Audiobooks discussion

I pulled Falling Slowly by Anita Brookner off my Did Not Finish pile. I'm not thrilled with it as it's both boring and confusing at the same time! I'm also finishing up mud sweat & gears : cycling from land's end to john o'groats ( via the pub), which is fun, and well worth a credit.

starting the Moby-Dick Big Read -chapter a day, each chapter narrated by someone different

and also The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

I'm enjoying The Stonecutter, and it's quite good. A Scandinavian mystery, billed as like Jo Nesbo, who is billed as like Steig Larssen. So far I don't think any of them are like the other except that they're all Scandinavian, grin. Anyway, so far I like The Stonecutter better than Nesbo. Larssen is in a whole different category. This book is the third in a series so I got the previous two and will be listening to them. I'm a hopeless audiobook addict.

I call Lackburg Nordic Noir lite - because she and Blaedel have a bit more focus on personal relationships than other authors do

Dee wrote: "I call Lackburg Nordic Noir lite - because she and Blaedel have a bit more focus on personal relationships than other authors do"

That's a good description. :-) I like the relationships part. Although both Nesbo and Larssen deal with relationships, just differently than Lackberg.

Have you tried James Thompson? He is an American living in Finland and series set there - first one is Snow Angels

I just could not finishThe Garden of Evening Mists. Here is why: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Please, I want a good book now! I will try the audiobook The Sheltering Sky

Dee wrote: "Have you tried James Thompson? He is an American living in Finland and series set there - first one is Snow Angels"

No, is he good?

I like his stuff - he has a very twisted mind - very dark - don't know if any of his stuff is available in audio though

Yes his stuff is on audio.

Dee wrote: "I like his stuff - he has a very twisted mind - very dark - don't know if any of his stuff is available in audio though"

Yes, I just found it and got it as I had an extra credit.

I am listening toA Christmas Carol, The Chimes and The Cricket on the Hearth, the one narrated by TimCurry, and it is wonderful. I planned to listen on Christmas Eve as is my annual tradition, but didn't get to it.

My next listen/read to start are The Hobbit and the three books of The Lord of the Rings. I am sure you all know those so I won't bother to link them all separately. :-)

I read these 4 books every couple of years and am looking forward to the new unabridged audio editions from Audible. :-)

I have the first lord of the rings book on the pile for after calpurnia tate

Finished One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd. Great book, I highly recommend it.

My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Alana wrote: "Finished One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd. Great book, I highly recommend it.

My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/..."

Great book am trying to get my RL bookclub to read it so I have an excuse to re-read it!

I'm listening to Theft of Swords it's a nice change of pace after Patient Zerowhich I also enjoyed.

up til and over christams I have listened to
Key of Light
Key Of Knowledge
Key of Valor trilogy by Nora Roberts, typically NR very predictable , but lotallty enjoyable as always.

then tried one of the advent calender special offers(well 99p - so almost a give away) from Audible UK The Xmas Factor, I didn't think I was going to like it at first ,thought oh no , chatty chick lit type story , which ok it was a bit , but really liked it , total rescuing christmas type story Great fun.

Now starting something completely diferent Grave Doubts

I finished Gone Girl at 1:00 in the morning and then couldn't sleep. LOL! I'll be starting The Lock Artist today.

Janice wrote: "I finished Gone Girl at 1:00 in the morning and then couldn't sleep. LOL! I'll be starting The Lock Artist today."

Oh man, that one was a killer!

I have to start Gone Girl soon, because the reviewers are so completely mixed I need to find out what the big deal is! I get the idea that it starts out as slow-moving, so am prepared for that. Is the reason so many folks say "I hated the characters!" because of anti-women attitudes, or because they're mostly creepy in general? I didn't care for many of the characters in Flynn's previous book, but was invested in Libby Day herself.

John wrote: "I have to start Gone Girl soon, because the reviewers are so completely mixed I need to find out what the big deal is! I get the idea that it starts out as slow-moving, so am prepared for that. Is ..."

It's a very compelling, creepy mystery. The audiobook is perfect because the male and female characters are very well done. It's just haunting. I didn't hate the characters except one. I did hate the ending.

Many folks say they hated the ending, which would be fine if I'm prepared ahead of time to feel that way, too. I wasn't thrilled with the previous book's ending, but still glad I listened to it.

John, it depends if you like a cut-and-dry ending or not. It's a very fitting ending, but not what you might expect. As for the dislike of the characters...I can't really explain that without giving away the story, but some of the characters are not supposed to be likable but are written devilishly well. Nothing to do with anti-women or anything (although certainly some of the female characters are less than scrupulous or lovely, but then so are some of the males). It's a thriller/mystery/psychological almost "whodunnit" but not quite. Hard to explain without giving away the story. I have a feeling you'll like it, though :)

Thanks for the followup! I'll probably try it sometime this winter.

