I got a copy of this audiobook due to my interest in short story collections. Like all short story collections, however, some of these stories didn't really interest me all that much. As for the narration, while I liked the male narrator, I did find the female narrator wasn't all that consistent.

The blurb caught my attention but after that I lost my interest and didn't read this book. Maybe next time.

I loved this book.
Usually short stories leave you begging for more but these stories are perfectly balanced. Short, but concise with and ending that blows you out of the water, leaving no unanswered questions.
If you are well-disciplined you can tuck into one story a day and mull over the impact, but unfortunately one story a day is not enough - the others beg to be read/heard ASAP.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me the chance to experience this book.

Christopher Meeks dives deep into the complex relationships between women and men in this short story collection. Even with their short length, each story held the ability to evoke deep emotions within the reader. Love is hard and these stories show the difficulties that come with giving one's heart away. Divorce, finding new, or renewing the spark are all complicated paths to navigate. These stories explore these complexities with just a touch of whimsy and humor. They are thought-provoking, heartwarming, and sometimes sad. I felt like these could be stories about my friends and neighbors. Every day challenges that people all of the world are experiencing... life-changing decisions made that are so profound but only to those involved.

I am typically not a fan of short story collections, but I decided to give this one a chance and I am so glad that I did. I will certainly be adding more short story collections to my list to be read. If you are not usually a fan of short stories, as was I, I would say to still give this collection a try.

An interesting selection of short stories that feed into one another nicely. Not sure I would have enjoyed it as much if I had to read the stories, but listening to them was easy and because they were short stories, it was easy to dip in and out of them

The Benefits of Breathing is a collection of short stories that touch on the various aspects of love and relationships. It is multifaceted in content, sometimes humorous, sometimes sad, sometimes dramatic and complicated. Kudos to Meeks for mixing it up.

Although some stories were more enjoyable than others, these short stories did not leave me with the warm fuzzies. The real feelings of people are explored in various types of love (or lack thereof) and portrayed realistically, not as romantic fantasy.

The Narration in the audiobook switches back and forth for each story. A male narration begins with the first story, followed by a female narrator for the second story. The same pattern continues throughout the book. I liked the male narrator's voice, he had good pace and inflection. The female narrator's voice although pleasant, I thought in some instances was either over dramatic or flat.

My thanks to Netgalley for providing me an advanced AUDIO version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I didnt care for the reviewers voice, I found it grating.
Review of book :
Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
If this anthology of short stories had a sound track, it would be ‘Elenor Rigby. All those lonely people. Some find love and throw it away, some are so bitter that when love arrives they don’t see it, some are always looking for something better, some don’t find the love they deserve ( at least in the portion told in the story)
As I read each story, I found I quickly took a side- She’s a jerk, he deserves better, or he doesn’t see what he has, always wants something better. And Arggh what is she doing- why is she sabotaging everything ???. And a number of stories pertain to death.
Reading these stories was like listening to friend tell you their marriage troubles, and while you may be on their side sometimes, there is a quiet voice saying- wow this isn’t ALL his fault. She’s horrible to him. And they don’t take your advice.
What the stories all say : Dude, your wife is unhappy, and is thinking of leaving you. If you aren’t actively wooing each other, you are headed to divorce. A lack of fights, but quietness equals thinking of leaving. And finally, she IS too young for you.
I’m a hopeless romantic , and always want the happy ending, which most of these don’t have. Still, I found the stories riveting, and read the whole thing in a day. If you like drama, and raw realities of lost love, you will enjoy this book.
On a side note- I did like all of the LA references, and will need to try some of the places mentioned.

I was never a fan of short stories, but decided to give it a try. Thank goodness I did because I loved this! Narrator was great too. This author understands a lot about life experiences. Thank you net galley for a copy of this audio.

This was a collection of short stories about love & relationships, but they feel more like scenes/chapters from longer books that entire stories in their own right. Whilst there is no doubt that the author can tell a good story with well developed characters in the short story format, the individual stories were a little bit bland for me – there was not a lot that happened, they were just “nice” and “sweet”.
Unfortunately, I didn’t like the audiobook format for this book – there was little distinction between the stories. If they had been alternately narrated by the male & female narrators, it would have been easier to distinguish when one ended and another started (I’d be listening to a story, then suddenly it was part way into another story).

Disclosure: I received a copy of this audiobook free from the publisher via NetGalley. Whilst thanks go to the publisher & author for the opportunity to read it, all opinions are my own.

Just excellent. He's a new to me author but this won't be the only one that I read. Yeah his writing is sparse but there's so much depth in what he does say that you're not going to be disappointed. The narrator is very good too. So definitely check this out. It's wonderful. Happy listening!

The Benefits of Breathing and Other Stories is a collection of eleven short stories about complicated relationships and love. While some stories were wonderful, I was less impressed with some.

There are two narrators in this audiobook, narrating each story alternately. I liked the male narrator more. Maybe I would like an ebook or printed version more than an audiobook.

3,5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to this! All opinions are my own.

I started listening to the audiobook yesterday, and am 30 minutes in - the first story seems engaging, but I'm afraid I can't get on with the narrator. She sounds like she's smiling through everything, which is appropriate for what one character says, perhaps, but makes it hard to distinguish between two voices in a conversation. Also, it sounds like she's just reading it straight from the book, without doing different 'voices' for each character, and also with the wrong emphasis in the sentence sometimes... it's very distracting.
So, I've just downloaded the digital ebook version, and will continue in a text-based format!