My DH gave me a new iPod with more space than my old tired one–so I can now put audiobooks on there.

Any must haves?

Remarkably well. The Harry Potter books on audio are good too … they’ve won some prizes. And a member of the board, Eric Ruben, did an audio book … and I think maybe Suz did an audio for one of her short stories? Not absolutely positive.

“Darkling I Listen”, “Whitehorse”, and “Bad Moon Rising” by Katherine Sutcliffe on audiobook … They are AMAZING, DIL being my favorite. I don’t commute to work anymore (my drive to work now is only like 3 minutes!) but I still take it when I go on long distance trips, and it gets better the more I hear it!
And they are old stories, so probably cheap on audiobook sites, if you can find them.

Is what her website says although there was no specific date the last time I looked.

Oh, that would be good!!!! Any word on when the next Claire and Jamie novel is?

I’ve just ordered a bunch of hers on Audio as well as Lois McMaster Bujold to listen to when I’m on the treadmill.Her Chesapeake Bay series - Sea Swept, Rising Tides, Inner Harbor and Chesapeake Blue. This is my most favorite series of hers anyway but I’ve really enjoyed listening to them very much. All 4 books are read by a man - and since this is such a male-centered series anyway, I think that adds to it quite a bit. I also enjoyed listening to the first Jenny Cruise/Bob Mayer collaboration, Dont Look Down.

I love listening to the J.D. Robb books on CD. Susan Ericksen is fabulous!

Others here have posted about Suz’ books on Audio and how good they are.

I started with listening to my favorite books on audio CD. So far “The Poisonwood Bible”, “To Kill A Mockingbird”, “Rebecca” and the J.D. Robbs get rotated through my car frequently.

My library doesn’t have much for download to my MP3 player, so I usually just listen in the car. I’ve purchased some MP3 formats from audible.com. I’ve also ripped from CD’s I’ve purchased and then burned them to my MP3 player. THAT takes awhile. =8-D

I love audiobooks. My favorites by Suz are Into the Storm and Flashpoint. Natural Born Charmer and Match Me If You Can by Susan Elizabeth Phillips are wonderful. They’re read by the late Anna Fields who had such a great voice. The J.D. Robb In Death series is terrific on audio. So is Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series.
Does your library let you download audiobooks? I don’t think Overdrive is compatible with Ipods, but a lot of the titles you can download to your computer and then burn to disc, after which I’m assuming you could transfer it to your Ipod. The reason I bring that up, Suz’s All Through the Night and Force of Nature are available for download though my library’s Overdrive subscription. So you might want to check with your library.

I got Natural Born Charmer in my car right now and it’s AWESOME. The lady who did the narration was brilliant in her ability to do different voices for different characters.

It’s been a busy time around here at the Zen Bachelor Pad. Creativity is at an all time high, with different projects keeping me busy a good many hours of the day.
I promised that I would try to be a better creator, a better marketer, be more aggressive when it comes to putting myself out there in art, in life and in love.

And today you get to see a part of what’s been going on behind the curtain.

Inspired (again) by Kevin Kelly and his 1,000 True Fans, and the story in the San Francisco Gate newspaper about two novelists who have gained a following and readership by putting out a free audiobook version of their works, I have decided to give it a go myself.

I’m hardly a renaissance man, but I think that I have shown myself to be pretty creative and original in a few arenas, so here we go.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Chapter One of my first novel, Resurrection Angel. I hope that you will enjoy it and tell others about it.

I encourage you to share it on the Bit Torrent sites, burn it to CD, whatever floats your boat. All I ask is that you keep the file intact, because it contains copyright and marketing information at the end.

If you’d like to download the episode directly, in MP3 format, make with the clicky right here.

The 123,291 libraries in the United States are the nation’s single largest consumer of audiobooks, making up a whopping 32% ($295.4 million) of the total annual audiobook market (according to the Audio Publishers Association), says LISWire.

CDs are still the dominant audiobook format but the digitally downloaded audiobook format has been growing at over 50% a year since 2004, and modern libraries are leading the way when it comes to digital audiobooks.

I am not surprised at the numbers, being devoted to digital audiobooks and the free access I have to them through my library.

