Category: AudiobooksNow News

Tom Clancy will be sorely missed by avid readers of his many novels, 17 of which were on New York Times best sellers lists. In passing too young, at the age of 66, the author leaves behind a legacy of iconic stories, many following visionary takes of international intrigue and espionage with central character Jack Ryan. Clancy, who always humbly said that he just got lucky as a writer, was an ex-insurance salesman who became the favorite novelist of not only ordinary people, but also Presidents and military leaders. His first book, “The Hunt for Red October” was given a surprise review of “the perfect yarn“, when President Ronald Reagan received the book as a Christmas gift.
If you are among those who have not read the iconic stories of Tom Clancy, now would be a great time to begin. For those who are faithful fans, now is the time to begin again. His attempt to weave accurate accounts of fictional intrigue never disappoints the reader. He unknowingly gave a preview glimpse of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when he described a fictional attack on the U.S. Capital by a suicidal terrorist using a jet airplane. It is said that one military leader was always amazed and impressed by Clancy’s ability to take only public facts and write unbelievably accurate details of military subjects.
New readers to author Tom Clancy…begin the adventure!! Seasoned readers….begin again!!! Get your digital copies of Tom Clancy’s novels today!!

STEPHEN KING at his best….AGAIN!! If you are a fan of, The Shining, you will LOVE King’s sequel “Doctor Sleep”! It promises to be an exercise in mental stimulation as it intertwines the psychic world in which Danny (now grown) resides and the demonic presence of vampires. One can only imagine the intricately woven surprises that King has given his avid fans in this new novel. As you conjure images in your mind, you might actually be previewing the next great Stephen King movie.

You can get your digital audiobook copy of “Doctor Sleep” today, if you dare…

The controversial new movie “The Butler” opened nationwide in theaters last Friday. The audiobook version of the story is now available at AudiobooksNow and is read by Forest Whitaker, Oprah Wimphrey and David Oyelowo.

The story is based on character, Cecil Gaines tenure serving as a butler in the White House during eight presidencies. He is witness to not only dramatic events in American history, such as the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War, but personal issues for each President and their families. One could compare the exposure to such private familial situations as being the proverbial “fly on the wall”! The novel takes literary freedom in using actual events and expanding them for added drama.

You can get your digital audiobook copy of The Butler right now at AudiobooksNow!

AudiobooksNow has just added over 1,100 titles by Macmillan Audio to its catalog. With the addition of Macmillan, AudiobooksNow now offer more than 18,000 premium audiobooks. Some of Macmillan’s popular authors include Janet Evanovich, Robert Jordan, Douglas Preston, Lisa Scottoline, Michael Palmer, Bill O’Reilly, Richard North Patterson, and P. C. Cast just to name a few.

One of Macmillan’s most popular audiobooks is the sci-fi cult classic Ender’s Game. The much anticipated movie for the book is set for theaters on November 1st and the final trailer for the movie was just released this past week.

With Father’s day approaching, let’s look at audiobooks that would make great gifts for dad! We’ve chosen twenty books – mostly fiction, some non-fiction – from the Audiobooks Now catalog that might fit the bill for the dad you’re buying for. Whether it’s for your own dad or you’re buying on behalf of the kids, we’ve got something suitable.

We’ve been very deliberate in our choices. We’ve avoided the most obvious bestsellers, focusing instead on great books and fantastic writers that maybe aren’t on this week’s top ten list. Popularity and quality don’t always have much to do with one another, and very often the reader will overlook a book or author simply because the name is unfamiliar.

We’ve avoided politics, because dad doesn’t need a coronary on his special day (and you don’t want to hear him griping) and the sort of self-help books that may make him feel unhappy with life on a day where he should be able to revel in just who he is!

On with the list.

Fiction

Crime & Suspense

Crime and suspense usually goes down well, and here are some favorites chosen by a long term fan of the genre:

Gone, Baby, Gone: A Novel by Dennis Lehane

In a toughSouth Bostonneighborhood a child goes missing. Her mother is an alcoholic. Other family members are concerned, and bring in Private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro. Bad cops, bad luck and some surprisingly good motives appear in this thoughtful novel about parents and children.

 

Hit List byLawrence Block

So, Keller has one name, collects stamps, lives a quiet life inNew York City. He doesn’t work often, but when he does, he’s very good. – and is paid well for it. When you want somebody killed efficiently, he’s the man. Entertaining, bitingly funny stuff from a master of crime fiction.

Humor

Everyone’s taste varies when it comes to what they think is funny. Here we have two ‘opposites’ that are top of the heap in their respective piles – the gently madcap world-gone-by of P.G.  Wodehouse and the sharp, urban style of the great Richard Pryor.

