Audiobooks discussion

To start off the month, I've started Parrots Prove Deadly: A Pru Marlowe Mystery, narrated by Tavia Gilbert -- the truly nasty-mouthed parrot must have been a hoot for her to voice. It's the third in a series, but I started here , and it's standing alone just fine.

I've just picked up Donna Fasano's Derrick. Love her books, really looking forward to hearing this one.

I'm listening to The Constant Gardener and so far it's very similar to the movie. Quite riveting.

John wrote: "To start off the month, I've started Parrots Prove Deadly: A Pru Marlowe Mystery, narrated by Tavia Gilbert -- the truly nasty-mouthed parrot must have been a hoot for her to voice. It's the third ..."

It was!!

Finished Marque and Reprisal by Elizabeth Moon and read by Cynthia Holloway. It was ok. I've liked Elizabeth Moon before. Did not care for this narrator (sorry Cynthia if you're on this board). Inadvertently started with the second book in the series. Could be that influenced my listening. However i will read the next one on my Kindle if i decide I need to read it. Just started Midnight Riot read by Kobna Holbrook-Smith. So far delightful narration. I love hearing a good "English" accent. Wasn't it Churchill that said "nothing so separates us so much as our common language?"

I'm still slogging my way through 2 very long books . . .

Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges

The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman

plus we just started another book discussion over at the HBC and am finishing up the discussion that's been ongoing for the past few months.

Just finished 14 and I can see why it was an audible pick. The story was compelling and the narration fantastic! I can't say enough about listening to Ray Porter. The man is brilliant!

That is a fun book. I like how it seems to draw people out of their usual genres.

I can highly recommend Edmund Morris' trilogy on Theodore Roosevelt. I have just finished the last: Colonel Roosevelt
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I have begun and am immediately impressed with Susan Fromberg Schaeffer style of writing. I had read Anya and wanted to read another, so I chose Buffalo Afternoon, having heard that it was impressive and had won prizes. It is the writing and not the topic that draws me. So far I am very satisfied. I see the rice paddies before me. And then later it is a coming-of-age story with hysterical dialogs between an Italian-American immigrant boy and his friends. Through chapter 6 it is marvelous, and the narration too.

Tomerobber, I plan on choosing The Guns of August very soon. Audible did not let me exchange the two different narrators, so I plan on paying more for the John Lee one. The coverage of WW1 in Colonel Roosevelt was excellent, but primarily from the American perspective.

I just finished The History of Love which I loved, despite the confusing structure of the book. Each of the narrators (there's one for each story viewpoint character) does an excellent job. They along with the quality of the writing help me through the times when I was annoyed with the structure, but I really liked how things came together in the end.

Chrissie wrote: "I can highly recommend Edmund Morris' trilogy on Theodore Roosevelt. I have just finished the last: Colonel Roosevelt
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I have begun and am ..."

That's too bad they wouldn't let you exchange the narrators . . . what a bummer . . . I can see this as a selling point in the future . . . they should allow people a choice of narrators where available . . .

Tomerobber wrote: "That's too bad they wouldn't let you exchange the narrators . . . what a bummer . . . I can see this as a selling point in the future . . . they should allow people a choice of narrators where available ."

Tomerobber, I am sure there would have been no problem if it hadn't been a question of exchanging a book in the BOGO sale for one that was not listed in the sale. I do understand their reasoning, but it didn't hurt to ask them.

Finished Ladies' Night by, Mary Kay Andrews Kathleen McInerney’s narration made everyone in this book sound like a whiny teenager except Wyatt the lone male. It may have been more enjoyable in print.

Now starting Is This Tomorrow by Caroline Leavitt narrated by our own Xe Sands

I just started The Handmaid's Tale narrated by Clare Danes today, as Margaret Atwood is July's monthly author for another group...

I struggled through the Librivox recording of Can You Forgive Her? but some of the narrators just caused me to immediately zone out so I mixed reading and listening. Mil Nicholson did a few chapters towards the end & it became even more clear to me how good she is!

