For 2014, I am participating in the 2014 Blogger Challenge being hosted by Gaby of Another Girly Blog. This is a year long challenge that consists of two themed challenges each month. In January, our themes were fashion and skin care. Definitely challenges for me. I especially enjoyed the fashion challenge. For February, our challenge was to do a book review. You’d think that would be easy for me. I love to read. But it feels like it’s been forever since I actually finished a book. Also, just because I love reading doesn’t mean I am good at writing reviews of books. But I am giving it my best shot.
The book I am talking about today is probably not new to you. I am sure you have all heard of The Help from Kathryn Stockton by now. The book has been extremely popular, as was the movie. You don’t really need me to tell you The Help is a book worth reading, although it is a captivating book worth reading. What I want to talk about today is the Audible book.
The Help is the book that actually showed me that listening to books can be an enjoyable experience. Prior to The Help, I always believed I would hate audio books. Because I can read so fast, I always hated listening to others read when I was in school. That experience had completely turned me off the idea of listening to books.
Then I started listening to podcasts. I found I didn’t always have to listen to music in the car. Plus, the podcasters spoke so highly of Audible books that I was intrigued. So I decided to give Audible.com a try. The first book I got was The Help.
I chose The Help because of the great reviews for the audio version. Yet I still did’t really expect to like it. Boy was I wrong.
The Audible version of the The Help is extremely well performed. Notice I said performed, not read. The Audible version uses four different narrators for the book. It is more like you are listening to a play than having a book read to you. It makes the book so much more engaging because it is a much more immersive of an experience. You really feel the emotion of the book. I was hooked and looking for excuses to listen to the book. I couldn’t believe it.
I can not more highly recommend the Audible version of The Help. If you tried reading The Help and didn’t like it, give the Audible version a try. It could change how you feel about the book. If you are ready to give Audible a try, start with The Help. That way you’ll know what a good audio book should be.
I haven’t read the book yet, but the movie was amazing! 🙂
I’ve never seen the movie. I’m afraid it will pale in comparison to the book.