June was a huge month for prime-time TV series, with enough season premieres and finales to keep you glued to your couch every night (can you say, “Red Wedding”?).  If one episode a week just isn’t enough (or you’re getting the shakes waiting until next season), get your fix with the books behind these popular shows.

Hannibal

Gory and disturbing, critically-acclaimed “Hannibal” may not be for everyone, but those who enjoy it would discover an extra level of appreciation by knowing the back story. Thomas Harris’ Hannibal Lecter novels are must-reads for psychological thriller fans.

Pretty Little Liars

Proud favorite of few and guilty pleasure of many, “Pretty Little Liars” is perfect fodder for summertime viewing (and reading): equal parts teenage drama, dark suspense, and eye candy.

True Blood

June ushered in another season of hot New Orleans vampire lovin’. Supplement your intake with Charlaine Harris’ lengthy Sookie Stackhouse series, starting with Dead Until Dark.

Dexter

Season 8 of dark and wildly popular “Dexter” is confirmed as the last. Catch up on your reading before the next (and possibly final) book comes out in September—the show deviates pretty wildly from the books, so reading them lets you experience new thrills with familiar characters.

Game of Thrones

We love the show, but we love the books even more: there are more and deeper twists than could ever be touched in 10 episodes. And the best part? You won’t have to worry about spoilers anymore.

Paranormal romance—the sub-genre of romance that deals with loving otherworldly and supernatural creatures—is nothing new. People have been swooning over bloodsuckers and shape-shifters for decades. In the past 5 years, though, this genre has exploded. Seriously. You can’t throw a stick without hitting a book about a vampire-werewolf-mermaid love triangle–and now, we’ve got them all in one place.

What it is: Romantic books with a dark side and a twist of fantasy. Often set in urban or real-world settings, these stories are full of restrained desire, conflicting emotions and sexual tension. There aren’t any hard and fast rules, but our heroine is usually a mere mortal (or at least starts out that way), while her love interest (or interests!) is a vampire, shapeshifter, angel, or other paranormal being. The heroine is often pulled into the dark and dangerous circles her man runs in, leaving plenty of opportunity for drama and suspense. The male protagonists are hardened, smoldering, and impossibly handsome—and at times, impossibly cocky. The content of these stories ranges from PG-13 all the way to Rated R, so be sure to read descriptions.

Who writes it: Check out authors like J. R. Ward, Christine Feehan, and Kresley Cole.

Where to start: Find a good foothold with Jeanine Frost’s recently popular Twice Tempted, Kresley Cole’s A Hunger Like No Other or Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series, starting with Angels’ Blood.

Get more under Romance!

Happy Friday, listeners! Here’s a round-up of some new and noteworthy interviews and points of interest from around the web.

Jeanette Walls, author of the incredible memoir The Glass Castle, has a new novel out called The Silver Star. Although she’s stepping over from non-fiction to fiction, the story still embodies the themes of children facing adversity and adults behaving badly, so fans of The Glass Castle should give it a listen. She recently did a short interview on CNN talking about the new book and how she pulled from her own life to write it:

Lauren Wisenberger’s latest book Revenge Wears Prada was narrated by Meg Hilty, a first-time audiobook narrator but established Broadway performer and TV actress. She’s best known for her role as Glinda in Wicked, and as Ivy Lynn on the TV show Smash. Here, she talks about her experience narrating such well-established characters as those in the Devil Wears Prada series:

I have never seen an episode of Duck Dynasty and am a bit baffled by the crazy popularity of it all, but for those of you who can’t get enough, here’s an audio interview of Phil Robertson talking about life, family and Happy, Happy, Happy:

Here’s a creep-tastic book trailer for Lauren Beukes’ The Shining Girls (a book that I am very much looking forward to reading). I’ve gotta say, the production value of book trailers has come a looong way. As far as book trailers go, this one gives you lots of meat in regards to the plot and characters in the book.

And finally, check out these very cool shirts and other merch emblazoned with cover images and graphics from your favourite classic books, made by the wonderful people at Out of Print Clothing! They have dozens of designs and items to choose from and make perfect gifts for book lovers.

With access to thousands of audiobooks it was only a matter of time before an inter-office audiobook club was formed here at ABC! Our club’s first pick was The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman. It turned out to be perfect book club material, sparking a debate about love, marriage and honor. The big question of the book is basically “how far would you go for someone you love?”

Based in Australia, the narrator’s Aussie accent helps keep you engrossed in the setting. The book takes place in a lighthouse, where you’re introduced to Tom, a dutiful war veteran, and his wife Isabel. Despite their best efforts, they remain childless—until a rowboat washes up on shore with a baby and a dead body inside.

When breaking the situation down our club was divided about what to do if placed in the main characters’ situation. Although it’s reasonable to want to comfort your spouse in a time of infertility, by keeping the baby they robbed another woman of being able to raise her own child. Despite everything that happens, Stedman does a wonderful job of not influencing your decision over whom to side with: she never gives you a clear-cut “bad guy” or “good guy”. She’s able to show both sides of the families involved. Although at times the characters felt a bit thin, the plot was gripping enough to carry us past it.

This is a wonderful debut novel from Stedman and we’re all excited to see how she grows as a writer in the future. If you’re looking for a book for your own club to get people talking (and possibly even shouting), The Light Between Oceans will not disappoint.

Much excitement for us at the Audiobooks.com office: we recently added to our library some great titles in the science fiction and fantasy genres. I’m a huge fan of both, and I’m very pleased to announce that we are now offering, for your listening delight, some highly anticipated books from each. There’s the final book in fantasy giant Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, and sci-fi favorite Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game series.

Any new batch of incoming books requires some careful consideration, and this one prompted us to ask:

What is really the difference between sci-fi and fantasy?

On the surface, the answer is obvious. Sci-Fi covers your time travel, your aliens, your space ships and laser beams, right? And fantasy covers your elves and your unicorns and your schools of witchcraft and wizardry. Easy breezey.

Nailed it!

Alas, it’s just not that simple. One of the most invigorating things about speculative fiction genres is that they’re always changing and impossible to pin down, merging and overlapping like a Venn diagram on steroids. Just because something is set in space, doesn’t make it sci-fi. And just because something involves magic or magical creatures doesn’t necessarily make it fantasy. So, what do you call it when your spaceships and your unicorns collide?

Open Road Media created this spot-on video, giving authors of both genres a chance to explain what they feel the real difference is. These esteemed writers offer this insightful explanation: that sci-fi stories are stories that explore the possible, while fantasy stories explore the impossible.

Happy listening!