(Part 3) Best products from r/audiobooks

The first book I listened to this week was Everblue. Book one of the Mer Tales series. I can't say I really enjoyed it. I had seen some reviews saying it was pretty good. But the entire book seems to be filled with characters that are pretty much the same person with a slightly different attitude. Through your journey of discovering this secret society of mermaids you will quickly come to realize that the actual plot probably could be told in at most an hour. While the rest is filled with silly nonsense drama that really could all be avoided if every single character didn't insist on lying to everyone else about every single thing. That's not even a joke. They all lie to one another. There seems to be this underlying theme that love is the most powerful and all important thing in the world but all of these characters that are supposedly in love can't seem to stop themselves from lying non-stop to the people they love. Most of the lies don't even make sense and the author does little to justify why the character is lying.

Now if book two turned out to actually be about how being around mermaids magically made everyone a compulsive liar. I think it would be an improvement. As it stands I am about half way done with the second book and it's got even less interest in it than the first one. Pretty much everything I said about the first book, feel free to double it for the second book. When I get to the third one there is a good chance you can triple it.

On a positive note. Brenda Pandos, the author, clearly has a great imagination to feed into the fantasy side of her books. The mermaid world has some beautifully explained details and a lot of it is in depth. She has clearly though quite a bit about the world itself and it really shows. The glimpses into the world she has created make getting through the silly lies, petty drama, and lack of anything interesting happening for long periods much more bearable.

All the same I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who I didn't know absolutely loved paranormal romances in general.

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On the other hand however I picked up a great Podiobook called [The Once and Future Nerd](http://onceandfuturenerd.com/). I posted a thread last week about what sort of things people did between reading books. I personally always find it hard to go straight from one to another, unless its a series of course. Quite a number of people recommended giving something else a listen between books. So this was what I decided on for my trial. It was pleasurable through and through, though I only listed through their first chapter/section. Bellow you will find the review I wrote for them the moment after it finished:<br />
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Really enjoyed all of chapter one! The plot manages to be both hilarious and serious at the same time. While being absolutely clever. I still find myself laughing at all of Billy's absolutely stupid jokes, even when I'm not listening. I even caught one I'd say he missed, 'yourdick' cockroaches. Despite giving me lots of dumb laughs I still find myself aggravated with his attitude since he is kind of a jerk. Which really makes him a good character, being able to both love and hate him at the same time.<br />
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Which brings me to what the cast and crew do best. Making memorable characters. Yellowwein(Yllowyyn) is absolutely great so far, probably my favorite. Everything from his attitude, acting so pompous and regal, to his accent, which makes me think of a southern slave driver, makes him a fun character and I was actually sad to see him part ways in the beginning, though it gave me excitement to see what other characters the group would come across. Sure enough the bartender at their next stop turned out to be another interesting character. It's great to see the level of attention put into even minor characters. I have a feeling they might all have character sheets somewhere that go into even further detail.<br />
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The only part that I didn't enjoy about the podiobook is that there seems to be an overuse of the echo function. As if many characters are always in really big and empty rooms. Which sometimes has worked in favor to set the scene but just seems to be used excessively. I love the use of it for the narrator as it gives a good feel of marking him as separate from the actual story.<br />
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All the same I plan to download the rest of the podiobooks because they really are top notch. I'm a little nervous about not being able to listen to them as a continuous story. Perhaps not quite remembering what happened in the previous cast. But I was recently advised to pick up something small to listen to in between audio books and I think The Once and Future Nerd will really fit well into that slot for me. So long as I don't catch up with them too quick.