Type:::::..: Audiobook
Number of Parts::: 18
File Validation::: SFV
Image type:::..: CD Rip
Artist:::::: Stephen Fry
Duration::::.: Approx 18 Hours
Audio Format:::: MP3
Ripper:::::: Wmp
Hz::::::.: 44,100
Channels::::.: Stereo
Source:::::: CD
Posted by::::: Alan177
Posted on::::: 21/05/2008

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the long-awaited, heavily hyped fourth
instalment of a phenomenally successful series that has captured the imagination
of millions of readers, young and old, across the globe. For J K Rowling the
pressure is certainly on to continue to come up with thrilling, pacey storylines
that allow her hero to mature into a young man without detracting from the
magical secret that has made Harry into a superstar. In this book, the teenage
Harry has a certain gawky charm that fits well with his advancing adolescence.
As the story moves on, Harry too moves on to a new level of maturity that leaves
the reader wondering how he will learn from his experiences, and liking him all
the more as a character.

This book was written in 1895 by Stephen Crane. It’s about the Civil war, it follows Henry Fleming through his induction into the army, battles he is in, and his eventual understanding of what courage really is. I love how Stephen Crane details the thoughts that go through Henry’s brain both on and off the battlefield. In my opinion, this is a book that was way ahead of it’s time. I assign it the #1 preset on my radio dial.

The most widely recognized business executive of all time asks the tough questions that America’s leaders must address:

• What is each of us giving back to our country?
• Do we truly love democracy?
• Are we too fat and satisfied for our own good?
• Why is America addicted to oil?
• Do we really care about our children’s futures?
• Who will save the middle class?

Lee Iacocca believes that leaders are made in times of crisis - such as today. He has known more leaders than almost anybody else - including nine U.S. presidents, many heads of state, CEO’s of the nation’s top corporations, celebrities, and even a pope - and is uniquely suited to share his wisdom, knowledge, and wit about the leadership of America.

Lee Iacocca does not mince words, and in where have all the leaders gone? he offers his no-nonsense, straight-up assessments of the American politicians most likely to run for president in 2008. He also shares his lessons learned, and issues a call to action to summon Americans back to their roots of hard work, common sense, integrity, generosity, and optimism.

Messages From Spirit: The Extraordinary Power of Oracles, Omens, and Signs
by Colette Baron-Reid (Author)
Average Customer Review:
Publication Date: May 1, 2008

Laurel Gray Hawthorne hasn’t seen a ghost in the thirteen years she and her husband have lived in the beautiful gated neighborhood of Victorianna.

Keeping her head down, she’s managed to make a good life for her beloved daughter and husband while working on her nationally acclaimed art quilts.

But in the dog days of a Florida August, she wakes to find a dead girl standing by her bed. It’s the ghost of her daughter’s best friend, Molly, who leads the way to her own small body, floating lifelessly in the Hawthornes’ backyard pool.

Now, with police on her lawn and neighbors peeking over the fence, Laurel’s carefully constructed existence cracks, and her past seeps through.

Laurel and her sister, Thalia, grew up in what appears to be a typical blue-collar home, but the Grays have long been hiding a very literal skeleton in their closet.

While Laurel built her pretty, pleasing life in the suburbs, Thalia became an actress with a capital A, about as unconventional as they come. She’s the walking definition of mess, and no longer fits in Laurel’s tidy world. Yet Molly can’t rest until someone learns her secrets, and she has opened a door to the past that Laurel can’t close alone.

She turns to her wild and estranged sister, though asking for Thalia’s help is like jumping into a hot frying pan protected only by a thin layer of Crisco.

Together they set out on a life-altering journey that will reveal their family’s buried history, the true state of Laurel’s perfect marriage, and what really happened to the girl who stopped swimming.

Read the reviews of Joshilyn Jackson’s book:.

