I listened to The Princess Diarist a few months ago. I wasn't a huge fan. It was both sad and depressing in tone and featured a fair amount of narrative yelling (I sometimes listen to audiobooks in the car and in order to hear everything they are saying over the motor/highway noise you have to turn the volume reasonably high. If the narrator then raises their voice or yells, it becomes ear piercing very quickly. Plus I just don't need my audiobook narrator to yell things when the text clearly indicates they were yelling. I would like you to read at a constant volume and when the description indicates a change in voice tone, I will infer and imagine. Or if you must, make it a small change. Please don't blow out my eardrums. Especially when the dialogue isn't meant to be yelled but you are trying to make a point).
I enjoyed Wishful Drinking much more. I thought it had a much different tone. It felt like it came more from a calculated reflection on obstacles that had been overcome. The Princess Diarist felt like it had less closure. Perhaps because it was based on and featured readings from old diaries and presented more a "the problem while I am in the middle of it" vibe rather than a "here is how I overcame and survived" vibe. I don't know. Maybe it was more that I listened to The Princess Diarist in the car more often and was therefore put off of it by the annoyance I felt with the drastic and sporadic volume increases.
Regardless, Wishful Drinking was enjoyable. It was pretty short as far as audiobooks go and featured a mix of funny, serious, lighthearted, and depressing. It felt honest and genuine and like it came from a place of self awareness and reflection.
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