It's time for second part of Book Blog Talks with The Happy Booker :-) If you haven't read first part, you can find it here: Book Blog Talks: Book Blog Talks: The Happy Booker, Part One. 

A lot of e-book lovers say that they cannot go back to paper books. They are a distraction if not in electronic version and put into an e-reader. Do you still grab paper books?

Yes. I love all types of books although if given the option, I will always choose the audio. I think that books should be bundled with all 3 options available for the buyer.  

Could you recommend some great audio books with extraordinary narration? Why they are special for you?

Neil Gaiman's narration of his books are beyond phenomenal. Of course, everything Gaiman does is amazing, but he brings an extra element to his narrations. Bahni Turpin does an incredible narration of Stacia Kane's Downside series. The original slang language that Kane created for that series, "Downspeak", is performed perfectly in her narration, I would have butchered it trying to read it. Other excellent narrations would be Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series, Molly Harper's Jane Jameson series, and so many other amazing narrations that I could spend all day listing them. 

In your opinion and from your observation / listening history are there any books that perform better in audio version than others?

I've found that a narrator can take a book that has somewhat flat characters and breathe life and personality into them with their narration. Alternately, I've found that the wrong narrator can take an incredible book and make it seem flat and lifeless. 

How do you find audio books worth listening to?

I buy them, I get them from the library, used bookstores, Audible, Audiobook Jukebox, and I request them for review from audiobook publishers like Penguin Audio, Brilliance Audio, etc. 

Where do you listen/read mainly?

 In front of my computer while playing Candy Crush. 

Is there any literary character you would like to meet face to face?

What would your ask him/her?

I would love to meet Anne Boleyn and I'd have a whole slew of questions to ask her about how things went down with Henry. 

Any book quotes that you love?

I think the act of reading imbues the reader with a sensitivity toward the outside world that people who don't read can sometimes lack. I know it seems like a contradiction in terms; after all reading is such a solitary, internalizing act that it appears to represent a disengagement from day-to-day life. But reading, and particularly the reading of fiction, encourages us to view the world in new and challenging ways...It allows us to inhabit the consciousness of another which is a precursor to empathy, and empathy is, for me, one of the marks of a decent human being. - John Connolly

Is there a book that you just cannot wait

to be released in audio version? What's that?

World After by Susan Ee the sequel to the AMAZING Angelfall!

Book Blog Talks welcomes The Happy Booker blog which shares love to reading by listening. Lets get to know the blogger a little better :-)

In your blog description we can read “Audiobook Junkie”. What’s so special in audio version of books that make you fall in love in this format?

It probably comes down to the fact that I have more of an auditory learning style so I find it easier to retain information when hearing it. But I believe that when the right book meets the right narrator, it's a special kind of magic that goes even beyond reading.

How much time do you spend wearing headphones?

I spend more time wearing headphones than not wearing them. I also work from home handling customer service calls so most of my life is spent wearing headphones! 

For you, is listening to audio books the same as reading? Or do you experience the books differently?

I think I experience them differently. I've described audiobooks as being very similar to watching a movie IF that movie stayed completely true to every aspect of the book.

What literary genres are you listening to?

I'm a mood reader so I genre hop a lot. I love really dark stories like thrillers and books that explore uncomfortable subject matter. I'm really into post-apocalyptic and zombie books too. I love reading stories of survival in extreme situations like that. I also enjoy fairy tale retellings, fantasy, dystopian, and historical fiction.  

Are there books you would love to read and record? Or maybe you already did (secretly or not)?

No. I don't think I'd make a good narrator. I wouldn't want to listen to me for hours. My family agrees, they don't want to listen to me at all most of the time...

What was your first audio book? When was that?

The Harry Potter series and I think that was back in 2008

What are you listening/reading right now?

I'm listening to Love in the Time of Global Warming audio book and reading World After by Susan Ee ebook and Delia's Shadow by Jaime Lee Moyer print book 

Your favorite book author?

 TOO many to name, Rowling, Martin, Kagawa, Hobb, Gaiman, Zimmer-Bradley, Weir, Gregory, etc. 

Your favorite voice / narrator in audio books?

 Neil Gaiman. I want him to narrate my life. 

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In the second part The Happy Booker will recommend great books with great narration, favorite reading place and great quote about reading. 

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Read other interviews in Talks Series on BookLikes:

- Book Blog Talks: Happy Books, Part One

- Book Blog Talks: Happy Books, Part Two

- Author Talks: Elizabeth Watasin, Part One

- Author Talks: Elizabeth Watasin, Part Two