Combating Grad School With Audiobooks

I'm supposed to read 1,000 pages this week.* That is in addition to 20 hours of tutoring, attending 3 classes, and attempting to be a human.

Welcome to grad school.**

27 books for 3 classes. Get pumped.
(I actually am super excited about some of those books.
But that's another blog.)

While not every week is quite that intense, I always have more than enough to read. Now, as I've mentioned before, I love reading. I especially love reading when it's something I have chosen to read and/or when I'm reading something I admire as a work of art or as a form of escapism. However, when I'm responsible for reading anywhere from 300 to 1,000 pages a week, I simply cannot read for fun. I just can't. I don't really have time, but if I try, I feel like I should be reading for class. So, I end up watching Netflix or going on a walk. Still, I crave stories and novels. To combat this craving and grad school stress in general, I've invested in an Audible membership. With my membership, I get at least one book per month, which I can listen to through an app on my phone. (It's officially my favorite app.) Since I miss talking about books, I thought I'd give a few suggestions for people looking for something to read or listen to. (I always have a debate about which experience I want--listening or reading--but that difference is also another blog.)

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern 

There's a large chance you've seen this book before. I know Target selected it as a part of its book club or something, and for good reason. It's gorgeous. I've read this book once, have listened to it twice, and will probably listen to it again. It's that good. The language feels textured, like an acrylic painting. The story is mesmerizing.

The core of the story involves a challenge between two magicians--Marco and Celia--who have been preparing since they were children. The venue for the challenge is a black-and-white themed circus--"Le Cirque des Reves"--that's only open at night.

There is, of course, a love story. The book jacket/goodreads summary gives away the most dramatic part, but I'm not going to tell you. Don't read the summary. Just read the book, be surprised, and fall in love with it.

When looking for an audiobook, you have to make sure the narrator is good. Listening to books can completely change your experience and feeling toward the book. Jim Dale narrates The Night Circus, and he is perfect. His voice is like dark chocolate and honey. The women actually don't sound ridiculous, which is spectacular. His performance is a joy to experience.

The Unknowns by Gabriel Roth

I follow several authors on Twitter, and I'm pretty sure one of them recommended The Unknowns. The main character is a guy in his early to mid-twenties who created a fancy computer program with a friend and then made enough money to never work again. The story starts--as many stories do--when he meets a girl at a party. The language is a strong departure from that of The Night Circus, but I still enjoyed it. It's more crisp than textured. The story--or maybe just the way the story made me feel--kind of reminds me of The Spectacular Now by Tim Thrap, which is another good novel. (I'm not telling why in case that gives anything away.)

The narrator's performance for The Unknowns is good. His voice fit the main character pretty well, and I didn't get annoyed after listening to it for too long. (This is important.) 

Note: This novel isn't quite as light as it seems.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

I'm a big Rainbow Rowell (pronounced like "towel") fan. In addition to Attachments, which is her first novel, she has written Eleanor and Park (which is is probably the most well-known for), Fangirl, and Landline. Rowell's characters are almost always quirky and clever, sometimes in a John Green (The Fault in Our Stars) way. Though Attachments isn't her most popular novel, it's one of my favorites.

It's 1999, and Lincoln recently started a job as an "internet security officer" at the local newspaper, which means he gets paid to read employees' emails. He doesn't have to read them in detail. After awhile, though, he notices that he can't help but read the hilarious emails between two friends--Beth and Jennifer. As they tell each other more of their stories, Lincoln finds himself falling for Beth. But at this point, introducing himself could get weird.

This story is adorable and hilarious, and I want to hug Lincoln. The narrator does a spectacular job reading Beth and Jennifer's emails. It's probably the lightest of all of my suggestions.

Currently Listening to: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

As you can see, I still have five hours left of Station Eleven. One of my friends recommend that I read it, and I will be forever grateful. The story revolves around the lives of the members of a traveling Shakespeare company in a post-epidemic America and the life of a late actor before the epidemic. (I mean, the book had me at "traveling Shakespeare company." Obviously.)

I can't vouch for the whole novel yet, but I've enjoyed it so far. The performance, like all of the books I have mentioned, is enjoyable. (Though, seriously, none compare to Jim Dale's reading of The Night Circus.) 

Up Next: Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

Seriously, these books are saving my life. Hopefully they'll bring you the same amount of joy! With that, I'm done procrasti-blogging.


Best,

Haley

*One of my professors told us which chapters of a 550 page book to focus on, so that will cut it down a bit. However, we should read the whole thing. Add readings for the two other classes to that number, and you'll get about 1,000.
**Grad school is totally worth it. This includes the work and the classes.