Alli the Book Giraffe

Hello readers! It’s time for another tag post, and this one centers audiobooks.

I saw this new one on YouTube this week and had to give it a try! Audiobooks are my go-to way of reading these days, and this tag is the perfect excuse to talk about them.

This tag was created by Honest Fiction on Booktube.

1. What was the first audiobook you ever listened to?

All the way back in 2013, I listened to Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. It was the first time I ever listened to a book and I listened to the whole thing in one day.

I gave it 5 stars back then, but I honestly don’t remember a thing about it. Maybe I’ll listen to it again one day down the road.

2. Who are your favorite narrators?

My favorite audiobook narrator is Bahni Turpin. She has narrated a pretty good range of different books from adult to middle grade.

Here are some books narrated by Bahni Turpin:

3. What audiobook platform do you use?

For the most part, I use Libby and Hoopla, but I have also been using Spotify recently. They have a new program where you get 15 hours a month with the paid plan, so I’ve been taking advantage of that when I can’t find a book on Libby.

It’s amazing how many platforms are offering audiobooks now! I love having options depending on availability.

It wasn’t even that long ago when the only way I could listen to one was by buying it outright, which wasn’t always affordable. I’m glad there are more accessible ways to enjoy audiobooks.

4. What book did you love on audio that you might not have enjoyed reading physically?

One thing that I typically dislike heavily in book is interview format, but I really didn’t mind it in audiobook form.

I think it’s because it just sounded like I was listening to a podcast or something and there not being any descriptions just feels more organic when hearing the story versus just reading it.

5. What’s your go-to audiobook speed?

This really depends on the genre I’m listening to.

If it’s a book that takes place in the real world like a romance, literary, or horror book, I can easily listen at 2x speed, but I always start at 1.8.

If I am listening to a fantasy or scifi, I always listen at 1.75 and do not typically go higher than that. I don’t know why, but I feel like they talk faster in fantasy audiobooks, especially during scenes with tension or fighting.

6. Do you prefer single or dual/multi-narration?

I prefer dual narration if there are multiple POV’s. It just brings the book to life more.

7. Do you listen while multitasking, or do you sit and listen like it’s a movie?

I will typically do other tasks while listening. Usually I’ll play a game on my phone, clean my house, put away my clothes, or some other mindless task.

8. What is your biggest audiobook pet peeve?

This might be kind of odd, but I really dislike in romance series when the narrator doesn’t change despite the characters we are following changing.

It makes the characters feel less distinct in my head, like I’m listening to the same person fall in love over and over. One example that comes to mind is the Bromance Book Club series. I really enjoyed those books and the audiobooks, but I do wish the narrator had either changed between books or made more of an effort to differentiate the voices. As it is, it kind of feels like the same guy in different romances.

It’s not a HUGE deal, but I’d love if audiobook producers considered things like this more often. Especially in romance where voice and chemistry matter so much.

One that has done it right for me is the Gilded Monsters series by Rebecca Kenney. I read both book one and two this past week and went back and forth between listening and physically reading them.

Both books and the next one in the series have different narrators. It just makes the transition between characters and stories feel much more natural to me.

9. If you could have any book made into an audiobook, which one would it be—and who would narrate it?

I would have to say books by indie authors! I mean, some of them do have audiobooks, but I know most don’t. I heard they cost upwards of 5,000 dollars to have recorded.

One of my favorite indie authors that lacks any audiobooks is Arianna Isabella. She really is a wonderful author with amazing writing and stories, but her books don’t get enough sales for her to have audiobooks.

10. What’s your all-time favorite audiobook experience?

Although I am not the biggest fan of LOTR, I loved these audiobooks. They had music and singing along with some sound effects. It’s really rare to find audiobooks like that.

I’ve also listened to a dramatized version of one of the books. The one that is around 4 hours long. It isn’t bad, but it was a little too much when it came to the screaming.

11. Have you ever listened to an audiobook that made you pause and say, “Wait… what did I just hear?”

This is actually really funny. I think I can say any spicy book. I don’t know why, but listening to a spicy book on audio can feel really uncomfortable at times, especially if I’m around other people.

Does anyone else experience that feeling?

I had so much fun doing this tag and sharing a little about my audiobook habits. If you’re an audiobook listener too, I’d love to hear your answers to some of these questions in the comments or link your posts below if you decide to do it yourself! I will always check out your posts when you link them.

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If you enjoyed this post, check out my Book Tag Masterlist for more book tags I’ve done!

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Happy blogging and bookish adventures! 📚🦒✨

This post was created by Allison Wolfe for www.allithebookgiraffe.com and is not permitted to be posted anywhere else.

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