What Are You Listening to Now? Part 17

Somehow, I've got an abundance to choose from at the moment.

That's good, because I listened briefly to The Iron Trial and Redshirts and quickly dismissed them from the queue as just too poor in quality.

Started Daring Greatly this morning and so far, so good. Brown is a research Social Worker and the book seems to be about embracing one's vulnerability instead of allowing it to build fear and shame.

Feeling grumpy today as I had to take Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke back to the library unfinished as 2/3 of the way through was a disc that didn't work. I've been trying my best with the series as each book in the trilogy had a different narrator with a completely different interpretation of the characters which has meant that they all feel new and not like I'm following one set of characters move through the whole set.

I'm also listening to The Black Country by Alex Grecian and I'm not keen on the author's portrayal of some of the characters - very strange children that don't really fit with the age they are or to me the period they're living in. Add to that some sort of fault on the discs that mean about every 5 minutes it repeats a sentence before continuing which is a little unnerving.

*sigh*

Finished The Black Country and was disappointed overall, but have moved onto The Devil's Workshop by the same author as I'd already borrowed it from the library. At least so far, it's playing smoothly. Hoping to get through it quite quickly - there are only 7 discs and I'm already on number 3 - if I'm lucky, I'll finish before the weekend.

Switching back and forth. Daring Greatly is okay, but Six-Gun Snow White is amazing. Valente delivers.

Prince of Fools: The Red Queen’s War, Book 1 (By Mark Lawrence; Narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds) - 14.6 hours

YES, you do need to read the Broken Empire trilogy before you head into Prince of Fools;
YES, it is different from the Broken Empire in significant ways;
YES, if you have read the Broken Empire Trilogy and need a little Jorg fix, it is here when Jalen and Jorg cross paths at an inn
NO, The narrator and the book are not a good match

EDITED 01/15/2015 - to replace full review with TL;DR version. Full review has been posted on the work page

About to read PG Wodehouse's Love Among the Chickens narrated by the wonderful Jonathan Cecil. Wondering how I missed this one since I thought I'd read them all.

I've just started The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves by Stephen Grosz and I'm in the middle of a re-read of the excellent sci-fi novel The Martian.

I'm in the middle of listening to It Happened in Boston? (by Russell H. Greenan; narrated by Robert Fass.) It's very toned down type of speculative fiction: The protag seems to have the ability to time travel in his head; but it's not the main thrust of the story. He's an artist who goes through an existential crises after a tragic event hits close to home. This is an old title that has just been recently released in audio; and the language doesn't condescend, which gives it a slightly dated feeling.

Just finished Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch and am now sad because it's the latest book in the series and I'll have to wait who knows how long for my next Peter Grant fix. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith really does a brilliant job with this series. I started listening to Legion by Brandon Sanderson and it was OK, but not something I'm especially excited about. I have Far, Far Away in my library and may try that next.

Managed to finish The Devil's Workshop by Alex Grecian and while not great, it was better than The Black Country. I decided it was time for something light next so listened to Sophie Kinsella's The Undomestic Goddess which was just the ticket.

A trip to the library has netted me a different copy of Inkdeath so I've my fingers crossed that I can now make it to the end of this one and in the car I'm now listening to The Traveller by John Twelve Hawks.

I started listening to Midnight Riot at home yesterday, but I can't concentrate well enough on audio there, so I started all over this morning in the car and am glad I did. Laugh out loud funny. Excellent protagonist voice. The reader gets it right with just a titch of whine.

I seem to be on a roll with London urban fantasy.

I am listening to The Fullness of Time by Kate Wilhelm read by Marguerite Gavin for my commute. I am enjoying it, after a bit of a slow start. I love the narrator! As we know that can make or break a book. :)

Well ... finished off This House Is Haunted last night. On a 1 - 10 scale (10 being scared out of my wits reading it in a sunshine-y pasture with ponies and unicorns prancing by), I'd say it rated somewhere in the 2 - 3 range, perhaps.

I'm over halfway through 1914: The Year the World Ended by Paul Ham and finding it really excellent. It's a long one (22 hours), but I like the reader and the way he's covering the subject (the first third or so is all pre-1914 and the it's not until the last third that we're really getting into the war). There's always some difference in pronunciation, this time it's rapprochement being pronounced in an English fashion vs French (which is the usual way with WWI audiobooks).

I've just barely started Ingo, a children's fantasy novel, as my kitchen book. Of course it's right when all I want to do is lie on the couch, listen to my book, and either embroidery or play silly games. Oh well.

Has anyone here listened to the unabridged audiobook of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings read by Rob Inglis? I'm contemplating getting them but it's a big listening commitment in terms of numbers of discs if it's not well read. So many versions seem to be either abridged or audio dramatisations or more than my current budget permits.

Am halfway through Silence for the Dead by Simone St. James. Shell-shocked WWI vets, plucky nurse with a secret and ghosts in a crumbling English mansion-- enjoyably gothic so far. Haven't read one of these in a while, and the reader is good.

>15 Peace2: I have listened to them and loved them. Rob Inglis's voice suited the characters and the genre, and it was wonderful to hear all the 'foreign' words properly pronounced. I rarely said them out loud when I read the paper books.

Started Dealing with Dragons this morning, and at first was put off by the too cutesy narrator's voice, but she seems to have tamped it down enough by chapter three. Hmmph, narrator is not credited.

I listened to a mult-cast recording of Dealing with Dragons and found it pretty dreadful. It managed to suck a lot of the humor out of the book, so I went with print reading for the rest of the series.

>19 mabith: That's the one. So far it's not too bad, and this is the only way I'll get to read it for now, so continuing on.

>17 CDVicarage: Thank you for the positive news - very tempted by them now!

Fortune's Daughter by Alice Hoffman read by Carrington MacDuffie. Excellent narrator! I have listened to several read by her and she never disappoints. When the book first started I was not sure if I would stick with it as the main character Rae is a bit annoying. Glad I stuck with it...

Yah, Dealing with Dragons sounded like a children's stage production. I managed, just barely, to get through the 4 discs. I like the main character, but not enough to forge on with the series.

Started In the Garden of Beasts.

>23 2wonderY: For what it's worth, I think that awful production really gets in the way of seeing the characters the way they are in the book. If you can ever get a hold of the print version I'd give it a re-read that way. I did print for the other books and liked them so much more than the first primarily because the audio production.

I'm well into Two Years Before the Mast and thanking my stars you can increase the speed on Overdrive. The reader is incredibly slow. I'm halfway through Ingo by Helen Dunmore, but not really getting into it. The audio edition is done well enough, but the pacing and plot choices seem odd.

Finished Inkdeath, The Traveller and gave up on The Devil's Paintbrush because it wasn't working for me.

Now I'm on to Rough Crossings by Simon Schama and The Food of Love by Anthony Capella - a little different to each other :D

Last night, I started listening to Orphan Train. I'm not very far into it but I like it so far. The narrator reads well, but her voice is a little too...something...childish?...for me. I think there are two narrators to the book but haven't heard the second one yet.

I gave up on Shadow of Night. I enjoyed, didn't love, A Discovery of Witches, but this second one just wasn't working for me.

Just finished a re-listen to Mister Monday, the first in a fine children's fantasy series. They're read quite well by Allan Corduner.

Started The Art of Communicating by Thich Nhat Hanh and will probably finish today as it's quite short.

Switched to Orange is the New Black for a couple of days and thought it was damn good.

Emperor Pickletine Rides the Bus (by Tom Angleberger; narrated by Mark Turetsky et al) - 3 hours, 35 minutes - ✭✭✭✭

The final installment in Tom Angleberger's Origami Yoda series, sees kids from McQuarrie Middle School go on a field trip to Washington, DC. For those unfamiliar with the series, it centers around a loser named Dwight who folds a paper Yoda figure that dispenses wisdom and advice to his classmates. Seemingly divorced from Dwight himself, the paper figure achieves a certain mystic aura among most students, suspicion to some ('cause there's always at least one person like that,) and frustration for all of the teachers. As the series goes on, more paper figures are introduced, all from the Star Wars cast of characters. It's fun, and while the print books are heavily illustrated, the audio works surprisingly well on its own. The production value across the series is a little uneven (splicing the different narrator's sessions together seems to be a recurring issue resulting in some extra long pauses in some of the titles); but "Emperor Pickletine" seems to have had a better post engineer on it than the other titles.

Tommy, the principal chronicler of the series is voiced by Mark Turetsky, who, as always, turns in a performance great for capturing the tone of a middle-grader (as opposed to sounding like an adult mimicking a child.) He does an awesome Chewbacca impression (check out The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee), which sadly wasn't called for this time; but to make up for it, Dwight actually speaks in this book, and he is perfectly rendered by Tom Angleberger himself!

Even if you haven't listened to the others in the series, the book is entertaining and fun; and I'm sad to see it end.
Great for family listening :-)

***Claps*** Another Angleberger - Yay!
He's lots of fun.

I just started A Wizard Alone on my quest to listen to all of the young Wizard books.

It Happened in Boston?
By Russell H. Greenan
Introduction by Jonathan Letham
Narrated by Robert Fass
Ⓟ 2014, Blackstone Audio
11.00 hours
PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER

By many accounts, the story of what happened in Boston falls into the genre of Speculative Fiction. After all, very early on in the book, it is revealed that the protagonist of the narrative is a time traveler! Yet, it is equally apparent as the story unfolds that time travel is not the main thrust of the story; nor are the crime, horror, or philosophical elements, so the book is disqualified from being catalogued into those genres as well. Why not just label it as “Fiction” and leave it at that? Because it is much more than an imagined story of what happens to a painter as he rises in his career arc before he is shattered by a tragic event. It is the story about his acute perceptions as an artist as he shifts his focus to the surreal even as his corporeal world falls apart.

The unnamed artist tells his story from the first person POV, luring the listener into his tale: How his DaVinci-like skills brought him lucrative commissions, and how his best friends from the academy fared as well; How a tragic event started to unravel his reality as he searched out God Himself for a showdown; and the occult things he did in this quest…

The style of the narrative has its precedents in Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House and in Patricia Highsmith’s short story collection, Eleven. The narrator, absolute in his convictions and reasonable in tone, starts becoming unreliable in credibility; and the things he does become a matter of morbid fascination. The listener is swept up into the intimacy of the artist’s world as it narrows in scope down to a park bench in the Commons or his now-seedy apartment with its menacing pigeons on the window ledge.

Written in 1968 and contemporary to its time, the listener might expect it to feel dated. While there is a decided old-fashioned sense to the scenes, like diners with sugar bowls, and a lack of twenty-first century technology like smartphones, the story is so richly and realistically depicted that the listener is “present” as much as the artist.

Robert Fass is the audiobook narrator for “Boston.” His style is very mannered, but not affected and serves the language intelligently. The book warrants no less. It is not a slapdash adventure with vocabulary of middle grade complexity; but a rich and sophisticated feast of words that paints pictures, even as the artist in the story paints his portraits. Fass’ style is complimentary to the novel’s voice, clear and direct even as the protag’s vision becomes less so.

Final notes about the overall production: There is an Introduction written by Jonathan Letham extolling Greenan’s ability to conjure the beauty of a fictional painting; but which also includes a major spoiler to the story. I would highly recommend skipping the Introduction (the first 7 minutes, 13 seconds of the audio after the opening credits) and listening to it after the story is over. There is also an Afterword by the author which talks about the difficulty in classifying the novel, and how it came to be written and received. Between the end of the story and the Afterword, I really wished there had been more of a pause, or an indication that the narrative was at an end so I could have savored the listening experience. The ending is powerful and deserves a moment or two to soak it all in before being hurled back into the real world.

It Happened in Boston? deserves more than to be relegated to the obscurity of a backlist. It’s a classic in its own right.

OTHER: I dnloaded a digital copy of It Happened in Boston? (by Robert H. Greenan, with an Introduction by Jonathan Letham; narrated by Robert Fass) from Blackstone Audio/downpour.com. I receive no monies, goods or services in exchange for reviewing the product and/or mentioning any of the persons or companies that are or may be implied in this post.

Haven't commented here since January, but I've now finished both The Food of Love by Anthony Capella which was fine, but not as funny as it seemed to be trying to be and Rough Crossings by Simon Schama which was excellently read by Paterson Joseph.

I then gave up on The Secret History of the World as laid down by the Secret Societies by Jonathan Black - a combination of the content being questionable at times and the narrator's voice almost sending me to sleep.

Now I'm listening to The Last Coyote by Michael Connelly which is fine and Writer's Block by Judith Flanders which is a fairly amusing 'crime' novel so far set in the publishing industry. (I've removed the touchstone for the book itself as this book wasn't an option among those listed).

On the pile for listening soon are Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman and The Crucible by Arthur Miller, but I'm also hoping to get into the library tomorrow to possibly pick up another or at least request one or two others. Although having said that I also took delivery of a gift box of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings in audio - 56 discs worth of listening... I might save it until I have a bit of real time to myself probably at Easter (But boy is it a temptation to abandon everything else and just immerse myself in that).

Here it is - Writers' Block

>33 2wonderY: Thanks for that - I'd managed to add the correct one to my library but then it didn't seem to be in the touchstone list (although I think looking at it now, maybe that's because I have 's rather than s')

I just finished listening to Riveted by Maljean Brook. I have discovered that I really love Steampunk! Who'd a thunk it? lol. Adventure, new world, likable characters? What's not to love... off to find more by this author. Hopefully the narrator will be Alison Larkin- wonderful!

I finished listening to Red Rising (Red Rising Trilogy #1; by Pierce Brown; narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds.) I'm not sure how or even what I think about it all yet, so I'm rating it three placeholder stars for now. When I sit down to review it in full, the rating will probably go up.

I also listened to Ender's Game: 20th Anniversary Edition (by Orson Scott Card; narrated by Stefan Rudnicki, Gabrielle De Cuir, and Harlan Ellison, with a cameo performance by Orson Scott Card himself.) This is an older recording (released in 2002) and has a couple production issues (uneven sound floor, some paper noise during one or two of Ellison's parts; and I'm kind of weirded out by children being voiced by such mature adults; but it's one of the early works from Rudnicki-and-Card's relationship; and one of the better ones from the early days of SFF audio.