WARNING: WALL OF TEXT AHEAD

Sorry for saving all of my June books for July, but I was just too busy to do this last month. On the bright side, I got a lot of books done because of it!

I started with Imperium. Now, I consider myself to be a Rome buff and I like Cicero as a person, but this book was just okay. In fact, I finished it just one month ago and don't remember much about it. Nothing stands out about this audiobook for me.

Next was The Daylight War. This is the third installment of the great, and sometimes very disturbing, Demon Cycle fantasy series. While I liked it, I feel that a lot of the characters changed from the previous installments in a way that wasn't 100% realistic. That does not take away from the interesting world and story, though. And even though I think I can predict how the cliffhanger turns out, I will be very happy to continue this series. Especially on audiobook, because I really enjoy Pete Bradbury's performance.

Then there was Bastard Out of Carolina. Did I call Demon Cycle disturbing? I was wrong. THIS book was disturbing. Without giving away too much (and I feel this is important to say just in case I actually manage to get someone else to pick this great book up so they know what they are getting into), this book follows a little bastard girl as she lives her life with her mother, sister, and a step father that molests and beats her at different times in her life. This is not an autobiography, but the author, sadly, has gone through similar trauma and that terrible experience really makes the book as chilling and hard hitting as it is. This is not for the faint of heart, but it is a good listen as the narration was done very well.

After that I needed a dose of light reading, and that is where This Book Is Full of Spiders came in. Unfortunately, I was terribly disappointed by this book. It is supposed to be a sequel to John Dies at the End, and yet I feel like a lot of the things that JDatE set up were just completely ignored in TBiFoS. Not even the narrators remain the same! The best and worst point of David Wong's sequel is that it is more mature. I liked this because I am not 16 and there are only so many times I'll laugh at a kick to the testicles, but I hated this because his mature writing lost SO much personality. It ended up feeling like a pretty average infection type book. Don't get me wrong, some of the immature humor makes an appearance, and after dulling it at some times these moments can be laugh out loud funny, but then I get ignored when it seems like Wong just ignored the first book. (The major reveal of the first book ISN'T EVEN BROUGHT UP ONCE)

After enough times of seeing it in Audible sales, I decided to pick up 14. It was another light listen that is narrated pretty well for my tastes that added some bizarre elements. These strangers all work together to find out some of the mysteries of their apartment. Some of the things they find will definitely make you ask why they are allowed to live in the same building. This took me out of the story at times, but it was pretty fun for what it was.

After two light reads I went back to the good stuff. Suttree! Ah, Cormac McCarthy. How I love you, and, oh, how I hate you. The thing about Cormac McCarthy is that he is a genius. This book is both the most poetic McCarthy book I've read, and the most absurd. The story follows both the tragic Suttree and the half-wit Harrowgate. Let me just say, that I was hooked just by Harrowgate's introduction, and I'll just say it involves watermelons and two very shocked farmers. The narration for this one was pretty good, but gets completely overshadowed by the content for me.

As for books I was actually reading, I finally finished The Hangman's Daughter! I am finally realizing that I may not be a mystery guy. This book just had too many "And such and such finally figured out who dun it. It was so simple! And then such and such was interrupted before the immediate knowledge was revealed!" It is just a tease. But, overall it was passable, and I did buy the sequel from audible.

Per my friends request I finished The Sandman, Vol. 10: The Wake. For a series that I got less and less into as I went through the issues I thought this was a great ending. The stories went from better to worse, which made me almost take back my initial love for the book, but the quality remained consistent enough for this to really be a great end.

A Storm of Swords followed. I will advise everyone the same thing that I was advised: If you have watched the first two seasons of the Game of Thrones show, you can jump straight to this book as I did. Only a few things were not the same, but overall, I found this very easy to follow, and I loved it. Makes me excited to see the show and to continue with the series. I wasn't a huge fan of the narration overall. Roy Dotrice isn't my favorite fantasy narrator, but I got over my gripes while listening.

My buddy also gave me The Sandman: Endless Nights which is just a few shorts dedicated to the endless family. There were some interesting scenes, especially in Desire's story, but for the most part, the endless I liked had the good stories, which was only about half of them. Still, for an extra comic it was neat.