Jonette wrote: "I'm listening to Theft of Swords it's a nice change of pace after Patient Zerowhich I also enjoyed."

I've been eying Patient Zero from my library...is it worth the check out & import to iPod? I have enjoyed the Newsflesh series: Feedand Deadline. Is Patient Zero similar to those?

Just finished Phantom by Jo Nesbo. Great read and great audio. Tried Bella Tuscany but it put me to sleep--not sure if it was the reader or the book itself. Since I paid for it, I will listen to it..it will make a good "nap" book.

Finished a reread of "Captain Vorpatril's Alliance" by Lois McMaster Bujold, which I loved partly because it's a LOL comedy and partly because of the intricate way the disparate elements of the plot intertwine. Good antidote for current news.

On to "The Name of the Wind" next.

Margaret wrote: "Finished a reread of "Captain Vorpatril's Alliance" by Lois McMaster Bujold, which I loved partly because it's a LOL comedy and partly because of the intricate way the disparate elements of the plo..."

I listened to that one and thoroughly enjoyed it!

Laurie (Kwiltreader) wrote: "Just finished Phantom by Jo Nesbo. Great read and great audio. Tried Bella Tuscany but it put me to sleep--not sure if it was the reader or the book itself. Since I paid for it, I will listen to..."

I like to have a collection of those to fall asleep to at night. Just finished The Hobbit and started Peter Pan for that purpose :)

Re Gone Girl discussion: I was pulled into the book fairly quickly. The pacing is excruticiatingly painful, and meant to be. The writing is meticulous; the story well crafted. Everything has a purpose and you don't know when or how the significance is going to be played out.

The characters are flawed for various reasons and not likeable. Nick's father hates women. Amy's parents are overly indulgent. Some of them are downright chilling. You don't get to like too many of them. There were two characters I did like - Nick's sister and the woman police officer. She reminded me of the cop in the movie Fargo.

As for the ending - think Hitchcock.

Laurie (Kwiltreader) wrote: "Just finished Phantom by Jo Nesbo. Great read and great audio. Tried Bella Tuscany but it put me to sleep--not sure if it was the reader or the book itself. Since I paid for it, I will listen to..."

I've listened to The Snowman and The Leopard and loved them both. Unfortunately Phantom isn't available on audiobook here in Canada, so I will pick it up on ebook along with the earlier installments in the series. My son and daughter-in-law gave me an iTunes card for Christmas so I will buy them using that.

What did you think of Phantom? Is it as good as the reviews say it is?

Janice wrote: "Re Gone Girl discussion: I was pulled into the book fairly quickly. The pacing is excruticiatingly painful, and meant to be. The writing is meticulous; the story well crafted. Everything has a ..."

Well, that is true, I wasn't really thinking about that. You do have CHARACTERS that hate women, but that's not the theme of the book, so just depends on if a particular character (granted, one with vehement and strong language about it) with those aspects will bother you.

Gone Girl was a total mind-fuck - and that is about the only way I could describe it - it def. make my top 10 list for 2012

Gone girl has some seriously screwed up people in it. As for the ending, it fit the characters, but it was over the top in my opinion, as if the author was saying, "you think you've seen crazy insane manipulative...just wait."

Today I finished Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks. I thought is was a really good story about an autistic boy and his imaginary friend. I gave this book 4 stars!

Also started and finished today Astray by Emma Donoghue. I enjoyed these interesting short stories. I gave this book 4 stars!

I am now starting Reflected in You by Sylvia Day

I am listening to The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom and Black Heart

Shell wrote: "Jonette wrote: "I'm listening to Theft of Swords it's a nice change of pace after Patient Zerowhich I also enjoyed."

I've been eying Patient Zero from my library...is it worth the check out & impo..."

No, it's not like those, it's more like a Jason Bourne type action hero facing a threat from terrorists with a virus.
I bought the first two books in the series during one of the Audible sales last month, thinking it would be a different type of zombie story but I liked the action well enough and it had a decent plot.

Shell wrote: "I've been eying Patient Zero from my library...is it worth the check out & import to iPod? I have enjoyed the Newsflesh series: Feedand Deadline. Is Patient Zero similar to those? "

I haven't read the Newsflesh novels (I read the prequel which I was unimpressed with) but I have listened to the prequel of Patient Zero, Patient Zero , and its follow-up:

"Countdown"
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Patient Zero
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

"Zero Tolerance"
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

You can get "Countdown" and "Zero Tolerance" separately or, as part of the Ledger novella collection by Jonathan Maberry, The Missing Files.

