Simply Audiobooks Inc.

If you read the FAQs on Neil Gaiman’s website, you’ll stumble across this:

Q: Why does it say ‘critically acclaimed and award winning’ every time your name is mentioned on your books?
A: It’s a formal title. Like The Honorable, or Mister President. My full title is Critically Acclaimed and Award Winning Author Neil Gaiman. But because we’re friends you can call me Neil for short.

Well, Neil For Short (we’re buds) has just become even more Critically Acclaimed and Award Winning. Gaiman recently picked up the 2009 Newbery Medal for The Graveyard Book.

Check out all of Neil’s audio books here and in your downtime, play some Graveyard-inspired Sudoku on his website.

A good narrator is vital to a great audio book. If you don’t like the way a narrator reads, it doesn’t matter how good the story is.

Audiofile has recently named it’s editors picks for the Best Voices of 2008, and we wanted to pass them on to you! Make sure you add these narrators to your rental or download shelf for an entertaining listen– you’ll be glad you did.

Richard Poe (Fiction and Classics)

Katherine Kellgren (Children and Family)

Simon Vance (Mystery and Suspense)

Marc Cashman (Non-Fiction and Culture)

Gerard Doyle (Young Adult)

If you want to read more about narrators visit AudioForBooks.com.

Today marks the first day of the Year of the Ox.

While I only occasionally read my horoscope, I really love and look forward to checking out the predictions for each animal sign on the Chinese zodiac for each new year. However it’s always bothered me a bit that my sign isn’t really the most awesome.

I’m a boar– which you hopefully won’t consider to be reflective of my writing! I’m never sure what sounds better, boar or pig? Neither are very flattering. Though in school we used to say P.I.G stood for ‘Pretty Intelligent Girl’ in an, um, *creative* attempt to fend off insults. A close second was, ‘I know you are but what am I?’ But if I were a ‘cooler’ animal like the dragon, I could have just breathed fire and been done with it!

Alright not really. I mean, I’m sure that dragons should use their powers for good and stuff. But don’t take my word for it, check out the popular Eragon series by Christopher Paolini.

Or, if you think pigs are just as cool, we’ve got Babe!

We hope we have ‘Baracked Your World’ with our amazing 2 for $30 Barack Obama audio book sale. But here’s something else that will help you ‘Barack The Casbah’: At barackandroll.com you can buy your own t-shirts with slogans like, ‘Barack to the Future’ and ‘Do you smell what Barack is cooking?’ The latter is actually double amazing because if you listen to the audio book, Barack sounds frighteningly like Dwayne Johnson, a.k.a ‘The Rock.’

GOBAMA!

Just a little fun for a friday morning -

Host of The Colbert Report, and author of the Grammy-nominated I Am America, (And So Can You!) recently discussed his views on updating copyright law to allow for remixing.

Just a warning – for people who normally don’t like Colbert – you still won’t. For people who do like his kind of humour, there’s a sweet dance video in it for you.

Canadians – watch it here.

Americans – watch it here.

EDIT - Working the internet is hard!  Due to various domain authentications and what not, direct links to the videos might not work. You’ll want to look for The Colbert Report from 01/21/09. Canadians look for clip 2 0f 4.

As Barack Obama was sworn into office yesterday as the 44th President of the United States of America, supporters bared the cold with Obama hats, large jackets over their Obama t-shirts, and coffee in Obama mugs. You name it, you can pretty much get it ‘Obamified!’

Want some iced cream? How about Ben & Jerry’s, Yes PeCAN?! Made only with non-partisan peanuts of course.

Get your fill of ‘Obama-bilia’ from People magazine, online. Some of it is pretty unbelievable. But it does have me wondering– will Michelle turn up at some event one day in the Obama sneakers? Or maybe they’ll just settle arguments with the Obama punching bag? That would be kind of cute.

One thing People forgot to mention: Obama audio books! Buy yours today, 2 for $30 from Simply Audiobooks!

What? Isn’t that how you download your audio books?

New videos on Simply Audiobooks’ facebook page

You don’t have to be in Washington to be apart of Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremony. At my.barackobama.com, Obama’s official campaign site, the President-Elect (for only a few more hours!) outlines what you can do in your own neighborhood to participate. Some of his suggestions are:

- Watch the first ever Neighborhood Ball from 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm, on ABC.
- Watch the web cast of the swearing-in ceremony.
- Host or attend in an Inauguration Party in your area.
- Purchase copies of both audio books written and narrated by Barack Obama for just $30, and find out how his amazing journey began.

Yeah, we snuck that last one in there.

He’s getting sworn in to the White House tomorrow, been named Time Magazine’s ‘Person Of The Year‘, looks hot in a bathing suit, and now is starring in… a Spider-Man comic?!

Last week, Marvel comics released a special issue of Amazing Spider-Man #583 with Obama depicted on the cover. There are even 5-pages inside depicting the two teaming up, complete with an Obama / Spider-Man fist-bump!

Marvel editor and chief, Joe Quesada says adding Obama to the comic was a natural move after learning that the new President was in fact, a Spider-Man fan. “We thought, ‘Fantastic! We have a comic-book geek in the White House,’ he added.”

But Presidents have played supporting roles in comic books before. John F. Kennedy helped protect Clark Kent’s secret identity in 1963, and Franklin D. Roosevelt cheered as super heroes fought Hitler during WWII.

Still, you must admit that landing a role in a Spider-Man comic adds to Barack’s ‘cool-factor.’

You know what else makes him cool? Having not one, but TWO Grammy Award winning audio books! Get both audio books on CD for $30 - this week only from Simply Audiobooks! We like to think that makes us cool too.

Globe Books has a great  Ask An Author feature.

This week, readers can submit questions for best-selling author Wally Lamb.

Click here to get his latest audio book, The Hour I First Believed.