Tag Archives: audio

Page to Screen in April 2018

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Going to the movies this April? Get the best experience by listening to the books they were based on before seeing the film adaptations.

1. You Were Never Really Here by Jonathan Ames, narrated by Jonathan Ames
Expected release date: April 6

You Were Never Really Here.

Joe has witnessed things that cannot be erased. A former FBI agent and Marine, his abusive childhood has left him damaged beyond repair. He has completely withdrawn from the world and earns his living rescuing girls who have been kidnapped into the sex trade. When he’s hired to save the daughter of a corrupt senator held captive at a brothel, he stumbles into a dangerous web of conspiracy, and he pays the price.
Read more and sample the audio.

 

2. Zama by Antonio Di Benedetto, narrated by Armando Duran
Expected release date: April 13

Zama.

Zama describes the solitary, suspended existence of Don Diego de Zama, a highly placed servant of the Spanish crown who has been posted to Paraguay. There, eaten up by pride, lust, petty grudges, and paranoid fantasies, he does as little as he possibly can while plotting his eventual transfer to Buenos Aires, where everything about his hopeless existence will, he is confident, be miraculously transformed and made good.
Read more and listen to a sample.

 

3. Sergeant Stubby: How a Stray Dog and His Best Friend Helped Win World War I and Stole the Heart of a Nation (Film Adaptation: Sgt. Stubby) by Ann Bausum, narrated by Grover Gardner and Pam Ward
Expected release date: April 13

Sgt. Stubby

Stubby’s story begins in 1917 when America is about to enter the war. A stray dog befriends Private J. Robert “Bob,” and the two become inseparable, eventually crossing an ocean and going to war together. What follows is an epic tale of how man’s best friend becomes an invaluable soldier on the front lines and in the trenches, a decorated war hero, and an inspiration to a country.
Read more and sample the audio.

 

4. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer, narrated by Various Artists
Expected release date: April 20

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book.
Read more and sample the audio.

Feel-good Listens

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Unexpected sunshine on a rainy day, free samples from a new gelateria, and audiobooks (of course!) are just a few of the things that have made me happy recently. And what better day than International Day of Happiness to delight in all of the simple pleasures that make life a little sunnier?

You can’t control the weather or decide when a business will dole out free gelato, but great audiobooks are something you can always count on. These picks tackle the art of happiness and how to get it, keep it, and spread it.

 

1. When Likes Aren’t Enough: A Crash Course in the Science of Happiness by Tim Bono, narrated by Tim Bono

When Likes Aren't Enough.Are you as authentically happy as your social media profiles make it seem?
When a group of researchers asked young adults around the globe what their number one priority was in life, the top answer was “happiness.” Not success, fame, money, looks, or love… but happiness.
Read more and sample the audio.

 

 

 

2. The Anxiety Solution: A Quieter Mind, A Calmer You by Chloe Brotheridge, narrated by Chloe Brotheridge

The Anxiety Solution.

The Anxiety Solution is your roadmap to a calmer, happier and more confident you. ‘I know what it’s like to be stuck in a cycle of anxiety. I used to feel as though fear and worry were a permanent part of who I was… but I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be this way. The truth is, your natural state is one of calmness and confidence – and I’m going to teach you how to get there.’
Read more and sample the audio.

 

 

3. Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig, narrated by Matt Haig

Reasons To Stay Alive.

What does it mean to feel truly alive? Aged 24, Matt Haig’s world caved in. He could see no way to go on living. This is the true story of how he came through crisis, triumphed over an illness that almost destroyed him and learned to live again.
Read more and sample the audio.

 

 

 

 

 

4. Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be by Rachel Hollis, narrated by Rachel Hollis

Girl, Wash Your Face.

With wry wit and hard-earned wisdom, popular online personality and founder of TheChicSite.com founder Rachel Hollis helps readers break free from the lies keeping them from the joy-filled and exuberant life they are meant to have.
Read more and sample the audio.

 

 

 

 

 

5. The Book of Joy by Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Carlton Adams, narrated by Peter Francis James, Douglas Carlton Abrams, Francois Chau

The Book of Joy.

Two great spiritual masters share their own hard-won wisdom about living with joy even in the face of adversity.
The occasion was a big birthday. And it inspired two close friends to get together in Dharamsala for a talk about something very important to them. The friends were His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The subject was joy.
Read more and sample the audio.

 

 

 

6. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson, narrated by Roger Wayne

Subtle Art.

In this generation-defining self-help guide, a superstar blogger cuts through the crap to show us how to stop trying to be “positive” all the time so that we can truly become better, happier people. For decades, we’ve been told that positive thinking is the key to a happy, rich life. “F**k positivity,” Mark Manson says. “Let’s be honest, shit is f**ked and we have to live with it.”
Read more and sample the audio.