Jonette wrote: "Shell wrote: "Jonette wrote: "I'm listening to Theft of Swords it's a nice change of pace after Patient Zerowhich I also enjoyed."

I've been eying Patient Zero from my library...is it worth the ch..."

Cool. I'll have to check it out then, thanks!

John wrote: "Thanks for the followup! I'll probably try it sometime this winter."

Just adding to the recommendation for Gone Girl. I think it's great in audiobook; borrow it from OverDrive. The characters aren't particularly likeable but I could barely stop listening to eat. And I agree with the earlier post from someone who wrote that it's a very appropriate ending.

Tanya/dog eared copy wrote: "Shell wrote: "I've been eying Patient Zero from my library...is it worth the check out & import to iPod? I have enjoyed the Newsflesh series: Feedand Deadline. Is Patient Zero similar to those? "

..."

I would love to hear what happens in
Zero Tolerance but I am completely unwilling to waste my precious credits or cash on 44 minutes of audio. I just don't understand why they didn't tack it on the end of Patient Zero.

Jonette wrote: "I would love to hear what happens in
Zero Tolerance but I am completely unwilling to waste my precious credits or cash on 44 minutes of audio. I just don't understand why they didn't tack it on the end of Patient Zero. "

Same author, same audiobook publisher but different rights holders :-/

I'm loving Seraphina by Rachel Hartman - a smart fantasy with dragons and politics and music (I was thrilled to find that the narrator sings as appropriate). I've already read it in print, and I love picking up more nuances on audio.

I realized I listened to a lot of LONG audiobooks in 2012 - a trend I'm continuing so far this year. But I need to remember to mix some shorter ones in there to break things up (at least once I get through A Dance With Dragons! I'm enjoying the series, but I'm excited to be almost caught up).

Finished Relic and loved it. David Colacci is a great narrator. The story kept me on the edge of the seat and Pendergast is a wonderful Modern Sherlock Holmes.

I also finished Mistletoe & Margaritas a short listen. The novella was a sweet romance, but the most memorable part of the story was the narrator, Macleod Andrews. He did a great job! He's definately one to listen to in the future.

Currently listening to Hostage to Pleasure narrated by Angela Dawe. Love her narration!

Speaking of shorter books... I've been on a Charlotte MacLeod bender since before New Year. Since Monday I've read the three available Peter Shandy audiobooks, the four Madoc and Janet Rhys (Audible doesn't have the last one of this series), and the first two Dittany Henbit and Osbert Monk books. I adored Peter Shandy although the narrator didn't really hit his stride until the second book--please, Audible, get the remaining seven!. It took until the middle of the first book in the Rhys series before I liked the story and the second book before the narrator lost the shrillness in his voice while reading Janet. The Henbit/Monk or Grub-and-Stakers series is okay and the narrator is okay except that she seems to have no clue as to the difference between an Irish and Scottish accent and so seems to create a whole new sound for the Highlander policeman. Audible does have the last three in this series so I will pick them up sooner rather than later, but I'm thinking I might finish "What a Ghoul Wants" by Victoria Laurie or even "Death Cloud: Sherlock Holmes: The Legend Begins". I read all six Enola Holmes books over the weekend and really enjoyed the YA take on the Sherlock Holmes world, so "Death Cloud" might be fun.

Am putting The Ice Princess on my DNF list. Got about 1/3 to 1/4 of the way through but really wasn't enjoying it.

Pondering what is up next. Maybe Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy.

Listening to Gone with the Wind. I've never read it, but I've seen the movie countless times. It's about time I read the real thing.

It is a real treat!!! 50 hours... Great narrator. I love it!

There is a quite a bit to think about in The Sheltering Sky, set in Morocco, but.....
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I have changed my mind a million times about whether I should read A Fine Balance. Audible changed their rules, now selling all books even the very long ones for one credit. So I bought it. What if they change their rules again! I hope it is not too depressing. I am satisfied if there is just a little, teeny bit of hope or some humor or just something to lighten it. So I am off to India now. I love learning about different places and cultures.

I finished Abomination. A strange, short book but was actually quite good. Narration was excellent. Only 3 hours long - which was nice.

The Mermaid Garden: A Novel is next. I'm a bit dismayed because the tracks are like 12-15 minutes each which I *really* don't like.

Before moving on to "Death Cloud", I read M. C. Beaton's "Emily Goes to Ecceter", first in her Traveling Matchmaker series. It was a fun and sweet little romance that I enjoyed before starting "Death cloud, the Young Sherlock Holmes, The Legend Begins".