I love audiobooks, but narrators can be a real problem for me. Most of them are great to decent and I rarely stop reading a book because I don't like the narrator.

I checked out the narrator of your book, listened to a minute or so, and was almost immediately annoyed. I also thought she sounded familiar, so I checked her out. It turns out that she narrates "The Bean Trees" by Barbara Kingsolver. I have read three of Kingsolver's books and loved them, so downloaded Bean Trees last summer. I tried and tried and tried to listen, but omg the narrator just drove me nutso. Sooooo, perhaps you should try another fiction book. :) Do a search in this sub for "suggest an audiobook" and you will find plenty of suggestions. And, as mentioned in another comment, start with "Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir. :)

Also, I totally forget books altogether after a couple of weeks and always have. When I read print books, I would usually have to go back a few pages to refresh where I left off, and I do the same with audiobooks.

I started this book three years ago, read a few pages and never picked it up again since. I really want to since I know the story’s good, but I keep getting distracted by other books that I’d rather read. I feel you need to get used to the writing with books like that, and quick read the sluggish passages.

Pratchett might be the closest of the two. In tone more than style.

Basically the Ciaphas Cain books focus on a high ranking officer in the Imperial military (The titular Caiaphas Cain.)

Unlike the majority of Warhammer 40K heroes. He's a coward and a scoundrel who spends most of his military deployment trying to find a place to hide from all the horrors of the galaxy that are trying to kill him. In doing so he ends up falling ass-backwards into greater and greater victories just by sheer dumb luck. Which just puts him in greater peril as he's mistaken for a military genius and a hero.

TJR's writing style is definitely very very simple and I can think of a bucket load of better writers on the technical level. But I think why she works and why she resonates with a lot of people is that she has great stories and that goes a very long way. While I'm not gobsmacked by her books, I do think about her stories for a long time after reading them and that means something. I'm always interested to pick them up.

I loved Evelyn Hugo the book and the character, I wish I could go watch her movies lol! I think TJR did a great job making her feel like a real person in the universe, and I really enjoyed living in her fictional world. If you haven't, you should definitely check out her other books in the same universe: Malibu Rising, Daisy Jones & The Six, and Carrie Soto is Back.

You know, now that you say that, I realize that I'm one of those people who can visualize while I read, seeing images. It's why I've never minded dialogue heavy books.

And if you're someone whose mind doesn't work that way then it'd probably make this book a lot less enjoyable. Might've played a role in the mixed reviews.

audiovox has a solid collection of free recordings of many of these.. my favorite is the alchemist though and I didn't see it listed! make sure you check it out.

I think that might be one of the things I liked so much about it. It was easy to imagine a movie unfolding in my head.

You are on Reddit, so yes you probably do

Dramatic reading is fun. There are many books that are so much better read out loud. Plus you're focusing more on tone and the sound of words, you probably have a better grasp on when things are supposed to convey some extra nuance with vowel acoustics or rhythm.

But if it bothers you, you could try a reader app where you only see one word or one line at a time 🤷 Stops you from scanning and skimming stories like they were articles you want information from.

Yes! It's so difficult for me to read the third book in that series - I have to psych myself up to do it. (It's one of my favorites even so!)

no one has any love for the nameless city huh?

I was so confused at first because I didn't realize the first quote was from the joke and I was like, uh, there's no Laurie and Carl in the book! now I get it, lol

[removed]

I guess you should....

I couldn’t put it down either! Got me out of a big slump. There were no problems with the writing imo. I don’t understand this complaint. It was structured and flowed very well.

👈😎👈

I’ll have to remember that one.

I listened to the audiobook as well. I actually just bought a copy because I really wanted a hard copy!

Not being familiar with them, I kinda expected Henry Winkler to by Oliver's cat, dog, or something along those lines...

I don't think she's wordy at all. I don't remember part 3 being written any differently than 1 and 2 to be honest, but it has been a couple years

I listen to audiobooks 8 hours a day at work, and I read about an hour a night before I go to sleep. I feel like I get as much out of audiobooks as I do reading, although I do occasionally go back and re-listen to a chapter or section if I get interrupted during it. It’s possible that audiobooks just aren’t for you.

I THOUGHT I would love it, but I absolutely did not. I'm glad it was short so I only lost a couple of hours of my life to it.

Read it a few weeks ago, and I agree that it was stunning!

In a way...