Lastly, I read People Who Eat Darkness: The Fate of Lucie Blackman. This is the story of Lucie Blackman. An English girl that went to become a hostess in Japan in order to pay some of her debts, and the story about how she was killed doing this job. At first I was ready to write this off. It is supposed to be about the daughter, but it takes the time in the beginning to talk about the mother's childhood. But as the book progresses it gets much better. A very interesting look at Japanese sub culture, and the Tokyo police force, and the case itself was told in a way that made it one of the most interesting mysteries I have heard. The narration didn't strike me, but it was good and made the book an easy listen.

As for what I actually am listening to this month:

I am listening to The Lies of Locke Lamora. A very interesting new type of fantasy for me by a narrator that seems to be perfect for a stage.

Once again, I apologize for the wall!

^ The Lies of Locke Lamora is amazing. I did this one by audiobook too, the narrator is fantastic!

Just finished A Study in Scarlet, which is the first Sherlock Holmes novel. I picked it up because I watched all of the BBC tv series as well as the US Elementary series. I am totally Sherlocked. The story structure was kind of strange; the entire middle section is a flashback about the criminal's motivations which weren't all that interesting, but the parts that actually featured Sherlock and Watson were great! Actually quite humourous too. Now I'm on to The Sign of Four, which is the next book about the great detective.

Surreulatae, I am working through all the Sherlock Holmes as well, for a classics group. I enjoyed the audio for A Study in Scarlet and just started The Sign of Four, which is also good, though a different narrator, I believe. There's nothing quite like a good classic British tale narrated by a British doctor about the world famous British detective by a good British voice. Although, I believe, Sir Arthur was Scottish?

Alana wrote: "Surreulatae, I am working through all the Sherlock Holmes as well, for a classics group. I enjoyed the audio for A Study in Scarlet and just started The Sign of Four, which is also good, though a d..."

Have you listened to any of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes on BBC Radio 4 Extra? They are doing one story at a time... radio drama rather than audiobook but still enjoyable.

Tim wrote: "I just finished The History of Love which I loved, despite the confusing structure of the book. Each of the narrators (there's one for each story viewpoint character) does an excellent job. They al..."

Tim, I read this book years ago and loved Strauss's writing style. I wonder if the structure was easier to understand when read, as opposed to listening to it in audio format. The plot stayed with me long after I finished the book and it was one of my favorites that year.

So... I finished Aruably by Christopher Hitchens. I like some essays more than others. Hitchens seemed to like several authors and among them were Ian Fleming and George Orwell. He talks about Fleming in passing and Orwell several times. I picked up Orwell's Animal Farm in the last sale and look forward to it.

As to Fleming, I picked up "Dr. No" in the previous sale. I must say I enjoyed returning to my boyhood days when I first read the Bond books. Honeychile Rider now again haunts my dreams. Really fun and nice narration by Simon Vance.

After Fleming, it was back to non-fiction with "Wheat Belly...in 30 Minutes: A Concise Summary of Dr. William Davis's Bestselling Book". I liked that I didn't have to read the book. The premise of this book is that genetically altered wheat is prevalent in the new American diet and is the culprit for all kinds of nasty things. What I have to do now is see how much is hype and how much is true. I liked getting the gest of this book in a very summary fashion, and for that, I recommend it to those with an interest.

And I followed that with another sale item that was even shorter - "How Do You Kill 11 Million People?: Why the Truth Matters More Than You Think". This book by Andy Andrews is more a pamphlet than a book. I like the stats about Nazi Germany and such as that. The conclusions he draws are somewhat suspect. The gist of the book is that a politician telling a lie or being deceptive is the ultimate sin and causes all the national problems. Simple books should be short books and this one is - very. Not recommended.

This brings me to the start of my current read - Beyond the Highland Mist: Highlander, Book 1 - I just started it - not what I expected more to come.

