Do you like suave spies, danger, beautiful women, adventure, villains, intrigue, and a good martini? Well this is the audiobook challenge for you! We will be listening to Simon Vance narrator all but one of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels and shorter fiction. Over the next 15 months, we’ll be following James Bond from his inception in Casino Royale through the last of Ian Fleming’s stories, Octopussy and The Living Daylights.
You can buy these titles directly from Blackstone Audio as well as any digital download services that partner with them.
Note: To celebrate June is Audiobook Month, Audible.com has all of the James Bond titles on sale until the end of the month! Most are only $8.73, some are as cheap as $6 or $7. Only Live and Let Die is over $10 at $10.48.
We won’t just be reading along with Simon Vance. We’ll be holding Twitter chat and viewing parties to celebrate each book. Once a month we’ll meet on Twitter for a half an hour to chat about the current read before watching the corresponding film. The Twitter chat and viewing party aren’t required to participate in the challenge, but it will provide the opportunity to talk about the books in more depth in real-time. Before the first chat and viewing party I will write a post with details on how they will work. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Note: Like an answer to a prayer, Netflix announced that they would be adding all of the James Bond films to their Instant Watch queue. If you are a Netflix subscriber, it couldn’t be easier to participate in the Twitter viewing parties. If not and you need to plan ahead, please see the Schedule page.
Signing Up
Signing up is easy.
- If you’re a blogger, grab the button from the sidebar and use it in a post letting us know that you’re joining in on the fun. While you’re at it, let us know how much you know about James Bond going into the challenge. Once your post is up, go to the Sign Up page and use Mr. Linky to make it all official. I’ll be sure to add your URL to the blogroll.
- If you’re not a blogger, you’re also more than welcome to join. Just head on over to the Sign Up page and leave a comment letting us know why you’re joining and how much you know about Bond going into the challenge.
Once you’ve signed up, spread the word in any way you can. The more people who participate the more fun it will be for all of us.
Prizes
Blackstone Audio, the official sponsor of Shaken, Not Stirred, will be hosting a 007 Giveaway each month. To be included in the monthly giveaways, you have to participate in the previous month’s discussion. Of those eligible, 007 participants will win a copy of the next audiobook. The due dates for qualifying for each month’s giveaway can be found on the Schedule page.
Everyone who signs up for the challenge by Saturday, June 11 at noon EST will be entered into the first 007 Giveaway for our first novel, Casino Royale.
At the end of the challenge, there will be one Grand Prize winner. You qualify for the Grand Prize drawing by participating in at least 10 out of the 15 months. The complete prize hasn’t been defined yet, but I can tell you that the winner will receive a set of four Aristocrat martini glasses from the Swank Martini Company. As the challenge progresses, I’ll add a Prizes page to keep track of what is awaiting the Grand Prize winner.
Questions?
I hope that I’ve covered everything here, but if there is anything I’ve left hanging or if there is just something you’re interested about, please feel free to ask. You can either leave a comment here or sent me an email at shakennotstirred (at) literatehousewife [.] com.
Believe it or not, another Shaken, Not Stirred event is almost upon us! This month we’ll be reading James Bond short stories from Quantum of Solace. All of the past books have been novels, so short stories will be a first for this group. After our last event, Tanya from dog eared copy did some research and discovered that not all of the short stories contained in the Quantum of Solace audiobook were used when creating the movie. She then mapped everything out and discovered that the films for both Quantum of Solace and For Your Eyes Only (March event) are based upon the same short stories. Please see her post for the complete analysis. Summing it all up here, listen to the following short stories contained within the Quantum of Solace audiobook for both this month and next month’s events:
