Simply Audiobooks Inc.

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Fun, Fresh & Quirky – Girls In White Dresses

For those who have been following me on Twitter or even Facebook, you already know how obsessed I have been listening to Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close. Since today is audio book review day, I thought I’d write about my experience listening to this wonderful and quirky story.

Although the narration by Emily Janice Card wasn’t overly thrilling, the story itself proved this audio book worthy of being listened to, especially since you can relate to the characters. There are no vocal distinctions to differentiate between all the characters, which I would say is the biggest flaw to the audio book, but if you pay close attention to who’s speaking you should be fine. If you can follow it, the audio book is really a hoot to listen to.

At first I thought I enjoyed the story mostly because of the age group of the characters, late twenties, characters I could relate to, but by the end of the audio book I started to realize most people go through the same quarrels as these young women at least once in their lives. Whether young or old, the antics are still familiar.

Girls in White Dresses follows Mary, Lauren and Isabella from their graduation day from college, through their careers, friends, relationships, and marriage well into their early thirties. Throughout the story, you’re hooked with the snapshot moments of each life that are presented. You’ll discover their hopes and dreams, fears and disappointments.

Forget watching hours of The Wedding Story or Rich Bride Poor Bride, listen to this fresh and laugh out loud funny audio book instead. And don’t forget to share it with your BFF either.

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New Audio Book Releases This Week!

There have been some great new audio book releases this week. Perfect timing since everyone will be getting back to their regular commutes next week. Who knows, maybe you’ll want to be stuck in traffic with these new releases! Check them out below.

Kill Me If You Can By James Patterson
What would you do if you found a duffel bag filled with diamonds during a chaotic attack at Grand Central Station? Matthew Bannon, a poor art student planed for a worry-free life with his girlfriend Katherine—until he realized he was being hunted. Don’t miss this high-speed, high-stakes, winner-take all thrill ride of adrenaline-fueled suspense.

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta
This powerful and moving story follows a family that falls apart in the wake of a mass disappearance of millions of people. Tom Perrotta, bestselling author of Little Children returns with this startling, thought-provoking audio book about ordinary people grappling with the inexplicable.

The Cut by George Pelecanos
From the author who brought us “The Wire”, comes another fast paced crime thriller about a man, Spero Lucas who returns home after serving Iraq, only to find himself in a new line of work with special investigations. But soon he discovers not everything is as it seems.

We the Animals: A Novel by Justin Torres
Written in a magical language with unforgettable images, this is a stunning exploration of the viscerally charged landscape of growing up, how deeply we are formed by our earliest bonds, and how we are ultimately propelled at escape velocity toward our futures.

Below are a few other audio books I thought you should get your ears on! Just click on the title to find out more about the audio book.

Only Time Will Tell (The Clifton Chronicles) by Jeffrey Archer

A Trick of the Light: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel by Louise Penny

In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir by Dick Cheney

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More Twists and Turns from Jodi Picoult

Today we have something special in store for you, a guest blogger named Deidre! And because today is audio book review day, Deidre has chosen to review an audio book she has recently listened to. Let’s find out what this avid audio book listener has to say!

Posted by our guest blogger, Deidre.

As a Jodi Picoult fan, I was excited to listen to her latest audio book, Sing You Home. The story is about a married couple who get divorced.The wife eventually remarries and wants to use her previously frozen embryos to have a child with her new wife. Yes, you read that correctly. As you can imagine her now born again Christian ex-husband, isn’t pleased about this idea and files a lawsuit to take possession of the embryos.

If you’re a fan of Picoult’s work, you know that she has a very distinct style of writing books with controversial subjects that are written to make you think critically about the subject at hand. While I definitely didn’t agree with or even like all the characters, which I think is partially why Jodi writes such polar opposite characters, it was interesting to see how they progressed and developed throughout the book.

Another thing I like about this audio book is the narration. For anyone who has read physical copies of Jodi’s books, you’ll know that different chapters are typed in a different font to signify a different narrator. In the audio book, there are actually different people narrating the parts of the story from the different characters’ perspective. Having different people narrate accordingly was a really nice feature of this audio book. I’ve also never listened to an audio book that had songs in it. Since the main character is a music therapist, it makes sense, and it’s a nice change of pace.

My favourite part of this book though, was the ending. Jodi takes you on twists and turns throughout the story and you won’t believe it unless you hear it for yourself. Happy Listening!