A Damsel in Distress by P. G. Wodehouse

An American composer of musical comedy, is inEnglandto attend the performance of  a new production. When the Lady Patricia Maud Marsh slips into his taxi, he is drawn into the frivolous intrigues ofBelpherCastle. The king of light, fast prose gives us misunderstandings, impersonations and a lot of fun.

The Legend of Comedy: Richard Pryor, Vol. 1 by Richard Pryor

Widely seen as one of the greatest stand-up comics ever to take the stage, Richard Pryor was known for sharp  observations on race, politics and life in general .This collection includes  three  ‘bits’  – Are You Serious?,  Rev. Du Rite, and Insane.

Historical Adventure

Very often, the word ‘historical’ in the context of fiction means period romances. We aren’t going to offer those to dads. Instead, lets look at a couple of crime-in-time stories by masters of the genre.

The Venus Throw by Steven Saylor

Rome, 56 BC. Set in the last, chaotic decades before theRomanRepubliccollapsed into civil war, this is one in Saylor’s series concerning Gordianus ‘the Finder’, who is, essentially a private eye working for the rich and famous of the city. Murder and intrigue in a toga? This is a great place to start.

Target Lancer by Max Allan Collins

The most recent in Max Allan Collin’s  superb Nathan Heller books  – meticulously researched tales of actual events from the thirties onwards – takes the now-middle aged PI to his home city ofChicagoto deal with a case involving mobsters, communists and rogue cops in a plot to kill Kennedy a few weeks before the President was gunned down inDallas. It’s terrific.

Science Fiction & Fantasy

A lot of guys like SF and fantasy. Here are some suggestions that aren’t your typical galactic heroes and wizards ‘n’ dwarves adventures.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Gaiman deals in dark places, and this is the story of an ordinary young man whose act of kindness towards a young girl takes him into a strange, sinister world that exists benath and alongside modernLondon. “A fantastic story that is both the stuff of dreams and nightmares”,

The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson

Poul Anderson, a legend in SF and fantasy circles, began his career with a novel that delves into Norse mythology, with the broken sword of Thor at the bottom of it all. Darker and more deeply rooted in legend than most mainstream fantasy tales, we follow Skafloc, a boy kidnapped and raised by (sinister, non Christmassy) elves who has to mend the sword and face the changeling put into his own crib.

Birthright: The Book of Man by Mike Resnick

Resnick is a renaissance man of the genre, with forty or so Hugo and Nebula nominations and awards. This is his first novel from 1982, a sweeping epic about expansion through space over thousands of years.

Westerns

The western genre ain’t what it used to be. Fifty years ago the western novel, like theHollywoodhorse-opera, was a staple of mainstream culture. But older guys, especially, love westerns, and we’ve chosen one from the golden age, and one about archaeology and crime in the modern day southwest.

Three Ten to Yuma by Elmore Leonard

Best known for his crime novels, Elmore Leonard launched his career with Three-Ten toYuma, made into a movie in 1957 and remade fifty years later. A classic lawman-versus-outlaws tale using a town as the setting for gunplay.

Deadly Canyon by Jake Page

A blind sculptor and his half-Hopi girlfriend get mixed up in relic theft and murder at a scientific research facility in the wilds ofArizona’s Mogollon Rim country. Weird and off-beat, this is the second of Page’s series involving Mo Bowdre, whose blindness doesn’t stop him solving crimes.

Non Fiction

Health

Dad doesn’t really want a book that tells him to diet and work out more  – trust me on this! More appealing is –

The First 20 Minutes: Surprising Science Reveals How We Can Exercise Better, Train Smarter, Live Longer by Gretchen Reynolds

Did you know that twenty minutes of cardio at a time is enough to obtain maximum health benefits? Gretchen Reynolds writes a Phys Ed column for the New York Times. In this books she debunks myths, and questions widely held beliefs about exercise. Consulting experts in physiology, biology, psychology, neurology, and sports, she tells us how often to exercise, how long workouts should be and – for us oldsters – how to avoid injury!

Folks, This Ain’t Normal: A Farmer’s Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World by Joel Salatin

Environmentalism without preachiness! From farmer Joel Salatin’s point of view, life in the 21st century just ain’t normal. He discusses how far removed we are from the simple, sustainable joy that comes from living close to the land and the people we love. Salatin tellus what normal is and shares practical ideas for changing our lives in small ways that have big impact, from child-rearing, to creating quality family time. Funny but revealing.

