Listen up, book lovers, and listen good. It’s time to get with the program and discover audiobooks. Like now. We have, and life will never be the same.
It’s no secret that here at Brazen Woman, we are big readers. We love stories in every form, reading them, writing them, hearing them, sharing them. So it’s no wonder that devouring books, page by beautiful page, has always been our passion.
What we’re not so passionate about, however, is the guilt we feel as we drop into bed at night and consciously ignore the stack of books gathering dust on our night stands. Because exhaustion. At the end of another whirlwind day, we’ve got almost nothing left to give. All we want to do is chill, and rest our (increasingly myopic) eyes. But even so, with a sigh and the best intentions, we crack open a book. And after three pages, and too many re-reads of the same paragraph, we’re out cold.
Mara listening to Audible.ca
You know what would be amazing? Being able to work our way through that to-be-read pile—whenever, wherever. Like in the car, on the train, on the treadmill, or even in our cozy bed. We dream of being able to slip headphones over our ears and hear someone else read that book to us while we do something else. We want to listen to a sweet bedtime—or daytime or frankly, anytime—story. Like when we were kids, and life was simple and simply good.
Oh hello, Audible.ca. Welcome to the Canadian Marketplace!
As you can imagine, when we heard the news that Audible Inc., the world’s largest seller and producer of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word content, announced the launch of audible.ca, a dedicated service just for us voracious Canadian readers, we started cheering. No more guilt, no more squinting, no more letting our beloved books linger way down low on our to-do lists.
Since we first got a taste, we’ve been wired to our iPods, which are already loaded with audiobooks we can’t wait to hear. We die-hard readers have become audiophiles, and here’s why. All of a sudden, it seems as if we have all the time in the world to “read”—because we can plug in at any time: during our precious downtime, on the go, while we work out, in the bath. It may have started with choosing audible.ca over TV, but now, we find ourselves tuning in everywhere. Like in the car, where hearing a story being told actually makes sitting in traffic a joy. And at the grocery store, where a riveting podcast turns boring shopping into a fun learning experience. And in bed, where the soothing voice of Claire Danes reading us The Handmaid’s Tale lulls and stimulates, all at the same time.
Ready to become an audiophile? Just download the app at audible.ca and get started. But don’t wait—because for just one month, Margaret Atwood’s THE HANDMAID’S TALE, in a special edition performed by Claire Danes, and Catherine Leroux’s LE MUR MITOYEN, performed by Julie Le Breton, are available FREE.
Talking about the Audible experience
Let us warn you, though. Once you start browsing on audible.ca, you won’t be able to stop. That’s because whatever you’re into reading, you’ll find it, all for a low monthly subscription fee in Canadian dollars. Been dying to read The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*uck for months but never got around to it? Always wanted to dive into the original A Game of Thrones series? Can’t get enough comedy? Politics? Graphic novels? Audible.ca has a virtual library of listening experiences for every taste. There’s a broad selection of more than 300,000 audiobooks, original programs, lectures, comedy and more, including more than 100 new titles from Canadian authors in English and French, and other long- and short-form local content specially curated by and for Canadians.
Already an Audible.com subscriber? That’s okay! Audible.ca has instructions on the website so you can transfer any books or credits. Meanwhile, you’ll be billed in Canadian dollars and will have access to the almost endless options and Canadian-specific content because Audible has earmarked $12M CAD over the next three years to invest in Canadian writers and voices.
Look out for these cool titles and programs available:
- Justin Trudeau’s COMMON GROUND, narrated in both French and English, with a new introduction narrated by the Prime Minister
- An unabridged recording of Margaret Atwood’s ALIAS GRACE, performed by Sarah Gadon
- ANGEL CATBIRD, a dramatized, multi-voice production of Margaret Atwood’s graphic novels adapted for audio by the author
- Roz Nay’s suspenseful cat-and-mouse thriller OUR LITTLE SECRET
- Barbara Gowdy’s novels MISTER SANDMAN, FALLING ANGELS and WE SO SELDOM LOOK ON LOVE, available for the first time in audio
- THEY CALLED ME NUMBER ONE, written and narrated by Bev Sellers, the author’s personal story of surviving a government-sponsored religious school to assimilate indigenous children
- HELLGOING, Lynn Coady’s short story collection and winner of the 2013 Giller Prize
- 2015 Governor General’s Literary Award for French Fiction winner SIX DEGRÉS DE LIBERTÉ by former Canada Reads winner Nicolas Dickner, performed by Atriana Reeves
- Winner of the 11th Grand Prix de la relève littéraire Archambault and finalist in both Le Prix littéraire France-Québec and Prix des Cinq continents de la Francophonie in 2011, PETITE ET LE VIEUX by Marie-Renée Lavoie
- Jean-Jacques Pelletier’s thrilling mystery BAIN DE SANG, narrated by Jean Brassard
Ladies, it’s time to install that app and put your headphones in place, right where they belong. Thanks for listening.
*Although Brazen Woman was compensated for this post, all opinions, as usual, are ours.
