Audiobooks discussion

I'm listening to The Curse of the House of Foskett, second of the Holmes-like series featuring (anti-social) Victorian London detective Sidney Grice, and his "Watson" - a young female ward named March, who smokes and drinks gin, as well as calling him out on his pomposity. Lindy Nettleton's narration makes the books come alive for me.

P. S. Grice is a vegetarian, much to March's consternation. March lived in India with her late father, so Grice tries to temper her homesickness by having the cook prepare "curried vegetables" which Grice finds smashing, but poor March, who's actually HAD Indian food, finds the result pretty awful - for one thing, there's mustard powder in it instead of turmeric ... ugh!

I'm listening to The Strange Library--my first Murakami--and it's very strange indeed.

I am starting my last book in the Solo Female Narration for the Armchair Audies Life Drawing by, Robin Black narrated by Cassandra Campbell. I am going to have a heck of time deciding who I think should win the Audie in this category so many good narrators- Bahni Turpin, Davina Porter, Katherine Kellgren,Julia Whelan, Cassandra Campbell and Nicola Barber how do I decide between all these greats!

Oops, missed getting my last Feb. audiobook into the Feb. thread. I finished listening to Flo Gibson narrate Pride and Prejudice in the Recorded Books edition last night. I thought Gibson did a great job. It is an uninflected recording (no "voices" for the characters), which is usually not my preference, but it worked well in this classic.

My only complaint is that the "chapters" of the audiobook had no correlation to the chapters of the book (I think that they might be the numbers of audio cassette sides or some other artifact of the way it was recorded, although my copy was a digital download from Audible).

That is often the case with Audible. It is my one major complaint about the guardian angels who restored to me my love of reading.

i'm listening to Damoren - one of the audie nominations in the paranormal category - urban fantasy with demons/werewolves/etc - and thankfully no romance...def. a boys UF book but i'm enjoying it and on that note, time to go and run 7 miles on the treadmonster (which will give me about 1hr 15 of listening time)

I finished Dodger and it was just ok; occasionally a Pratchett novel falls a little flat for me and this was one of them.

Back to Three Pines now, started #5, The Brutal Telling

I finished The Son with its outstanding cast of narrators and it got a solid 4 stars. Also knocked out another Michael Connelly, The Fifth Witness which was enjoyable as far as legal thrillers go. Lastly, King Solomon's Mines narrated by Simon Prebble. It's been in my TBL pile for awhile and was worth the listen. Now I've started up Barchester Towers.

I just hit the half way point in An Echo in the Bone. I will admit to not paying much attention through parts of it. I selfishly want Clare and Jaime (and some Bri and Roger) and not William. Yeah, yean I know it's all important. :-)

I'm technologically challenged and wish I could do overdrive or listening on device. I'm a CD gal...

Nancy wrote: "I just hit the half way point in An Echo in the Bone. I will admit to not paying much attention through parts of it. I selfishly want Clare and Jaime (and some Bri and Roger) and n..."

About technologically challenged - I resisted technology so long that I was still on cassettes. I thought I would have to do "techie" things to get a book to show up right. But with an iPod or similar device and Audible it's automatically perfect. It even cues up the next part of a book if it was downloaded in sections. No problems with defective CDs/tapes, no running out of something to listen to, no bulky machines. No wait to get even the newest book! It's been 4 or 5 years that I've been on digital and I wish I had switched even sooner. I think it's great that free alternatives are out there from the library, but it's so worth it to me to get instant gratification without having to know a thing about how it works!

Unless you have a Sansa Clip, Overdrive's not all that tricky once you get the hang of it either. Basically, you "check out" the library book to your hard drive, plug your device to your computer (via USB cable), and hit "transfer" on the Overdrive software. Android phones and such are even easier.

I finished The Mosquito Coast today. It's very well written and narrated, but sometimes agonizing and horrific to read. I would recommend it, but probably won't read it again.

I haven't started on my next book yet. I need to mull over the last one for a bit.

My Sansa Clip works fine. My Win7 PC works fine. I keep having trouble with the Audible Manager; it keeps not recognizing my Clip for some books (not all), downloading segments to the Clip in the wrong order, and a few other annoying things. Yesterday the Download feature and Audible Manager weren't playing nicely in downloading a book I just bought. I gave up; I'll try CS tomorrow.

I was referring to the fact that the Sansa Clip requires either the Overdrive book be re-tagged specially as an audiobook, or else needs to be loaded specifically into an "audiobook" folder on the device, for the bookmarking feature to be enabled.

I finished The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack and found it to be strange. I'm not sure steampunk is for me. Can anyone tell me if the second book in the series is as silly as the first book? I keep trying steampunk, hoping that the next one will be more appealing.

I started The Waste Lands. I'm back in the saddle and headed to the Dark Tower.