I'm now listening to A Fighting Chance (written and narrated by Elizabeth Warren.) I've decided to listen to all the audiobooks (5) that were nominated for Best Work Narrated by the Author or Author(s) for the Audie Awards. Almost four hours in, I can't say that Elizabeth Warren is a good narrator (perhaps her many years of speaking in the oratorical style have made her too stiff to be an engaging storyteller); but her message is compelling.

Just finishing Behind the Beautiful Forevers. I started Mussolini: His Part in my Downfall by Spike Milligan as my kitchen audiobook. I should be starting Driving the King by Ravi Howard, an ER audiobook I received.

Finished In the Garden of Beasts, which gives some differentiation and depth to the major German players. Want to read a bit more on several.

listened to The Warden narrated by Simon Vance today. Wonderful characters!

Mrs. Dalloway performed by Annette Bening. Just wonderful in every way, amazing book, perfect performance. Oh, #38, The Warden was my last audiobook and I loved that one too!

I'm just starting Social Physics: How Good Ideas Spread, and making progress on my kitchen audiobook book Mussolini: His Part in My Downfall, one of Spike Milligan's humorous war memoirs.

Finished Driving the King today, and ER audiobook by Ravi Howard. It was read very well, and I enjoyed the book.

I finished Writers' Block by Judith Flanders and was pleased overall with it as a light romp, now I'm alternating between Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman and The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley.

I just started Herbie Hancock: Possibilities (by Herbie Hancock with Lisa Dickey; narrated by the author.) If I'm not mistaken, there is also a film documentary and studio album of the same name; so I'll probably check those out as well. Though we have a fairly extensive jazz collection in the house, it's mostly Classic stuff from the '30s, '40s & '50s; so Hancock's story and music will be a bit of an adventure in something different :-)

41: Jayne Entwhistle is awesome as the voice of Flavia!

I'm listening to Outline by Rachel Cusk, a book that might be boring if not for Kate Reading's outstanding narration which truly brings the story to life!

>43 Seajack: The version I'm listening to is narrated by Jilly Bond, she gives Flavia a real wicked streak at times - I'm enjoying it so far.

The narration of Noughts and Crosses was somewhat disappointing - I'm going to read the next in the series in paperback and hope it works better for me.

I've also started The Doll and other stories by Daphne du Maurier. Fairly interesting but not yet riveting.

I've started Sea of Poppies but Amitav Ghosh. Not blown away by the reading, but it's not bad.

Listening to A Town Like Alice. It's a wonderful story, and the fact that it's told by a narrator makes it an especially nice listen.

Wow ... I had no idea that there were different Flavia narrators!

Abandoned Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China in the middle. Hmmm. Touchstones not working?
Leslie T. Chang is a newspaper journalist, and her book might read like a series of postings, but it lacks the flow of a book. When she moved away from the factory girls stories to explore her own family history, I quit. I might check out the print book to see whether there is value to be found at the other end of the book.

Also enjoyed a brief listen. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! is a series of vignette monologues performed by a cast of favorite voices. The host is Christina Moore and Katherine Kellgren has several roles too. It's only 2 discs, and I've decided to listen to it again.

I gave up on The Doll and other stories by Daphne du Maurier - in the end I couldn't be sure which was getting me down the most - the narrator's voice or just not engaging in the stories and so I packed it up and returned it to the library (who asked me if all the discs were working and so I had to admit I'd given up before the end publicly).

Since then I've finished Pig-heart Boy by Malorie Blackman, The Surgeon of Crowthorne written and read by Simon Winchester and The Blessing by Nancy Mitford read by Jenny Agutter.

Concentration is now on Tigerman by Nick Harkaway read by Matthew Bates which I hope to finish tomorrow. Next up is Anybody out there? by Marian Keyes and Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and then I hope to get into the library to pick up Dracula by the middle of next week.

>48 2wonderY: Glad to know that abut Factory Girls! I've come to be very hesitant about books written by journalists. Too many seem like someone's weekly newspaper or magazine column all collected without extra detail or editing, and I really dislike that (plus if the book is about the factory girls I don't really want the author's story if it doesn't fall in that category too).

I've just started Life After Life, which I've been saving for just the right moment. After that I'm feeling like looking for an audio edition of The Grapes of Wrath for a re-read.

Since I last posted here, I finished Herbie Hancock: Possibilities (written with Lisa Dickey and narrated by Herbie Hancock.) Hancock's life has been very eventful, and he himself is more complex that one might expect from an entertainer; but somehow both the writing style and his delivery left me bored. I even fell asleep during the section about his work that earned him an Oscar! Of his many talents, narrating isn't one of them: Surprisingly, he does not speak clearly or naturally. There is a slurriness to his speech (dentures?) and his attempts to add heart felt sentiment seem forced. Despite all this though, I can see how just reviewing the audiobook on its own would be disservice to what he's trying to do. One of his ambitions for awhile now has been to put together an interactive product. In years past, he has been thwarted by technological limitations. Now I suspect that he's limited by industry/legal limitations (e.g. ASCAP vs AFTRA-SAG vs print/audio rights.) There's a companion documentary of sorts and a studio album that works with the autobiography. They all make more sense together as one package; but suffer when reviewed separately.

I also finished listening to Alan Cumming's autobiography, Not my Father's Son which Cumming also narrated. Though Cumming is a noted actor ('Cabaret', 'The Good Wife') this is less about his career than his relationship with his father. It's a bit painful, and some of his reactions to things seem blown out of proportion; but what the hell do I know? I have no points of comparison in my own life! As for the narration, Cumming is hard to beat: He is a stage actor who has narrated other audiobooks to acclaim; and him narrating his book is an obvious and excellent choice. He has a Scottish burr that not only has its own inherent appeal, but is soft enough to not obfuscate the language.

This past week, I listened to two audiobooks, What I Know for Sure (written and narrated by Oprah Winfrey,) and Yes, Please (written by Amy Poehler; Narrated/Performed by Amy Poehler, Carol Burnett, Seth Meyers, Mike Schur, Eileen Poehler, William Poehler, Patrick Stewart, and Kathleen Turner.)

What I Know for Sure - Oprah has been writing "What I Know for Sure" columns for her magazine, "O" for sixteen years. She has culled the columns for the best bits and collected them in this short audio of about four hours. For those unfamiliar with the column, it's an inspirational item at the back of each magazine issue which attempts to tie in the theme of the magazine with some insight that Oprah herself has garnered. For instance, this month, the headline of the March 2015 issue is "Declutter Your Life, 2015!", and in the column she writes about emotional/spiritual well being or emotional decluttering. You pretty much have to be in or understand the zeitgeist of Oprah's world to be able to tolerate what amounts to nearly four hours of motivational sloganeering and humble-bragging; but I suspect her millions of fans will eat it up. I don't think it's for nothing that she has been an inspiration for so many over the decades. One note about the production though: She reads the columns uninterrupted so when the columns were on similar topics, it was difficult to understand where the breaks were.

Yes, Please - Amy Poehler, the comedienne of 'SNL' and 'Parks and Rec' fame, writes and narrates her comic autobiography along with celebrities, her friends, and her parents. Amy Poehler is funny and honest; and the last chapter is performed live (a plus for that timing dynamic that can be missing from straight reads.) The celebrity cameos weren't well edited in stylistically; but the overall production values were high.

Both of these titles were okay and I'm sure fans of either of the celebrities will love either or both titles. The only reason I didn't rate them higher was a certain distaste for both women that I developed after having listened to the audiobooks. I was ambivalent about both author-narrators before; but after listening to their respective audiobooks, I came away with an aversion for them both. Perhaps it was Oprah's simplistic approach to solving problems, or Amy Poehler's vulgarity... I'm not really sure. I'll think about it some more before I post final reviews. I'm going to take the month of March to listen to Middlemarch (by George Eliot; narrated by Juliet Stevenson) in the meantime :-)

>50 mabith: Yes, just looked at a few other reviews, and there is more criticism about Chang's presentation. The material did broaden my understanding of China's factory system, but, as one reviewer said, she doesn't contextualize the subculture to the rest of Chinese society, allowing the reader to understand it only from a Western perspective.

I was going to start Doc by Mary Doria Russell but really just wanted to plough on with my Keys to the Kingdom re-read, so I started Drowned Wednesday instead. I can't remove neuroticism from my reading habits if I still get silly about keeping a constant balance and rotation between genres. If I want to binge-listen to five children's books in a row, I'll darn well do it.

>53 mabith: I take it from the need to binge-listen to the Keys to the Kingdom that the series is a good one - I have several of the books on my TBR and your comment makes me think that perhaps I should move them upward!

It is frankly the best modern, younger-age fantasy series that I've read. If L. Frank Baum has an heir when it comes to world-building, Garth Nix is the one.

I'm nearly finished with The Way Inn, a sort of parody of life among the frequent traveler set for the first part, and a Murakami-meets-Kafka feel for the second one. Excellent narration.

Started Doc but Mary Doria Russell. It's read well by Mark Bramhall.

I'm listening to Bill Bryson read At Home. He rambles, but in an agreeable way. It's a subject I do enjoy. Bryson is a good reader, but his voice has too many soft tones and sibilants, I can't hear him well over the road noise. I'm wondering whether the book has illustrations. It should. I've ordered the print book to re-visit some of his stories. They are worth recounting to others - the duke (I think) who was so parsimonious he never dotted his i's, to save on ink!

I had started listening to 'Middlemarch' (by George Eliot; narrated by Juliet Stevenson) - I was struggling through this and finally admitted defeat. The writing is tortuous, the characters dull, and my attention keeps wandering during the didactic passages. At first I thought that if I kept at it long enough, there would be a flash point where I would go all-in, but as yet I don't see why some think this the finest novel in the English language. Kudos to Juliet Stevenson for keeping me in this long (four hours that have seemed like forty) but I'm DNF-ing this one and moving on to 'The Drop' (by Dennis Lehane; narrated by Jim Frangione.)

I've finished Anybody out there? by Marian Keyes and also 61 hours by Lee Child, and I'm still making my way through Wuthering Heights in the car (about halfway at this point).

Next two on the pile are Dracula by Bram Stoker and Wait for Me! by Deborah Mitford Devonshire which is the memoir of the youngest of Mitford sisters. I'm slightly tempted to go for Wait for Me! first but not 100% sure.

58 -- re: Bryson

I can't stand his self-narration and loved the print version of At Home; I don't recall any illustration, or other visual details, listeners might have missed. Seajack

I've started All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood. It's read by the author, and while she's not a bad reader, her voice is so husky it sounds like she has strep throat or hasn't spoken to anyone in 10 years.

I'm halfway through Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?, read by the author. She's a good reader and I appreciate getting to hear HER voice and emotions, since it's a memoir.

So the last one I enjoyed that I listened to was Wait for Me! the memoir of Deborah Mitford Cavendish Duchess of Devonshire and youngest of the Mitford sisters. It was well read by Penelope Keith.

Since then I've tried the second in the Flavia De Luce series The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley - this was going well, but unfortunately one disc was so badly damaged that it was impossible to continue so I returned it to the library and borrowed a paper copy instead. Next was Dracula - but the two narrator voices weren't working for me, so again, returned to the library and borrowed paper copy. Then I tried a set of Ghost Stories by M R James, read by Derek Jacobi, but again the discs were too damaged for listening to be a possibility.

I currently have my fingers crossed with A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki which is playing well so far and is an interesting story. I'm hoping things continue in this vein. Next up is Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his years of pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami.

>64 Peace2: Poor you! How frustrating.

Last week I couldn't find anything that was satisfactory, the stories were insipid or the reader was too annoying. When I took them back to the library, there was nothing waiting for me, so I had to quick scour the shelves, as I was going on the road.

Luckily, I chose well. I'm enjoying Ruth Reichel's Garlic and Sapphires. She tells entertaining tales of how she tried to disguise herself from restauratuers during her time as food critic for the New York Times.

I've just started the rather long A World Undone, a study of WWI. The reading is not particularly great, but bearable.

Partway through the 6th Philip Marlowe mystery The Long Goodbye.

I listened to the first one, that was very well read by actor Elliot Gould. However ... the rest of Gould's reading of the Marlowe series were all abridged! So, I started reading them here and there as ebooks instead. Recently, Audible recorded the entire series, unabridged, with Ray Porter as narrator. He does a very good job (I'd never heard him before), though lacks Gould's wisecracking tone; once I got used to that, I was fine.

After taking much too long to finish The Boys in the Boat, which I enjoyed, I'm listening to Mary Roach's Gulp now. Interesting, but I'm not sure I'm going to love it.

I've started The Great Dissent and am trying to bear with a LibriVox recording of Little Lord Fauntleroy (the reader is really out of her depth with the accents, but if I'm trying to give it a chance to see how it is after the Irish American maid is out of the picture).

I've abandoned Brazzaville Beach in audio and am now well on the way to completing Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell. Next up is The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell.

I finished White Night where Dresden waxes quite philisophical. He's an old friend now, and his buddy Ramirez is always a welcome companion too.

Also just finished Wizard's Holiday. I do appreciate fantasy that deals with the biggest issues of existance. The Universe, and everything... y'know.

Probably moving on to Proof: The Science of Booze before I listen to The Hallowed Hunt

Oh! I read Proof: The Science of Booze early on and found it really fascinating! The parts about environmental factors inre brewing beer and/or aging whisky/wine were particularly interesting, IMO Cheers! :-)

The Little Sleep -- Stephen Thorne's narration is absolutely perfect for the book!

>72 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I think I'm going to switch to the print version, as I think I'd rather dip in at intervals.

>73 Seajack: Looks good. Ordered. Thanks.

I'm just finishing up Tolkien and the Great War. It's interesting, and not read badly, but I'm just not enough of a Tolkien fan to really love it. After this I'll be starting Brooklyn by Colm Toibin.

