Simply Audiobooks Inc.

This past weekend, I had someone tell me that Kenny Roger’s song “The Gambler“ is a modern version of Rudyard Kipling’s “If“. Hmmm… not sure I agree, but since then, I’ve had this song stuck in my head nonstop for 3 days!

If you’re a fan of that song or the sport of poker, you have to pick up Phil Gordon’s Little Green Book: Lessons and Teachings in No Limit Texas Hold’em. Its a good combination of entertaining anecdotes and tidbits of info to help you up your game.

Students are finishing college and university this time of year, graduating with hearts full of aspiritions, and bank accounts full of debt. According to news sources, 1 in 4 students graduate more than $25K in the hole.

If you want to give your little graduate a heads up, try Automatic Wealth for Grads by Michael Masterton. Its a great book for starting grads off on the right foot in the workplace and in life.

The Secret Life of Houdini

One word: “WOW!” This is the most interesting biography I have ever read. Having been well read on Houdini, I can say that this was not only historically accurate, but FUN to read. I

t tells the true story of his life although be prepared: You may occasionally have to pick up the box just to remind yourself that it is a true story! For me, this is a 12 of out 5.

- Chris Stolz,

Simply Audiobooks Store Manager, Toronto, ON http://store.simplyaudiobooks.ca/

Given the current pinch on the average American’s pocket, CNN is reporting that Moms aren’t going to get quite as much fiduciary appreciation this year! The average spend on Mother’s Day gifts is going to be declining for the first time in history.

While the “hand print cigarette holder” you may have given her in Grade 1 is a little passe, you still don’t have to spend a lot on your Mom this holiday. 

Give her a month of unlimited audio book rentals from as little as $17.98. Think: that’s 1/2 the price of a regular bouquet of flowers and it lasts 3 times as long!

 Check out the Simply Audiobooks Gift Center for great options for this Mother’s Day.

Bill Maher is in the news again for making some provocative comments about the Pope’s recent visit to the US. He was, as you may recall, fired by ABC back in 2006 for being too politically incorrect even for a show titled “Politically Incorrect”!

If his brand of political comedy is your cup of tea, check out his titles at Simply Audiobooks!

My husband has an odd love for all things triva-related, and frequently, consistently, and humiliatingly beats me at Trivial Pursuit. To put it in perspective, we used to visit a restaurant that had TP cards on their tables - we finally stopped going because I found frustration was not a good side dish for chicken wings.

However, I’ve recently finished A.J. Jacobs’s Know-It-All, in which Jacobs chronicles his heroic task of reading Encyclopaedia Britannica. Each chapter is a different letter, featuring little snippets of juicy knowledge, and occasionally some insights into his neurotic life in NYC. It was a great read – easy to pick up and put down, and the right mix of random facts and fun.

I’m so winning the next game of Trivial Pursuit.

According to our recent Simply Audiobooks survey – the vast majority of audio book lovers originally started getting their fix at the local library, but quickly got frustrated.

For paperback books, my experience is that the few times that I tried to get a hot new title at the library, I found myself looking at a 2-3 month waiting list as folks queued up for the single availalbe copy. Sure, its free, but as the old saying goes – “You get what you pay for”.

According to our customers, its the same thing for audio books – you can never get the top titles, and when you do, you have to rush through them as fast as possible to avoid the overdue charges. Imagine taking out a 20 hour audio book to read during your 1-hour-a-day commute, and knowing you’re going to pay $2 for every day that its overdue past the 7-day due date. It’ll take you 4 weeks to read the book, and you’ll end up paying more in overdue charges than the book is worth!

No wonder audio book rentals are so realistic for serious audio book lovers – unlimited rentals, no due dates, great selection, free shipping. Yes, of course I’m a little biased working for an audio book company, but man, if there was a SimplyPaperbacks rental-by-mail service, I’d be set.

CNN is reporting something that even I’ve noticed recently - the book world is rife with biographies right now. Maybe its an extension of the blog-mentality which says “someone, SOMEWHERE must be interested in hearing all about me”! 

Biographies are huge on audio book. They’re informative, interesting, and frequently narrated by the subject him- or herself. Here’s Simply Audiobooks’s top biographies:

1) Sly old Benjamin Franklin makes it in at #1, with Benjamin Franklin: An American Life. Sadly (but unsurprisingly) not narrated by Ben himself.

2) Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert makes it to #2, which shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone who reads the New York Times Bestseller List – this book has been there for over a year! Ahh, if only life was this simple.

3) Another famous American rounds out the top 3 – John Adams by David McCullough. This book is available for download or rent, and gets top marks from Simply Audiobooks subscribers. 

I’ve gotten a few comments recently on this blog, particularily around ethical or political issues. It kind of shocked me – not only that anyone READS this blog (woohoo!) but also that people were moved enough to write back.

A few people have suggested that I’m indicating a bias on certain issues, simply by the act of posting blogs about books by authors that have a bias. Soo… prepare to be demystified as to how I choose the books for my daily blog!

1) I have a good strong coffee in the morning. This helps to wake me up and prevents spelling mistakes.

2) I go to www.cnn.com, www.bbc.co.uk, or Google HotTrends to see what’s a buzzing this morning – what people are talking about.  

3) I pick a topic that is generating a lot of interest AND which I know can be related back to an audio book.

For example: today I would most certainly blog about JK Rowling suing someone for writing a book about Harry Potter. I know that Simply Audiobooks carried all 7 Harry Potter audio books, so the blog practically writes itself. I would probably title it something like “Rowling Sues Muggle”, which makes me giggle a bit.

To be clear, I’m neither pro-wizards, nor am I anti-Muggles. Simply Audiobooks and I neither endorse nor disallow the use of brooms, caldrons, and mail-carrying owls. We have no particular opinions on Squibs, Quidditch, or Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans. I am neither a card-carrying member of S.P.E.W, nor am I secretly hiding a Dark Mark.

I do, however, like audio books and so I will blog about them. I really am sorry if I’ve offended any readers in the pursuit of (what should be) a fairly innocuous past time. If you’d like to contact me personally regarding this, or any other post, I would love to hear from you here!

The Olympic Flame/China/Tibet story is all over the news right now, and one of the central figures in this story, the Dalia Lama, is speaking openly about protestors being “shushed”.

Speaking up is something the Dalia Lama is good at, judging from his prolific collection of audio books! You can find well over a dozen of them at Simply Audiobooks, in either rent on CD or download form.

The most popular with our subscribers is the Art of Happiness, which attempts to give you some insight into why the Dalia Lama always seems to be so chipper. Its available for download for under $11!

If you want a slightly easier read (or you have a very short commute!) check out his book The Path to Tranquility, which is simply a collection of great, easy-to-digest quotes from the man himself.