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Saying Goodbye To The Famous Bookstore

Fans of the film Notting Hill, remember all too well when Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) asked William (Hugh Grant) if she could stay for a while and William answered “You can stay forever.” The memorable scene took place in London’s local bookstore called The Travel Bookstore. Unfortunately, it has been announced that the memorable shop and one of London’s popular tourists attractions, is set to close in a few weeks.

Even though there are lots of poets and writers who are stepping up to the plate to save the bookstore, it does not have enough support to stay open. Simon Gaul, the owner of the bookstore, made the decision to shut the store down after his children showed no interest in taking over the business.

When I heard about the news, I couldn’t help but feel the owner’s disappointment. I’ve never even been there before, so why the sense of loss? I assume it’s because it reminded me of the local bookstore I used to visit with my mother every week. It became a part of my childhood, where we would take a few hours out of our day to walk to the bookstore and she would go on about authors and stories I had to read! I made a connection to the shop, it was a time machine that could take me anywhere; my love for reading flourished because of it.

So although I have never stepped into The Travel Bookstore, I feel for those that have. I maybe listening to a lot more audio books these days (perk of the job), but I am still happy that my local bookstore remains open in town, opening the minds of children to come with both books & audio books!

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Happy Birthday Annie Proulx!

Happy 76th Birthday Annie Proulx! Born in 1935 in Norwich, Connecticut, Proulx is the well renowned author of The Shipping News and Brokeback Mountain.

Growing up, her mother was a painter who encouraged Annie to observe her surroundings closely, paying attention to the little things, like ants. From there on in, Annie spent a great deal of time, not only observing but writing about what she witnessed.

While working toward her Ph.D., she decided to abandon the idea in 1975, believing she wouldn’t find a job. However, soon after, her writing career began. Proulx began working as a freelance journalist and spent any free time fishing, hunting, and canoeing. As a journalist she wrote articles for magazines on all sorts of topics appearing in Country Journal and Organic Gardening.

However, it wasn’t until the 80’s when she decided to work on a collection of “how-to” books, that she started making headway into the literary world. Her career as a fiction writer started to flourish and eventually her name made headlines after the success of The Shipping News. She even won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for this title.

If you haven’t had a chance to listen to one of her audio books, why not start today and discover this talented Pulitzer Prize-winning author (and I don’t mean by watching the movies).

Find the audio books here.

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The Help Hits The Big Screen!

As a big fan for the upcoming film, The Help, from the highly anticipated adaptation of the 2009 best-seller by Kathryn Stockett, I couldn’t resist sharing the cover for the new Entertainment Weekly.

A story about African-American maids and their employers in 1960’s Jackson, Miss., it will make you reevaluate the power of friendship in a whole new way. Although I heard the audio book a while back, the story still holds its weight for being one amazing memorable story.

If you haven’t heard the audio book yet, I recommend you do before it hits screens on August 10th. You can find it here.

I’m going to check out the film this weekend, so I’ll let you all know if it holds true to the book. Keep me posted on what you think as well!

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What Do Teen Choice Awards & Books Have In Common?

Books win!

How many of you caught the Teen Choice Awards last night? Now I may not be a teen, but I’m still interested on how certain movies and television shows do, particularly when they are based on novels.

So I’m here to give you the run down and save you from watching reruns of Selena Gomez accepting 5 awards. What is that all about? Oh ya, Teen Choice Awards. Did I mention they gave her an award for “choice female hottie”? Well they did!

Anyways, to more important matters, Harry Potter and Twilight. Before I get into the details, I wanted to inform you all that The Teen Choice Awards created a “choice vampire” category. Now, everyone can get recognized and given what they deserve. Oh goodie! What next, best Zombie? Anyways, that being said, Robert Pattinson’s Edward Cullen for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse won! I have one problem with this, he apparently beat out not only Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder, and Paul Wesley from The Vampire Diaries, but Alexander Skarsgård’s Eric Northman from True Blood! How does that work? Oh wait, target demographics for the Teen Choice Awards verses True Blood. Clearly different audiences.

Now, there was rumored to be a big showdown between Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Parts 1 and 2 and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, but everyone seemed to be getting awards. Taylor Lautner won for best sci-fi actor, Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene won the scene-stealers prize. Pattinson won, as mentioned above for best vampire but also for best movie actor for Water For Elephants.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- Part 1 claimed best sci-fi movie, but part 2 got the best of them all, Choice Summer Movie. Tom Felton won for best villain, and Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson won choice summer male and female stars and even the best “movie liplock” award!

I think it’s fair to say most fans were happy to see the split of awards. It’s nice to see films like Water for Elephants (a great audio book might I add) represented at the Teen Choice Awards too.

