Friday Feature: Seatmate

 Last week, just before my trip to Pittsburgh, I finished listening to an Audible Original that's a contender for my favorite book of the year.

A few weeks earlier, I'd sought out a book by Cara Bastone after finishing Angela Duckworth’s Grit. I was getting ready to head into the end of semester grading tunnel and wanted something a little lighter. Since I’d really enjoyed the last of Bastone’s Audible originals, Love at first Psych, I thought another by the same author might be a good fit.

Enter Seatmate, which was even better.

I rarely listen to novels on Audible, preferring to curl up with that sort of a book in my lap, but Bastone has a knack for writing for the audio book genre. Like Love at First Psych, Seatmate is appropriately dialogue heavy, which makes it easy to follow the story even while driving, but Bastone also has a talent for working in character descriptions. Listening to this as a writer, I often thought to myself (and even said out loud), "that was a really clever way to do that."

The book definitely has a romance vibe to it, but it doesn't feel like formula romance. For me, that was part of the appeal because I'm not a big fan of the genre and haven’t read a romance novel, per se for more than two decades. Because Bastone creates likable, complex characters, she has the reader rooting for them as individuals, not just rooting for them to end up together, and she's good at creating suspense beyond the will they/won't they vibe of a standard romance.

Bastone makes excellent use of the audio format in terms of setting, story structure, and sound, using all of them to deepen character development, amp up conflict, and bring the listener into the story. Throughout the story, she brings in enough peripheral characters to keep things moving and interesting, without deviating from the story that we want to hear.

In fact, the book was so much fun to listen to that I think I want to write one! Audible, are you listening?

Selecting the Perfect Audiobook

geralt via Pixabay

Last Saturday, I published a weekend edition of my Friday Feature, sharing some of my favorite Audible books. While some posts are a struggle to complete, others leave me feeling as though I could have said so much more.

Saturday's post was (as you've probably already figured out) one that fit into the latter category.

I really was surprised to discover that I liked audiobooks. When I started the membership, I thought I'd do the free trial, then cancel. I couldn't imagine how I'd fit listening to books into my schedule at home (I mean, why not just pluck something off my towering to-be-read pile?) and my trip to and from work takes less than half an hour, even if I stop at Starbucks on the way home, so it wasn't as though I could settle in for some good storytelling.

Oh, how wrong I was. 

Though I most often listen to books in the car, I listened to a significant chunk of Becoming while I cleaned out a closet one weekend afternoon. I've also gotten into the habit of listening to a book (usually a memoir) while I play silly games on my iPad (makes me feel less like I'm wasting time). Finally (although this qualifies as in-the-car-listening), I've been known to appreciate a long line at the Starbucks drive-through because it lets me get a little more story in. As a result, I've finally made progress on the "read more" goal I set every single month. Though it's not eyes-on-the-page reading, it's still consumption of books. And, in a time when I'm spending most of the day on the computer for classes, planning and, yes, writing, it's nice to give my eyes a break from time to time.

Over time, I've refined my selections to certain types of books. I rarely download novels, for example because, when it comes to fiction, I still prefer old-fashioned books or e-books. The ones I did download in my early days on Audible are languishing in my library. I might listen to them if we ever get back to the beach but, meanwhile, I tend to go for non-fiction. In fact, my non-fiction reading has increased dramatically, in part because I can listen to this genre on Audible. I tend to go for:

• books about people/topics who/that interest me, but that I would be unlikely to buy a whole book on; 
• books where the author reads the story (this is how I got pulled back into biography/memoir, which I hadn't read much of since middle school);
• books I can easily pick up and put down (which is why non-fiction makes the cut more often than fiction) and
• books that I need to read (I've previewed several trade books I assign for class on Audible).

I love that I can sample the books; in fact, without that feature, I probably would have canceled my membership. Honestly, there are several books in my library that never made it past that stage.

I promise that the good people at Audible aren't paying me for these posts -- it's just that a belated-Friday-turned-weekend-post got me on a roll. And, in case you're wondering, Casting the First Stone is available on Audible (the only one of my books that currently is). In a fun sort of irony, my friend Beth McIntosh auditioned for the job and got it before I even knew she'd thrown her hat into the ring (or her voice into the microphone).

Friday Feature: The Joy of Books

Last weekend, I got very excited over a seemingly small thing.

I finished a book.

I read a lot, but I rarely sit down and curl up with a book, and this time was no different. The book I finished was Michelle Obama's Becoming (which I highly recommend) and I had listened to it, sentence-by-sentence, chapter-by-chapter, in the car.

Mind you, I don't really spend that much time in the car. It takes me seven minutes or less to get to work (when there's no construction) and most of my other driving is around town. Still, when I read an article last year about how to read more books, I decided to put the suggestion of listening to audiobooks to work. I'd downloaded Audible last summer so I could listen to books on the beach. Why not try adding a little reading to my commute?

I'm really glad I did. Listening to Becoming, as read by the author, only enhanced my experience. Listening to it a little at a time allowed me to savor it as well.

But back to reading a lot, but not sitting down with a book. It wasn't until I read this article in the Harvard Business Review that I actually credited myself with reading a lot. I absolutely fall into the "consuming more information...than we ever have before" category, reading not only the e-mails and social media tidbits author Neil Pasricha cited, but online articles as well. 

That's still reading.

Yet, I don't make time for books. 

A funny thing happened when my audibook habit collided with Pasricha's article. My appetite for reading actual books was whetted. 

I have no intention of quitting my audiobook habit. Currently, I'm cycling among Billy Crystal's Still Foolin' 'Em, Brené Brown's Dare to Lead and Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, depending upon my mood and my destination. In addition, I've turned my attention back to several of the bookmarked books on my physical bookshelf, determined to hit the finish line with those as well. One didn't make the cut and is now destined for the library donation box, but two others are in regular rotation again. 

For writers, when "free" time appears, finding the reading/writing balance can be a challenge, but it's a challenge I'm ready, willing and able to rise to. 

What are you reading?