbury is sure to touch all listeners’ hearts with her tender novel…Read more and listen here

Cozy Christmas Listens

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The snow is blowing and the fire is roasting, so curl up under the blankets with one of these cozy listens!

Doctor Who: Twelve Doctors of Christmas by Adjoa Andoah and narrated by Chris Addison

Inside this festive book of Doctor Who stories, you’ll find timey-wimey mysteries, travels in the TARDIS, monster-chasing excitement and plenty of Christmas magic. Find out what happens when the Third Doctor meets Jackie Tyler, the Seventh Doctor and Ace encounter an alien at Macy’s department store, and the Ninth Doctor tries to get Rose a red bicycle for Christmas.

 

 

A Baxter Family Christmas by Karen Kingsbury and narrated by January LaVoy

Two years have passed since the terrible car accident that took the life of John Baxter’s daughter, Erin, her husband and three of their four daughters. Prompted by grief, and missing his daughter, John has invited a stranger for Christmas Eve dinner—Kendra Bryant, the transplant recipient who now has Erin’s heart.

 

 

 

Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand and narrated by Erin Bennett

Before the mulled cider is gone, the delightfully dysfunctional Quinn family will survive a love triangle, an unplanned pregnancy, a federal crime, a small house fire, many shots of whiskey, and endless rounds of Christmas caroling, in this heart-warming novel about coming home for the holidays.

 

 

 

Twelve Dogs of Christmas by David Rosenfelt and narrated by Grover Gardner

Andy happily takes Pups’s case, and he feels confident in a positive outcome. Who could punish someone for rescuing puppies, after all, especially at Christmastime? But things get a lot more complicated when Randy Hennessey, the neighbor who registered the complaint against Pups, turns up dead. Pups had loudly and publicly threatened Hennessey after he filed his complaint, and Pups was also the one to find his body.

 

Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery: A Novel by Jenny Colgan and narrated by Anne-Marie Piazza

In the Cornish coastal village of Mount Polbearne, the Christmas season has arrived. It’s a joyous time for family, friends, and feasting, as decorations sparkle along the town’s winding streets and shop windows glow with festive displays… But holiday bliss soon gives way to panic when a storm cuts the village off from the mainland. Now it will take all of the villagers to work together in order to ensure everyone has a happy holiday.