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August New Audio Books!

I always look forward to the beginning of every month because there are so many new audio book releases! It’s nice planning out what I’m going to hear and what I plan to pass up. Like for example, can you believe Denise Richards has released her own book called Real Girl Next Door? Honestly, I thought Jersey Shores Snooki was enough. I guess I shouldn’t be too critical about it, it might make for a great light beach read or something, but it’s definitely not one of my picks for the month.

But these ones are! Check out the following new releases:

Cold Vengeance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
After discovering that his wife, Helen, was murdered, Special Agent Pendergast is desperate to find retribution. He soon realizes he is on the chase of his life, taking him from Scotland to the bustling streets of New York City, to the dark bayous of Louisiana. Forced to dig deep into his wife’s past, he learns that Helen, may have collaborated in her own murder. Sound like a whirlwind ride? That’s because it is!

Home Improvement: Undead Edition edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner
A fan of Sookie Stackhouse? If so, you are in for a treat! Ever wondered what that creaking sound was in your home? Those creepy feelings that give you Goosebumps and no one’s around. Well, this is a fun blend of Sookie and finding those skeletons in the closet after a home renovation. It’s perfect for those who like a little sci-fi mixed in with reality shows. It’s an all-new collection of paranormal perils of Do-It-Yourself.

Retribution: A Dark-Hunter Novel by Sherrilyn Kenyon
So you may have already heard of the Dark-Hunter series, but have you taken the time to listen to it? You probably should if you’re a fan of gunslingers, hunters, vampires and the list goes on.

The Lying Game #2: Never Have I Ever by Sara Shepard
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Pretty Little Liars books, Sarah Shepard’s new riveting series is about secrets, lies, and killer consequences.
You won’t want to pull away from this one. A story about a girl who believed she had everything, a great family, a loving boyfriend and the best of friends, except for one problem, the girl was murdered and now lives through her sister Emma, who has taken her place. Who is the murderer and why. Follow along Emma’s footsteps to solve the mystery of her sister’s disappearance.

This Beautiful Life: A Novel by Helen Schulman
This is a deep and vivid story that blurs the boundaries between privacy and fragility amongst us. You’ll explore the modern life for what it truly is, a portrait that will have you questioning and debating your assumptions about family, morality, and the sacrifices and choices we make in the name of love.

I know, there’s a lot of a great titles to choose from this month. All I can say to that, is make sure you have time to get through as many audio books as you can. You just might find yourself sitting on your driveway a lot longer after your commute from work! You won’t want to stop playing these audio books!

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It’s All About The Werewolves For Andrea Cremer

The popularity of vampires can be seen everywhere you look. The attraction is clearly one audience’s can’t get enough of. But what about werewolves? And no I’m not talking about the illustrious Jacob from Twilight. Rather I’m talking about werewolves in general. I have always found that they play roles in the shadows of the vampires. That being said, they may not have big roles, but they are around, you just have to sniff them out.

But why sniff them out, when I can tell you where to find them! Andrea Cremer’s popular adult werewolf trilogy has the perfect combination of everything werewolf related. Although Wolfsbane (the second novel in the series) was just released last week, one chapter from the third novel entitled Bloodrose, has also already been distributed online. And yes I’ve read it!

So, if you take a liking to werewolves, you should probably start listening to the first audio book in the series, Nightshade. As a romantic adventure that features teen wolves, dangerous battles, and forbidden love, you’ll get everything you want and more in this exciting series.

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Happy Birthday Emily Bronte!

She once wrote “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him: and that, not because he’s handsome, Nelly, but because he’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same; and Linton’s is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire.” Ahhh, I still melt every time I read this famous line.

If Heathcliff didn’t give it away, this famous quote is from the romantic classic novel entitled, Wuthering Heights. I thought it was appropriate to share it today, for today is Emily Bronte’s birthday. I figured why not spread the love of this author the way she wrote about the love between Heathcliff and Catherine.

Born on July 30th, 1818 at Thornton, Bradford in Yorkshire, Emily’s first book of poems was published in May 1846 under the Pseudonym of Currer Ellis and Acton Bell. She contributed 21 poems. However during this period she was also working on Wuthering Heights which was finally published in December of 1947.

Unfortunately, Emily never did see her rise to fame, how her literature continues to inspire young writers all over the world. In 1848, her sister Charlotte Bronte writes that her sister is having breathing problems and has pains in her chest. It was on December 19th, 1848 at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, when Emily passed away. She was 30 years old.

However, she continues to be remembered decades later.