>74 2wonderY: Yeah, I did kinda wonder how that would translate into audio! It seems like it's the perfect book to read a chapter on, take a drinking interval, move on... (That's what I did as I became more curious about the drinks he was talking about) as opposed to listening to it as a narrative non-fiction.

I'm currently listening to 'Daring: Mt Passages' (by Gail Sheehy; narrated by Bernadette Dunne.) It's an autobiography about a journalist who was a part of the New Journalism school which was about setting the scene of a story and describing the thoughts if the people involved (as opposed to just delivering the "Who, What, Where, When and Why" facts.) She wrote one of the most influential books of the twentieth century, 'Passages' - according to the Library of Congress. While Ms Sheehy has written some notable columns and books, been a part of some seminal events (Woodstock), and known some amazing people (the literary elite of NYC in the 1970s), it's odd that her own memoir isn't more fascinating or compelling. Nonetheless, the narrator completely inhabits the first person-POV narrative to the extent that I feel like I'm listening to the author speak!

>76 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Right! I'm on a quest now to find Springbank Scotch. It doesn't seem to be available in my state.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springbank_distillery

Well, rats! Five audio books checked out and only one was worth listening to. So far, two ready to pick up, one being The Rosie Effect. Perhaps more will have been delivered by the end of the day.

I'm having a re-read via audiobook of Angelica by Sharon Shinn. I think I've only read this one once before as I can't remember a thing about the plot.

>78 2wonderY: You have my sympathies - I've had quite a few that I've not enjoyed lately (not five in a row thankfully!) Here's hoping the next ones will be better.

Well, I just now finished the much-hyped The Girl on the Train. Talk about a hot mess of narcissism and dysfunction! Every single person got exactly what they deserved out of this, possibly including the baby. Good narration though.

I'd heard that The Rosie Effect isn't as entertaining as The Rosie Project, and I have to agree. But it's still worth a listen, as the characters are good company.

I've got The Warrior's Apprentice next in line, and I hope the narrator does it justice. I love the Vorkosigan books.

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King, and read by Will Patton, one of my favorite narrators. I love Stephen King, but some of his books got too gory for me to truly enjoy. Mr. Mercedes, is a hard-boiled detective story with a retired cop playing cat and mouse with a crazed mass murderer. Nary a supernatural creature in sight.

I'm about 1/3 through Anne Tyler's A Spool of Blue Thread, and I am enjoying it but not mesmerized by it.

>82 2wonderY:, I agree with you about The Rosie Effect, but I liked it anyway, just thought it didn't quite live up to the standard set by The Rosie Project..

I'm trying to listen to Her Smoke Rose Up Forever by James Tiptree Jr (aka Alice Sheldon), but the reader isn't great. There isn't enough pause in between each store and they can really run together. I don't think I'll finish it, as I know I'm not getting enough out of it in this format. Also been listening to Where Have All the Bullets Gone?, one of Spike Milligan's war memoirs.

The complexities of good and evil, between this life and the afterlife, are presented in a novel form in Mr Mann. Todd McClaren's narration is superb.

>86 djriave: I see that GoogleBooks has tagged it Fiction>Horror. Would you classify it so? It sounds similar to The Screwtape Letters.

I'm listening to The Monuments Men after watching the George Clooney film of the same name. The writing is surprisingly mediocre.

PS: Tried the romantic comedy Just Like Heaven - ah, original title If Only It Were True by Marc Levy. But it was pretty bad! The movie adaptation changed and improved it significantly.

Much more a morality tale than a horror story - an unconventional treatment of age old themes

I'm nearing the end of The Ascent of George Washington. The reader didn't bother to look up how to pronounce some geographical names in my area, which is really annoying. With a name like Youghiogheny, surely you'd at least look on Wikipedia for pronunciation help (which does have the correct/local pronunciation).

I've started a much happier re-listen to Venus in Copper by Lindsey Davis.

>89 mabith: Youghiogheny smile. I've always loved saying that name.

I'm listening to Rob Lowe read his Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography. I'm quite impressed. He makes for good company.

I generally just lurk here, but I want to tell everyone how wonderful H is for Hawk is to listen to. It is read by the author, something that I usually try to avoid. Fortunately, Helen MacDonald's voice is so melodious, and she reads so well, that her reading adds a dimension to her written words. Highly recommended.

>90 2wonderY: Amusingly the audiobook I started today also mentioned the Youghiogheny, though pronounced correctly. There's a Rocky and Bullwinkle episode that mentions it and the Monongahela just because Bullwinkle likes to say them.

>91 vwinsloe: Good to know! It's been on the top of my list for a while, since a friend read it in print. Just waiting for my turn on the hold list.

>91 vwinsloe: Just ordered it. Thanks for the recommendation.

>92 mabith: Thank you!! I'm going on a R&B memory trip!

Abandoned Julie Andrews autobiography Home in favor of Code Talkers, alternating with The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.

I was dissatisfied with the first reader of Ben's book so I ordered the two others in the system.

Avoid Walter Costello's version. It is awful. His voice is modern and not pitched correctly. Fredd Wayne, though, nails it. Haven't gotten the third one yet.

Ah! Fredd Wayne ought to be good at it, it appears he is a professional re-enactor specializing in Ben. His image is on the audio case:



and he performs Benjamin Franklin, Citizen: a one-man performance

Over halfway through H is for Hawk, which is very good. Also re-reading Shanghai Girls via audio, and loving it just as much the second time. Four digital library audio holds came in at once and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed!

Listening to The Lion in the Valley by Elizabeth Peters at the moment which is going pretty well.

On the borrowed from the library pile The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson and Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley. Started listening to The Whole Day Through by Patrick Gale by the CD was playing up - will need to try it in a different machine to see if I can get it working properly.

I started listening to Twilight Zone Radio Dramas Collection 1 because I enjoyed the old TV shows, but having listened to two stories, I don't know that I'll finish. What was fun and old-school creepy on TV comes across just as silly on audio.

I just looked at the reviews and ratings on LT, and I'm in the minority. Not the first time.

Just to be thorough, I listened to a bit of Qarie Marshall's reading of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. If I hadn't just finished listening to Fredd Wayne, I might have been less critical. Marshall offers no strengths in the reading except a clear mid-range voice; but it is boring and also modern. Franklin wrote like others in his time period, and a reading should reflect that flavor. I went back and forth between the two recordings several times to try to discover what Wayne is doing that makes it stand so tall. He doesn't 'read,' he discourses in a more conversational tone and pacing. There is no discernible accent. I thought - English, Bostonian, Philadelphian - all might have made sense. But, nope, nothing special. Wayne is obviously an older gentleman and his voice has qualities that make one 'see' Franklin with the mind's eye. Highly recommend his reading.

Also listened to Moon Over Soho and enjoyed it.

I'm halfway through Clariel by Garth Nix, his Old Kingdom trilogy prequel. I've also started North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell as my kitchen audiobook. It's read well so far, by Claire Wille, but we haven't gotten into the northern dialects yet, so we'll see...

I recently finished The Mayor of Casterbridge, read by Pamela Garelick and she rather struggled with the Scottish accent of one of the main characters.

Started Blood Work by Holly Tucker. Terrible reader, so slow, but bearable if you up the play-speed (I've got it at 1.4 which makes it a pretty normal speed, so you can imagine how the original is).

I accidentally found myself in the library yesterday and picked up The Women about the lives and loves of Frank Lloyd Wright by T.C. Boyle. I've always admired his work, but not necessarily the man. (Wright that is not Boyle). So far it's pretty good.

I'm beginning to skip though Code Talker. The book feels very much like a transcription of his oral story, at an advanced age, with much tedious repetition.

Also alternating between a Harry Dresden story, Small Favor, and Lives in Ruins, non-fiction about archeologists at work.

I've started Medicus by Ruth Downie, as I've run through all the titles in my other historical mystery series. Enjoying it so far. Really enjoying the kitchen re-listen to North and South.

Just finished up Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley narrated by Sophie Aldred, who does a great job.

Trying to decide what to listen to next - the choices are In The Light of What We Know by Zia Haider Rahman or The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson

>104 Peace2: Six Flavia de Luce books already! I greatly enjoyed the first, but lost steam on number two. So they are worth picking up again?

>105 2wonderY: Five so far. I tend to listen to them to relax or when I'm driving because they're not going to be too dramatic that I'll lose track if my attention strays from them (road awareness prevails thankfully *grin*), something not to be taken too seriously - they are quite alike - what you got with the first is pretty similar to the others. They make me smile, particularly if I've got something heavier on the go, or have just finished something heavier or had some non-finishers (or RL is being a pain). I've got through about one a month so far.

I tried In The Light of What We Know but it wasn't working for me, I couldn't engage with it, so quickly abandoned it in favor of The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson. This is proving to be a better fit for my current state of mind. I hope to finish it today and start The Last Foundling which sounds like it may be a pretty emotional one.

I've started Imperial Woman by Pearl S. Buck.

Listening to the latest in the Shetland series of crime novels: Thin Air (Unabridged) by Anne Cleeves.

I'm into To Say Nothing of the Dog now, read well by Stephen Crossley.

Finished The Last Foundling and found the male narrator a little disappointing, not completely unlistenable but not as likeable as I might have wished for. I'm now a little over halfway through The Book of strange New Things by Michel Faber - an interesting one to narrate and one in which I think my image of the alien race is quite heavily influenced by the narrator's interpretation of the speech patterns. Overall it's a pretty good narration but there are some strange pauses every now and then (I keep thinking the disc must have ended but apparently not - not even the chapter was finished (at times not even the sentence!)

I just finished Code Name Verity. Read extremely well and very engaging. Highly recommended listening.

>112 vwinsloe: Agreed.

My library system has only a couple of the Vorkosigan books on audio, but I thought I'd indulge myself. Started Brothers in Arms.

But I might set it aside, as I just got As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride. Really, really looking forward to this one.

As You Wish was so perfect on audio. Elwes still sounds (or makes himself sound) just like he did in the movie, and since so many of the actual people who were in it and worked on it read their own parts it's just very special. Prepare to feel a MIGHTY NEED to watch the movie a couple hours into the book though.

>114 mabith: I expected that and it is right to hand. :)

I'm thoroughly enjoying The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin. My only complaint is that the chapters are very long, so I sometimes have to stop in the middle of things.

I've started A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich but taken a break for a recording of Barefoot in the Park, which was the Audible deal of the day. I didn't like the lead actress in the sample, but for 99 cents I couldn't resist. She and the actor playing Victor aren't reading the script straight enough (too aware they're being funny, which isn't really good for any comedy).

It seems the Flavia de Luce series in the States has a different narrator, Jayne Entwhistle, who's outstanding in the role!

I'm about 1/3 of the way through Bettyville, which is proving more interesting than I thought it might be. My library has long queues for the print editions, so I spent an Audible credit on it - Jeff Woodman's narration is perfect for the story.

I've started Elsewhere: A Memoir by Richard Russo, read well enough by the author.

I recently finished The Women the story of Frank Lloyd Wright's misadventures with women, which was excellently done. I also finished Agnes Grey also well done, but I've read far too many governess melodramas. Right now I'm listening to Remarkable Creatures the fictionalized account of some 19th century lady fossil hunters. It's OK so far.

I just finished the second Flavia de Luce novel: The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley. I have to agree that Jayne Entwhistle does a wonderful job of narrating the book. She does a natural and delightful eleven-year-old voice, and does a good job of the adult voices as well.

Now I'm listening to The Curse of the Pharohs by Elizabeth Peters. I read the entire series a long time ago, but I'm going through it again on audio. I've forgotten more than I remember about the books, so it's still interesting.

I just finished one of the Amelia Peabody books, The Curse of the Pharohs by Elizabeth Peters and I've started Innocent as Sin by Elizabeth Lowell. It's one of the books in the St. Kilda Consulting series. It's not a favorite series for me, but I keep listening. I like the sound of the Narrator's voice (Carol Monda), and the books aren't bad, there are just so many better options out there.

I'm over halfway through Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter. I enjoyed his book The Financial Lives of Poets, and managed to go into this one knowing nothing about it (some feat given that it got a lot of attention).

I finished Departure by A.G Riddle (only OK, but brainless enough to listen to while working on a task I had to finish.) Now I'm listening to Lexicon by Max Berry, a sci-fi thriller where words are used as weapons. It's quite good so far.

Re: Amelia Peabody series:

Emerson sounds almost EXACTLY like King Friday XIII from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood to me!

>125 Seajack: He does! I never realized it before.

I'very finished Innocent as Sin and started Failure to Appear by J.A. Jance.

Started The Globe: The Science of Discworld II by Jack Cohen, Ian Stewart, and Terry Pratchett. It does slightly have me thinking "oh yes, this is why I haven't read any science books for a while." I was going to try to have a month of only reading women, but my digital library holds felt otherwise...

I've also started Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech for my kitchen audiobook.

>71 2wonderY: & >72 Tanya-dogearedcopy: if you liked Proof maybe you'd like Drunken botanist I've listened to half of it from the library, need to download it again. It was really entertaining but also educational, a mix of history, botany and recipe book.

>124 aviddiva: I read Lexicon in print, kept me interested right to the last page, but concept was cooler than the actual book.

I'm listening to Red mars, and the narration isn't doing much for me. Also listening to Seven habits quite a good, don't know how much I'll put into practice but I like the ideas presented so far. Covey uses some great analogies to explain his concepts.

>128 wifilibrarian: It's funny you would mention 'Drunken Botanist'! I was just scrolling through my eBook library and discovered I had a copy! I'm going to push this one up to read, hopefully, in September :-)

I finally started The River of Doubt by Candice Millard, and am enjoying the armchair adventure. I loved the author's The Destiny of the Republic, and have been meaning to get to this Teddy Roosevelt one for ages.

I just finished Failure to Appear by J.A. Jance. Next up is Map of Bones by James Rollins. I don't usually enjoy James Rollins, but I want to give him another try. I've never tried one of his audiobooks.

>130 TooBusyReading: Hope you enjoy it! I got so caught up in The River of Doubt that even though I knew the outcome I was still on the edge of my seat. Millard is such a master of driving the narrative along while still giving you so much hard information. Somehow all those side trips of extra information don't break up the narrative. I wish she'd hurry up and write some more books.

