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Halloween is around the corner and we have updated our previous posts with updated links to our new audiobook store.  Whether you are looking for mildly scary ghost stories to super scary horror Halloween tends to bring out curiosity about the mysterious.  Scary stories are so great for the spoken word audio format as many of us think about sitting around a campfire sharing a good story to scare everyone to "death".

On the lighter side kids really enjoy scary stories as well though you do have to be more careful about you play for them.  My son always says he isn't afraid of anything but afterwards he can't fall asleep.  When it comes to Children's Halloween stories definitely take a listen yourself before you share it with your child or worse yet with the other kids in sleepover group!

The picture in this post is the latest and greatest from L.J. Smith the writer of the Vampire Diaries.  Though she is the writer of the original Vampire Diaries and even the Secret Circle there seems to be an interesting back story of others continuing to write further books as ghostwriters.  Either way both series make good listens as well as entertaining TV series.  The Secret Circle is about Witches instead of vampires.  Vampires Stories continue to be immensely popular due to the likes of both the Vampire Diaries and the Twilight Saga which will be coming out with what may be the last movie.

Whether Vampire Stories on audio are your thing or whether you are just thrilled by a good old fashioned horror book by someone like Stephen King odds are you can find some ideas in our updated posts here and our updated pages on CreateTimeAudio.com.

Here is the updated content:

Halloween Stories on Audio

Vampire Stories on Audio

Ghost Stories to Chill the Spine

Kids Halloween Stories on Audio

Vampire Stories Not Just for Halloween

Halloween Audio Books to Make You Scream

As usual have a fun and safe Halloween!

 

 

Filed under Audio Books by  #

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It is hard to believe that fall is here and Hispanic Heritage Month has already started for 2011.  Last year we highlighted our Spanish Content audio that we had available in our catalog last year.  We have since changed our provider of audio books and are happy to say our collection of audio books in Spanish is much bigger with more than 1000 books available.  We have also gone back and updated our links to the audio books we recommended last year including the Clemente biography.

We are very happy to be a part of highlighting this content for a demographic group that continues to be so important in the United States.  Since I love pictures I had to include an eye catching book cover.  Ricky Martin released an autobiography last year that goes through the growing pains of discovering himself in the spotlight.  For some of us we remember him as a member of Menudo but many more probably know him from the english album that skyrocketed him into international spotlight with the song "Livin' la Vida Loca".

Hispanic Heritage Month is observed September 15th to October 15th(yes I know kinda strange).  It is a great opportunity to honor hispanic achievement whether you are latino or not.  Explore the many Spanish Audio Books available today.  If you don't know Spanish yet you may want to consider learning Spanish as it is the top growing language in the United States.

Related Articles:

Hispanic Heritage Month 2010 Audio Book Spotlight

Clemente – A Famous Hispanic Story on Audio

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Recently the Audio Publishers Association announced the nominees for the top level categories for their 2011 Audies® Awards.  I was half tempted to put a picture of Johnny Depp here instead of Keith Richards, whose autobiography has been nominated for AudioBook of the Year.  Johnny Depp is said to be one of the reasons why this audio books was nominated.

He is one of the narrators on the audio book and let's face it Johnny Depp can do no wrong.  He continues to be popular and rumor has it he used his impression of a drugged out Keith Richards as his inspiration for the voice of his Jack Sparrow character in Pirates of the Caribbean.  The marketing campaign for the audio book Life leveraged Johnny Depp's involvement and am sure his popularity was able to draw in some that would not be audio book listeners.

We write about the Audies® each year since they really are the only awards dedicated solely to the audio book industry.  The awards are given out in over 30 categories, specifically genres but the top awards of AudioBook of the Year and Distinguished Acheivement in Production of course get more attention.  They remind me of the Oscars since many of the narrators tend to be from the entertainment industry like Johnny Depp.  There also are some narrator stars though that have made their name mainly in the audio book space like Simon Vance.

