Do You Read Like I Read?

BOOOOOOOOOOOKS!!!!!

I think we are probably agreed that books are one of the very best things in the world. Now…It would be fairly safe to say that I am a total book whore. If, for some freak reason, I find myself out in the world with a spare, say, two minutes…I develop an urgent, pathological need to buy a book. Bookstores (old and new) draw me in like magnets. I’ve always loved them more than magazines, music, movies (well…I love movies too but the best ones are based on books, am I right????). This week I thought it’d be fun to see what your reading habits are like. Feel free to put in as much detail as you like in the ‘other’ options. Don’t worry! This is a safe place!!!

I’ll let you know what the results are soon. Until then, happy reading!!!! xx Annie O’

Lyrebird Lake – Mia

Hello dear Love Is The Best Medicine Readers and welcome to 2021 from Australia. Waving. It’s Fi McArthur just dropping in.

How amazing is this sunset? The colours are real, seen from my house, during the recent flooding. Such a “wow” moment.

And the fab colour matches my beautiful cover for Mia, which is pure serendipity. 

I LOVE this book, I love Mia, who is pregnant, snarky, and has a heart of gold. And Angus, who isn’t used to letting people see how he feels.

It’s a funny book, sweet and yet has a warm and unexpected love scene that Angus and Mia slipped in when I wasn’t looking. 

Not like me to have the door open, but awww, I think you would have been cross with me if I shut them down. 

Fancy a big smile in your day? Buy Mia here.  books2read.com/u/b5ZgAA

Not sure if you know all of my big Penguin Random House books are on audiobook with the wonderful Caroline Lee (who narrates Liane Moriaty’s books here in Oz).

Well, big news, Montana, the first of my re-written LYREBIRD LAKE SERIES will be available in March with Caroline Lee narrating again. I’m so thrilled. So, if you love audio, like me, the Lake is coming for you to listen to. xx

And lastly, and most exciting, a brand-new Medical Romance from Mills and Boon, out today, offering you a chance to travel to beautiful Barcelona with me. Or with Cleo and Felipe, really.

Have you been to Spain? 

Such a fun place when I was there two years ago, and in this book my Aussie midwife, Cleo, is a fish out of water. And like me, Cleo was fascinated with the amazing Sagrada Familia Church and all that Barcelona has to offer. Including, the dark and dangerous, Dr Felipe.

Buy the book for a trip away, here.  books2read.com/u/mdnPpy

Finally, from my gate to yours, I wish for you and all you love, two legged and more, the gift of a happy, healthy and harmonious New Year as we gallop into 2021.

Lots of love and happy reading xx Fi

Audio Books and The Joy of Being Read To

When I was growing up, my father read to me. If was often A.A. Milne but it was also other books and when I learned to read myself there was still nothing better than snuggling down in bed and being read to. Obviously, I got to a point where that stopped.

Fast forward 20 years and I was at home recovering from major surgery. My sister-in-law called by with some cassettes from the library, ‘talking books’.  I thought it was a bit of an odd thing, given I was able to read but I was also not very well and reading was too taxing so I lay in bed and listened and was transported back to those wonderful, childhood memories of being read to. Plus I could lie down and close my eyes!

 

Then I had my own children and I read to them but on long car journeys, talking books were fabulous and I went to the library and borrowed the talking book CD’s. It all worked well until the time Boy Wonder left a bag of talking books worth about $200 on a bus in Vietnam. You gotta love FedEx…we had those babies back safe 24 hours after we lost them and my library was none the wiser. Opps, hope none of the lovely librarians are reading this 😉

 

I have been heard to say here before that I love my iPad a ridiculous amount for an inanimate object and right now I am in love with the Borrow Box App because I can download talking books using my library membership.  I find talking books fill the gap for me that many people fill with music. Recently, when I drove three quarters of the length of Tasmania twice in two days, I did it listening to a talking book. When I do the big bake offs or am cooking or tidying in the kitchen, I do it listening to talking books and when I finally clean this pit of an office, I will do it listening to a talking book.

The last two book group books I have listened to rather than read. I did not intend to listen to The Book Thief, but  when I went to borrow the physical book it wasn’t available. I was about to buy it on my Kindle when I noticed I could get it on Borrow Box. I thought I would give it a try, thinking I would probably have to read it to remember things for discussion. The narrator of this book is brilliant and he is adding to my experience.  

That said, recently I didn’t finish listening to a book because the narrator’s voice drove me spare so I do think the narrator is an important consideration.

I have also listened to my novel, Boomerang Bride as a talking book. I was a bit hesitant at first. What would it be like to hear the words I wrote, but the narrator jumped so seamlessly between the US and Australian accent that I lost myself in the story. (By the way, when I went to get the link, I discovered the audio is on a massive sale for $3.99 instead of $24!!!!!)

Borrow Box is an Australian app but I am certain that there would be other library apps in other countries. And of course, there is always the tempting siren call of Audible, the talking book department of Amazon! with its fabulous sales!  Amazon offers the opportunity through Kindle for you to jump between the print version and the audio and it SYNCS so you just pick up from where were you last reading no matter whether it is the book or the audio. Sweet!

So tell me, do you listen to talking books? How do you find the experience?  Or if you don’t listen to them, what are you reasons for that? I’d love to hear!