The bride and I have finished Beautiful Creatures and we must give it two thumbs up. We ended up liking the sound effects. I wasn't sure at first. It was a pleasant enough story and I also liked the switch in point of view at the appropriate time. However...

... the book suffers from comparison. As YA, it isn't up to the Twilight series or Hunger game series. Comparing to just series about Casters and Witches and other creatures - not close to the Harkness books. Still... not bad. I don't feel any compulsion to continue the series but I would enjoy hearing from those that have.

What's up next for our "together" book? Not sure yet. The bride and I have to review the TBR shelf together. But I am thinking maybe Monster Hunter International would be fun for the daily commeute. We will see.

Ciao (or as I say it - "Chow")

i'm almost done with Sacré Bleu: A Comedy d'Art - I keep hoping that another of Moore's books will live up the Lamb, which I loved, but so far none of them have, and the same with this one...it almost feels like (at times) that he is trying too hard to make them funny...

next up is The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society which I got as a review copy from Tantor

Finished The Silver Linings Playbook. It was a sweet emotional read. I had seen the movie previously, and found while I liked the movie, the book was more endearing. The narrator was Ray Porter, whom I adore! It took me a few minutes to realize it was his voice performing, as I equate him so much with Joe Ledger and his no nonsense persona. However once I got into the listening, I realized he was perfect as Pat Peoples. I highly recommend this to anyone who hasn't read it already!

Bradley Cooper was totally miscast for the lead role. I could not relate to his portrayal at all - and it made me sad to see the great Robert DeNiro once again cast as "Clueless Old Guy".

Dee wrote: "i'm almost done with Sacré Bleu: A Comedy d'Art - I keep hoping that another of Moore's books will live up the Lamb, which I loved, but so far none of them have, and the same with this one...it alm..."

Have you listened to A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore? That's easily my favorite of his books thus far. It was also my first, so maybe that had something to do with it. Even though I kind of agree with you that he might try a little too hard, I still enjoy his books for a comic relief now and then.

If you like Moore, you might also like A. Lee Martinez. I listened to Divine Misfortune and thought it was really fun.

My summer vacation officially started with the two day drive to Canada. On the trip I finished Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World and followed that with a Daniel Silva mystery - The Fallen Angel. Weatherford puts a new spin on Genghis Khan since the discovery of the secret history in the 90s. It was very informative and kept me awake. While I enjoyed The Fallen Angel, I only warmed up a little bit to George Guidall as the narrator. His narration was better than one of the Longmire mysteries I listened to not too long ago. Next up is Half of a Yellow Sun. The dog and I have some walking to do . . . .

Tensy wrote: "Tim, I read this book years ago and loved Strauss's writing style. I wonder if the structure was easier to understand when read, as opposed to listening to it in audio format. The plot stayed with me long after I finished the book and it was one of my favorites that year."

I did a buddy read of it and my friend who read it (i.e., not in audio) was even more confused and she didn't finish it. It's mainly the Leo and Zvi stories whereas the Alma story and the book story are mostly independent. I was able to follow it, but it took a bit of work to piece the time line together.

That said, I loved it. I've ordered a paperback (to give to a friend) and a hardcover (for me to keep) of it.

Kristie wrote: "Dee wrote: "i'm almost done with Sacré Bleu: A Comedy d'Art - I keep hoping that another of Moore's books will live up the Lamb, which I loved, but so far none of them have, and the same with this ..."

Yeah listed to Dirty Job liked but didn't live; also listened to Lust Lizard of Melancoly Cove and Bite Me - the last 2 I didn't really enjoy

Philip Blake wrote: "WARNING: WALL OF TEXT AHEAD

Sorry for saving all of my June books for July, but I was just too busy to do this last month. On the bright side, I got a lot of books done because of it!

I started w..."

Philip, Bastard Out of Carolina is one of my favorite books because of the writing but also because the main character refuses to be a victim. I don't think I would have read it if I had realized the subject matter but I'm so glad I did. I also saw Dorothy Allison speak in Ann Arbor years ago and she was great fun. I was delighted to hear her say that it was important to her that the character be seen as strong, not a victim. She was not happy with the film version of the book, made by Anjelica Huston, because it went against that concept though Huston promised her that it wouldn't.

I finished up Sworn to Silence. It was ok. For me, the story was probably better than the narration. Now the narration was ver well done - just a voice/tone I find kinda.... bland.

Starting Hammeredright now!

I finished The Constant Gardener and found it mostly depressing. Too close to truth! I'd seen the movie and loved it, but then I love Ralph Fiennes. On to The Blue Sword which I'm reading with another group. Robin McKinley is fairly reliable.

Just finished Rose: My Life in Service to Lady Astor and am starting A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II

It seems I never listen to music anymore . . . audiobooks seem much more interesting.

I'm taking a break from the seemingly aimless Outlander, and listening to Still Missing by Chevy Stevens. Classic tale told in a new and different (heart-shattering) way.

Jennifer - where r u up to in outlander? From experience the first 3-5 hours are really slow...

Halfway through Part 2. It's just not linear enough for me. But the characters are wonderful.

Jennifer (E-reads, E-listens, E-breathes) wrote: "I'm taking a break from the seemingly aimless Outlander, and listening to Still Missing by Chevy Stevens. Classic tale told in a new and different (heart-shattering) way."

Outlander meandered a lot for me too. It was too long IMO.

I find myself thinking "THIS needed 7 books and approx. 5600 pages?"

And I was so excited to start it. I will finish Book 1, though.

Book 1 can be read stand-alone - you don't need the test to enjoy the story but it gets more historical fiction as you go

Good! That's what I was looking for. I'm not buying the love story, but the time travel is intriguing.

Jennifer (E-reads, E-listens, E-breathes) wrote: "I find myself thinking "THIS needed 7 books and approx. 5600 pages?"

And I was so excited to start it. I will finish Book 1, though."

That's how I feel about A Song of Ice and Fire.

Jennifer (E-reads, E-listens, E-breathes) wrote: "Good! That's what I was looking for. I'm not buying the love story, but the time travel is intriguing."

I only read book one. I think some people need to be honest about it and say they only loved Jamie! hahahahaha

I keep thinking of poor Frank the cuckold! ROFL!

Frank isn't as innocent as he seems...but that doesn't come out until the later books...I disliked him from the get-go - he seemed skeezy to me - but then i first read Outlander when I was like 15 - so I have had a 16 year love affair with Jamie

Hmmm...so there is an incentive to continue.

Jennifer (E-reads, E-listens, E-breathes) wrote: "Hmmm...so there is an incentive to continue."

Not much. I listened to the 2nd one because it was on sale at Audible, but that was enough! And all of them are LONG!

the second one I hated at first...it wasn't until my 3rd/4th read though that I picked up on lots of bits and pieces that were critical later on...it is much more politics/french courts/fighting

I must say Davina Porter is making it worth my while.

Why oh why did I ever stop reading for pleasure? :(

Jennifer (E-reads, E-listens, E-breathes) wrote: "I must say Davina Porter is making it worth my while.

Why oh why did I ever stop reading for pleasure? :("

And the answer to that is???? Why did you stop reading for pleasure?

To me, reading is almost as necessary as breathing. I have comfort reads when I'm down, fun reads, exciting ones, informative ones - really enjoyed The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements - etc.

Jennifer (E-reads, E-listens, E-breathes) wrote: "I must say Davina Porter is making it worth my while.

Why oh why did I ever stop reading for pleasure? :("

Davina rocks. This is one of the occasions where I liked the narration more than the actual book.

I went to law school, and reading became work. When I tried to pick it back up, I found that my reading speed and concentration were no longer what they had been. Now that I'm into ebooks and (especially) audiobooks, problem solved! Tracking my progress helps keep me engaged, and listening helps me keep reading even when I'm tired or emotional.

Jennifer (E-reads, E-listens, E-breathes) wrote: "I went to law school, and reading became work. When I tried to pick it back up, I found that my reading speed and concentration were no longer what they had been. Now that I'm into ebooks and (es..."

Glad you got your reading mojo back!