The awards will be announced this month at the annual Audies® Award Gala that is held in New York.  It will take place on Tuesday May 24th.  For more details you can look through the APA press releases that should be available on the www.audiopub.org website.

The nominees for 2011 AudioBook of the Year are:

  • Life, by Keith Richards, narrated by Johnny Depp and Joe Hurley
  • The Red Pyramid, by Rick Riordan, narrated by Katherine Kellgren and Kevin P.
    Free
  • The Woody Allen Collection, written and narrated by Woody Allen

The nominees for 2011 Distinguished Achievement in Production are:

  • Chapters from My Autobiography, by Mark Twain, narrated by Bronson Pinchot
  • The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, by Stieg Larsson, narrated by Simon
    Vance
  • Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices, by Walter Dean Myers, narrated by a full
    cast
  • One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia, narrated by Sisi Aisha Johnson
  • Saint Joan, by George Bernard Shaw, narrated by Amy Irving, Edward
    Herrmann, Kristoffer Tabori and a full cast
  • The Sunset Limited, by Cormac McCarthy, narrated by Austin Pendleton, Ezra
    Knight, and Tom Stechschulte

These books are available through Audible.


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Elizabeth Taylor BiographyThis week as we observe the sometimes unexplainable fascination we have with British Royalty I was reminded of what we here in the United States tend to consider Royalty.  Elizabeth Taylor who passed away recently is a great example of how we replaced the British Royalty we revolted against with our obsession with the stars of Hollywood.

For those who have not been exposed to the glory days of the movies of the 50's and 60's it may be hard to understand why so many people cared about stars like Elizabeth Taylor.  Besides her obvious beauty was her life which had many ups and downs.  For some they were turned off but for most they made her seem that much more human.

As we look on at the Royal Wedding preparations and coverage for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton it is hard not to be reminded of Princess Diana who like Elizabeth Taylor took her fame and used it to help others.

What other people in the United States do you consider royalty?  When looking at our own country you can't help think of the Kennedy's and of course many of the other Hollywood stars that fascinated us so not just then but for a long time to come.

Some that come to mind for me are:

  • Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
  • Natalie Wood
  • Marlon Brando
  • Audrey Hepburn
  • James Stewart
  • Katherine Hepburn
  • Lucille Ball

The above stars have bios available at our downloadable audio book store.Enjoy the wedding royal wedding festivities!

Please note, we also have coupons available in honor of both Alcohol Awareness Month and National Humor Month.  Since I did not get this post up sooner I will extend those coupons into next month.

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Marcus Buckingham on AudioMarch is here at CreateTimeAudio.com we are closing the first quarter of 2011 with a focus on self development.  We're still focused on the self review and goal setting that accompany the beginning of the New Year.  It is never too late to reposition yourself or move forward from your life challenges.

The March 2011 audio book specials revolve about overcoming challenges, finding your true self as well as moving your business from stagnation to growth.  Sadly the obstacles facing both people and businesses is illustrated by some of the words in the titles:

Transform Your Life

Find Your Strongest Life

Troubled Times

Obstacles

Tough Economic Times

I decided to highlight Marcus Buckingham because his book revolves around the topic of Women and how they can find happiness in ways that you think are against the grain of today's modern woman.  Also March is  Women's History Month and though Buckingham's data driven analysis of surveys may not have been looked upon favorably by some in the woman's movement I would bet it would resonate with all of the overworked and stressed out moms trying to have it all in today's modern society (that would include me).

Women's History Month is a time to highlight the achievements of women but also their lost role in history.  We must never forget that women in whatever role they play in life have a strength that is downright amazing.  First Lady Michelle Obama spoke recently at the International Women of Courage Awards.

Some "modern day" stories highlighting the courage of women besides those highlighted by the First Lady are those of Claudette ColvinDarlene Deibler Rose, Flory Van Beek and Shoshana Johnson.  These are a few of the audio books on women we recommended for Women's History Month.  If you use the coupon code women at checkout you will also get a 20% discount off of your order.