Books I’m Listening To

I’ve been using Audible since signing up for their Black Friday deal and it has brought so much joy to my life! I don’t have a lot of extra time to read, but I can listen while I commute – so it was the perfect solution for me!

The way Audible works is that you get one credit per month for the $14.95 fee and then you can buy extra credits every once in a while – which I always do. Usually they will offer three credits at $11 or so each, so I “stock up” whenever they have those promotions since you can get books cheaper that way. One thing to note is that sometimes an audiobook is only about $5, so in that case, I just pay the $5 versus using a credit because it would be a waste to use the credit since some books cost about $23 or 1 credit – it’s a way better value to use your monthly credit on the pricier audiobooks.

I’ve been listening to Podcasts forever, so I’m not sure why I didn’t try audiobooks sooner. You’ll notice that most of my first Audible listens are kind of “beach reads” or what some may refer to as “chick lit” (I hate that term). I did that on purpose – it can take a book or two to get used to listening to books with various voice actors, so I thought it would be easier to start with books that are more light and fun.
Here are some of my recent favorites!

When Life Gives You Lululemons by Lauren Weisberger
By the author of the beloved The Devil Wears Prada, this book follows Emily’s new life as publicist to the stars and introduces a ton of new characters and a really interesting plot line that I didn’t expect at all. I loved this book and would actually listen to it again! This was actually my first ever audible listen and made me adore audiobooks.

Crazy Rich Asians trilogy
I could not stop listening to these three books (Crazy Rich Asians,  Rich People Problems and China Rich Girlfriend) by Houstonian Kevin Kwan. This series is SO good, the movie doesn’t even do the book justice (I did enjoy the movie, but of course you can’t capture the depth of the plot and all of the characters in one 2-hour movie). I actually loved listening to this series on Audible because the voice actor uses different voices and tonalities and it helps keep each character straight, since there are so many. I felt sad when I had finished listening to the last book because I got so attached to the characters and families. Highly recommend this entire trilogy!

Revenge Wears Prada
This is the sequel to The Devil Wears Prada and it was a quick/good listen. I wouldn’t say it was as good as When Life Gives You Lululemons, but it was fun to hear what happened “after Miranda.” I enjoyed the overall storyline and though it’s not a 10/10, it was still a fun listen and I’m glad I got it.

All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin
One of my favorite authors of all time – and this is without a doubt her best book. I’ve read most of her books (I think I’m one behind) and this one was my favorite by far because it is SO timely from a political standpoint, the “me too” movement, privilege, etc. I love (and hated) the characters and the way the story unfolded. I loved how each chapter was told from a different character’s perspective.

Present Over Perfect
After listening to this book and half of one by Brene Brown (who I love), I realized that self-help books are a little more difficult (for me) to listen to on Audible. I find they require more thought, pause and reflection and it’s easier to do that when you’re reading a hard copy (I also like to underline key parts when I read these books and can’t do that while driving, obviously). Additionally, my mind tends to wander when I listen to self-help type books because they inevitably bring about thoughts and memories – and so it’s harder to stay focused and absorb the content like I do when I’m actually reading. I don’t want to discourage anyone from listening to self-help or motivational books on Audible, I just found it more difficult than listening to fiction books that have a plot/storyline and are more “entertaining” so to speak. I did enjoy Present Over Perfect because it was a lot of story telling, but I found my mind wandering during Braving the Wilderness, since it’s a lot more to take in and I’d often find myself distracted by thoughts I was having while listening. I’m going to take another listen after I’ve finished a few of my recent downloads and see what happens! I love Brene and have read some of her other books.

Currently listening to: What Alice Forgot – so far, I love it. The narrator is Australian and so great! This book is by the same author of Big Little Lies which is one of my favorite HBO shows of all time. It’s about a woman who falls and hits her head at the gym and completely loses her memory of the last ten years of her life. The book chronicles her journey to discover who she has become (I’m not at the “journey” part yet – just about 8 chapters in).

Below are other books I plan to listen to, based on your recommendations! 

• Where the Crawdads Sing
• Little Fires Everywhere
• Educated: A Memoir
• Beneath A Scarlet Sky
• The Wife Between Us
• Where’d You Go Bernadette?
• Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
• The Nightingale
• An American Marriage
• Lilac Girls
• When Breath Becomes Air (I have this one but haven’t listened yet)
• The Last Mrs. Parrish (have it, have not listened)
• The Shoemaker’s Wife
• The Life We Bury
• Hidden Bodies
• Becoming
• The Radium Girls
• One True Loves
• The Storyteller’s Secret 
• The Great Alone
• A House in the Sky
• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
• Something in the Water
• Next Year in Havana
• How to Walk Away
• What She Left Behind
• The Secrets She Keeps
• Dare to Lead
• Sisters Frist

Thank you so much for all of your suggestions! Happy listening (or reading!)