Audiobook Adventures: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Yesterday marked the first time I finished an audiobook. Yes, folks, it is a big deal. See, last year I went on and signed up for Audible. I forgot why exactly I did it. I think it was because I saw the app on my tablet (it was new at that time) and I decided to just go for it. First month was free, right? It was enticing! But after a few months I realized the membership fee's on top of my would-be purchases was burning a hole in me pocket. This is an expensive hobby.
Fangirl is one of my first purchases on Audible. I already read the book, not to mention I own three different editions of it, but somehow I just knew in my heart that I needed an audiobook copy of it to add to my collection. Now, I wasn't sure I wanted to re-read it again in this version (because I don't re-read books to begin with) but thanks to Manila traffic, I went on and began listening to it one Monday morning on the way to work.
I'll be honest: I didn't like the narrator at first. I think her voice threw me off in the beginning. But I kept listening. And listening. And listening. I got to work and realized, wow. I actually listened while driving. It's not my first go at the whole audiobook thing but this is certainly the first time I was able to fully comprehend what I was listening to. (It was such a struggle with To Kill A Mockingbird and Girl on The Train) Perhaps it was because I was left with only two tasks to focus on: to drive and to listen. Guess it works like a radio show? Anyway, I was happy to know that I could listen to an audiobook and possibly finish it.
And I did, after 6 working days. I only ever listened to it in the car, going to work and back home. I managed to finish an almost 13-hour long audiobook in SIX working days. That's how bad traffic here is. (Not the point)
Considering this as a re-read, I came to realize that things can change when you go through a book for the second time. For example, I saw what other readers found annoying in Cath: she felt so whiny, and closed up, and hopeless. Not that she was hopeless but it seemed like she wasn't going to metamorphosize throughout the story. This didn't make me like the book any less though because, if anything, it made Cath all the more relatable to me. Another thing that I learned to appreciate at the Simon and Baz fanfiction that Rowell sprinkled all over the book. This is the downside of audiobooks — you can't skip parts, especially when both your hands are preoccupied on the steering wheel. So I was left no choice but to listen to eeeeevery single Simon Snow story. But you know what? I actually liked them! I didn't feel like I was wasting my time, as opposed to how I felt when I was reading the paperback. In a way, I think those bits and pieces of Simon and Baz got me excited for Carry On. I bought it because it's Rainbow Rowell but I've been putting off reading it... until now. 
Perhaps the only constant thing in my re-read is Levi. Levi on paper and audio is a wonderful masterpiece. A woman may have read his lines but they still read like the Levi I pictured in my mind. I think I may even like him more, if that's possible. Rainbow Rowell truly has a talent in creating the most realistic yet loveable characters. 
So that's it, then. My first finished audiobook. Third time's the charm, I suppose. Currently I am working on finishing Yes Please by Amy Poehler. I'll let you know how that goes. ;-)
Love,