Well, I've finally gotten around to tackling Patrick Leigh Fermor's story of crossing Europe in the mid-30's A Time of Gifts. Narrator does a great job with the German quotes and place name, but is otherwise a bit more dramatically effete than I'd think Fermor likely sounded.

Bettyville turned out to be a roaring success - one of those times where paying for the audio was likely a much better experience than reading the (free) library book.

>132 mabith: Exactly. I know how it turns out, but the journey is fascinating to me. I keep wanting to tell them, "No, no, that is a bad decision!) Millard's style of writing is my favorite way to learn something and be entertained at the same time.

(Talking about The River of Doubt.)

Things aren't going too well with my listening just of late. I'm currently trying to make my way through A Colder War by Charles Cumming but just don't seem to be able to get into it so far. So I switched to listening to Gypsy Boy on the Run which seemed to be going well but then wouldn't play in the car (hopefully it will be fine when I try it in something in the house). So another switch and I'm trying The Age of Magic by Ben Okri which I just can't seem to get a grasp on at all.

Has anyone else tried either A Colder War or The Age of Magic? Is it worth persevering or shall I jump ship now?

I haven't mentioned that a couple of weeks ago I listened to the novel Who Is Martha?, which was a bit ... odd, but I liked it -- excellent narration! If it's been on your radar, but you weren't sure, try it.

I'm listening to The Deeds of the Disturber by Elizabeth Peters. I'll probably finish it up today so I'm looking for something to start tomorrow.

I've started the Newberry medal winnder Walk Two Moons, which is read well, as my kitchen book. I've also been plowing through Gulag: A History by Anne Applebaum, which has gone amazingly quickly for such a long, serious book (27 hours on audio). Should finish it up today and then I can finally start All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld.

Having finished the excellent The River of Doubt, I've started on Matterhorn, Karl Marlantes novel of the Vietnam war. It's one I've been meaning to read for quite awhile, but it is not for the faint of heart. His What It is Like to Go to War is superb, and is one of those books that has stayed with me.

Wow! You do like a challenge.

I just finished listening to Brothers in Arms, one of the excellent Vorkosigan sagas. Now I'm sneaking a guilty listen to Nora Roberts' The Next Always. Her character and place details are massive.

I'm nearing the end of an audio re-read of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. I needed something cheery after listening to All the Birds, Singing (mediocre reader and lots of time jumps, I'd suggest reading it in print). The reader for Rebecca is Lorna Raver who is doing a great job. I love all the Maine/country New England accents. It's a great book (the Shirley Temple movie is a favorite, but only has one point of similarity with the book).

I just finished The Last Camel Died At Noon by Elizabeth Paters. I'm going to take a break in listening my way through this series to listen to The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen. If this one doesn't grab me in the first few chapters I'm switching back to Amelia Peabody.

Searching for fill-in books at the library, I tried What Would MacGyver Do? but abandonned it as a stinker and not at all a true tribute to MacGyver.

Also quit Notes from a Small Island. Too much personal detail, not enough emphasis on the world Bryson is visiting.

Listening to Wizards at War at the house.

When The Boys in the Boat arrived, I couldn't remember ordering it, but THANK YOU to the recommender. WOW! This is powerful writing and admirable people.

I gave up on both The Age of Magic and A Colder War as I just couldn't get into them. I'm now part way through Gods Without Men by Hari Kunzru and it's not going too badly. In the car I'm listening to Vivien's Heavenly Ice Cream Shop by Abby Clements which is mostly light. The story of a pair of sisters who inherit their grandmother's ice-cream shop when she dies. There are a few darker shadows in the story but the overall tone is easy reading (or listening).

I'm almost done with In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume, which has been a good read, if a little overwhelming with the number of characters (it succeeds in giving you that 'immersed in a small city' feel though). It enlightened me about a key event in my maternal grandmother's life, reading is great like that (insisting they take a boat from the US to England on their way to live in Egypt, I think partly due to the three plane crashes in Elizabeth, New Jersey, only 18 miles from her home, Blume builds her book around those crashes).

I'm having a re-listen to The Iron Hand of Mars by Lindsey Davis, the fourth in the Falco series, and my favorite of the very early novels.

I am listening to Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America. It is read by the author, and although reading a little too quickly in some spots, she gives her words the emotional impact that they deserve. As a person who is very articulate and who has, at times, had one foot in the middle class, Tirado is able to clearly describe the impossible choices that face the working poor in the USA.

I have also been intermittently listening to Birding by Ear. This is a life changing audiobook that teaches the listener how to identify birdsongs and calls. I say "life changing" because once you begin to listen to it, you begin to truly notice the bird song all around you. It is as though you hear voices speaking in a foreign language who are desperately trying to make you understand them. As you begin to identify them by their voices, your appreciation of nature and your every day surroundings is increased more than you might think.

>145 mabith: I've been reading (in print) the Falco series pretty much along the same timeline as you have been listening to them! I admit that when I first started them, I didn't really know what to expect; but was pleasantly surprised to find them well-researched historical fictions! I love looking up the things she mentions in her books; and for 'The Iron Hand of Mars', I admit I had to keep a little cheat sheet on hand to keep track of who was on each side (The Fourteenth and/vs Civilis!)

>146 vwinsloe: You're right about Birding by Ear being a life-changing book. I used to hop out of bed first thing every morning, but now I need a few minutes to listen with my eyes closed before I get up. I used to have a huge magnolia tree outside my window, and there was no end to the voices I'd hear from my bed.

I'm listening to Among the Ten Thousand Things by Julia Pierpont.

>146 vwinsloe: >148 JackieCarroll: !#$# My neighbors have chicken coops and I discovered that 1) Roosters do NOT wait until dawn and herald in the new day with a noble call. They strangle out screeches starting at around 4:00 a.m. and keeping crowing throughout the day; and 2) Chickens squawk when they are laying eggs. Sooo, a dozen chickens raising a fuss daily... Since the chicken coops have been brought in, the number of hummingbirds, robins, morning doves, and wrens have virtually disappeared :-(

I used to have chickens so I know. I sympathize.

In general, birds start around dawn and that's when they do their best singing. The songs are less frequent and not as skillfully performed as the day goes on. Roosters start earlier, but like other birds, they sing less often and not as well later in the day. Girls don't really count when it comes to songs. I know that's sexist, but it's the way it is. Clucking when laying an egg or when startled is a call rather than a song. Songs are to impress the ladies, define territories, and express the pure joy of being a bird, and as they sing they teach their sons the regional songs of their species. Calls are responses to less pleasant stimuli. To warn and express displeasure. There are some exception, but this is generally the way it is. I feel sorry for girl birds.

>147 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Glad you're enjoying them! Of all the historical fiction I've read, Davis is the author most adept at cramming a book with historical detail in a way that feels natural. The Falco series just gets better and better (though I've not been impressed with the spin off from it). My bookclub is reading Last Act in Palmyra in October, and I'm pretty nervous about the reactions (the main leader of the group is really picky and snarky). It's one of my favorites in the series. When you've read more of the series I highly recommend Falco: The Official Companion. It was so interesting, and just made me love Davis even more.

I'm listening to The Greenlanders as my main audiobook. Definitely feeling like this was one to get in print instead, but I'm forging ahead.

Stated Real People by Alison Lurie, novella of life at a famous writers' colony, supposedly based on Lurie's visits to Yaddo. Decent narration by Lesa Wilson, a reader with whom I wasn't familiar

Finished Kidnapped today, and posted a review, but will await to see if the publisher intends to use the same narrator for Catriona before I undertake the sequel.

While I wait, I might see if I can find a good narration of Rob Roy by Walter Scott for next week's commuting time. Does anyone have a narrator they would recommend?

I just finished Dollbaby by Laura Lane McNeal. It was good. I may have enjoyed it more if I wasn't burnt out on civil rights books at the moment. I rated it high to compensate. The ending was wonderful--made me cry.

I just started Interview with the Vampire by Ann Rice. I like the narrator. I'm going to enjoy drifting off to sleep with him at night.

I'm a little more than halfway through The Killer Next Door, and so far, it is more gruesome than suspenseful, mysterious, or frightening. It's okay, but one I won't remember a week after I finish it.

I gave up on H is for Hawk after one disc. It seemed just tedious. I may take a look at a print copy at some point to find the T. H. White parts.

Now listening to Key of Knowledge, which seems to have a titsch more substance than most romances.

I've got a couple of recordings by Donald Davis in reserve. He's a professional storyteller I stumbled upon here at LT.

Truly enjoying Neil Gaiman narrating his own book, Fragile Things; a collection of short stories, poems, and prose of the slightly weird, off-beat, fantasy kind.

I wanted to check out R. C. Bray's narration of other books besides The Martian. Now listening to Island 731 by Jeremy Robinson. Though the characters are fully engaging, the plot and some story elements leave a bit to be desired.

Half of the science part of the thriller is picked up wholesale from the non-fiction Plastic Ocean, but treating it as fiction doesn't help get the reality out to the world.

Bray's reading is fine. I just have issues with Robinson.

On my quest to listen to all of the Young Wizard books, I'm in the middle of A Wizard of Mars. And just started The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared. Too soon to tell if it's any good.

I'm listening to Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. My only previous experience with Murakami was The Wind-up Bird Chronicle which I read in print and didn't love. This audiobook is impressing me a lot more, and I wonder whether I would find all of Murakami's writing better in this format.

I jumped to William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope by Ian Doescher

Well done!!!

I'm just finished a reread of Jovah's Angel the second in Sharon Shinn's Samaria trilogy. I love the world she created, and the idea of a people who purposefully left higher technology behind (and what happens when they start to rediscover it).

I'm also a little ways into Servants a history by Lucy Lethbridge. I'd really like narrators to learn that it's not really necessary to do accents in non-fiction. If it's pertinent that the person quoted was an American I'm sure that's mentioned in the text. I'm really really sick of the reader's (Helen Stern) awful American accents.

What We Found in the Sofa and How It Saved the World (by Henry Clark; narrated by Bryan Kennedy) 8 hours, 37 minutes - ✭✭✭

This is a Middle Grade book (Lexile score: 730) about the friendship between three seventh-graders who discover a sofa dumped near their bus stop one day. They fish around the cushions and discover a number of seemingly quotidian items that will actually ensnare them on a SFF adventure! The writing and narration pace bog down a little plot-wise at times, and there's a lot going on (maybe too much?); but there are some imminently quotable and funny lines that keep the listener engaged. Bryan Kennedy narrated very clearly and does well with character delineation; but there were times he missed textual cues (e.g. delivering a line with liveliness when the text reads "without much enthusiasm"); he mispronounced "Guernica" 38 out of of a possible 38 times*; and he had an odd way of breaking up. a lot of sentences, like he didn't realize the sentence ended further along. than where he ended it. (Like that!) If asked outright, I would recommend the print over the audio.

* He went for a bastardized Spanish pronunciation :-/

Really enjoying You're Never Weird on the Internet - this is one of relatively rare times where it works out better that the author reads the book herself. Honestly, I wouldn't have thought I'd be able to get into Felicia's story, but that wasn't much of a problem at all.

I've started The Upright Thinkers, about the development of humanity's reasoning skills and what separates us from close primates. No issues with the reader so far.

I've just abandoned The Silver Dark Sea because it just wasn't working for me and I can't really pinpoint why. Some beautiful descriptive language, but three discs in and we just didn't seem to be getting anywhere.

I'm struggling a bit with The Girl in the Red Coat and I'm not sure whether to persist and hope it works for me or just to admit defeat.

On the upside - I've just found verkaro.net where there are free audiobooks to listen to. Not a huge number, but they seem to be well read so far. I particularly liked 2 B R 0 2 B by Kurt Vonnegut of the ones I've listened to up to now.

I'm in the middle of The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place. The book has a great concept, but the reader isn't a good match (trying to make all the dialogue way too theatrical). One of the nods to novel-style history also gets very tedious in audio. Powering through though, for the sillyness of it.

I was going to start on Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel which is 20 hours of listening, but opted, instead to listen to the much shorter Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie We're in Trouble! by Christiana Miller for my weekly commute.

I was trying to listen to Son of the Shadows by Juliet Marillier, one of my favorite books, but the reader feels like such a mismatch. The main character and narrator is only 16, but the reader sounds middle-aged (or at least not young). The reader's Irish accent is also the type most commonly heard in US media, and the most typically (and usually dreadfully) mimicked. Given that this takes place quite a while before English takes hold I think a different reader would have better suited the book. I'm such a quibbler lately, but I've read this book so many times I can't help but have a strong opinion on the reader.

Oh, I tried to start Beloved, which is read by Toni Morrison herself, but I found her voice far too whispery. It's for my bookclub, so I'll have to read it in print. Slightly annoyed, since I think it's the type of novel that would be especially good on audio (with a great reader).

Just finished Garden Spells which was a cute romance. Didn't realize until I was finished that the audio book was abridged, which is surprising since it's a short book anyway. It had a great reader by the way, excellent with a variety of women's voices.

>172 varielle: Your link goes to an anthology of Garden Tales, whch doesn't seem like what you meant. Who's the author?

Aha! Correct to hopefully lead to Garden Spells, by Sarah Addison Allen.

Ah yes, a very good book.

I just finished listening to a two disk production of Die Snow White! Die, Damn You! which turns out to be more misogynistic than the original Grimm version. It's an okay listen if you are a fairy tale re-tellings compleatist.

Abandonned Scoundrels, a Star Wars novel by Timothy Zahn. It was nice to hear Han Solo's voice, but the action was too plodding, and the other characters were not interesting.

Also quit Look Me in the Eye, read by the author. I didn't hear anything beyond normal childhood issues in the first disk, and couldn't see going through a whole book of more of the same.

I think I gave up on The Last Policeman last week. Is that the one with gory death scenes? I think so...

And also don't plan to finish For Us, the Living, a painfully bad Heinlein book.

Finished The Girl in the Red Coat by Kate Hamer which was okay, terrifying idea of a child being kidnapped and taken out of the country (although I never quite managed to figure out how that was managed) but the overall story was not so riveting. Only made it through 2 discs before I gave up on Cat out of Hell by Lynne Truss which was apparently funny but clearly I'm not in that kind of funny frame of mind (then again it's only 5 discs - any further and I'd have almost had to finish it!).

So instead I've moved on to The Borrowers by Mary Norton and I'm just starting The Book of Lies by Mary Horlock and too early to tell whether it's going to work out for me yet or not.

Continuing a string of unworthies

Dark Witch by Nora Roberts is boring thus far. Switched to A Darker Shade of Magic and finding it less than fascinating, though I generally love London fantasy. Giving The Last Policeman a second disk to prove itself, but it hasn't caught yet.

I might go back to Birding by Ear and I'm pretty sure I want to own this one. But the storyline is not riveting and I can only concentrate on it in short sessions.

>177 2wonderY:. re: Birding By Ear, I think that the recommendation is that you listen to one section 4-5 times in separate sittings. That's what I have been doing and it helps with the memorization.

Just started listening to Kidnapped (David Balfour, Book #1; by Robert Louis Stevenson; narrated by Kieron Elliott.) It's a Classic tale of a young Scottish man, David Balfour, who finds himself orphaned and at the mercy of a surviving uncle who sells the 17-yo off into slavery. David finds himself on board a ship heading to the Carolina colonies in the late 18th century... I'm always a sucker for a Scottish accent! The narrator speaks a bit slowly & carefully; but since the language is both archaic and a bit foreign (idiomatic Scottish expressions,) I'm happy for it :-)

>179 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Oooh! That sounds like a lovely read. Who is the narrator?

>180 2wonderY: The narrator is Kieron Elliott. He's new-to-me, and apparently the industry, having only narrated two audiobooks (The other audiobook is a Scottish Romance under the name Kieran Elliott.) There's a part of me that wishes he were a wee bit livelier, but then I'm not so sure I would be catching everything; so I've resisted the temptation to speed up the recording and have been enjoying the richness of the writing instead :-)

I'm listening to Being Mortal. The audiobook is very well read and the content is fascinating.

I'm about halfway through The Race Underground, about the building of the Boston and NYC subway systems. Read well, though quite slowly (upping the speed to 1.2 makes it sound normal). Also just started Coot Club, the fifth in Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series. The series has a pretty good reader, though the way she voices the youngest children can sometimes be annoying.

I listened to the YA book And Sometimes Why and I think it was a repeat, but that's okay. It was still good. Just tuned in to The Haunted Bookshop and I'm dazzled by all the quotable lines. Will probably acquire a print copy now.

Well ... I'm partway through Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome, which I think would be better in print. Author doesn't have a great talent for narrating, and her stories about attending so many different religious services to find the "right" one are more like drive-by vignettes that wouldn't blur so much on the page.

Oh my goodness, I listen to audio books all the time. I love to listen to many of the classics which are on YouTube: Murder on the Orient Express, the Signal Man, the Old Curiosity Shop, Hound of the Baskervilles.

I am *still* listening to the very long Fall of Giants by Ken Follett, and not appreciating it as much as I thought I would. So I took a break from that, and am partway through Go Set a Watchman. I'm trying to listen to it objectively, without my To Kill a Mockingbird baggage.

I'm finishing up Just Send Me Word, a book about a containing the long correspondence of two lovers over a period of eight years while one is in a gulag. The fact that letters (around 1500 of them) survive is incredible and possibly unique.

Maybe starting The Dust That Falls From Dreams next.

I tried to listen to Kenobi, but I'm finding that a Star Wars affiliation doesn't promise that it's interesting.

Making sure you have enough beer to get you through the weekend is seen as an addictive behavior. I hoard audiobooks so that I always have something to put in the player. I'm so short on available choices that I've been asking random people in the office, in line at the library, scouring the shelves. I'm on book 11, Turn Coat, of the Dresden files, so that'll run out soon. My library consortium isn't keeping up with my demand. I've had to pay an ILL fee for the last few Young Wizard books.

Mike Carey's jacket blurb compares him to Neil Gaiman and Jim Butcher, so I grabbed one of his titles, to have if nothing comes in today. The weekend is coming with long hours in the car.

Just finished The Maltese Falcon (read by Eric Meyers) - terrific narration, although I wasn't as "wow'ed" by the story as perhaps I should've been. Okay by me that this was a stand-alone; it read much like a literary "novel" to me, as much as a detective story.

I'm in a re-listen of Last Act in Palmyra one of my favorite in Lindsey Davis' Falco series. It's my bookclub's pick this month and I'm braced for everyone to hate it (we vote for selections though, so it's not all my fault). Also listening to My Mother's Wars by Lillian Faderman.

Why would everyone hate Last Act in Palmyra? Oh, I see. You moderator is "picky and snarky." Hmmm Well, I just read it myself and was fascinated by the descriptions of the Decapolis. I even started daydreaming about one day going to see the ten cities' ruins; but just found out that ISIS is pretty much blowing them all up :-( I also find Lindsey Davis very clever with her naming conventions of the characters (e.g. "Chremes" was the name of an old miser in an old Greek play, and is the name of the troupe's manager with money issues...;) and her plots seem solid to me. I also loved the way the book is set up in a quasi-theatre program format :-) I did get a copy of the Companion; but I haven't had a chance to really look through it yet. I'm kind of afraid that I might stumble on a spoiler by accident.

I just finished Let's Pretend This Never Happened (written and narrated by Jenny Lawson - The extremely popular Blogess wrote this best-selling "Mostly True Memoir" a couple of years ago, and it is fast, funny , and a little profane (Probably not a good choice for a family road trip owing to a prolific usage of the f-bomb, a chapter about drug use, and another bit about a "sex-cussion"....) The author reads her own book, which, as an autobiographical piece, is as it should be IMHO, but a note to audiobook fans: She reads really fast, and there are sound effects which precede chapter headings. Oh, and for some reason, she sings out the chapter titles.

And I just started Bossypants (written and narrated by Tina Fey,) which so far is funny; but not as funny as Jenny Lawson!

It's mostly that usual paranoia when exposing people to a favorite book. I think Lindsey Davis is a master of immersing you in the period without it feeling like you're getting a history lesson. Plus I love her sense of humor. I read the Falco Companion book that came out and it just made me love her even more.

Finding The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius a rather fascinating listen at the moment.

I finished up Bossypants (written and narrated by Tina Fey) late last week: It's a memoir covering the SNL and "30 Rock" star's career from her high school days though 2011. The material and narration carry all of Fey's trademark comedy and snarkiness; but, despite having been a fan of Fey's performances in the past, I didn't find her as amusing as Jenny Lawson (see above.) There were a couple off things about the audiobook production: Tina Fey didn't pause between sections and/or chapters; She often deviated away from the mic so that her voice dipped or trailed off oddly; and there were a few instances of a "false start" being recorded. I'm bemused as to how this won so many Audie awards a couple years ago; but then again, maybe the competition wasn't fierce :-/

Currently listening to Living on Air: Adventures in Broadcasting (by Joe Cipriani and Ann Cipriani; narrated by Joe Cipriani) - This is a memoir by a voice over guy, and includes a lot of sound effects. It's kind of weird for audiobook purists; but I've just started so I suspect that I just need to get used to the delivery style.

Tanya, I feel like the Audies, particularly for non-fiction, often pay more attention to "this is popular in print" than whether it's truly a great audiobook. So strange and annoying to have those mistakes there (and to have a comedian who doesn't know when or how long to pause).

I'm listening to A History of Future Cities by Daniel Brook, non-fiction about the construction of specific, new, purposeful cities that are at odds with other cities in the same country (St. Petersburg, Shanghai, Dubai, etc...).

Also almost halfway through a re-listen to Anne of Green Gables, which is quite well read by Shelly Frasier. Such a wonderful book.

>195 Tanya-dogearedcopy:. I didn't care for Bossypants, in fact, it was one of the few books that I returned to the library unfinished. She read SO FAST without any sense of timing that I could barely follow it in some places.

Right now I am listening to The Rosie Project and finding it to be very well read and quite amusing.

I'm about halfway through Everybody Rise, and although I've never read "The House of Mirth" I can see why folks might make a comparison to it: the secondary characters with whom the protagonist is trying to ingratiate herself are the kind who'll make for an ugly downfall when it comes. Katherine Kellgren gives solid five-star narration here.

I'm listening to the latest Arnold Gamache, Three Pines Series Nature of the Beast by the fabulous Louise Penny Before the audio begins, Penny gives a tribute to Ralph Corsham, the VOICE of Arnold Gamache, who died last year. Long-time audiophiles were distraught to learn of Corsham's death, as anyone else narrating his books seemed impossible. Yes, some readers can make that much of an impact.

Penny is very respectful and also saddened by the loss of Corsham. But she goes into a long explanation of how many actors were auditioned to take over. So I began listening with a heavy heart. But I am happy to say that the new narrator, Robert Bathirst, who has the unenviable task of trying to fill such beloved shoes, is wonderful. He has taken on the challenge and has risen to it.

Nature of the Beast is as wonderful as all Louise Penny's mysteries, and despite the amount of crime that seems to be associated with Three Pines, I like millions of others would love to live there. If we could find it!

>199 vivienbrenda: I find it so hard when an audio reader changes for a series (and usually it's not because the first person has died). I usually just stop listening and if I really love the series or author move to print instead. I don't read that many 'more than trilogy' series though, and haven't mourned giving up the ones I did (Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books and Kim Harrison's Cincinnati witch series come to mind).

I just finished a re-listen to Anne of Green Gables, such comfort reading. Still working on The History of Future Cities, but as I have a house guest I'm not getting much audiobook reading done.

I like epistolary stories, and I tried life on the refrigerator door in print and in audio, abandoning them both, even though the audio was just one disc. The narrators made it slightly more palatable, but there didn't seem to be enough substance or believability to the characters.

Listened to Side Jobs and Turn Coat last week, Dresden Files.

Finishing Nora Roberts Key Trilogy with Key of Valor.

I finished up listening to Living on Air: Adventures in Broadcasting (by Joe Cipriani and Ann Cipriani; narrated by Joe Cipriani.) I have very mixed feelings about it all: Technically it was perfect; but just not what I wanted in an audiobook. The story chronicles Joe Cipriani's career (DJ, network voice over talent, awards show announcer...) so having him narrate the audiobook makes sense. Except his voice-over voice set me on edge. It's a great voice for telling me that "Up next, on The Simpsons..."; but not so great for the longer form (even though the audio is only 5+ hours long.) Also, there are sound effects and guest cameos, which are pretty distracting. Then there's the material itself: Honestly not that interesting and somewhat platitudinous.

I've just started another backlist title, Wild Thing (by Josh Bazell; narrated by Robert Petkoff.) Profanely funny, and definitely notan audio for the family road trip... I find the set-up a little odd: A ship doctor called upon to investigate a lake monster, but I'll roll with it! I listened to Beat the Reaper a few years ago and really enjoyed it (despite the SFX!)

Over the last few days I've finished Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff which I enjoyed a lot more than I was expecting to. I think Jane Collingwood's narration worked well for me and I plan to continue with the series (hoping that she continues with the narration)

Yesterday I finished The Ties That Bind by Erin Kelly which again was another well narrated piece - I think the narrator was Robert Blackwood - he fitted particularly well as the voice of Luke, the main character but portrayed the others well as the other characters too.

I'm now onto The Borrowers Afield by Mary Norton read by Rowena Cooper, just a short light read of one I'd missed out on when I was a kid. I'm also listening to Stranded by Emily Barr, narrated by Antonia Beamish. I'm not giving up yet, but it hasn't fully grasped me either. I'll finish the disc I'm on and probably give it one more before I make a final decision. It's the story that hasn't really grabbed me yet.

>199 vivienbrenda: Although sad to hear of the death of Ralph Corsham, it's good to hear that his work was appreciated and acknowledge by the author as well as by his audio fans. I'm wondering if that's who read the Gamache book that I read. (I'll have to go and have a look in a bit as it's one of the audios I've kept so far).

I'm listening to Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse, read by Nicole Kidman. I think I would be better off reading a print edition - my mind keeps wandering off while I'm listening.

I am listening to The Painter Beautifully written and read right from the start. I had no idea what I was in for and my heart was pounding at the plot twist in Book 2 which is the start of disk 3. This one is keeping me riveted!

Read it twice before but started listening today, Watership Down.

I'm about a third of the way through Katherine by Anya Seton, a classic of historical fiction that I haven't read before. Also having a re-read via audio of Anne of Avonlea. Perfect for October, and I so love Marilla's dry humor in these books.

Bad Little Falls by Paul Doiron. I love this series! I know, it helps that it takes place in Maine and I recognize many of the places mentioned. But the main character Mike Bowdich is someone you just want to route for! He is not perfect - and that just makes he all the more "real".

Key of Valor was the best of the trilogy, and some parts really spoke to me about my own life.

Started Barchester Towers, read by Timothy West. I love it!!! Mr. Slope, with an anathama trembling in the corner of his mouth.

Apologies; Trollope actually has the anathama lurking in the corner of Slope's eye.

I'm a HUGE Timothy West fan! Try listening to his reading of Beryl Bainbridge's novellas in addition to Trollope novels.

These days, I'm about halfway through a nonfiction book: Tinsel by journalist Hank Stuever. Basically, he camped out in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, TX to see what Christmas 2006 there was like. Ray Porter's narration is perfect in bringing out the ... nuances that may have been lost in print regard the excesses of locals.

I'm listening to Follow the River by James Thorn, historical fiction of a young mother taken captive in an Indian raid.
This was suggested by another LT reader when we were talking about the classic The Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter.

Just returned The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, well performed by Jeff Woodman. Amazing writing technique to convey the internal workings of an Asperger mind.

The best recorded book I've "read" this year in terms of narration has been The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg and read by her. What a treat!

The best one in terms of worthy read is probably The March by E. L. Doctorow, a Civil War saga that follows Sherman's march across Georgia.