I never got to the teen/kids releases last week as that was a huge week, and while this week's not quite up there in terms of raw numbers, there's a solid handful of fantastic audiobooks I would love to listen to in the week ending Tue Sep 27:

• Company Town By Madeline Ashby, Narrated By Cecelia Kim for Audible -- Sci-Fi new release pick this week. My god, I feel like I've been waiting for this book for 2-3 years. (Seriously, it's kept having its release date pushed back, and back... and then it finally came out in hardcover/ebook from Tor in May, sans audio.) Anyway, it's FINALLY OUT: "They call it Company Town - a city-size oil rig off the coast of the Canadian Maritimes, now owned by one very wealthy, powerful, byzantine family: Lynch Ltd. Hwa is of the few people in her community (which constitutes the whole rig) to forgo bioengineered enhancements. As such, she's the last truly organic person left on the rig - making her doubly an outsider as well as a neglected daughter and bodyguard extraordinaire. Still, her expertise in the arts of self-defense and her record as a fighter mean that her services are yet in high demand. When the youngest Lynch needs training and protection, the family turns to Hwa. But can even she protect against increasingly intense death threats seemingly coming from another timeline?" Note: If you picked it up in Kindle back in May or earlier this summer, it a $4.49 Whispersync add-on.
  
• The Ferryman Institute: A Novel By Colin Gigl, Narrated By Stephen Hoye for Audible -- Fantasy new release pick: "In this stunning, fantastical debut novel from a bold new voice in the best-selling traditions of Christopher Moore and Jasper Fforde, a ferryman for the dead finds his existence unraveling after making either the best decision or the biggest mistake of his immortal life."
  
• Kids: Going Wild By Lisa McMann, Narrated By Shannon McManus -- "Spider-Man meets Animorphs in this thrilling new middle grade series from Lisa McMann, New York Times best-selling author of the Unwanteds series."
  
• Short Fiction: Sinbad By Kurt Vonnegut, Narrated By Jonathan Davis -- Length: 1 hr and 11 mins
  
• Fiction: Men Like Air By Tom Connolly, Narrated By Piers Wehner -- "Tom Connolly's dazzling second novel is a funny, turbulent and heartfelt study of male relationships and a glorious love letter to the city of New York. It is April in Manhattan, and the destinies of four very different men are about to collide. Nineteen-year-old Finn has just arrived in the city with his irrepressible and volatile girlfriend, Dilly, determined to even the score with his older brother, Jack, for abandoning him in the UK in the aftermath of their parents' deaths. Across town, successful gallery owner Leo Emerson is haunted by loneliness, unsettled by the contrast between his life and that of his brother-in-law and oldest friend, Isidor, who is enviably contented in his faith and his marriage."
  
• Non-Fiction: Time Travel: A History Written by: James Gleick, Narrated by: Rob Shapiro -- "From the acclaimed author of The Information and Chaos, a mind-bending exploration of time travel: its subversive origins, its evolution in literature and science, and its influence on our understanding of time itself."
  
  BOOK TWO OF SERIES:
  
  
• Cloudbound: Bone Universe, Book 2 By Fran Wilde, Narrated By Raviv Ullman -- "Updraft" was absolutely fantastic, deservedly award nominated and winning secondary world fantasy where, jesus, teens have to learn to fly using silk wings from bone tower to bone tower, meanwhile nearly invisible CARNIVOROUS FLYING MOUTHS WITH TENTACLES would like a snack.
  
• Like a River Glorious Audible by Rae Carson (Author), Erin Mallon (Narrator), HarperAudio (Publisher) -- "The sequel to the New York Times best-selling and National Book Award long-listed Walk on Earth a Stranger. After her harrowing journey west to California, Lee Westfall has finally found a new home - one rich in gold, thanks to her magical power, a power that seems to be changing every day. But this home is rich in other ways, too: with friends who are searching for a place to be themselves, just as she is, and with love. Jefferson - her longtime best friend - hasn't stopped trying to win her heart. And Lee is more and more tempted to say yes."
  
• A Night Without Stars: A Novel of the Commonwealth: Chronicle of the Fallers Series, Book 2 By Peter F. Hamilton, Narrated By John Lee -- science fiction from Hamilton and Lee is a good bet if that's your fix, man.
  
