October and November Book Haul

These past few months have really shown me I don't have self control. I've barely read anything from my physical TBR, but I continue to buy books like I'm not trying to reduce the number of books on that list. It is a struggle for me. I'll just keep hoping I'll do better next month. Anyway, I have quite a few things to show you from the past couple of months.

Top Ten Tuesday - Backlist Books I Want to Read

There are so many books on my backlist that I want to read. That's probably what happens to you when you own over 100 books you haven't read. (Yikes I know) Anyway these are the ones on the top of my list and I've had the longest. Hopefully I read these soon!

As always, check out That Artsy Reader Girl for more Top Ten Tuesday topics and be sure to let me know if you are participating!

 

 

 

My Last Top Ten Tuesday--> Seven Spooky Books I Forget to Recommend 

Favorite Audiobook Narrators

If you listen to audiobooks, you know the narrator is just as big a factor as the story in determining if you are going to like, love, or hate a book. Over the past few years I've listened to quite a few audiobooks and found some amazing narrators. Today I wanted to share five of my favorites with you. If you have any audiobook narrators that you love and want to recommend me, I'd love to hear from you. Audiobooks are one thing I cannot seem to get enough of.

1) Katherine Kellgren - The late great Katherine Kellgren was an amazing narrator. Each time I listen to one of her readings, I am drawn into the story so deeply and completely. She had a way of bringing characters to life and giving each one a distinct voice that always amazed me. I remember the first book I listened to with her was the narrator was Queen of the Tearling and I tore through that aubioook faster than I had ever read one before. Her voice captured me. I often look at the body of work she complied and try to borrow one from my library. They are often checked out and I have been  on wait lists for ages. She had a true gift for audiobook narration.

2) Will Patton - Though I've only listened to Patton read The Raven Cycle, I count his performance as one of the reasons the series is one of my favorites. His voices for each character are fantastic and I really enjoy how creepy he makes some of the characters sound. His sound effects (pow, wham, whoosh) are also very good. 

 

3) Moira Quirk - I don't think you can go wrong having Quirk as your narrator. She is talented and always delivers great accents and inflection. I really enjoy her works and I've actually made a list of books I want to read just because she reads the audiobook. I'm very thankful to Gail Carriger for promoting her own books as audiobooks so often and am thankful Quirk was the narrator of those books!

 

4) January LaVoy - Though I've only listened to one of her book thus far, I don't think I could make any kind of audiobook recommendations list without recommending The Diviners. LaVoy contributes so many accents and voices to this narration as well as singing several sections. She and her performance are the reason I love The Diviners as much as I do.

 

5)  Renée Raudman-  Renée narrates nearly all of Ilona Andrews books and I really enjoy the sarcasm she flavors each one of the heroines with. Andrews writes them like that, but Raudman really gets the tone right. She has a large collection of works you can check out, but I'm still working my way through her paranormal books.

 

Review: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M.Valente

Series: Fairyland #1
Genre: Fantasy
Age Group: All Ages
Paperback: 247 pgs
Audiobook: 7hrs 13mins
Source: Scribd Audiobook
Published - May 2012

Add it // Buy it

Rating: 5/5

Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than September. Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn’t . . . then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends, including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday.

What I really want to do is put this book in your hands and send you off to read it. I know I will not be able to capture what I love about this book as beautifully as Valente put it all together in the story. So I just want you to read it and see for yourself how lovely it is.
 
Though I had read this book before, I couldn't remember much of the actual plot. I reread this via audiobook and that turned out to be a fantastic decision. While reading really descriptive or flowery writing, I often skim and don't pick up all the details. With the audiobook I was forced to pick up on more details and really appreciate Valente's writing. 

The storytelling is brilliant and lovely. Even though the story seems to be aimed at children, I think adults can also pull a lot from this story and enjoy it just as much. Every sentence feels carefully constructed and intentional. The wording and phrasing is just so well put together. I, of course, enjoyed and delighted in it.

The characters are complex and intelligent. September makes friends with marvelous different Fairyland residents. The villains are sneaky and easy to empathize with. Much of this story feels like a cross between Narnia and The Wizard of Oz. It was wonderful to enjoy again and find I loved it even more than before.

My Last Review: Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews

November Reading Plans & TBR

Once again I'm hoping to participate in some readathons this month and I've come up with some ambitious reading plans for the month. If I can stick to half this TBR I'll be very happy!