Current Events

We love mobsters. Not actual criminals, of course, but the idea of organized crime and how law enforcement fights it:

Gangland: How the FBI Broke the Mob by Howard Blum

A handpicked squad of FBI agents  takes on  John Gotti, the seemingly invincible head of the richest and most powerfulNew Yorkcrime family. This was the FBI’s Organized Crime squad, who finally ended the ‘Dapper Don’s’ criminal career.

History

For many men, history is about battles. This much-lauded study covers one of the most crucial military actions of the last century:

Six Armies in Normandy: From D-Day to the Liberation of Paris, June 6th – August 25th, 1944 by John Keegan

There are many books about D-Day and theNormandycampaign. The late John Keegan here tells of the 1944 invasion, from D-Day to the liberation ofParis.  He focuses on all the fighting forces involved – from the American airborne troops in their night drop on the eve of the invasion, the Canadians at Juno Beach, the British advancing inland, the Free French liberating their homeland,  the Poles at Falaise and –  the much outnumbered Germans.

Who doesn’t like pirates? Arr!

Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates by David Cordingly

The former head of exhibitions at theNationalMaritimeMuseuminLondonhas combed the archives to give us a new picture of the golden age of piracy, exploding myths and bringing new light on old legends.

Science

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach

Mary Roach may be – together with the hilarious Bill Bryson – the funniest science writer working today. The author of Stiff (a study of death) and Bonk (a history of sex research) tells us about long distance space exploration, and answers the question we’ve all wanted to ask – “What happens if you vomit in your helmet during a spacewalk?”

Sports

There are a million books about sports careers. Dad isn’t a pro, and he’s not going to be. Help him lower his stress level after a disastrous round of golf with this —

It’s How You Play the Game and The Games Do Count by Brian Kilmeade

Sports books tend to be all about winning. Bios of athletes and coaches all focus on being the best in the world. But most of us don’t play sports at anything like that level. We play for fun, for fitness and to show youngsters how to do it. So, as Brian Kilmeade writes, “Winning or losing has little to do with who you will become. Instead, it’s how you prepared for the game that determines whether you’ll be a winner or loser in life.”

Music

Dad may be old and grey – at least according to the kids – but inside him there’s a rocker. Here’s a bio of one of the legendary rock bands of the ‘60s, selected partly in honor of the passing of the band’s great keyboardist, Ray Manzarek, in May 2013.

The Doors : A Lifetime of Listening to Five Mean Years by Greil Marcus

Respected rock critic Greil Marcus takes us through the tumultuous history of the Doors, front by the brilliant, self-destructive Jim Morrison – one of rock’s many casualties. A fan since the band’s first album in 1967, Marcus takes the reader through Morrison’s tragic death to the decades beyond.

Travel

Whether we are driving across thePainted Desertor picking up milk at the Stop ‘n’ Shop, the allure of travel is with us. Charles Kuralt is one of the great popular chroniclers ofAmerica’s roads.

Charles Kuralt’s America by Charles Kuralt

After retiring from CBS News in 1994, Kuralt set out to spend a perfect year inAmerica, traveling to his twelve favorite American places. He goes  fromMontanain September andAlaskain June to winter in Cajun country and theNorth Carolinamountains in spring, bringing gentle humor to the whole trip.

So, that’s twenty audiobooks chosen not for mass popularity but for quality. Pick one you think the man of the hour would appreciate!

Kim Kilpatrick is always ‘seeing’ the glass half full. Blind for years, Kim is, however, always ready to share the benefits of her own life. To do so, she created her own blog – a blog all about the wonderful things that she experiences as a blind person. Check out her insightful post about audio books – one of the many amazing things that blind people experience.

Source: http://kimgia3.blogspot.com/2011/01/great-things-about-being-blind-audeo.html

Remember when you were young – only a child at the peak of curiosity – and you loved that big, black box which told such beautiful stories? What did it matter what its name was? You were at the age when names, nouns, words, and phrases were all of little importance.

That Big Black Box

What mattered were the vivid adventures you took part in whenever that box began playing. A captivating voice would talk with you, to you, describing otherworldly adventures that you could only imagine, but of which you were now a part. In a pleasantly odd way, you were part of all the adventures narrated by the box. Because imagination was enough. Your imagination was enough. You would close your eyes and lay still in your favourite armchair, listening to the story as it was unfolding in front of your eyes as if in a fairytale…

This was your childhood. These were your dreams. The stories that the big black box could tell were unparalleled. Who needed images? Who needed movies? You would wrap yourself in the silence and became the dreamy prisoner of a fairytale world.

You knew it, that big black box. You eventually found out that it’s called a radio, and it has the magical power of knowing history’s best stories.