Them most beautifully written audiobook was Charles Frazier's Thirteen Moons. And the most surprisingly good audio read was Longbourn by Jo Baker -- not a flimsy Jane Austen knock-off.

2015 has been a great audiobook year, and I hope to wrap it up with an LTER audio edition of Umberto Eco's latest novel, Numero Zero. I only hope it's in English! The title registers "Het nulnummer" in Touchstones.

Just finished listening to Hannah Hauxwell's 'Seasons of My Life'.
What I liked most about it was the fact that she read most of it herself, with some narration by Barry Cockroft, which was splendid.
Hannah's dialect and true life experiences went together so well and I would certainly listen to this again. (It's very rare I listen to something twice or read a book a second time).

Currently struggling my way through the audio version of The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt, think if I'd been reading the paper version I would probably have abandoned before now, but I'm 2/3+ of the way through now and it feels too late to give up. Problem is the story, not the narration (if the narration had been bad, I'd have definitely given up).

Next up is The Ship by Antonia Honeywell - I'll be popping that one into the car to start today on my drive. I'm also (when I can wear headphones) listening to Goldfinger (it's on my MP3 and I made good progress on it while gardening on Saturday and Sunday - although the descriptions of a game of golf got a little tedious the overall feeling was positive - but that's me a non-golf fan).

>213 TheGingerDetective:
touchstone
Seasons of My Life

I finished 'Salem's Lot (by Stephen King;narrated by RonMcLarty) over the week-end. SK presents something of a dilemna for me: His stuff is so mainstream, that I feel compelled to read his novels so that I know what other people are talking about; but it's so mainstream, that it has lost it's power to scare me. Nonetheless, ''Salem's Lot' was a solid piece of writing: A carousel of characters who spin out and take their places in the plot, collecting at interims just to spin out again... 'Salem's Lot in an old school tale of vampires and haunted houses that was perfect for the Halloween season. As for the narrator, he has a nice deep voice, applies a light Maine accent when required; but doesn't do as well in distinguishing between characters in dialogue; and he made the audiobook sound like a 17.5-hour Ford F150 truck commercial! That said, he was okay, te book was okay, so 30stars all around.

On Suday, I picked up (from Scribd) and listened to Between the World and Me (written and narrated by Ta-Nehisi Coates.) This is a non-fiction piece - an open letter to the author's son about what it means to be a black man in the U.S. - based on his own experience, and what he sees unfolding for his son. Coates' language can seem a bit uncompromising in style; but it's a very well thought out statement. There were several words or phrases that he used to hold the reader's attention, including "destruction of the black body" and "those who think of themselves as white" which will make you think in their respective contexts. If you want to shake up your next book club meeting, this would do the trick!

Now I'm listening to The Power of the Dog (by Don Winslow; narrated vt Ray Porter.) I've had this in my stacks for several years and decided to tackle it now, and the sequel, The Cartel (which was released earlier this year) in short order! It's a suspense/thriller novel about a DEA agent in Mexico, and though I've just started, it's pretty amazing! The descriptive passages, the use of language, the way the set-ups/expositions are being introduced... all have me hooked!

I just finished A God In Ruins, which I really liked until the very end bit that I felt was just unnecessary, not adding anything to the book (it seemed used to just to tie the book a little more closely to Life After Life. The reader for it did a really good job though.

Now I'm started Joan of Arc: A Life Transfigured. Narrated by Cassandra Campbell, who always does a good job.

>217 mabith: How did your book club end up liking Last Act in Palmyra?

Tanya, sadly it was not a success. I think only two people finished it and one gave it a very unfair 1 star (which I tend to reserve for things that are horribly written). I perhaps did them a disservice by starting on the 6th books. I read many of the series out of order, but I did read the first four in order (plus since Davis is playing on the Agatha Christie 'trip abroad/country house' type of mystery it's not really representative of the usual mystery part, but that's not what I read them for).

I'm so sorry to hear that. I think Last Act in Palmyra is one of the more clever books in the series and it's too bad your book club had neither the interest nor patience for it. I would have thought it would have been great as a stand-alone as Lindsey Davis does a pretty good job of re-introducing relevant information about the characters without having to have read the previous novels in the series and without heavy re-hashing; but perhaps, I'm not qualified to say as I have been reading them in order. I got a big kick out of the tour of the Decapolis, the Ur-Hamlet references, and even in the meaning of the charters names! (And yes, the mystery too!)

Over the years I have struggled with a couple of different book clubs; but it didn't really work out for me. The reading community where I live now is fairly conservative and skews towards older women. Book selections in the past tended to be novels that reflected and reinforced their own world views and interests; and the readers were oddly hostile about moving out of that comfort zone.

LOL, One time, someone I knew heard that I was a reader and invited me to a Book Club meeting, just to introduce myself. Imagine my shock when I realized that they were talking about The Book, The Bible. And to complicate things, it wasn't a discussion on exegesis, but a faith-based meeting, and of a stripe of Christianity that I am not an adherent of!

Anyway, another friend of mine who lives across the country has a book club wherein everyone reads their own book and then comes to talk about what they read. They get together at a bar/restaurant and have a great time! It's been going for several years, and I admit that if I thought I could pull it off, I would try it here! :-)

I have an embarassment of riches at the moment.

Paused in Barchester Towers to read Bujold's Captain Vorpatril's Alliance. Listened to another disc of BT, but then realized I have the fourth installment of the Peter Grant series on my pile and it's due at the library soon. So I started Broken Homes. And there are more goodies on the pile.

I had a lovely book chat yesterday with a live person. My SIL recently subscribed to Audible, but he needed some direction in his ordering. The reticent man actually gave me a hug as I was leaving. It's not often one gets to talk books with someone in the same room anymore.

Had a mediocre (and at times 'not for me at all') run of late. Didn't finish The Detective's Daughter. Then I didn't enjoy The Blazing World but managed to finish it. Thought The Ship was okay, but not rush out and tell people about it. Thought Goldfinger was pretty good but could have done without the prolonged golf game details on a personal level, even though I could see why they were there. Then had two more abandons Sister Noon and Upstairs at the Party - didn't particularly like the narration in either case but couldn't get into the story either - not sure whether the two are related or not (sometimes I can get past either dreary story or not for me narration if I'm taken by the other).

However, now I'm onto Kinslayer by Jay Kristoff and am enjoying this one - it's the second in the series and read by Jane Collingwood. I listened to the first fairly recently (middle of last month) and I'm just relieved that I'm getting into this one.

Started today The Burn Palace by Stephen Dobyns. First time I've heard narrator George Newbern. I think he's fantastic.

All-but-finished with Hotels of North America, an incredibly quirky novel that I liked, but could see others bailing on early. Jefferson Mayes' narration was a perfect fit for the story!

My LTER Recorded Books CD of Umberto Eco's latest historical conspiracy thriller, Numero Zero arrived today and I hope to start listening tomorrow as the forecast is for rain all day.

Let's see. A weekend on the road. I listened to The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy, which was just okay, but I like how Marc Thompson reproduces the iconic voices, particularly Han and Chewie.

I quickly discarded The Childrens' Book and got through 4 discs of Don Quixote before ackowledging that, for me, it is not great literature. My failing, I'm sure. The last half hour was spent enjoying the silence.

Luckily, there are several audios waiting for me at the library.

Half way thru Numero Zero and I'm still waiting for a novel to happen. Extreeemly pedantic and "tell-y," thematically overdeveloped to total loss of characterization and not enough plot to hold any illusion of story. What has happened to Eco? Why publish a novel idea instead of a novel?

Even the poor narrator on the CD sounds like he's reading an endless list of "instructions for assembly of. . ."

I'm listening to a three disc story about a young person (5th grade, I think) named George who considers herself a girl inside and would rather be known as Melissa, but hasn't been able to express that to anyone. George refers to herself as she, and the treatment is doing interesting things to my head.

My grand-son, Phoebe, declared himself a boy on his third birthday and hasn't waivered from that in three years. It's a struggle, and will only get more interesting. I don't understand, but I'm trying.

>228 2wonderY: I've always wondered about the hyper- or acute awareness of young children and their sexuality. How and why did it cross their minds to question their sexual identity? And then make a statement about it? How did they know at the preschool age?

I have a neighbor whose 12-year old son (born a daughter) self-identified at three and hasn't wavered in his belief since. I thought he might have a little trouble as we live in a very conservative area; but I've been surprised at how his classmates appear to have taken it in stride. Of course, I have no idea what drama occurs in their actual household; but certainly nothing on the scale that I thought might occur since he isn't trying to hide it. It gives me hope that there's a new age of tolerance and acceptance around the corner, despite the mayhem I see played out in the news.

Yeah, I don't remember caring one way or another when I was little, except that the boys got a better deal, it seemed. So we went and changed that. I tried to stress to Phoebe that "kid" was the best option, but that was never acceptable.

>220 Tanya-dogearedcopy: That's how I felt, but maybe getting to know Falco and Helena and their relationship gradually works better (I definitely read the first four in order). Apparently the investigation annoyed the one person, but I don't really read mystery books specifically for the mystery element, so... Plus I'm very conscious in that one that she's playing on Poirot and Marple travel group mystery stories. Oh well.

re transgender identifications - I find it a little hard to understand too, largely because I'm not sure what anyone means by gender outside of the societal gender norms reinforced in the 20th century. No one fits those boxes 100% and it's absolutely a social construct. I was raised in a carefully gender neutral household and consider myself agender, though I wonder how much of that was/is rebellion against what girls are 'supposed' to do and how they are supposed to behave. An older kid with half shaved head and half long hair made a deep impression on me as a child that I didn't have to be one thing or another, that I could opt out of being immediately labeled a boy or a girl and just be me.

The patriarchal idea of masculinity is so incredibly narrow and ridiculous, and while it's okay (or even admirable) to be a tomboy, to hate dresses, to hate pink, it's far less okay for boys to want to sew or cook at a young age, play the flute in band, and not considered at all okay for them to wear dresses or skirts or even multicolored clothing that has pink and purple in it. Little girls are still told a boy being mean to them (excessive teasing, hair pulling, pushing, etc...) is doing it "because he likes her" and equating that to love is the worst thing we can possibly do to girls. At the same time when I was a kid (I was born in 1985) every bad or mean female character on TV was super stereotypically/traditionally feminine (pink, dresses, makeup, always talking about boys). As a kid I loved playing dirty in jeans and also loved dressing up and frilly dresses, but as I got older I had a period of totally denying and shutting down the dress loving and anything traditionally feminine as a direct result of that culture.

I'm glad there's so much more support for trans kids, and I think a lot of it is really just about in-born stuff vs culture (particularly when it starts at toddler age). I know someone who lets their baby son wear pink and rainbows and hearts and they've literally been told that's a horrible thing to do and akin to abuse, so we still a huge way to go as a culture (all of my nephews had a period of loving pink, and in a different culture it might still be a favorite color for some). A lot of the ground made on those issues is more in the public sphere (sports in school and such) and way less prominent within the home.

Forgot to post about my audio reads! I'm nearly done with Unruly Places: Lost Spaces, Secret Cities, and Other Inscrutable Geographies, which has been really interesting and is read well. I'm also about halfway through The Last Bookaneer, which has a fun concept but is taking quite a while to get going. It's also read well.

My reading has been going slowly as I've gotten distracted by some genealogical research, which involves too much screen reading to allow for audio listening at the same time. It's very interesting, but also just so tedious.

>232 mabith: Two seductive titles there.

I don't think I'd noticed that you are a Charlestonian. That's where I am today at my daughter's house.

Happy turkey n stuff, peoples!

I've started listening to Black Earth, which is giving me a fascinating glimpse at the mindset of Hitler, especially, but giving background on "the Jewish problem" and just what people meant by that.

I haven't been an audible member in a number of years. I had built up quite a backlog of titles and getting through my audible library was becoming a Sisyphean task. At first, I just put a hold on my account, but then deactivated it. However, the HOLIDAY2015 promotion got me back: 99 cents each month for three months for one credit each month; and then re-entry into my old Gold membership (1 credit @ $14.95.) I immediately got Jenny Lawson's Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things; and then also proceeded to take advantage of the $4.95 sale by purchasing John Scalzi's Redshirts (narrated by Wil Wheaton) and Hard Magic: Book I of the Grimnoir Chronicles (by Larry Correia; narrated by Bronson Pinchot.) So yeah, 24 hours in, and I'm already 3 audiobooks deeper!

I'm in the middle of The Cartel (by Don Winslow; narrated by Ray Porter) which is the continuation of the story started ten years ago with The Power of the Dog (same author/narrator team.) I'm not enjoying 'The Cartel' as much as I did 'The Power of the Dog': The cast of characters is sprawling and difficult for me to keep track of; and while Ray Porter's narration is very good, I've caught a couple of hiccups that mar an otherwise excellent performance. 'The Power of the Dog' made my personal Pantheon of All-Time Great Audiobooks; but I'm struggling with 'The Cartel'; and though I'm half way through, I haven't listened to it in a couple of weeks. I should probably just track-binge this week-end and clear it!

In the meantime, I started 'Furiously Happy'. She narrates her own memoir, this time much slower and without the singing and sound effects (ref. Let's Pretend This Never Happened.) Some of the material makes me uncomfortable, topics that I would consider TMI from anyone else, but I'll stick with it.

>231 mabith: I'm a - cough, ahem, cough - little bit older than you; so the terminology for the conversations about sexual identity weren't really in place, and there was a lot that was wrapped in a sort of mystique bordering on occultism. Sexual identity was still primarily about being male, female, or gay/lesbian; and distinctions between cross-dressers, trans-gender, and gay were vague in my circles. It seemed like, right about the time you were born, the scene was all about being bold, coming out, and dealing with the AIDS crises. As for my own identity, I was what was called "an aggressive female" when people were being polite. I embraced it and don't regret it one bit. I decided fairly early on that the traditional roles that were expected of me were not really what I wanted. Now I'm a mother (12-yo daughter) and the conversations about identity, sexuality and behavior are light years beyond the ones I had (or more accurately didn't have) with my own mother. Interestingly, right before Thanksgiving Break, my daughter had a Health Unit that covered things like sexual harassment and bullying. Fortunately, the boys were also required to attend the same classes.

