The Day Audiobooks Forever Changed My Life | Newbie Blogger Spotlight
The Day Audiobooks Forever Changed My Life
Hi friends. Today’s Newbie Blogger Spotlight post resonates with me very much. If you follow me on Twitter you may have seen me talk about my mum’s sight loss and the impact it’s having on her main joy in life: reading. So it seems like fate to share this deeply personal, emotional and powerful post written by Ashley today.
Over to you Ashley!
Once upon a time, audiobooks (better known as You-Know-What or Those-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in the book community) saved my life. I was living a busy and blissful life, when one day I was thrown a boatload of lemons. 🍋🍋🍋
TW: Autoimmune Disease, Chronic Disease, Disabilities
🍋 Imagine being able see with 20/20 vision one day, then seeing two blurred images simultaneously the next.
🍋 Imagine being able to open your eyes one day, then having both eyelids droop closed the next.
🍋 Imagine being able to eat or drink whatever you want one day, then choking on every bite with liquids up your nose the next.
🍋 Imagine being able to speak clearly one day, then not having anyone understand you the next.
🍋 Imagine being able to write on paper one day, then being incapable of holding a pen in your hand the next.
🍋 Imagine being able to wash your hair one day, then being unable to lift your arms up to your shoulders the next.
🍋 Imagine being able to walk and run one day, then collapsing without the strength to pick yourself up off the ground the next.
🍋 Imagine being able to breathe deeply and effortlessly one day, then having 25% lung function the next.
If you can fathom any one of the above, then combine all of them (and more)… that is what someone with Myasthenia Gravis (MG) could deal with on an hour-to-hour, day-to-day, week-to-week, and month-to-month basis. MG is a neuromuscular autoimmune disease where your body’s own autoantibodies attack the neuromuscular junctions, resulting in weakness. I have had MG for the past 5 years, but I decided to make lemonade when those lemons were dumped in my lap.
Some people might focus on the shortcomings of the disabilities, but I refuse to be a victim trapped in my own body. There are still a few things that MG has never taken from me, most noteably: my brain and my ears. I have the ability hear, listen, and learn every day!! I can hear a pin drop in the next room and whispering across a house. My brain is just as sharp as the day I graduated with my second college degree.
When I first started to have “eye troubles” (as I call them), I quickly became bored as I could only listen to music or the silence for so many hours in day, day after day. It was not long before I was racking my brain thinking, “What does someone with a visual impairment really do with their free time?” I spent 25 years as an able-bodied person not needing to truly ponder that question. I also thought about some of my favourite things I did before and I have loved reading all my life…
Enter: Audiobooks!!! ✨🎉
That was the best *aha moment* of all time! Why had I never listened to an audiobook before? What was it like? Are all audiobooks the same? Would I enjoy listening to a narrator? I had so many questions, but first: where to get one and which to pick?! I had no idea what Audible was at the time, but I had iTunes and immediately downloaded the first book that piqued my interest. I laughed, I cried, and I was in love! Audiobooks quickly became my everything. I owe my sanity to audiobooks and they will forever have a special place in my heart.
A few of my favourites:
🎧 The Millennium Trilogy (I could listen to Simon Vance all day, every day…)
🎧 My Lady Jane (Katherine Kellgren is a vocal genius!)
🎧 The Poet X (Elizabeth Acevedo’s poetry is so powerful!)
🎧 Harry Potter (I just finished the first, but Jim Dale is fantastic!)
🎧 Matilda (As if we needed another reason to adore Kate Winslet?!)
My all time favorite blog post about audiobooks: Why Audiobooks matter: Let’s talk about Inclusion and History by Eline @ Lovely Audiobooks.
If there’s anything you may take away from this post, it’s to please be kind to everyone in the book community. All reading formats are valid and important. Audiobooks are available for everyone, but they were originally developed for the blind and visually-impaired. Many community members rely on non-traditional formats in order to enjoy the same stories, discover the same worlds, and experience the same characters, friendships, loves, heartbreaks, and adventures as the next reader. I love connecting with other audiobook enthusiasts and finding new favourite narrators and books! Happy Reading! 📚🎧
Thank you so much Ashley for this wonderful post. As you know if you follow me on social, I’m ALWAYS talking about the importance of audiobooks and how they are just as valid as any other form of reading. They are so important to so many people who have no other way to read. If you’ve never listened to an audiobook, now’s the time!
Leave a comment for her below and make sure to check out her blog and give her a follow! Also check out her Twitter too! @bubblybooknerd
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12 Comments
My favorite narrators are the man who does A Gentleman in Moscow (which is my favorite audiobook ever) and Nigel Plainer who does many of the discworld books by Terry Pratchett.
I love audiobooks and fully believe it counts as “reading” but maybe we need to come up with a more inclusive word like “experience the book.” (:
Thank you so much for the recommendations! I’ll be adding them to my TBR! And I love “experience the book”!! 💕 I feel included when you say “reading” though since I can bounce between formats (mainly with ebooks) when my symptoms are not exacerbated. 😊
I hope you love them!
Great post, I also adore audiobooks! Ah, you chose the Jim Dale version of Harry Potter audio! I listened to the Stephen Fry edition and LOVED it. Not sure which one is better, I’d have to listen to both of them to compare, but I’m a huge fan of rereading it in audio, it’s such a unique new way to experience a childhood fav.
Thank you!! I didn’t know Stephen Fry narrated HP until now! It makes sense that they would release both US and UK versions but I’m surprised they switched narrators since both are British?! I’ll have to see if I can get my hands on Fry’s 😊
This is such an amazing post and thanks for sharing your story, Ashley! I’m so glad you found audiobooks…and just so glad they exist. I see people dissing them on twitter and it’s just ridiculous?! Verbal storytelling is still storytelling. I mean even if people are reading with their eyes, we’re still saying the words in our head. That’s no different to saying them out loud! Anyway, I’m a huge fan of audios.💛
Thank you!! I only wish I had found them sooner than when I began to actually need them. There’s so many amazing audiobooks out there that I want to listen to! Typically I don’t have the energy to battle twitter trolls, so advocates like Jenn are so amazing to have in my life! 💗💗💗
This is such an incredibly personal and powerful post. I am honestly so glad that audiobooks exist, and firmly believe that it counts as reading over here. I am slowly getting into audiobooks myself, you are the second person to recommend the Poet X so that’s what I am getting with my audible credit this month!
Thank you so much Kaleena! I couldn’t be part of this community without them, so I’m glad too! I hope you like The Poet X! I listened in one sitting and was so emotional!! (All the feels!) I like that Audible has their “great listen guarantee” when you’re a member in case a book doesn’t work out. I’m currently trying Scribd and plan to write up a post after a bit to do a comparison between different services!
i love this post somuch, its v important and personal. ill definitely think back to it the next time someone tries to tell me that audiobooks arent reading. ive not had much luvk w aufiobooks yet but im rly enjoying some podcasts
What a fantastic post! Thank you for sharing so much about yourself, Ashley! I’m currently listening to the Millennium Trilogy and I love Simon Vance’s narration!
An emotional and very powerful post, Ashley 💖💖 I’m so glad that you were still able to enjoy the world of books and that they were still there for you when you needed them. Audiobooks are a valid way of reading, it’s just some people have different preferences and likes. However, no one should say they aren’t valid or they’re wrong forms of readings, because they are totally acceptable and the bookish community is all about being inclusive!!
Thank you for sharing and now I’m going to try to listen to more audiobooks 💖 (I’m definitely checking out My Lady Jane 😉)