Misty’s Comments (group member since Oct 26, 2023)

Misty’s comments from the Audiobooks group.

If you have Audible, Unexpected Stories by Octavia E. Butler is in the included catalog until the 13th. It is very short, so it would be easy to get through. These are two previously unpublished short stories by Butler. Thought I would put it here in case anyone wants to listen before they leave the included catalog. I suppose it is too much to hope that there will be other unpublished works that are found, but I hold that hope. :)

Doug wrote: "I am well into Empire of Grass by Tad Williams. Is there anything he has written that isn't extremely long? Epic fantasy. The best."

Yes, but it's a novella! LOL. The Heart of What Was Lost I'm glad you're improving. Be gentle with yourself. When my husband had pneumonia, it took him a long time to recover. He kept getting frustrated that his recovery took so long, but that crap is vicious. Take care of yourself.

I find it a little frustrating when books in a series are narrated by different people. I love Swedish author Camilla Läckberg. I just finished her book The Golden Cage and immediately started the sequel Silver Tears. They have two different authors. It wouldn't be as big a deal if I wasn't listening to them back to back. Oh well. I just saw that book three is coming out in April with yet another narrator! Jeez.

Dee wrote: "how the bleep is it February???"

LOL - I feel you.

I started listening to Red Rising by Pierce Brown. I'm enjoying the book and the narrator, but I had to put it down for a bit. I'm reading it along with my kiddo, and she is way behind me - like WAY behind me. I'm on chapter 31, and she's on 9. LOL. So, I'm letting her catch up. I'm starting Mr Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo tonight.

How are you feeling Doug?

I just finished The Lost Daughters of Ukraine by Erin Litteken. It was a very powerful book. Due to everything going on in the world today, I cried a bit during the book. It is very heavy and hard to read, but it was worth it.

Doug wrote: "My pneumonia took a horrible severe turn and I ended up hospitalized for six long days, I am recovering at home now with supplemental oxygen. While there I couldn't concentrate on anything, so my c..."

Yikes! That's so scary. It happened to my husband a couple of years ago. I'm glad you're on the mend. I had a cat I named Shorty because of that book. I was reading it when we rescued the little guy. He was tiny and long-haired and terrified of everything. He used to run across the floor, but since he was scared, he would squat down when he ran. Since he was long-haired, he just looked like a ball of fur flying across the floor!

This year I have listened to:
The Temple of My Familiar by Alice Walker
A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos
Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
Caraval by Stephanie Garber

I am currently listening to The Lost Daughters of Ukraine by Erin Litteken. It is really good, but it is heavy because of the subject matter.

Yea - hopefully at least some of them will go back on sale. Oh well - that's what happens when you have too many pots in the fire!

I finished Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner today. It is a really beautiful memoir, but it is so sad. I would recommend it for sure. I was substitute teaching today, and I was finishing it up when the kids were at specials, and I was bawling in the classroom. I had to try and quickly pull it together before I picked up the kids. LOL.

I listened to Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson this month, and it was not as good as the other. It started strong, and it ended strong. The middle was a hot mess, and unfortunately that was hundreds of pages! I'm still glad I read it, and I am still going to finish the series, but I am going to wait a while.

Audible just had a big sale, and I had maybe ten things in my cart. Then between my kids and I, we had three performances this weekend, and I directed a concert last night, and with all the chaos, I forgot to actually check out. Ugh. I'm so sick. All of those books were $5 and less and most were less than $3, and they were all on my wish list.

I'm listening to Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. It's a memoir about her life while her mother was dying. I lost my mom a few years ago to a different disease, but there are many parallels. It's a very good book, but I am going to listen to something light for a while before I go back to it. I WAS going to listen to one of the Audible books that I THOUGHT I bought. Geez - I am so smart! :/

Robin P wrote: "Interesting that I thought the narration on The Girl with the Louding Voice was great, and it's part of why I gave the book 5 stars. But I know there are varied opinions in our group about many narrators."

I have heard a lot of people say they enjoyed the narration. She whined through the whole thing which drove me nuts. Now, it could be because I have five kids.... LOL. I also do not enjoy audiobooks that have multiple narrators. Don't get me started on "graphic audiobooks." It might just be that I am picky........ ;)

I know it can be annoying, but it cracks me up when I get an audiobook that still has the "end of side one" on the recording. I had one not too long ago. There was only one, so I am guessing they cleaned up the recording, but they missed one. I thought it was hilarious. I actually stopped the book, went and found my husband, and laughingly told him about it. He didn't find it as funny as I did. LOL. Oh well.