BOOK REVIEW: The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson - To get to the bottom of everything - and particularly to stop Shelby becoming a suspect - Laurel needs her sister, Thalia, but she and Thalia are no longer speaking. Neither approves of the other’s lifestyle and any attempts at finding :

Sunday Book Review: the girl who stopped swimming - Her third novel, the girl who stopped swimming, did not disappoint. From the first chapter I was in love with Laurel, a woman who is greeted by the ghost of a neighborhood girl who has just drowned in the swimming pool in Laurel’s yard. :

Review: The Girl Who Stopped Swimming - The ghost of a young girl shows up in Laurel’s bedroom in the middle of the night. When she follows it to the window she sees the body of her 13-year old daughter’s best friend, Molly floating face down in her swimming pool.

Les Misérables is the classic book written by Victor Hugo. Now as a massive audio book of 58 hours.

“When I was 15, I was completely bowled over by Les Misrables. All my life long I have continually been discovering fresh aspects of Hugo’s genius.”
Andr Maurois

Set in the Parisian underworld and plotted like a detective story, Les Misrables follows Jean Valjean, originally an honest peasant, who has been imprisoned for nineteen years for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s starving family. A hardened criminal upon his release, he eventually reforms, becoming a successful industrialist and town mayor. Despite this, he is haunted by an impulsive former crime and is pursued relentlessly by the police inspector Javert.

Hugo describes early nineteenth-century France with a sweeping power that gives his novel epic stature. Among the most famous chapters are the account of the battle of Waterloo and Valjean’s flight through the Paris sewers.

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) was a poet, novelist, dramatist, and leader of the romantic movement in France. He also played an active part in political life. His literary works best known in English include Les Misérables, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Ninety-Three.

Frederick Davidson is a recipient of the Golden Voices Award and numerous Earphones Awards. After performing for years in many BBC radio plays, he came to America in 1976. He has narrated more than eight hundred audiobooks.

This is the third of Burrough’s Tarzan novels. Originally serialized in All-Story Cavalier magazine in 1914, the novel was first published in book form by A. C. McClurg in 1916.

In the previous novel Tarzan reclaimed his name and title as John Clayton, Lord Greystoke. In this novel he finds that proper society is just as vicious as the jungle when greedy men threaten him and his new family. Jane and her infant son Jack are kidnapped by Tarzan’s enemies, Nikolas Rokoff and Alexis Paulvitch, who then trap Tarzan himself and attempt to exile him forever on a primitive island, bereft of all those dear to him. There, however, Tarzan gains new allies in the panther Sheeta and the ape Akut, together with Akut’s band. With their aid he tracks down his wife and son. . .and his arch enemies Rokoff and Paulvitch.

(Summary by Wikipedia)

• Gutenberg e-text 85
• Wikipedia - Edgar Rice Burroughs
• Wikipedia - The Beasts of Tarzan
• LibriVox’s The Beasts of Tarzan Internet Archive page
• Zip file of the entire book 153.7MB

Nahum prophesied, according to some, in the beginning of the reign of Ahaz (740s BC). Others, however, think that his prophecies are to be referred to the latter half of the reign of Hezekiah (700s BC). Probably the book was written in Jerusalem, where he witnessed the invasion of Sennacherib and the destruction of his host (2 Kings 19:35). And still others support the idea that the ‘book of vision’ was written shortly before the fall of Nineveh (612 BCE). This theory is evidenced by the fact that the oracles must be dated after the Assyrian destruction of Thebes in 663 BCE as this event is mentioned in Nah 3:8.
(Summary from Wikipedia)

• E-text
• Wikipedia - American Standard Version
• Wikipedia - Book of Nahum
• Wikipedia - Nahum
• LibriVox’s The Book of Nahum Internet Archive page
• Zip file of the entire book (4.7MB)

Toujours observateur des comportements humains, Jean de La Fontaine ne cesse de les mettre en scène dans ces 16 fables, tantôt en invitant le genre animal à caricaturer l’homme tantôt en confiant sa propre bêtise à l’homme lui-même. Ce dixième livre s’inscrit dans la continuité de l’oeuvre du grand fabuliste.
(de Jean Lambert )

• Wikipedia - Fables de La Fontaine, livre X
• Wikipedia (français) - Jean de La Fontaine
• Wikipedia (English) - Jean de La Fontaine
• LibriVox’s Fables de La Fontaine, livre 10 Internet Archive page
• Zip file of the entire book(31.4MB)