Top Ten Tuesday: Audio Freebie

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic from The Broke and The Bookish is an audio freebie.  When I started blogging a few years ago I kept seeing mentions of audio books and how great they were to get in some extra reading but I never thought that they would be for me!  I don't have a commute and don't spend that much time driving by myself and it never really occurred to me that I could use them other places!  Eventually I discovered that my library has a great digital site full of audio books that I can download right to my phone so I decided to give it a try.   It did take awhile to get used to listening to stories and focusing enough that I followed along as well as figuring out which tasks have the right amount of mindlessness that I can add an audio too.  Basically anything cleaning or laundry related works but nothing in the cooking realm unless I want to hit the rewind button a LOT!

5 Audio Books for Audio Book Beginners

For me the first step to getting into audio books was discovering the right books to start with.  I had to learn to listen and if you're like me you might have better luck sticking with humorous nonfiction and children's books at first.  These are a few that really helped me become and audio book listener!

1.  Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming read by David Tennant -  I've seen a few other narrators but if you can get the one narrated by David Tennant it's so worth it.  Seriously, I could listen to that man read a phone book (if you could find one these days) and be completely enthralled.  It doesn't hurt that this story is action packed and so much fun!

2.  Yes Please by Amy Poehler read by Amy Poehler - This book had me laughing to the point of tears a number of times and I think if anything it's better in audio because not only do you have Amy's inflections and infectious sense of humor shining through but you also have guest stars like Seth Meyers and Patrick Stewart who randomly show up and do readings.  It also really helps that each chapter is basically a stand alone essay if you're having trouble focusing on a book.

3.  Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain read by Anthony Bourdain - Like Yes Please the chapters in this book are basically stand alone essays which works great if your attention span isn't quite used to audio books.  Also, Bourdain is hilarious!  I'm not a huge fan of him from his television appearances but this was another book that had me laughing to the point of tears and the peek into Bourdain's world is just fascinating.

4.  The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister read by Cassandra Campbell - This was the first adult fiction book I listened to and the first book narrated by Cassandra Campbell.  It really worked because 1. Cassandra Campbell is amazing and 2. While it is an actual regular length book we meet the characters basically one at a time so it almost feels like a book of connected short stories.

5.  The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan read by Jesse Bernstein - This is a little longer and a little more complex than the other stories I've mentioned but it's so action packed that it's hard not to pay attention!  Plus Bernstein does a fantastic job of really bring Percy to light.

My Favorite Audio Books

1.  In a Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware read by Imogen Church - I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery on it's own merits (though don't go in expecting a super twisty Gone Girl type story or you'll be disappointed) but Imogen Church was amazing and really brought the story to life.  I would listen to pretty much everything she reads.

2.  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Anne Shaffer and Annie Barrows read by Paul Boehmer, Susan Duerden, Rosalyn Landor, John Lee, and Juliet Mills - This was my first audio book that was told by multiple narrators and my first that was told in an epistolary style.  I wasn't sure how well either would work but it was wonderful.  It made me cry at times and laugh at others and was fascinating in between.

3.  Cinder by Marissa Meyer read by Rebecca Soler - I was super nervous starting this one because while I've wanted to read Cinder for ages it's really different from my usual read but Soler really brought Cinder to life and kept me interested in the story in a few parts that I think I would've been tempted to put it down if I had been reading it.

4.  Bossy Pants by Tina Fey read by Tina Fey - This was actually a reread (well listen).  I had read the book soon after it came out and had liked it though wasn't blown away by it.  After I listened to Yes Please and absolutely loved it I decided to give Bossy Pants another try.  I enjoyed it so much more listening to it than I did reading it.   I think I needed Fey's inflections and just her own spin on it to really make it hilarious.

5.  Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee read by Reese Witherspoon - I was dead set against reading this book when it first came out.  While I enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird and understand its importance it isn't one of those books that really stayed with me and then the whole way the book came to be just felt a little hinky.  But when all the controversy started my contrary side kind of woke up and all of a sudden the book started looking way more appealing!  Then when I discovered that not only did the library have a digital audio copy available but that it also was under 6 hours I just couldn't pass it up!  Story-wise it reads like what it is - a manuscript that was turned down - but I really enjoyed it on an academic level.  I could really see why the publisher asked for more of Scout as a child and I really feel like I understand TKAM more after listening to this.  Plus, Witherspoon's accent is flawless and I just loved listening to her.

So what would make your list of favorite audios?  What books would you recommend for audio beginners?