• Crooked Kingdom By Leigh Bardugo, Narrated By Brandon Rubin, Jay Snyder, Elizabeth Evans, Fred Berman, Peter Ganim, Lauren Fortgang, Roger Clark, Kevin T. Collins -- Series: Six of Crows, Book 2.
  
• Destiny: Here Comes Earth, Book 2 By William Lee Gordon, Narrated By Jeffrey Kafer for Podium Publishing.
  
  LATER BOOKS IN SERIES:
  
  
• The Tengu's Game of Go: The Tale of Shikanoko, Book 4 By Lian Hearn
  Narrated By Neil Shah -- Concluding 4th book in FSG/Macmillan Audio's "binge reading release schedule" of Hearn's (Across the Nightingale Floor) new, lush Japanese-influenced fantasy.
  
• Orb Sceptre Throne: Novels of the Malazan Empire, Book 4 By Ian C. Esslemont, Narrated By John Banks -- If you absolutely, 100% can't get enough Malazan...
  
• Fear God and Dread Naught: Ark Royal, Book 8 By Christopher G. Nuttall, Narrated By Ralph Lister -- long-running, fantastically-narrated military space opera series.
  
• 3d6: Caverns and Creatures By Robert Bevan, Narrated By Jonathan Sleep -- latest collection of short stories in the "Caverns and Creatures" series.
  
• The Powder Mage Novella Collection #1: Stories from the Powder Mage Universe By Brian McClellan, Narrated By Julie Hoverson
  
• Teens: The Fever Code: Maze Runner, Book Five; Prequel By James Dashner, Narrated By Mark Deakins
  
  FROM THE BACKLIST:
  
  
• • Forever Free By Joe Haldeman, Narrated By Peter Berkrot for Recorded Books -- Wow. I didn't see this one coming, book 3 after "Forever War" and "Forever Peace" (you may have heard of them.) The narrator switches from George Wilson, who performed ably enough though in a more "this is classic science fiction" voice, to the outstanding Berkrot (The Last Policeman trilogy).
    
• The Prophecy Machine: The Investments Series, Book 1 By Neal Barrett Jr., Narrated By Jeff Hays for Crossroad Press -- The late and prolific Barrett's 2000 novel in a mystical world of uplifted animals.
  
• Anthology: Limbus, Inc. By Jonathan Maberry, Brett J. Talley, Joseph Nassise, Benjamin Kane Ethridge, Anne C. Petty, Narrated By Gregory Zarcone -- a 2013 Journalstone "shared world" anthology comes to audio: "Are you laid off, downsized, undersized? Call us. We employ. 1-800-555-0606. How lucky do you feel? So reads the business card from LIMBUS, INC., a shadowy employment agency that operates at the edge of the normal world. LIMBUS's employees are just as suspicious and ephemeral as the motives of the company, if indeed it could be called a company in the ordinary sense of the word. In this shared-world anthology, five heavy hitters from the dark worlds of horror, fantasy, and sci-fi pool their warped takes on the shadow organization that offers employment of the most unusual kind to those on the fringes of society. One thing's for sure - you'll never think the same way again about the fine print on your next employment application!"
  
  MOST MISSING:
  
  
• Revenger by Alistair Reynolds, though it looks to be coming in 2017 from Blackstone Audio -- "A superb science fiction adventure set in the rubble of a ruined universe, this is a deep space heist story of kidnap, betrayal, alien artifacts and revenge."

