Free (Audio) Books (Or, the Best Part of Summer)

It's time for my yearly public service announcement about the awesome program that is Sync. For those of you who have never heard of this program (which, if you've been reading my blog for the past two years, you should have heard of this program), here's the deal. Every summer Sync offers free audio books that you can download right to your computer, and that you then own for ever and ever. Each week they post two new audio books, a YA book paired with a similarly themed "classic" (sometimes I think they're a bit generous with their definition of classic, but whatever, it's a free audio book, I'm not complaining). You have one week to download those titles before they are gone and two new titles are released. So you kind of have to be on top of the schedule, know ahead of time what books you want, and mark your calendars so you don't forget to download your books the week they are available.

Due to all that nonsense with the semester ending, I'm a bit late this year, and unfortunately the first week is already over (which is so sad, they were offering Rebecca, which if you haven't read yet, you really should, even though you're too late for the free audio book). Still, there are 13 more weeks and 26 more potential titles for awesomeness, so all is not lost.

Like every year, I haven't heard of many of these titles and cannot vouch for their quality, but every year I always find at least one or two gems (sometimes more) that make me so grateful this program exists.

Also, it's FREE. What could be better?

Here are the titles I'm excited about this year:

A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty

I've seen a few positive reviews of this one around, and the description is terribly intriguing. I think I will definitely be snagging this one, especially since from the summary I can't for the life of me figure out why it's paired with...

Dracula by Bram Stoker

My husband read this a few years ago, really enjoyed it, and told me I should read it. It's been on my too-read list ever since, but, you know, never made it to the top (it feels like I should already know what this story is all about, but according to my husband, this Dracula and the Dracula of pop culture are completely different). Well, with a free audio version of it, maybe this will be the year.

The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger

Haven't seen the movie, but good nonfiction always intrigues me, and this one sounds fascinating.

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

This is a sequel to Code Name Verity, which I really liked, but which was also kind of intense. I'm not sure if I'm ready for the sequel (set in a concentration camp, no less), but you can bet I'll be downloading this one anyway.

March by Geraldine Brooks

I love Little Women (which is the other title offered this week, so snag it if you want it on audio) with all my heart. I am trepidatious about how this made-up back-story might totally ruin an already perfect thing, but then, it won the 2006 Pulitzer, so someone thinks it's good. I'm willing to try it out.







I strongly encourage you to go check out Sync's lineup for the summer, pick out your titles (there are plenty of other good ones that I didn't list here), and mark your calendars. It's going to be a great summer.