John wrote: "I was referring to the fact that the Sansa Clip requires either the Overdrive book be re-tagged specially as an audiobook, or else needs to be loaded specifically into an "audiobook" folder on the ..."

Both very true for books from OverDrive, and having to fidget around with moving or re-tagging them is annoying, though fairly straightforward with Win7.

My issues are with Audible.

Janice wrote: "I finished The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack and found it to be strange. I'm not sure steampunk is for me. Can anyone tell me if the second book in the series is as silly as..."

That is exactly how I finished by saying maybe steampunk isn't for me

I started The Waste Lands. I'm back in the saddle and headed to the Dark Tower.

My heart rate just went up just by reading your post. Are you a first time reader of the series, Janice? If so, I envy you.

Long days and pleasant nights.

Hunchback wrote: "I started The Waste Lands. I'm back in the saddle and headed to the Dark Tower.

My heart rate just went up just by reading your post. Are you a first time reader of the series, Janice? If so, I en..."

Yes, it's my first time reading the series. There are a few of us reading it in another group.

Finished Peter Pan yesterday from librivox and loyal books. Now I've started booktaker by bill pronzini (which is free on audible).

Joy wrote: "I started Pride and Prejudice. I've read it before but.haven't listened, and it's been a very long time."

Enjoy!

Janice wrote: "I finished The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack and found it to be strange. I'm not sure steampunk is for me. Can anyone tell me if the second book in the series is as silly as..."

Janice wrote: "Hunchback wrote: "I started The Waste Lands. I'm back in the saddle and headed to the Dark Tower.

My heart rate just went up just by reading your post. Are you a first time reader of the series, J..."

Hi Janice, I am also reading the Dark Tower series in two different groups. I'm on book three for March. It is my first time "unbelievably". Two groups are reading it: Bookworm Buddies and The Great Escape. Have you joined either?

Leslie wrote: "Finished Peter Pan yesterday from librivox and loyal books. Now I've started booktaker by bill pronzini (which is free on audible)."

Thanks Leslie, I just downloaded Booktaker. I am trying to get through a cute cozy I'm still trying to decide if I like An Uninvited Ghost before I start on The Waste Lands.

I started In Paradise. It's pretty intense.

Joy wrote: "I'm also listening to The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls. I forgot bc it's on CD and was in my car and I hadn't driven anywhere since last Thursday."

I was disappointed with this - it was hugely hyped and I just ehhh

I started Sweetness in the Belly last night, and after that I am planning to listen to The Red Chamber

I finished The Ocean at the End of the Lane this morning -- I thought it was very good but at the same time I was extremely confused by it, so I'm not sure how I was able to enjoy it as much as I did; it's giving me a bit of an existential crisis. I do like Gaiman's narration though.

And then I just started NOS4A2. I loved Horns, so I'm very excited about this one. And Kate Mulgrew narrates!

Ooooh... NOS4a2 is so creepy good!

Oh I hope you enjoy it Susan I've been liking it so far

Susan wrote: "The daily deal is Ordinary Grace which was fantastic. For $3.95 it's a good deal :)"

Agreed. I said this in the Audible Offers thread already, but beware of spoilers in the book description!! It gives away a major plot point that doesn't even happen until halfway through the book. Just know it's a family drama set in Minnesota(?) in 1961 and it's worth a listen. :)

I finished the latest book in the Hannah Swensen cozy mystery series by Joanne Fluke, Double Fudge Brownie Murder. I enjoyed this one far more than the last several releases in the series, although that isn't actually a strong recommendation.
The very best thing about this book... Hannah finally made a decision!
Far more of the story this time was about the lives of the characters, and the mystery and its solution were actually quite weak. But, really, it's the characters and their lives that drive cozy mysteries for the most part, so I didn't mind the weak mystery plotting.
The narration was improved--far less of the "dialogue for dummies" tone that irked me in the last two or three. This series was put on probation with the last book--one more dud and I was out of there! This one gave the series a reprieve, imo.

Ooof Life Drawing is not my normal fare and kind of boring me we'll see if I finish it or not.

Ashley wrote: "And then I just started NOS4A2. I loved Horns, so I'm very excited about this one. And Kate Mulgrew narrates!"

I liked NOS4A2 a lot. A big, long, creepy thriller, with wonderful narration.

Oh Jeanie im happy to hear she's making a decision cause I've read all those books but Hannah's been starting to get on my last nerve. I was really not looking forward to this one but now I might just have to pick it up sooner

I started this in ebook format and decided not to continue, even though it seemed like it would be right up my alley. I only read the Kindle sample, but it seemed laboriously overwrought and overwritten. I thought maybe I'd try the audio, but I found Cassandra Campbell's narration of Everything I Never Told You so soporific, I knew I'd never make it through! I'll be curious to see what you think if you get through it!

