hello everyone, abbie here. i am excited to share something with you that i am passionate about – reading. reading has always been a favorite pastime. unfortunately, after three years of law school, where i was forced to read hundreds of pages of case law and legal materials every night, reading became something i would dread. every time i tried to crack open a book, i just simply could not make it past a few sentences. i was too tired of reading, and it wasn’t fun anymore. all i wanted to do was watch a silly tv show instead. i began to grow concerned….would i ever be able to read a book and actually enjoy it again? then i met Audible, and my dread of reading turned to joy.

Audible is a subscription service, similar to Netflix or Hulu. for $14.95, you get one credit each month, which allows you to purchase an audio book. after that, you get discounts on everything in the Audible store, and the option to purchase more credits at a reduced rate. it’s a great value, and the $14.95 price is a huge discount from the full-price audiobooks which can sometimes cost $35 or $40 without the credit!

i thought i would hate listening to audio books, and in the beginning i did….my “gateway” audio book was The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown. The Boys in the Boat is one of my all time favorite books. it follows the captivating story of 9 men who made up the university of washington’s 8-oar crew team in the 1930’s. the lives of the men and the obstacles that they had to overcome is both humbling and inspiring. the book chronicles the team’s quest for gold at the 1936 berlin olympics. it was so easy to listen to in audio format, i think in part because it was a true story, and in part because it was narrated by edward herman (aka richard gilmore, the grandfather on gilmore girls). after listening to The Boys in the Boat, i found audio books incredibly entertaining. today, i enjoy listening while i am getting ready in the morning, driving to work, flying, or during a road trip. if you have ever had a hard time listening to audio books, i recommend you start with a true story or a memoir (something with a more narrow story that is easy to focus on and listen to), and see how that goes. a book with a lot of characters and a lot of names, like Anna Karenina, for example, may be hard to jump into in audio book format. now that i am used to listening, i find that i can listen to a variety of books and enjoy them!

since we are talking about books, i thought i would share what i listened to in march:

The Maid by Nita Prose is one of the more creative books i have read in some time. the main character, molly, is a maid at an upscale hotel. molly loves being a maid, and she is really good at her job; however, molly is different. as you read the book, you begin to realize that although molly is smart, kind, and compassionate, she is also socially awkward. she struggles with social skills, doesn’t always pick up on social cues, and she fails to see glaring red flags. one day while she is working, one of the hotel guests is found dead. a murder investigation begins, and molly, through a series of misunderstandings, becomes the primary suspect for the murder! molly’s world is turned upside down, but her friends ultimately come through to help her figure out what really happened. i found the use of molly’s social awkwardness to be a great story telling tool. as molly fails to realize clues along the way, i found myself picking them up and trying to solve the mystery for her! this book kept me guessing, trying to solve the mystery, and i found it to be a fresh way of telling a story.

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah takes place during the dust bowl (think Grapes of Wrath). the main character elsa and her family live in texas as farmers. elsa loves her home in texas and the land her family farms, but once the dust storms hit, elsa is faced with a decision: should they remain in texas or should they go west to california in pursuit of a better life? Kristin Hannah’s writing is captivating, and her descriptions of the dust storms and time period are so incredibly vivid. while this book is sad, i found it to be also hopeful, a good reminder that americans are resilient.

Gunmetal Gray (Gray Man #6). i read quite a few of the Gray Man books before law school, and then once in school, i had no time to read them. i have thoroughly enjoyed diving back into the series. this book is the sixth in Mark Greaney’s series about court gentry, a CIA agent, turned freelancer. i loved this book because it made me happy to have court back on america’s side after being at the top of the CIA’s kill list. (i won’t give too much away. you will have to read for yourself to find out more). i found myself looking for any excuse to listen to this book – getting ready, let’s listen! going for a walk? i’ll bring the airpods and put it on. driving to work? i have a few minutes to listen…i am sure you will love it too!

if you want to try audible, you can do a free 30-day trial and see how you feel. it has been so much fun for me. for the record, i can now officially say that i no longer dread reading. i am back to my normal self, reading physical books and listening on audible. i don’t know why it took me so long to sign up!

have you ready any good books lately? i’d love to hear your recommendations in the comments below!