On Audiobooks and Listening

 

Audiobooks sometimes get a bad rap from people who deem it not “real reading.” However, both reading and listening involve decoding and result in comprehension, which strengthen neuron connections related to learning in the brain. While reading allows one to slow down and process complex ideas more thoroughly, audiobooks are an art form in their own right as a narrator’s choices in interpreting the text can give insight that the written word sometimes can’t provide.  Audiobooks are amazing for the power they have to inspire non-readers, as an aid for those who have dyslexia or ADD, and it also helps almost everyone learn to be better listeners. 

Do you have any last trips planned before school starts again?  An upcoming trip has us considering some of our favorite audiobooks and what we should bring along.  Here are a few we’ve enjoyed: (These titles generally fall in the Teen section, but are ones that we think are just as captivating for adults!)

Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

An annual horse race with unusual Scottish island horses has an excellent cash prize, but it is a very dangerous race.  Puck has grown up on the island and lost her parents to the horses.  She has always thought the race stupidly dangerous, but faced with mounting debts and raising her siblings, she takes on the reigning champion, who has some compelling reasons of his own he needs to win. A nailbiter with a hint of romance, danger, and excellent readers, of course.

Legend by Marie Lu

(Dystopia) Day is the most wanted criminal, June is a young rising star in the Republic’s military. When June’s brother is murdered, and Day is considered the top suspect, their paths cross and they start to realize the elaborate stack of lies the government has created to control them both. High action/suspense.

Gallant by V.E. Schwab

Olivia has grown up in an orphanage and her mother’s diary is her dearest possession, though it seems to descend into madness at the end, sending dire warnings about staying away from an unknown Gallant.  Olivia believed she had no relatives, but a letter arrives just as she comes of age purporting to be from her uncle and inviting her to their family estate, called Gallant.  Unsure whether to heed her mother’s warnings or seek the family she has so desperately wanted, Olivia’s choices are few and the dangers are real.

This woven kingdom by Tahereh Mafi

Fair warning: this is the first in a series and leaves you with a cliffhanger that may leave you screaming.  This has Cinderella allusions mixed with Persian culture and a light touch of fantasy.  Alizeh is a servant with Jinn bloodline who has ice in her blood that makes her immune to fire/heat. Her people have been hunted close to extinction and aware that her unusually colored eyes give her away, Alizeh wears a servant veil. She is the last of her royal line of Jinn and had been raised learning fighting arts and literature, but her existence was largely a secret.  When the prince of the land sees her fend off an attacker and speak eloquently, he is certain she is a spy and alerts his grandfather, but while investigating, the Prince realizes Alizeh is not who or what he thinks. Forbidden romance, court secrets, and magic entwine to create a potently addictive story.