I have had two back-to-back bummers. I listened to Bellefleur by Joyce Carol Oates, and I did not enjoy the book, and the narrator was horrible. It was almost a DNF for me for practically the whole book. I'm not sure why I finished it. Yesterday, I finished City of Night Birds by Juhea Kim, and it was better, but not by much. The characters were one dimensional. They story was blah, and the narrator wasn't really very good either. Boo.

I'm not really as I have actually been a part of this group for a while, but I have only commented maybe four times, so I feel like I should go ahead and introduce myself! ;) I started listening to audiobooks when I had a data entry job 35 years ago. Dang - that is a long time. LOL. We used to listen to books while we worked, and we would share them amongst ourselves. Our family has an Audible account. My husband, my oldest daughter, and I listen to books all the time. My other kids also listen to books just not at quite the same intense level that we do! My oldest kiddo and I listen to a lot of the same books. It's really fun. My husband and I also often listen to a lot of the same books. We've been together for 34 years and married for 29, and we have always shared books. He's a really slow reader, and I am a very fast reader, so we only share SOME of our books! :) I have very eclectic taste in books. I love listening to audiobooks when I am driving, doing brainless work, or just relaxing in the evening. A good narrator can really make a book entertaining. We listened to Wizard for Hire by Obert Skye on a road trip with our younger kids two years ago. Kirby Hayborne was the narrator, and he took a decent YA book and made it a fabulous book. He did such a great job. With bad narrators, I can usually get past it because since I read so fast, I always listen fast as well. The speed can often minimize a bad narrator's issues. A really bad narrator can really take away from a book though. The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré is a really good book that was practically ruined by the narrator, Bahni Turpin. Audiobooks just add another layer to books, and I love it - even with the occasional crappy narrator.

Doug wrote: "Good choice, I finished that one June 24. I really enjoyed it too, what did you think of the other two books in that Dune prequel series? Scott Brick, either people like him or they don't. I happen to like him."

I actually had it confused and did not realize it was book 3 in the series until I already started it. I don't normally like reading books out of order, but I did this time. I was already quite a bit into the book when I realized it. I would like to go back and read the other two though.

I must not be eligible because it is not on my Audible home page. :(

I just finished House Corrino by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. I really enjoyed it, and I think the narrator did a good job as well. Before that was Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler, and I was underwhelmed. I know it won a Pulitzer, but meh.

April wrote: "I just finished Bird Box and personally, I liked it. Obviously a lot better than the Netflix movie, and looking forward to reading the sequel, Malorie."

I've been wanting to read it. I saw the Netflix movie, and I really liked it. It left me with so many questions though. I am hoping the book is more thorough in answering those questions!

I have several books on Audible that are included until July 1, so I am trying to zip through them. I finished Parable of the Talents. It was kind of creepy, and I am convinced that Octavia E. Butler was a time walker!

Next on my list is a trilogy by Carissa Broadbent starting with Daughter of No Worlds. I'll probably start it as soon as I boot myself off the computer!

Currently listening to Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao. I'm enjoying the narrator and the book.

I listened to Quicksilver by Callie Hart a few days ago. It had two narrators which I don't really like, but they didn't even stick to different chapters. It was a hot mess. Plus, both of the narrators sucked. I know the male narrator was supposed to be sexy, but he was just creepy. Ick. The book itself was also not really any good.

I am currently listening to The Bone Shard War by Andrea Stewart. I am enjoying the book, but I am not crazy about the narrators.

My first book of the month was Dirrayawadha by Anita Heiss. It is narrated by Tamala Shelton. The book is a historical fiction set in the early part of the 1800s. The British government is shipping prisoners - violent and political - to Australia. The book was excellent, and the audio was very well done as well.

John wrote: "Hey, Misty!

In addition to book discussions, this group is the place to bring up technical issues as well."

Good to know! Thanks.

Ashley Marie - I LOVED The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi! My daughter and I both listened to it. We loved her Daevabad trilogy, so when this book came out - we gobbled it up!

I'm so excited to find you all! I listen to audiobooks pretty much every day. :) I love audiobooks. I usually listen on my commute and when doing busywork and housework.

I just finished up Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley, and I thought the narrator, Isabella Star LeBlanc, did a great job. I loved hearing the bits of Anishinaabe language.

I am listening to Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King. I just started it. I am not very far yet. William Hurt is the narrator, and so far, I do not care for his narration. I also don't care for the music. I don't like audiobooks that have random music in them. Just leave it off.