Yes Please by Amy Poehler, performed by Amy P with a little help from her friends. Now this is why I love audiobooks! Amy does a great job narrating this - it doesn't even feel like she is reading text at all, it just feels like she is having a conversation. I'll admit I am biased by being a fan going in, but it was one of my favorite audiobook experiences so far. There are great cameo voices throughout, and the last chapter read in front of a live audience is awesome. It makes it 10X funnier hearing a crowd laugh along to the reading. (Are there any other audiobooks recorded in front of an audience?) As for the actual writing - I really loved the positive message throughout the book, and some passages were unexpectedly deep (why she believes in time travel for example). The SNL and UCB stories were great as well for a long-time fan like me. Coming after Lena Dunham's book and her bored, flat-lined reading, hearing a true performer narrate a book was a breath of fresh air. (I just had to throw one more dig at that Lena Dunham audiobook...)

Hatchet by Paulsen, narrated by Peter Coyote (great name for this book). This is a short one (~3:30) and more for younger readers, but it was still enjoyable. The writing had an interesting style with a lot of short, repetitive phrases. The narrator did a fair job, and I learned that all this time I've been pronouncing cro-magnon wrong.

Ok lets answer this for real. No personal anecdotes about what I've liked in the past. I've used a lot of earphones. Lets get into it.

What you are looking for in an audiobook earphone is a mids-focused presentation balanced with good comfort levels. The middle part of the audible range is where we hear vocal. This sits between the bass and treble. Now the earphone in question doesn't need to emphasize this range but shouldn't have it recessed either.

You seem to be looking for really good sound isolation from the environment. The Etymotic MK5 is excellent for this, and you'll have a hard time finding better sound isolation. It has very precise and analytical sound especially in voices. The comfort is what takes a hit for this level of isolation. Some people really don't like triple flange tips. https://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-Isolator-Noise-Isolating-Earphones/dp/B00OQG7IC2

For a more comfortable headphone that still have great mid presentation but warmer sound with more present bass, look at the Thinksound TS02. Its my favorite durable and just plain fun earphone. Much more exiting for music than any etymotic and still works great for audiobooks. Their isolation isn't as much as the etymotic, but you can improve that. https://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-Isolator-Noise-Isolating-Earphones/dp/B00OQG7IC2

They are so discounted on that amazon link from what they used to come for that I'd recommend throwing a few bucks of your savings toward some Comply earphone tips. Improve isolation greatly. Its memory foam in your ear. Whichever earphone you intend to use them with, make sure you get the right version on their site, but I find the 200s pretty versatile.
https://www.amazon.com/Comply-Foam-Premium-Earphone-Tips/dp/B004HKIABA/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1493866044&sr=1-1&keywords=comply+200+foam+tips

The best "Standard" deal is the
Platinum Annual
24 Credits/Yr.
You pay $9.57 per credit
$229.50 per year

That's always available and offers the most credits at the cheapest price per credit.

If you follow the Audible sub then you'll find signup deals on there from time to time. The last I took advantage of was the
Discount Gold Annual
12 Credits/Yr.
~$8.29 per credit
$99.50 a year

You could sign up for that one until April 5th. Sometimes if you call and ask you can still sign up for one of these deals, but I haven't done/tried that so I can't say much about it. I don't know of any sign-up deals going on right now, they usually happen around holidays.

Depending on the genres you enjoy, your best bang for your buck might be a Kindle Unlimited subscription and then picking up some cheap audiobooks through whispersync. You can pick up a KU subscription for $0.99 for two months (https://www.techbargains.com/deals/amazon-kindle-unlimited-membership) and if you hunt around you can find a bunch of good books for $1.99. It's mostly Sci-Fi and Fantasy, but as a few examples:
https://www.amazon.com/Are-Legion-Bob-Bobiverse-Book-ebook/dp/B01LWAESYQ
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MFGX5GI/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SLWQGUM/
https://www.amazon.com/Thru-Hiking-Will-Break-Your-Heart-ebook/dp/B00W4RICAM

Those aren't endorsements, just examples (I've only read the first one, which I would endorse if you like Sci-Fi)

Beyond that if you like classics you can usually find some of those cheap:
https://www.audible.com/pd/Siddhartha-Audiobook/B07HK6JZSC

On occasion, if you go to cancel your subscription you'll be offered a deal to keep it. I haven't signed up for any of those, and don't know what those deals are, but it's an option.

