Audio books and Irish books

[hestergray.livejournal.com]

Do you feel that listening to an audio book "counts" the same as reading the book? I feel that it does. Someone I know feels that it doesn't, but she's never listened to an audio book (despite my urgings), so I don't think her opinion is completely objective. If you have your own reasoning either way, I'd like to hear it. Or rather, read it. Ha ha.

I'd also like to make some recommendations. These are all books that I've listened to, and they're all very delightful. They're especially fun because they're Irish, so the audio book readers have Irish accents.

By Cecelia Ahern:
P.S. I Love You
If You Could See Me Now
Rosie Dunne (That's the American title. The Irish title is Love, Rosie.)

By Sharon Owens:
The Teahouse on Mulberry Street
The Ballroom on Magnolia Street
The Tavern on Maple Street

By Sarah-Kate Lynch:
Blessed are the Cheesemakers

Each of these authors has more books that I haven't read or listened to yet, but I'm looking forward to them.

By the way, I haven't seen the P.S. I Love You movie yet, and I don't know if I ever will. I'm already biased against it because the main character is supposed to be Irish, but in the movie she's American. (Why can't they just leave that kind of stuff alone?!) Supposedly, If You Could See Me Now is also in the works to become a movie, starring Hugh Jackman. And it might even be a musical. (Umm... I guess that could work out...)

If you've never listened to an audio book, I highly recommend trying one of these!

Comments

[jennymae.livejournal.com]

I listen to audio books all the time. That's about the only way I'm able to get any non-school-related books read throughout the school year! I definitely count audio books the same as reading a book. I figure it's not that much different than my mom reading aloud to us growing up--and I definitely count those! The problem, for me, with audio books is that I'm definitely not an audio-learner, so I find that I tend to forget audio books more easily than books that I've read.

Blessed are the Cheesemakers? What's that about?

[hestergray.livejournal.com]

I can understand that. I started keeping monthly book lists to help me remember what I've read, audio or otherwise.

It's about two old men in Ireland who make cheese for a living. They decide that they're getting too old and they need to find someone else to make the cheese. They'd like to pass it on to someone else in the family, but unfortunately, they don't really have any family except the one man's granddaughter who he hasn't seen in 24 years. As it happens, the granddaughter Abbey is about to show up, looking for a place to live. An American man named Kit also shows up, as he's trying to get over some crises in his life. Some other people live on the farm too, like the pregnant, vegetarian milkmaids, and Avis, the woman who looks after them. The characters are fun and the story makes me want to live there with them and make cheese. :)

[jennymae.livejournal.com]

Wow, that sounds like a good book! I'll have to check it out. Thanks! :-D

[ruthieroo.livejournal.com]

I love audio books! Thanks for these recommendations because I found a couple of them at my library right away and have put them on hold. I was in dire need of new audio books.

[hestergray.livejournal.com]

Oh, good! I hope you enjoy them!

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

They definitely count! I don't listen to them very often because my commute to work is fairly short (fifteen minutes) and so it makes a book really choppy, but they are so good for trips!

[hestergray.livejournal.com]

A bunch of us at work listen to our headphones a lot, just because the nature of our jobs allows that kind of thing. So we listen to a lot of audio books, passing them around to each other. However, I'm starting a new job in a week, so I won't be able to listen to nearly as many audio books then. Maybe I'll start listening in my car sometimes.

[moredetails.livejournal.com]

Audio books totally count. Even though we aren't required to read the word, we are still required the brain power to focus, imagine, and picture the scenes. It's not like TV where it fills in all those blanks for us. I love audio books! Even though I have a short commute, I just listen for those few minutes at a time and it makes my drives rock so much more.