What Were the Best Vinyl Disk Stories of History?

It depends on who you’re asking. Of course, scientists will tell you scores and statistics. But we don’t measure stories’ greatness by statistics now, do we?

Now, children will tell you fairytales are the best stories of all. Maybe adults will answer that they no longer have time to let themselves become slaves of a good story so they have no idea what their favorite story genre or book is.

I will tell you that nowadays, the best stories are the audio ones.

Audio Books – Are They Worth the While?

How many books did you read in the past year? Not that many? A lot? ‘Meh… somewhere in between’?

• Listening to an audiobook can help you finish ‘reading’ a novel in half the time you will need to actually READ it.
• People listen to tons of music on their mp3s, smartphones, laptops, and all sorts of other gadgets, so why wouldn’t they listen to audiobooks as well?
• We are now witnessing the rebirth of the audio world with the rising of podcasts.
• The world returns to ‘retro’ as a way of being cool, and audio is so retro you don’t want to miss it.

Anyway, here are some reasons that will show you that yes, they’re well-worth the while.

1. Audio books save you time

If you’re a student you know how important it is for you (and for your teachers and professors) to complete your list of compulsory novels. And sometimes you just don’t feel like reading or you simply have something better to do. Or perhaps you are a savvy entrepreneur whose business takes up most of their time. On the other hand, you cannot give up your passion for books. Audiobooks can be a real time saver if used at the right moment.

2. Audio books allow you to be … multifunctional

Are you a busy mom? We all know what that means. No time to do this, not enough time to do that – not to mention reading… With a crying baby and the food in the oven who has time to even think about reading?

Here’s a tip: when my brother was but an incredibly lovely (and screaming) toddler, my mom used to enchant him with the stories she told him. Eventually we bought a pick-up and it successfully replaced (and even overcame) my mom’s ability to tell a good story. So,  use the time you spend with your child listening to a good story. It can be whatever you want, or you can decide on the topic together with your baby. Another good idea is to listen to an audiobook while you’re cooking.

See? Multifunctional, defined!

3. Audio books ‘keep the flame alive’

“I will read that tomorrow,” you say. And then, when tomorrow comes, you will read it tomorrow as well. This is how your taste for reading dies and eventually you will conclude that you ‘used to read a lot’. So stop searching for reasons to justify your quitting and start looking for alternatives. If you love a good story, you will find a way to allow it to develop: either in writing or in audio format.

Audio books keep the flame alive, they train your mind and your thinking and they open your eyes to new horizons. If you need a great idea, listen to a great book – the idea will surely come in no time.

4. Audio books help you rest your eyes

People work a lot in front of a computer nowadays. Whether it is writing a good article, putting together a report or a presentation or dealing with bookkeeping, you will do it all on a computer. At the end of the day our eyes are literally exhausted – you will not be able to read more without destroying them.

But your thirst for a new novel is acute. You long for a new universe, for an escape from the mundane world – you want it, and you want it now. Can you get your story without sacrificing your eyes? Well, audiobooks only require your ears and your imagination. So yes, they are the perfect solution to this problem.

In time you will get to know the voices who narrate stories and you will be able to choose your favorites. You will definitely grow your knowledge in half the time you would need to read everything. You will save your eyesight, and at the same time meet your favorite characters. Last but not least, at the end of this year you will be able to impress your friends with the incredible amount of books that you have ‘read’ throughout the year. Can something be cooler than that? Radios, vinyls, and now audiobooks – they are all taking the legends of our past into our present…

Listening to audiobooks is one of the best and easiest ways to catch up on new books and old favorites without having to carve out special time in the day to actually sit down and read. Audiobooks are easy to listen to anytime, but most people take advantage of down time in their vehicles or when doing mundane chores such as housework or yard work. Often, though, you come across a section of the book you’re just not that interested in but decide you don’t want to fast forward on the chance that you might miss an important piece of dialogue or a pertinent description.

Before selecting which audiobook you’re interested in purchasing, consider whether you are purchasing an unabridged or an abridged version of that same book.

The unabridged version of the book is read, in its entirety, exactly the way the author wrote the book and exactly the way it was originally published. The definition of unabridged is “Not reduced in length by condensing. Containing the original content; not condensed.” So when you purchase an unabridged version of the book, you’re getting all the dialogue, all the flowery descriptions, all the meat and potatoes…along with veggies, sides, garnishes, and condiments!

