It should be no surprise to anyone reading my blog that I’m a constant reader. I believe reading widely is one of a writer’s most important tools for learning how to write even better. But it might surprise you to know that audiobooks form at least half of my reading these days. I get audiobooks for my phone through Overdrive (aka The Library) and audiobooks on CD to play in my ancient car whenever I have a drive of any length (without my kids present. Little pitchers and all that.)

Audiobook narration is an art, like any other kind of performance, and a great narrator — or set of narrators, if the book requires — can really make a good book even better. Sadly the reverse is also true, and awkward narration has definitely interfered with my enjoyment of a book, but the good news is that most narrators out there are pretty great at their jobs. If you have the chance to pick up anything narrated by Julia Whelan or Xe Sands, for example, they’ll take your audiobook experience to the next level.

One of my favorite audiobooks of the past few years is Abby Fabiaschi’s I LIKED MY LIFE. The book has three points of view and the audiobook uses three narrators, and it makes a wonderful story even more of a gut punch. (I mean gut punch in a good way!) I’m thrilled to welcome Abby as today’s #read99women guest.

And here’s her bio: Abby is a human rights advocate interested in economic solutions to social/cultural problems. In 2017 she co-founded Empower Her Network, an organization that paves a path for survivors of human trafficking with a will for independence by breaking down housing barriers, financing education, and uncovering employment opportunities.

When her children turned three and four in what felt like one season, she resigned from her post as a high tech executive to pursue writing. I LIKED MY LIFE (St. Martin’s Press) is her debut novel. She and her family divide their time between West Hartford, Connecticut and Park City, Utah. When not writing or watching the comedy show that is her children, she enjoys reading across genres, skiing, and hiking. Oh, and travel. Who doesn’t love vacation?

Abby’s pick is AMERICANAH by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. “I first learned of Chimamanda in 2009 through her Ted Talk on the dangers of the single-story. (If you haven’t seen it, the topic is more relevant than ever.) After watching her speak, I dove into HALF OF A YELLOW SUN, which was my favorite book of last decade. She earned the title again with AMERICANAH, a novel that changed some things for me.”

She continues, “Her writing sucks me in: ‘There was something in him, lighter than ego but darker than insecurity, that needed constant buffing, polishing, waxing.’ I believe Chimamanda to be the best contemporary novelist out there.”

No higher praise than that!