Last but not least, you can just buy more credits. If you've run out of credits (or if you contact Audible Support) you can usually buy 3 credits for $36 ( I think that's the correct amount). I generally wouldn't recommend this option, it's a bit more expensive to buy the Gold Plan, but you get a year's membership with that. Whereas buying credits straight out still leaves you paying a monthly subscription as well.

I don't mean to hijack your promo and wish you all the best. However, I think it is worth pointing out to those unaware, that your account can only use this method to accept a free book once per account.

So if you accept this title from the author via the share/onebook program, you won't ever be able to use this program to get a free book again.

Likewise, if you already have redeemed a title through this program, the link the author sends won't give it you for free.

Which is fine. I mean, you've got to get A free book, might as well be this one as it looks awesome. Is a good length, and narrated by the awesome Simon Vance.


Just thought people should know this limitation however.

Here is a link to the title on Audible. (Wrong book, same author, see edit.)

http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/The-Exodus-Towers-Audiobook/B00EF5NFTY/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1465331565&sr=1-1

It is also Whispersync enabled. You can grab the Kindle version first and get the Audible title for a combined $14. (Wrong book, same author, see edit.)

https://www.amazon.com/Exodus-Towers-Dire-Earth-Cycle-ebook/dp/B00BO4GQYU

Good luck mate! I may pick it up on my own since I've already used the share feature to get a book.

Edit: Also, I don't think you need to a member.

Edit 2: I linked to the wrong books, :(.

Here is Zero World, the book the author is promoting on Kindle. The total Whispersync combo is $6!

https://www.amazon.com/Zero-World-Jason-M-Hough-ebook/dp/B00RKO3UEW?ie=UTF8&qid=&ref_=tmm_kin_swatch_0&sr=

Here it is on Audible.

http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/Zero-World-Audiobook/B012HQ76TW/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1465333936&sr=1-1

Unfortunately yeah... I'm out of codes. If you are still interested in the book though, amazon will be doing a free day for the kindle edition on April 14th-> www.amazon.com/Alien-Mind-V-L-Jennings/dp/1974669661

Canz 808. Very portable with tremendous sound. I have 2. You can use bluetooth or a plug in. Even my hearing impaired mother can hear well with it. They are sold commonly at Walmart and Amazon - probably other places as well.

I have one in red and one in silver. Not sure if those colors are still available.

https://www.amazon.com/Canz-Plus-Bluetooth-Wireless-Speaker/dp/B075TZKD12/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=canz+808&qid=1567544911&s=gateway&sr=8-5

The lord of all things, written by Andreas Eschback, Translated to english by Samuel Willcocks, performed by Nick podehl.

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https://www.amazon.com/Lord-All-Things-Andreas-Eschbach/dp/1501279548

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Thought it was great. Self replicating nano-machines, and the fermi paradox, and unusual anthropology.

Such a good book, second this recommendation.

EDIT: Is it "It's Superman" though?

https://www.amazon.com/hallmark-Its-Superman/dp/B000LC4APS/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=it%27s+superman&qid=1569948525&sr=8-1

Maybe it's because I'm not in the USA but there has been an Unabridged version available to me on Audible for months.

Basically there are 3 versions available to me there now: the original abridged (can't remember exactly but its 6 hours-ish?), the unabridged (14 hours) and the movie tie in (around 12 hours, but apparently has different chapters).

https://www.amazon.com/World-War-Complete-Tie-History/dp/B00BIK73QA

So, I've wanted to try getting into audiobooks. Haven't signed up for Audible because I didn't know if I'd get my money's worth out of a subscription service. Would I need to be a subscriber to listen to just one book to see how I like it (I ask because it may take me longer than the 30 day trial to get through it)? If not, I'd really like to give World War Z: The Complete Edition a listen.