>233 2wonderY: I didn't realize you lived in Parkersburg! I grew up in Jackson County (Ravenswood), but we went to Parkersburg at least once a week, so the library there was our weekly stop.

>234 Tanya-dogearedcopy: An embarrassment of riches audiobook-wise! Growing up in a small town I don't think anyone was openly gay or bisexual (hopefully that's changed). I was a happily oblivious kid though and assumed everyone was bisexual until fifth or sixth grade. No lessons on sexual harassment or bullying either (beyond the elementary school stuff about sexual abuse), definitely a necessary addition for kids. I remember after the puberty lecture they handed out packs with a couple pads, tampons, and deodorant and we were instructed to hide them and run with them to the lockers and not let the boys see or tell them what we got. Sigh.

>235 mabith: Huh! Small world. I work in Ripley.

Seconding the Ray Porter approval -- he's one of the better narrators!

I'm listening to The Liar's Key by Mark Lawrence and narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds who is one of my favorite narrators. I think I'm going to interrupt it with Out of Tune, which is a horror/dark fantasy anthology based on old ballads. I got a free copy for a discussion group so I want to get through it.

Black Earth proved to be so thick and intensely evil, I took a break half way through to listen to something light and fluffy. I'm nearly done with Jim Butcher's Changes.

I've just (a couple of days ago) finished Endsinger by Jay Kristoff which was a densely packed piece, the final part of the Stormdancer trilogy, all of them read by Jane Collingwood. It was a little difficult to keep track of all the different characters but this was no fault of the narrator - the series was expansive! A pseudo-Japanese steampunk shogunate at war with griffins (arashtora - not sure of the spelling).

I'm now trying The Petticoat Men by Barbara Ewing read by the author. It's okay so far, a fictional story built around true events, but I'm not far into it yet.

I've returned Last Writes by Catherine Aird to the library after listening to half of it as it just wasn't working for me.

I've brought home a bunch of new ones for this week - Into the Sun by Robert Duncan Milne, Darcie's Dilemma by Sue Moorcroft and Dead Cold by Louise Penny (apparently this one also goes by the title A Fatal Grace). Plenty to keep me busy I think.

>236 2wonderY: Given how small West Virginia's population is, it's funny I can't go anywhere (online or in person) without running into other West Virginians or people whose extended family lives here. My parents and siblings have the same experience.

I'm listening to Welcome to Night Vale and a YA fnatasy novel, A Corner of White.

Although not familiar with it's prequel, I'm listening to the dawkins memoir Brief Candle in the Dark. It is accessible and brilliant.

I haven't listened to a book in a couple of months, but just this morning, I started Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn. Interesting start.

Halfway through Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin by Jill Lepore, which is read well and quite interesting.

I'm just finishing up A Primate's Memoir. This highly entertaining book is listed as Young Adult, but it is clearly something that can be enjoyed by us more --ahem-- "mature" readers as well.

I'm listening to The Big Short by Michael Lewis. I'm amazed at how removed the Wall Street brokers were from thinking risk through in the real world. And I'm bemused how the market created what amounts to side-betting for people who had no security interest in the mortgages or bonds to begin with.

Now that I've finished Changes, I'm going back to finish listening to the stories in Side Jobs. in the Dresden Files.

>246 2wonderY:. I agree about The Big Short, but I can't remember whether Lewis makes it clear that this sort of side betting (derivatives such as insurance contracts) was outlawed after the Wall Street crash in 1929, but that the prohibitions were overturned during the Clinton administration. The interview with Lewis at the end of the audiobook is very worth listening to, an added feature that I don't think is available in the written publication.

I've been on a YA kick, inspired by a sale at Audible. I finished Beauty by Robin McKinley, which I remembered fondly from a long-ago read. It's a pretty straight-forward telling of Beauty and the beast, and I enjoyed it, but probably won't reread it, since it didn't have enough depth for me this time around. I'm currently having fun listening to The Ables, read by the author, Jeremy Scott. He does a good job with it, though speaks a little quickly for my taste, but the story, about a class of kids with super powers who also have disabilities, has an interesting premise and is also quite funny.

The problem with listening to a really great audiobook, is that everything afterwards (for awhile at least) doesn't seem as good. Since I finished 'The Power of the Dog' (by Don Winslow; narrated by Ray Porter,) I've started and dropped both 'The Cartel' (by Don Winslow; narrated by Ray Porter) and 'Just Kids' (written and Narrated by Patti Smith.) In addition, I listened to 'Notorious RBG: The Life and Times by Ruth Bader Ginsberg' (by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik; narrated by Andi Arndt) and I just don't get why this got the buzz that it did. I'm going to put it down to post-Great Audiobook depression... In that frame of mind, I dnloaded Me Talk Pretty Some Day (written and narrated by David Sedaris.) It's short, and so far very entertaining, lacking the "bite" that characterized 'Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls'; Or maybe I've just gotten used to him!

touchstone fairy
The Power of the Dog

only the one I wanted to look at.

I've just started listening to Claudine at School by Colette, her first novel.

Yesterday, started To Kill a Mockingbird narrated by Sissy Spacek.

Oh! That's one of my favorite audiobooks of all time! Of course, I read the book in high school; but it wasn't until I heard the audio edition, that it all clicked for me: I could "see" the structure of the book; feel the atmosphere; and appreciate the actual writing. I hope you enjoy it even a fraction as much as I did! :-)

>252 jldarden: I just finished listening to Go Set a Watchman which was narrated by Reese Witherspoon. I thought she did a fabulous job and I really liked the book.

I'm currently listening to Don Quixote which is just managing to hold my attention because of the ridiculous escapades.

I'm venturing back to my childhood and listening to The One Hundred and One Dalmations by Dodie Smith. Still a lovely story, well read by Martin Jarvis.

Currently listening to The Heat of the Sun by David Rain read by William Hope and I've started The Strange Case of the Composer and his Judge by Patricia Duncker in the car - it will become my in house one once I've finished The Heat of the Sun.

I'm almost halfway through The Silver Ships (by S.H. Jucha; narrated by Grover Gardner.) A young tug starship captain on an asteroid-scavenging outing makes first contact with an alien ship that's hurtling like a meteor through space. The captain, Alex Racine, becomes the ambassador to the "aliens" by default; and the story so far is primarily one of diplomatic, humanitarian, and personal relationships. Narration is solid, though the Logan's Run fan in me would love to hear the voice of the Carousel as the voice of the onboard computer Tara (Terra?)

I've just started Second Nature: A Gardener's Education, read by the author. I do love his writing.

I think I've abandonned Armada after the first disc. It hasn't grabbed my interest. Anyone here think I should forge on before I return it to the library?

At home, I'm listening to James Marsters' reading of Ghost Story, but it's not ideal. I can't listen well. I prefer listening in the car, but this audible file is on my laptop. But it's better than listening to John Glover's version on CD. It's just not Harry Dresden without Marsters' voice.

I'm halfway through Crocodile on the Sandbank, historical mystery series taking place in the 1880s. I just read a non-fiction book on ancient Egypt by the author and her humor is so strong and I can feel her frustrations as a female Egyptologist in the mid-century in her heroine's complaints. The book also FEELS very Victorian, it isn't simply a modern person dropped into the period.

I also started The Alleluia Files, the third in Sharon Shinn's Samaria trilogy as my kitchen audiobook.

>259 2wonderY: I inevitably regret going on with any audiobook that hasn't grabbed me.

>258 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I listened to and read Ready Player One and Armada respectively; and highly recommend DNF-ing 'Armada'. It's not only that it suffers by comparison to Ernest Cline's first novel, it's that it also suffers by comparison to Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, and the movie (whose name escapes me at the moment) upon which it heavily borrows. 'Armada' has been optioned by Steven Spielberg; and I can only hope that the screenwriters do their thing by completely rewriting it for the big screen.

>259 2wonderY: 2wonderY , Armada was OK, and we listened all the way to the end, butnot nearly as good as Ready Player One.

Just received notification from my pub lib that Toni Morrison's novel, A Mercy is ready for me to pickup and enjoy listening to, probably, in my car. Put a bunch on my Wish List, too! Happy New yEARS.

Mabith: Emerson's voice sounds an AWFUL lot like King Friday XIII from MisterRogers' Neighborhood to me!

>265 Seajack: Ha, I didn't notice that in mine (the Barbara Rosenblat version).

Love Minus Eighty (by Will McIntosh; narrated by Kevin T. Collins, Eileen Stevens, and Ali Ahn) - Last month, I was on twitter, posting my "Pantheon of All Time Great Audiobooks" and three of my friends chimed in with their lists. I decided to create a personal challenge in 2016 by listening to my friends' favorite audiobooks. The first tweet from @GuildedEarlobe (a prolific SFF audiobook reviewer):

Love Minus Eighty by @WillMcIntoshSFread by @KevinTcollins, Eileen Stephens and Ali Ahn SF, with all the feelings.#audiopantheon

And that was it. Knowing nothing more than that, I decided to listen to this title first. I wasn't surprised to learn that it's a science fiction novel set in the future. I was surprised to learn that it seems to be about romantic relationships (and how technology factors in.) I just started, so I have no real sense of what that overall story is yet; but so far, pretty good!

>267 Tanya-dogearedcopy: that sounds really interesting!

I'm starting the year with a really depressing book, The Phoenix Program: America's Use of Terror in Vietnam.

And I've got at least a reputedly upbeat book started, The Humor Code. The reader sounds like a wise-cracking PI of the old type. Perhaps they thought he could deliver the example jokes well, but sometimes it makes them fall a little bit flat. Other than that, the material is engaging, and there are a multitude of further resources that breeze by. Might need to check out the print version. It's interesting how many scholarly fields research humor. Psychology, of course and also linguistics; which I would find a more fascinating slant.

Toni Morrison reading her own novel, A Mercy. There could never be a better narrator; there could never be a better writer about the earliest intrusion of slavery into the American colonies in the 17th C. It's all sin in Eden.

I'm partway through H is for Hawk, having a love-hate relationship. The writing is terrific, and the author's narration skills are superb, but perhaps the print version wouldn't be so ... dense (not quite the right word, but I'm finding myself thinking "There's still so much further to go!" at times).

I finished Love Minus Eighty (by Will McIntosh; narrated by Kevin T. Collins, Eileen Stevens, and Ali Ahn.)
Sometimes, a book is so great, that you don't want to talk about it. No breakdowns or analyses, no critical assessments. You just want to live with it, not letting explanations lessen it somehow. I know it's sounds weird, but it's almost like the book has become a private experience. This is one of those books.

I just started Beauty Queens (written and narrated by Libba Bray.) This was a title in @BethFishReads #AudiobookPantheon:

A plane full of teen beauty contestants crashes on a supposedly deserted island -- think Lost with a twist. Bray is so versatile and talented that it's hard to remember there's only one narrator

Hmmm. I've only listened to the first 1.25 hours; but I can't say that I'm that impressed so far; but perhaps once I've really gotten into it, I'll have a better perspective on this one.

Bumping to say that I gave up on Hawk halfway through -- probably better in print.

I'm halfway through Foundation: A History of England Volume 1 by Peter Ackroyd and craving more social/domestic history content. Also partway through Mysteries of the Middle Ages.

I've started When Books went to War. I'm finding the narrator's voice unsuitable for the book. Too smooth and understated. That may describe the writing as well. I plan to order a paper copy to ascertain that.

Finished Skellig by David Almond read by the author himself - can't say I enjoyed it.

Now making my way through Magician by Raymond Feist read by Peter Joyce. It makes it seem a little labored, but not enough to give up on it yet.

11/22/63 by Stephen King. I read this when it was first published and can't believe how much I had forgotten. This is a great audio! Wonderful narrator. :) Keeps me quite content for my long commute each day.

I finished listening to Sarah Vowell's somewhat dated but still very enjoyable The Partly Cloudy Patriot. And then I discovered that I had already read it several years ago.

That's one good thing about having a terrible memory - everything old is new again.

I am only 17% in on Coffin Road by Peter May and I'm hooked so much so I can already tell I will be spending a solid 8 hours listening until the very end.

Finished Don Quixote a few days ago. I think the audiobook was the way to go with this doorstopper. Now I am listening to Victory of Eagles, the fifth book in the Temeraire fantasy series in which dragons help with the Napoleonic wars. It is narrated by Simon Vance who is always good but he does an exceptional job of these books.

Several good ones lately I can recommend, A Man called Ove, Only Love can Break Your Heart by Ed Tarkington, and especially Whiskey & Charlie by Annabel Smith.

I'm listening to Mozart's Last Aria by Matt Rees which is a mystery revolving around Mozart's death. Was he or wasn't he poisoned? His sister is determined to find out.

I'm in the middle of Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans.

I haven't decided yet whether I like it or not. Every now and then, there are phrasing gold chips. But the characters are unusually hard to connect with. I suppose that might be deliberate, as that might be the point of the writing. There seems to be a change in tone at this midway point, so I plan to see it through.

I'm well into The Log from the Sea of Cortez by John Steinbeck and just starting The Upstairs Wife: An Intimate History of Pakistan.

I finished up Beauty Queens (written and narrated by Libba Bray) last week and have started GodBomb! (by Kit Power; narrated by Chris Barnes.) 'Beauty Queens' was an amazing book, one that I'm eager to have my own daughter read. It's fun, satirical, and contains a lot of important messages about being a girl/young woman today. It deals with body image, impressions, sexuality, and relationships. It's marketed to girls 11-13; but I would actually skew that a touch older (high school) both for the content and writing level. There's an interesting interview with the author at the end of the audiobook; which is also relevant to the messages in the book. The narration itself was akin to a one-woman show. She does the entirety of the material herself, obviously enjoying herself. It's quite the parade of regional accents; but I had a couple of issues stemming from plosives at the beginning of the recording ("puh" sounds when the narrator gets too close to the mic and pronounces words beginning or ending with "p"); a couple of the characters lost their accents in a couple of places; and the narrator didn't take one of her own textual cues (One of the girls was to have a had a slight British accent that ended up being a full bore accent.) For all that though,you mostly knew who was speaking during any given dialogue; and overall the performance was impressive.