MissSusie wrote: "Ooof Life Drawing is not my normal fare and kind of boring me we'll see if I finish it or not."

I finished The Girl on the Train this evening and was completely disappointed. The second half totally fell apart for me and I thought the ending was ridiculous. It started out with such promise, too.

I'm trying to decide between The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and Funny Girl for my next listen. I guess I'll see if I'm in a fiction or non-fiction mood tomorrow morning.

Sue wrote: "I started this in ebook format and decided not to continue, even though it seemed like it would be right up my alley. I only read the Kindle sample, but it seemed laboriously overwrought and overwr..."

THANK YOU! I felt the same way about Campbell's narration of Everything I Never Told You. But I switched to ebook and actually enjoyed the story a lot more.

I'm about an hour into The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall, and to be honest, I'm not loving it. The writing is a little too breezy, and for some reason, the narrator's style is not holding my interest.

Maybe this was not the book to read after The Mosquito Coast. I'll persevere a bit longer to give it a fair chance, though.

Sue wrote: "I finished The Girl on the Train this evening and was completely disappointed. The second half totally fell apart for me and I thought the ending was ridiculous. It started out with..."

Immortal Life is terrific.

Hunchback wrote: "I'm about an hour into The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall, and to be honest, I'm not loving it. The writing is a little too breezy, and for some reason, t..."

I read The Case of the Missing Servant in print and then one other Targuin Hall and I'd ditto what you are saying about the Audible version. I gave up on the series. They were 'eh'.

Sue wrote: "I'm trying to decide between The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and Funny Girl for my next listen..."
You realize that Campbell also narrates Henrietta Lacks?
I listened to this just recently and really enjoyed it.

Mind you I love Cassandra Campbell as a narrator - she's one of my all time favourites, her voice has just the perfect tone for my ears, I could (and have!) listen to her all day.

Ha! I had no idea! I did not dislike her voice, it just didn't work for me with that book. I think she might work better for me in non-fiction, and I have got to get to that book already. Thanks for the heads-up!

Patricia wrote: "Sue wrote: "I'm trying to decide between The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and Funny Girl for my next listen..."
You realize that Campbell also narrates Henrietta Lacks?
I listened to this just ..."

Ashley wrote: "I finished The Ocean at the End of the Lane this morning -- I thought it was very good but at the same time I was extremely confused by it, so I'm not sure how I was able to enjoy i..."

I had the same reaction the The Ocean at the End of the Lane. It was the most confusing book I ever enjoyed.

And NOS4A2 was one of the best books I read last year.

Hunchback wrote: "I'm about an hour into The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall, and to be honest, I'm not loving it. The writing is a little too breezy, and for some reason, t..."

I really enjoy the Vish Puri series precisely for the two reasons you cited for not liking it. I like cozy mysteries and Vish Puri, though technically detective rather than cozy, is the kind of humorous light story and funny characters I enjoy. The breezy tone is always there throughout the series so if it isn't your thing it won't get better for you. And I love Sam Dastor's narration--he also did Rudyard Kipling's Kim, which I adored. No book/narrator can be for everyone... hope you find something that does tickle your fancy next.

"Susan wrote: Ooooh... NOS4a2 is so creepy good!"

"Hunchback wrote: I liked NOS4A2 a lot. A big, long, creepy thriller, with wonderful narration."

"Kelly wrote: And NOS4A2 was one of the best books I read last year."

I'm only about 12% in but it's very intriguing so far and definitely creepy!

Sarah wrote: "Susan wrote: "The daily deal is Ordinary Grace which was fantastic. For $3.95 it's a good deal :)"

Agreed. I said this in the Audible Offers thread already, but beware of spoilers ..."

I really liked Ordinary Grace. I was born in the 60's so could definitely relate.

I finished In Paradise. The narration was good - too good. This is an angry, angry book and at times it was difficult to listen to.

Currently listening to The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League

Loving it. Robert Peace and I are only 3 years apart in age and our mothers were growing up in the same area of New Jersey at the same time. I can't help but feel connected to this family that I've never met. It's a powerful story and the narration is well done.

I'm currently listening to Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan. The story of English writer Robert Louis Stevenson. It has mixed reviews on GR and some call it boring. It's a 17hr book, narrated by Kirsten Potter and I'm loving every minute of it. I'm finding it totally fascinating and love the narration.

Then before it expired I used my $10 credit on The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce. It's the follow up to The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry which was a 5 star listen for me.

I have just under two hours left in Infinite Jest. Brilliant writer, fantastic narration...but about 12 hours too long. (It clocks in at 56 hours...uff.) It did lose me in a few places, so I'm giving it 4 stars.

Next up, something much shorter and easier to digest: Heirs and Graces.