 

 

7. How to Stop Feeling Like Sh*t: 14 Habits that Are Holding You Back from Happiness by Andrea Owen, narrated by Andrea Owen

How To Stop Feeling Like Shit.

No-punches-pulled advice to women who want to stop undermining their own happiness once and for all. How to Stop Feeling Like Sh*t is a straight-shooting approach to self-improvement for women, one that offers no-crap truth-telling about the most common self-destructive behaviors women tend to engage in.
Read more and sample the audio.

 

 

 

8. The Happiness Equation: Want Nothing + Do Anything = Have Everything by Neil Pasricha, narrated by Neil Pasricha

The Happiness Equation.

What’s the formula for a happy life?
Neil Pasricha is a Harvard MBA, a Walmart executive, a New York Times-bestselling author, and a husband and dad. Pasricha illustrates how to want nothing, do anything, and have everything. If that sounds like a contradiction, you simply haven’t unlocked the 9 Secrets to Happiness.
Read more and sample the audio.

 

 

 

 

9. The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin, narrated by Gretchen RubinThe Happiness Project.

Gretchen Rubin had an epiphany one rainy afternoon in the unlikeliest of places: a city bus. “The days are long, but the years are short,” she realized. “Time is passing, and I’m not focusing enough on the things that really matter.” In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to her happiness project.
Read more and sample the audio.

 

 

 

10. Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics: A 10% Happier How-to Book by Jeffrey Warren, Carlye Adler, and Dan Harris, narrated by Jeffrey Warren and Dan Harris

Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics.

This book will get you to meditate. Minus the pan flutes. ABC News anchor Dan Harris used to think that meditation was for people who collect crystals, play Ultimate Frisbee, and use the word “namaste” without irony. After he had a panic attack on live television, he went on a strange and circuitous journey that ultimately led him to embrace a practice he’d long considered ridiculous.
Read more and sample the audio.

 

11. The French Art of Not Giving a Sh*t: Cut the Crap and Live Your Life by Fabrice Midal, narrated by Ben Willbond

The French Art of not Giving a Sh*t.

It’s time to stop giving a sh*t! Be calm… Stop stressing… Embrace the universe… Try yoga… Be fulfilled… and that’s an order! We’re overwhelmed with these sorts of commands, and we often torture ourselves to “try harder,” yet somehow we never feel we’ve done quite enough.
Read more and sample the audio.

 

 

 

12. The Wisdom of Sundays by Oprah Winfrey, narrated by various narrators

The Wisdom of Sunday's.

Oprah Winfrey says Super Soul Sunday is the television show she was born to do. “I see it as an offering,” she explains. “If you want to be more fully present and live your life with a wide-open heart, this is the place to come to.”
Read more and sample the audio.

4 Narration Considerations when Choosing an Audiobook

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Audiobook lovers know the importance of a good narrator. Narrators have the potential to expertly enhance a book, or, unfortunately, to sometimes drag it down. It can be tricky for audio publishers to find a voice that suits both the book and everyone’s preferences. (A sweet, bubbly voice doesn’t belong in scenes of gore, just as ragged, ominous voices have no place in light-hearted fairy tales.)

As listeners, we need to know ourselves and our narration tastes in order to opt for books that suit us, so we’ve come up with a quick guide to test a narrator. While listening to samples as you’re browsing for your next audiobook, here are some things to consider.

Pace:
Does the narrator match your preferred pace? Are they reading too quickly during scenes that need better build up? Do they take too long during descriptive paragraphs? If the pace doesn’t quite fit, try changing the playback speed to see if it improves the experience.

TECH TIP! To change playback speed, tap the 1x icon on the player screen in the Audiobooks.com app. 

Pitch and Intonation:
Very important in regards to narration is the delivery. Is the reader too monotone? Do they exaggerate dialogue to the point where it’s cheesy? Is the pitch of the voice suitable? Even if the pace suits you, inappropriate intonation could make a potentially great audiobook personally unbearable.

Accents:
This one is a little more difficult. You may have a preference for certain accents during general narration, but when it comes to dialogue, accents are an important part of the character. Depending on where you’re from, you may be more tolerant of narrators putting on certain accents. Those accustomed to a North American accent may cringe if a British narrator fails to imitate a Southern character. Similarly, people in the UK may be distracted from the story when an American narrator portrays someone from Ireland.

Background noise:
While this last one isn’t in the narrator’s power, it’s worth considering that some audiobooks have sound effects and music in the background as a way to enhance the audio. To some, this is a welcome addition that turns the experience up a level, but others find it distracting and unnecessary. Determine the side you relate to and listen for it in the sample.

TECH TIP! To sample an audiobook before committing a credit to it, simply press play on a title in the Audiobooks.com app. After the set sample time is up, you’ll be prompted to apply a credit and keep listening, or choose to keep browsing. 

What do you think? Do you look for similar factors when sampling audio? What are your listening preferences? Let us know!