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I am still listening to and loving audiobooks, and I still get through way more audiobooks than I do actually reading books. I often find it too hard to switch off to sit and read a book and be able to concentrate on it and when I do try my daughter will usually not stop talking, my phone won’t stop dinging or my dog will keep knocking at the back door – she bangs the cat flap when she wants or needs to go out, which is great until it’s sunny outside and she constantly wants to go out and bark at birds!
I also find it hard to switch off my own mind enough to let myself be absorbed in a book; the constant to-do lists going around my head and the feeling of guilt that I shouldn’t be sat reading and should be getting something done instead, means I don’t read books anywhere near as much as I would like to.
I can do lots of other things whilst I’m listening to an audiobook though so I get through them way faster. Earlier today for example I spent a lovely half an hour laying in my garden in the red hot sun, whilst listening to an audiobook – see, multitasking at its finest! I know I’ve just completely contradicted myself there, saying I can do things whilst I listen to a book, but I was determined to actually spend a bit of time out in the garden whilst it’s sunny this week because every time I get my shoulders out and step outside the clouds come and it goes chilly, so I had to make the most of the sunshine this morning.
Anyway; audiobooks. I’ve listened to loads as usual since my last audiobook post and I often have a couple on the go at once. If you don’t already know, you can borrow audiobooks and ebooks from your local library’s online thingy for free; you just need to sign up with your library details. It’s called BorrowBox and although they don’t have everything on there or always get new releases straight away, they do have loads available to reserve and borrow.
Despite the fact I constantly have some reserved on there and usually at least one on the go, I am still obviously addicted to buying audiobooks on Audible too. I don’t know what it is, but however many I already own (and I do have a to-be-listened-to list as long as the Nile), I still always want more and am often far too tempted by new releases or the Audible Daily Deal.
I am currently listening to The Boyfriend by Michelle Frances (not sure at the moment, it’s a bit she said, she did this, the other one did that, so I’m glad it isn’t one I paid for), as well as The Family Holiday by Shalini Boland (good so far) and Sun Damage by Sabine Durrant (quite enjoying but not yet gripped).
I find that if one doesn’t grab me straight away I’ll often start something else and then (try to) go back to it again asap so I don’t completely lose interest. Which is why I currently have three on the go. I’ve also just downloaded Down to Earth by Monty Don in the 241 sale and it sounds really good but I’m not sure who I am anymore. I never, ever thought I would be downloading a book about gardening! I need all the help I can get in that department though so the sooner I crack on with that one, the better and I’m very happy to admit I am getting old.
Right: to the reviews. I would say that these three are all a bit different for me. I don’t tend to read or listen to cheesy rom-com types much anymore which is what this first one is, and nor do I often listen to books written in the olden days (Mrs England). Then there’s The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo which again is different to my usual genre, although I wouldn’t know what to classify this as. It also has an American narrator which I don’t also go for as I often find that I concentrate on their accent rather than the story.
Anyway (again!) – let me know if you’ve listened to or read to any of these and what you thought too.
Overall I really enjoyed this and it is one of the first of this genre that I didn’t want to stop listening to in a long, long time.
I usually prefer psychological thrillers now and find ‘chick lit’ a bit too soft and mundane for my tastes but I did really like most of this, and that was helped a lot by the brilliant narrator, Nicky Diss. I love listening to her and always look for more audiobooks narrated by her as soon as I’ve finished one.
A few bits annoyed me though – as mentioned in one of the reviews of the book on Amazon, the main character calls someone a slapper quite a few times as well as a slag and it felt pretty jarring and old-fashioned and I presumed that it must have been written years ago, but it was only 2017. I get that she felt a certain way about the woman she talked that way about but it felt like too much and wrong, especially in more modern times.
Also, the bloody sudden male narrator towards the end was jarring too; it wasn’t that he was a bad narrator at all but I don’t think it worked that well having a different narrator all of a sudden. His voice also didn’t seem to suit the character that we had got to know – he sounded too enthusiastic and not the laid-back guy he had always appeared to be so it took you away from being absorbed in the story a bit.
I also felt a bit let down on Laura’s behalf with the way her family and friends dealt with everything that was going on and I huffed and puffed at them at least a couple of times!
Despite what it might sound like, I did really enjoy The Longest Holiday. It was some great escapism and easy to listen to and enjoy, without being at all mundane. I’ll definitely check out more by Paige Toon when I’m ready for another of this genre.
Get it here: The Longest Holiday
I enjoyed this and I think a huge part of that was the narrator, Imogen Wilde, who I think is brilliant and was so good at a Brummy accent but great at the other accents in the story too.
I would say that not a lot happened in it but I was interested in where it was going to go and what was going to happen with the characters. It is very character-driven overall and I was really rooting for a few of them.
It was a nice, easy and pleasant listen and I actually would read or listen to another of Stacey Hall’s books despite not having loads to say about this one!
Get it here: Mrs England
I liked this at first and found it quite easy to listen to but then I left it for a bit a few times, I think because it’s quite different from my usual reads and perhaps because I needed or wanted to concentrate more fully on it, I’m not sure.
But when I went back to it again I ended up getting so absorbed in the story and the lives of these characters, and I ended up loving it and falling a bit in love with the story and some of the main characters. I fell in love with Evelyn and her most important two relationships, both of which spanned decades and I felt a lot of different emotions as they went through their lives.
It was a really interesting look back at Evelyn’s colourful and vivid life as a beautiful movie star and how she felt about all of the things that happened to her as well as her own choices and how they affected the rest of her life. I loved that it seemed like I could be listening to a real-life documentary or memoir of someone famous and I found myself pondering who it could be based upon (I googled and Elizabeth Taylor was mentioned, which makes sense).
I find it hard to like an ending such as this one, that isn’t necessarily a happy one with everything wrapped up in a neat bow, but it was actually perfect and I’m glad the writer didn’t make it more palatable.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is really well-narrated by three different narrators which works so well and made it seem that much more like it was real people taking part in an interview. So often with more than one narrator, I am left disappointed as one is great and one, not so much, but these three (Alma Cuervo, Julia Whelan and Robin Miles) are all perfect in their roles and I think I got a lot more from listening to the audiobook version rather than reading it myself.
I have already downloaded another of Jenkin Reid’s books as the other in the 241 sale – Maybe in Another Life – as well as reserved Daisy Jones and the Six on BorrowBox, which shows how taken I was with The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.
I’d heard lots of positive stuff about this book before I listened to it, but the reviews on Amazon are very mixed, which is interesting. I can sort of understand that it wouldn’t necessarily be everyone’s cup of tea but there are some that say it lacked depth which I totally disagree with – there is so much to it. Another comment or two mentioned that you have to suspend disbelief due to Evelyn’s marriages and why she married them, but again I completely disagree. I think back in those days and her being very famous I could imagine these things all happening, sad as they may be.
It is something I very, very rarely think, but I could see myself listening to this again. There is so much to it and I loved seeing how her relationships contributed to her life and changed her in different ways, right up until the end. I loved it.
Get it here: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Have you read or listened to any great books lately? Please share them in the comments if you have, I love finding new books to enjoy!
Welcome to Birds and Lilies! I'm Lou: mother, blogger and freelance writer. This is my lifestyle blog, where I talk about motherhood, infertility and IVF, beauty, my love for food and wine, as well as my thoughts about stuff, and our real-life and travel adventures.
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