Chapter #34: That Time I Tried Listening To Audiobooks For a Week

Emphasis on tried...

Feeling My Shelf is a bi-weekly newsletter about books, life, and well, life with books. Grab your favorite caffeinated beverage and get comfy. First up, some recent reads.

Penelope in Retrograde by Brooke Abrams

A quick, thoroughly-entertaining read, this book follows Penelope, a romance writer who hasn’t seen her family in ten years. She returns home for Thanksgiving with hopes that her dad will help finance her romance bookstore. To say the reunion with her family is interesting would be an understatement. From the moment she steps off the plane, chaos ensues—tense family dynamics, the reappearance of an ex-husband, and too many more things to name. The astrology reference in the title pulled me in, but the relatable main character and her sarcasm kept me reading.

The Christmas Orphans Club by Becca Freeman

Wondering what could be better than a holiday love story? A holiday friendship story, of course! This dual POV yuletide tale follows four friends in New York City with an unconventional Christmas tradition who prepare for what may be their last one together. I wanted to strangle the main character at times, but I enjoyed it overall. The fun writing captures the spirit of the season and the magic of NYC while also celebrating found family. More importantly, any author who includes a reference to Chilis (aka the superior chain restaurant) in their book gets a gold star from me!!!

All the Gold Stars: Reimagining Ambition and the Ways We Strive by Rainesford Stauffer

Speaking of gold stars…this book felt like a breath of fresh air. As the title explains, it’s all about ambition—everything from how it’s woven into the fabric of society and has contributed to burnout to what being ambitious outside of work (in friendships, for example) might look like. It’s timely, thought-provoking, and incredibly relatable.

At least I tried. 

That’s what I told myself after briskly hitting stop at the end of the first chapter of an audiobook last week. A few days prior, I made what I thought was a foolproof plan. Choose a few books on my TBR list and hit play on them while I’m in the shower, cooking, or driving. 

I’ve avoided audiobooks like the plague for years, but with Spotify recently adding them to their premium subscription plans, now seemed like a good time to give it a try. Additionally, I’d already purchased a Kindle this year—something I’d been reluctant to do, preferring the feeling of a slightly smooth pages of a physical book in my hands—and the world didn’t end. So, how bad could it be?

In a word? Bad. It felt like a total assault on my ears.

I kicked things off with a fiction book. The holiday friend-com I mentioned about above, in fact. I was ecstatic that it was available on Spotify because, at the time, I was pretty far down on the Libby app waitlist. I hit play, turned up the volume and stepped into my shower, ready to be swept into the literal sounds of holiday magic. Instead my mind began to drift as the story started.

Did I remember to schedule that branded social post? Or reply to that email from my manager? Speaking of emails, I probably should start writing my newsletter for next week. My flight is also next week. I should probably start packing. 

As quickly as my mind drifted away from the story, I got pulled back in. The female narrator’s voice deepened trying to “do” the male character’s voice during a line of dialogue, and I froze. Literally. It sounded so odd to me. And that’s all I could think about for the remainder of my shower.

I stepped out of the tub and knew I would not make it 20+ more chapters. Also, Spotify says it would’ve taken me roughly nine hours to finish listening to the book. NINE HOURS! Not to toot my own horn, but I finish most books in five hours or less. You’re probably thinking, “you could’ve just increased the speed.” I did. And all that did was make my head hurt.

Despite the fact that my little experiment was turning out to be a wash, I decided to give it another go. But this time with a non-fiction book. You know, something that probably wouldn’t have any questionable voice acting. To my surprise, I actually finished listening…and didn’t hate it! It kind of felt like listening to a podcast. A really long podcast episode. But a pretty good one.

General things I realized listening to audiobooks for a week:

The multitasking “benefit” is a little overrated. I get it. Everyone’s busy, and getting through a book while you fold laundry or unload the dishwasher can be efficient, but I couldn’t concentrate. My mind kept wandering, and I felt like I didn’t really get to immerse myself in the book. When I tried to sit down and actively listen…

I didn’t really know what to do with my hands. Or where to look. At least when kids get read to someone’s holding up an illustration to glance at every now and again.

Maybe I should’ve listened to a book I’ve already read. To ease myself into audiobooks. That way it wouldn’t have mattered if I zoned out for a minute or two, since I pretty much already knew what would happen.

Annotating isn’t as easy. Because who actually wants to rewind 30 seconds again and again, just so you can make note of a good line?

In conclusion, I’m definitely not picking up my membership card for Team Audiobook anytime soon (if ever), but this little experiment did help me step out of my bookish comfort zone. Something I’m hoping to do more of in 2024.

This Spells Love by Kate Robb because I need a break between holiday reads. This magical rom-com follows a heartbroken twenty-something who casts a “love-cleansing spell” to erase her ex from her memories and inadvertently erases her existence from everyone else’s memory.

Libro.fm’s top audiobooks of 2023. Protests, bannings and the rise of AI helped shape the story of publishing this year. These women represent the future book publishing industry. The book world still isn’t diverse. Dhonielle Clayton is trying to change that. Want to read Stephen King books? Here’s where to start. The Cait Corrain Goodreads controversy, explained. Best-selling novelist Jesmyn Ward on life in Mississippi, love through grief, and her new novel.

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