The topic du jour is Top Ten Bookish Discoveries I Made in 2019.  I did find some new authors and blogs last year, but I feel like I've already talked about them.  So, I'm going to talk about a bookish discovery I've made this year.  Since there's only one, this won't be a list, but more of a discussion.  I really do value your advice and recommendations, so please leave a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on yours.

I know I'm late to the party on this one, but my big discovery of 2020 is ... wait for it ... audiobooks.  I'm sure I'm the last person on Earth to jump on this particular bandwagon.  However, in reading lots of 2019 wrap-up posts, I realized something—bloggers that read a heck ton of books last year often attributed their astounding numbers to, you guessed it, audiobooks.  So, I decided to give them a try.  Audible had a New Year's sale that offered a free trial membership, some free books, and an easy reading (listening) challenge that will net me a $20 Amazon gift card to boot.  Serendipity!  I signed up.

For my first audiobook, I decided on a book I've been eyeing for awhile—Spectacle by Jodi Lynn Zdrok.  It's a YA novel about a 16-year-old Parisian girl who visits the city's public morgue, which prompts her to have strange visions about a string of grisly murders.  It sounded interesting, so I downloaded the book and started listening.  The narrator, Laurie Catherine Winkel, seemed a little stiff, her French words sounding more natural than her English ones, but she sounded even weirder at higher speeds, so I listened to the story at normal speed.  I kept the audio running while I ran errands in the car, scrubbed my kitchen, folded laundry, worked on the computer, etc. and was surprised at how well I could multi-task.  In the past when I've tried to listen to books I've either fallen asleep or gotten so distracted by other things that I missed half of what the narrator was saying.  The only problem with Spectacle was the tale seemed to go on and on and on and on.  When I downloaded the book, I hadn't paid any attention to its length.  I actually gasped when I finally realized it was ELEVEN HOURS long.  Needless to say, it was an interesting first-time listening experience.

Now, I'm listening to a MG novel called The Other Half of My Heart by Sundee T. Frazier.  The Audie Award-winning narrator, Bahni Turpin, is much more animated than the last one and the book is much shorter.  I'm enjoying it.

All in all, my audiobook experiment is going well so far.  I'm curious, though, as to how the rest of you use this resource.  Do you listen to audiobooks?  Why or why not?  How often do you "read" them?  Which books have been your favorite to listen to?  Who are the best narrators?  Any other tips for me from you audiobook lovers?  I'd love any advice on how to use audiobooks most effectively and enjoyably.

Happy TTT!