#audiobooks

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It occurs to me that I haven't been talking up the audiobooks I've narrated in a while. Other more urgent projects are at the front of the queue at the moment and there are only so many hours in the day.

But! That said, if you ever have questions about the books I've narrated or you'd like a free review copy (I always need reviewers), ask away!

Also, if you're curious about my voice, there are free samples of all the books in their store listings, too.

https://adaraastin.ck.page/87de3a4c9f

@audiofiction @bookstodon


Apparently, in the wider bookish community, there is this idea that listening to audiobooks doesn't count as reading. This idea is ableist af.
I mean, what about blind people?

And besides, what about people who can focus better and longer when listening (audio), instead of reading (visual)?

What about people who can better focus on listening to stories while doing something, for instance going for a walk, doing sports, crocheting, knitting, or arts and crafts?

I've finished: Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle

Lucky Day dresses a well worn fantasy trope: you can't cheat lady luck, and dresses it in science fiction clothes.

It is interesting to see a statistician have to deal with probability defying events on the personal, philosophical and investigative levels.

However this novel must come with a body horror content warning. Tingle absolutely delights in graphic descriptions of injury and death.

If you want a more family friendly novel that deals with the implications of impossible phenomena manifesting in our world, try When We Were Real by Daryl Gregory.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/7690dede-bb83-45a7-98cf-28dd75493055

@bookstodon @audiobooks

I've finished: Vigilance by Robert Jackson Bennett

This is not what I'm used to from Robert Jackson Bennett,

A hard hitting, near future, techno-thriller, parody of American gun culture.

It is not the funny sort of satire, it is the tragic, tense drama kind.

Published in 2019 it hit's a bit too close to home in 2025.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/08c7b0e6-cf4b-4405-8219-5d51dd7b8095

@bookstodon @audiobooks

Audiobook fans, if you want to get my audiobooks as a serialized podcast, become a monthly supporter. It's pay what you want and you get a private RSS feed to go into any podcast app. https://weirdwritings.pinecast.co/?page=1

@bookstodon

If you're looking for a Christmas Romance audiobook, I've narrated a great one!

Lily is a single mom starting over in a small mountain town. Last Christmas, her brother's hot best friend Beckett kissed her under the mistletoe. This year she's newly arrived, newly divorced, and hoping for a second chance in more ways than one.

Lily is a great character: she is a woman who knows what she wants and is not afraid to go after it. And Becket is the hunky mountain man we all deserve: caring, together, and more than ready to appreciate a good woman who comes his way.

Taken by the Mountain Man by Kelsie Calloway is one of my top three best selling romance audiobooks of the year. At just 42 minutes long, you can listen in a single session!

If you like a story with a big heart and …

A white smartphone plays the audiobook of Taken by the Mountain Man. In the background, snow falls over a cozy mountain cabin. A sticker in the bottom right corner says: "Available in Audio."

Content warning If you're looking for a polyam romance, I've narrated a good one.

I've finished: Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove

I was a bit worried about the premise of this novel, I don't usually like when cliche historical monsters are recycled into a new setting. Many times it is just name dropping.

I was pleasantly surprised by Of Monsters and Mainframes. The monsters are characters in their own right and are more than a place marker for evil antagonist.

The AIs are the traditional kind, expert systems rather than the LLM type, finding human interaction difficult rather than built to simulate human interaction. For this is essentially a found family story, and the AI is coded autistic.

It is fun and funny, but also dark, there are cozy elements but I hesitate to categorize it as cozy.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/df12836a-b0dd-416c-b75f-32f0d6f390db

@bookstodon @audiobooks

I've finished: When the Sparrow Falls by Neil Sharpson

This is a story about a Soviet style East European dystopia. As someone who grew up in the late 80s it really appealed to me.

An ideology turned into an authoritarian nightmare and the people that get ground up in the wheels.

It is Sharpson's ability to personalize those people as they get crushed in the gears that makes this a great novel.

It's a bit strange to read a novel in 2025 where the AI future is viewed in a positive light. But it was published in 2021, before AI became synonymous with LLMs.

It was interesting reading When The Sparrow Falls at the same time as The Ragpicker, a novel where the digitization of human consciousness and virtual reality are the cause of the apocalyptic nightmare.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/50271032-ec89-41c3-87ad-ac67855b8417

@bookstodon …

I've finished: Bang Bang Bodhisattva by Aubrey Wood

Kiera is such a wonderful character, capable but totally in over her head. Thrust in to the middle of the action against her better judgment, she is a true reluctant heroine.

Bang Bang Bodhisattva manages to explore the trans experience, body modification, polyamory vs monogamy, police, crime and inequality via a fun sci-fi thriller that is both deadly serious and self deprecating.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/7300b0fa-3f05-4e74-8eec-3c219fdd6f19

@bookstodon @audiobooks

I've finished: The Scarab Path by Adrian Tchaikovsky

I had given up on Shadow of the Aprt after Salute the Dark. It felt like it was supposed to end there and I wasn't interested in reading more about war, strategy and tactics.

Now, more than two years later I decided to give the series another chance. To my surprise, I couldn't put The Scarab Path down.

The war aspect is sidelined in favor of the survivors stories, as they deal with their grief, trauma and injuries.

While the prospect of renewed hostilities hovers over the novel, the main story revolves around the mystery that lies at the center of the ancient city of Khanaphes, revealing more about the history of the world and it's two separate aspects: The Art & The Apt.

My only issue is that I hate the love triangle with Chay at …

For the @bookstodon readers, January and February will be huge months for my podcast because I am serializing my two audiobooks for January and February. Off the grid, and pass the Salt. If you don’t have audible, this is a great way to get the audiobooks and support me and my narrators. I do not use AI narration. The price is pay what you want. You’ll get a private RSS feed that you can put in any podcast app of your choice. https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/weirdwritings you’ll get a private RSS feed after you tip monthly.