The definition of abridged is “To reduce in scope; to shorten by omission of words without sacrifice of sense.” An abridged version of a book maintains the integrity of the story while reducing the length, thus, reducing the amount of time it might take to read. There are many reasons that a book may be abridged. Books are abridged in order to remove questionable content. They may also be abridged in order to reduce the overall size of the material to make it faster to download and faster to finish listening. Shorter books are sometimes more appealing to people because they don’t take up as much memory on their devices and can be listened to in a few short sessions rather than listening to an unabridged book for several days at a time.

Each version has its positives and negatives. When you listen to, or read, an unabridged version of a book, you can be certain you are listening to the book exactly as the author meant for you to hear it. Every word, every line, every description is read exactly the way it was meant to be conveyed. When you listen to an abridged version of a book, you are getting a version of the story, often with the permission of the author, that is shorter but just as engaging as the full version.

Why Should I Listen to Unabridged Audiobooks?

• You are listening to the book the way the author meant for it to be listened to.
• You like to define what is non-essential to any story you listen to or read.
• You have the time to invest to listen to a full, unabridged book and don’t get bored easily by the same story going on for days, or weeks, at a time.
• You read the book already but would like to listen to it this time.
• You want to listen to a book that is considered classic literature but you’re only interested in the story.
• You don’t have the time or patience to sit through days and weeks of an audiobook. You’d rather hear the shortened version.

Why Should I Listen to Abridged Audiobooks?

Whichever version you decide to choose, unabridged or abridged, rest assured you’re going to enjoy your book, no matter how long it takes you finish listening to it.

In 2005, when the MP3 player audiobook craze started, it was considered cute to see people strolling or jogging along the pathways of the local parks listening to their favorite books as they exercised. Audiobooks have really seen an increase in popularity recently with people listening to them on the way to work, on breaks, while exercising and cleaning house, or even while just relaxing. Now, it seems that even times when people could be reading a book, they still tend to prefer to just plug in and listen. Audiobooks are great but controversy points to the fact that they aren’t the same as actually reading a book. Does your brain retain the information as well as if your eyes are following the written word? Read on to find out.

The Feel of the Book

Many people report that the feel of the book helps them to retain information easier. It’s been reported as an association between being cozy and the feel of the book in your hands. When most people think of reading, especially a fiction novel, it brings up images of a couch, a blanket tucked in around the legs, coffee in hand, and a fire in the fireplace. To many people, that is the best way to read, not listening to your book as you rush home from work during 5:00 traffic.

On the other hand, if it wasn’t for audiobooks in today’s ultra busy world, some people wouldn’t get to read their favorite authors at all. For many, the job, kids, and just life in general have them too exhausted to read at the end of the day, so they listen to audiobooks as they go about their daily business. It is certainly better to hear your book than not get to read it at all right?

Research Shows…

Research into the audiobook vs. reading debate has come up with some pretty interesting results. Research has shown that reading and listening are actually cognitively similar. The bottom line here is that people who read and understand what they are reading are just as likely to retain and understand what they are listening to as well. For example, reading and listening is often used in teaching a foreign language.

Research also shows that you can get distracted from reading easily and lose your place and train of thought. Which is true as avid readers know because it has happened to all of us at some time or another. A lot of losing your concentration with audiobooks is the fact that people multitask when listening to them. It’s just not possible to read a book while you are doing the dishes or vacuuming. However, with an audiobook you can easily get wrapped up in whatever task you’re doing and forget about listening to your book.

The Type of Book

The fact has been discussed that the type of book you are listening to can determine how well you absorb the words. Books that are difficult sometimes require you to go back and read other words to tie them together, something you can’t really do with an audiobook. The end result is that whether listening or reading we stop both if there is even a hint that something more interesting might be going on. That is human nature and whether we devour a book with our eyes or our ears we will still get distracted if something happens. Audiobooks force you to listen to every word that is spoken, something books often don’t do. I, myself have gotten so into a book that I skim sentences to see what happened. You can miss a lot that way. This isn’t possible with an audiobook, you hear every word of what is being read to you so the reality is that you retain more of it.

My Conclusions

While I can’t see myself curling up on the couch and listening to my book on a lazy afternoon, I can see the benefit of audiobooks. If you just can’t wait to find out who did it in our latest mystery but you have to clean the bathroom, pop on an audiobook and you will soon know. If you were up all night with a sick baby and have an exam at school the next morning, pop in your audiobook and cram on the way to school.

I guess we will never truly know whether the eyes or the ears are better when it comes to retaining knowledge, and in today’s technology driven world there are so many options from e-books to blogs and audio to video that it’s hard to slow down and even try to figure it all out.

In my opinion, it’s a personal choice or then again why can’t we all just do both? Do you read books or listen to audio? Which way suits you better? We would love to hear your opinion!