I just started 'GodBomb!' and I'm really enjoying it so far. The story is about a young man who walks into a full church, armed with an explosive, and threatening to detonate the charge if God doesn't speak to him. The church is in North Devon, England; and I'm not sure where the author is from; but the narrator is *verrrry* Scottish! At first, I thought this was going to be a no-go as the accent was so thick; but it settled down very quickly (or I got used to it very quickly.) There are a couple of words here and there I don't quite catch; but the story itself is compelling. I would love to see this as a movie or play.

I finished GodBomb! (by Kit Power, narrated by Chris Barnes) last night. This is a short but rather intense novel about a young man who walks into a religious revival/faith healing service with a block of explosive in hand, and his thumb on the release trigger. His demand? He wants to hear the voice of God speak to him, or else he is going to blow up and take everyone with him... Ostensibly this is a horror story, but I'm more inclined to put it in the lit-fic category - not because there isn't a lot of horrific things that happen, (because they do); but because the of the structure/shape of the novel which allows the listener a Rashomon-style take of the events within the story and the play-writing bones. This is Kit Power's debut novel, and while not perfect (If I were an editor, I would have made some changes regarding the development/presentation of one or two of the key characters); the facts are that 1) I had no idea how this story was going to end, even during the closing minutes; and 2) I can't stop thinking about it! The author portrays emotional complexity and tension deftly. While not particularly lyrical, there is a flow to the narrative that places the reader at the scene very effectively.

In the first couple of minutes, I almost gave up. The narrator has a very thick Scottish accent, and coupled with some idiomatically UK expressions, I wasn't sure what the heck I had gotten myself into; but after rewinding and replaying the first bit and going on, it seemed that the narrator dialed back a little bit and/or my ear acclimated to the accent. So, that said, it's probably helpful to know that "tenobare" is actually a "tin of beer" (a can of beer)! Overall though, the narrator does a very nice job, telling the story and delineating the characters without dropping into caricature.

For my next listen, it was a toss-up between The Library at Mount Char (by Scott Hawkins; narrated by Hillary Huber) and The Girl with all the Gifts (by M.R. Carey; narrated by Finty Wiliams.) I think I'll start with 'The Library at Mount Char.' I like dark stories, and my friends who know my book tastes recommend this one to me. Hopefully, this won't be another 'A Discovery of Witches' experience (Friends strongly recommended that one to me too and I ended up hating it with a white hot furious passion!)

Listening to The Postmistress skillfully narrated by Orlagh Cassidy, who manages not to choke on the occasionally turgid prose. About 1/3 into the book and am beginning to understand that it's about bearing the unbearable -- news, loss, suffering. It's an uneven novel but is saved by the Hollywood level of nobility of the characters who are well drawn and distinctive.

Blake writes best when she is in the persona of Francis, a tough go-getter American journalist and radio broadcaster, delivering the straight news of war's horrors in London and Nazi atrocities in Germany and Europe to the listening audience all over the world and particularly in the coastal village of Franklin, MA. Easy and diverting -- perfect for the commute.

I just started The Library at Mount Char (by Scott Hawkins; narrated by Hillary Huber) - Aster 2 hours of listening, I can't say that I'm hooked yet: Despite the dark tones and world of enigma the author has created; it's weirder than I thought it would be; and the lack of kinetic writing is starting to test my patience.

I bailed fairly quickly on Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson. I don't consider myself too prudish, and she is VERY funny; but her bad language just seemed to get worse over time.

Crooked Heart, though, has improved significantly. I'm savoring the last two discs and have ordered the print edition.

>289 2wonderY: I've got Let's Pretend but in actual book form - hopefully that will be easier to skip the bad language, as I'm not a fan of that.

I've started Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection, which promises to be a little depressing for me (as I live alone and don't have many local, in-person friends). I'm still listening to The Log from the Sea of Cortez as my kitchen and cleaning audiobook. Steinbeck makes for excellent listening, I think.

>288 Tanya-dogearedcopy:, >289 2wonderY:

The Library at Mount Char is one of the few books I've read lately that I actively disliked. I read it, didn't listen to it.

I really enjoyed Crooked Heart, in part because the characters were a bubble off normal, not the self-sacrificing heroes and heroines we too often meet in fiction. I thought it was a fun and touching story. I read the print version.

My current audio book is The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend, and I'm enjoying it but not in love with it.

Currently listening to two books: The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf, narrated by Nadia May because it was chosen by the 1001 Books Group for February reading and my library had a copy on Hoopla which is a streaming service
The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht with two narrators, Sarah Duerden and Robin Sachs

Quite different books but I haven't made up my mind about whether I like either of them.

About halfway through Auntie Mame, which I'm not finding quite the Laff Riot it's cracked up to be overall, but the narration is excellent.

I can't remember where I heard about The Canterbury Sisters by Kim Wright. If it's in this group I always like to give a nod.

It's a first person narrative and it runs along the lines of Under A Tuscan Sun and Eat, Pray, Love, so that I had to scour the cover to determine that it is, in fact, fiction. The protagonist, Che, joins eight other women for a week of pilgrimage walking to Canterbury. Her attitude towards each of the other women is just slightly tainted by a bitchiness, which adds to the verisimilitude.

The reader is Bernadette Dunne and I can't tell yet if her voices for all the women are not distinctive on purpose or if it's just not within her abilities. Che is having a bit of a hard time keeping all the women straight, so it may be done this way to keep the reader on the same level.

Still going along with The Log From the Sea of Cortez and just started The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith.

Way back in May of last year, (see >94 2wonderY:) I listened to two versions of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and ordered the third one in the library catalog. It finally arrived. so I can finish my review of readers. Quarie Marshall is the reader. He is slightly better than Walter Costello in that he respects the cadences of 18th century journal writing better. Otherwise, his voice is young-ish and unremarkable.

Fredd Wayne remains at the top of this mound, by a long distance.

I finished listening to The Library at Mount Char (by Scott Hawkins; narrated by Hillary Huber.) It's a dark fantasy novel about Carolyn, one of twelve children adopted by Father, and trained in one of twelve catalogues or disciplines of knowledge. And let's just say, this girl is great on long-range planning; and that she has a truly ambitious agenda... The story has a lot of things that I would normally love: psychopathy, darkness, explosions... and yet, there was something so fundamentally weird about it that I'm still trying to process it and figure out why I don't love this book. There are subplots and scenes that don't seem to advance the plot; and seemingly arbitrary symbolism and details that litter the narrative. The pace seemed slow and the tension awkward; and while I thought the scenes were well described, in going through the author's (reddit) AMAs , I realize I had pictured something completely different; so I'm not sure that claim bears up to scrutiny. The book ends, not quite with a cliff-hanger; but with a not-unreasonable expectation that there will be a sequel. I seem to be in the minority of people who didn't find this book fascinating enough to want to read any sequel; but it is something different in the fantasy genre which seems to have become increasingly "Tolkien-esque " or "GRR-Martinish."

Hillary Huber may be a just a little too mature and knowing for the role of Carolyn, who is about 30-years old; but she does an outstanding job of creating a diverse range of characters without dropping into caricature or false ranges (i.e. She doesn't use a falsetto for the women or force her voice into a comic lower range for the men.) The only issue I had with the production is that there were a lot of sibilances (where the "S"s spike) that actually kind of hurt my ears and forced me off of headsets :-/

I went on to start Trespass (by Rose Tremain; narrated by Juliet Stevenson); but I've decided to disposition it, "DNF." The narrator's voice is so lovely, so calm, soothing, well-modulated... ZZZZ! I kept nodding off, and having to rewind to the last remembered place when I woke up. After a week, I had only advanced an hour and forty-five minutes into the narrative, and everything seems very disjointed. In fact, I'm still not really sure what it's all about, except that there is an old antiques shop dealer going through some sort of existential crisis, a little girl who has moved to England from France, and an older woman who owns a woods; but not the family house nearby. I'll probably pick up a print copy next week and see if it doesn't make more sense; plus there's the luxury of flipping back through the pages if I feel like I've missed something.

I think my next audiobook is going to be The Girl with All the Gifts (by M.R. Carey; narrated by Finty Williams.)

>298 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Those S spikes are why I couldn't listen to Toni Morrison read Beloved or her other books, and I doubt we'll see other audio editions of her works for a looong time.

I finished The Distance Between Us which I recommend but not on audio. The reader (Tanya Eby) wasn't awful, but she wasn't good at voices and made most of them sound so cartoony. Also recently finished The House on the Lagoon, good reader (Silvia Sierra), though a bit slow, would have been perfect at 1.2 speed (I got it through Audible so couldn't change the speed).

Starting Queen of the Air: A True Story of Love and Tragedy at the Circus now, another where going up to 1.2 speed was necessary. The reader has done some really dreadful Scottish accents and may well be doing horrible Slovakian/German/Polish accents as well but I can't judge those. Also listening to Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee now, which is read well by Grover Gardner.

My Sony was stolen, so I'm trying to learn to use an inferior Sylvania.

Listening to Listen, slowly. Protagonist is a bratty adolescent second generation Vietnamese-American who has accompanied her grandmother back to Vietnam, under protest. She really is unlikable, except in her scenes with her grandmother. Those are exquisite. The narrator is managing the bi-lingual story and the various voices very well. My first experience listening to Vietnamese, and I am totally charmed.

Flight Behavior read and written by Barbara Kingsolver. Dense domestic novel about an unhappily married wife, sometimes overwritten, glacially slow and detailed at the beginning. Author's narration couldn't be better, absolutely mesmerizing. I'm enjoying her voice, pacing, and intonation as much as I did Toni Morrison performance of A Mercy.

Have read The Lacuna, which taught me to be ultra-patient with Kingsolver's novels -- they're back-loaded.

I am currently listening to Born on a Blue Day which is a memoir by an autistic savant. It is read by Simon Vance. That is really the reason I chose it because I think Vance is a superb narrator. But the book itself is very interesting.

>301 Limelite:. I really enjoy Kingsolver's reading. I listened to her read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle on audiobook which is nonfiction, a year long memoir really, and couldn't get enough of it.

The Girl with All the Gifts (by M.R. Carey; narrated by Finty Williams) - I thought I was over my zombie phase; but I guess zombie love never dies! This is the story of a little girl named Melanie, a.k.a Test Subject #1, who is incarcerated at a military base in the UK. The world-as-we-know-it has been transformed into a zombie-infested landscape, and Melanie may very well hold the key to future human survival. All the standard zombie stuff is there: humans vs zombies, military vs survivalists, an escape run... but Mark Carey (also known for the comic book run, 'The Unwritten') has elevated the ordinary to something interesting by avoiding the common tropes. The ending isn't what I wanted, expected, or maybe even liked; but it did make sense and was original.

The choice of narrator was surprising as well: Finty Williams is an older British woman who sounds like Judi Dench(1). Since the book opens from Melanie's POV, I was a little bewildered, and the only character who comes remotely close to the narrator in sensibility is a scientist... but it didn't matter, because Finty Williams was amazing! She rolled the story out without getting in the way of the story itself, not drawing attention to herself and serving as the perfect conduit for the experience. She may be a new favorite narrator for me!

I see that Fellside (by M.R. Carey; and narrated by Finty Williams) is available for pre-order on Audible (release date 4/16.) From the description, I don't think it's a sequel or even has anything to do with zombies; but I'm looking forward to it!

(1) I was wondering if Finty Williams and Judi Dench came from the same area of England, so I looked 'em up. It turns out Finty Williams is Judi Dench's daughter! (So I guess so! LOL)

I'm listening to Ashley Bell by Dean Koontz. I like the narrator's voice, but the story is a little slow.

Over the weekend I started Bazaar of Bad Dreams. I think it's King's best short story collection in a while. My favorites so far are not those with supernatural horror but those with everyday horror.

As I've learned, wait a little, Kingsolver will deliver. Flight Behavior has taken flight and the characters' personalities are expressing themselves more forthrightly. Nice and less nice people are likable as reading folk, and I'm enjoying hearing the heroine bloom and grow in self-confidence.

Just began listening to Robin Sachs reading John le Carre's Our Kind of Traitor. He's doing a fine job of staying out of the story and letting le Carre's inimitable writing style take center stage.

Highly recommend Listen, Slowly. I gave it 5 stars. It brought tears.

Coincidentally, I then listened to another story referencing Vietnam, Shooting the Moon, which could also be called a bildungsroman. Protagonist's older brother sends film rolls home from Vietnam for her to process.

Then listened to the first disc of As Simple as Snow. It has a great first page, but it got mean at the end of the disc.
I moved on to Cryoburn, which I've read in print already.

My public library has updated their system of eAudio checkouts, but I'm finding a very frustrating time getting downloads and getting them to play. My librarian is tearing her hair out on my behalf too.

Born on a Blue Day was interesting, and well read by Simon Vance - second the recommendation.

308: are you talking about Overdrive books?

Started today, All the Light We Cannot See.

>309 Seajack: Yes. We attempted to download the Overdrive (app? function? program?) but it kept stalling mid-way. The librarian recommended that I go to McDonanlds with my laptop and try again there. I don't have internet at home. Nor do I have any other sophisticated new hardware, but I guess I need to consider a Kindle. Grrr.

Ruth, apparently there's an issue with the latest Overdrive app update on Ios (iphone, ipad, ipod, etc...). This is the help link my library gives me (I just use Overdrive on my computer and have an android phone, so I can't judge how helpful it is):
http://help.overdrive.com/customer/portal/articles/2323453?_ga=1.81745623.1a0b9f...

How are you hoping to listen to listen to your Overdrive books (eventually) - on a device, or just from your laptop? McDonalds might not have been a bad suggestion, as the stalling may have been due to that connection.

Either on the laptop or the new portable dvd player that has a thumb drive port. I haven't tried that yet, but I was hoping. I listen to CDs on it in the car.

Finally, John Lenahan has released The Sons of Macha in audio format. And, so it it that I have started listening to the weekly podcast of the last book in The Shadowmagic Trilogy at long last.