Audiobooks discussion

This month has me in the middle of a not-so-recent 'suspense' novel Madam, Will You Talk?, which isn't bad (as I'd feared it'd be more of a romance). I chose it because of the narrator, Emilia Fox, as part of the "Buy three, Get $10" Audible offer.

I polished off April with a quick reread of Lioness Rampant; 4.5 stars for Trini Alvarado's narration.

I made a stab at the What Moves the Dead audiobook this morning but wasn't vibing with the audio, so I'll grab it in print/digital later.

Beginning May with another classic, The Three Musketeers, narrated once again by John Lee.

I guess I am becoming a curmudgeon or maybe just impatient because I found Remarkably Bright Creatures just too sweet and obvious. The narrator for Marcellus the octopus is terrific but it's clear early on where the story is going. I guess I should look at it like a Dickens novel, where the whole point is for various threads and characters to be related, rather than a "realistic" novel.

It is fun to imagine a meeting of our favorite animal characters, such as Marcellus the octopus, Chet from the Chet & Bernie mysteries, the dog Six-Thirty from Lessons in Chemistry, and Nana the cat from The Travelling Cat Chronicles. They are all much smarter than humans!

Robin P wrote: "I guess I am becoming a curmudgeon or maybe just impatient because I found Remarkably Bright Creatures just too sweet and obvious. The narrator for Marcellus the octopus is terrific..."

You know... I've had Remarkably Bright Creatures on my library hold list for a while now, and every time it comes available, I postpone it. I think I'm gonna just cancel that one. I don't think I would like it.

I'm currently about 26% into Asian American Histories of the United States. It's really interesting, but pretty dark... though that's to be expected considering the histories conveyed.

I am a little over half done with Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecyby, Angie Thomas narrated by, Joniece Abbott-Pratt this is a great middle grade fantasy that mixes real life events so wonderfully, I am really loving this one!

I finished Heart of Glass and was disappointed. It's the 3rd in a series that was touted as the story of separated sisters that found each other. The first two told the story of the sister and then got to the reunion. This one barely mentioned the reunion in the last pages of the epilogue - not a great way to handle characters you've gotten a reader "invested" in. And furthermore - it doesn't appear there is ever going to be anything about the fourth/final sister. Just a disappointment.

Cloud Cuckoo Land is next for me. It's strange and I almost ditched it but just over 30% in and I think I like it.

I've started this month with Father of the Rain by Lily King. A coming of age type story during the 70s. Not sure why I purchased this book, except it was part of a 2-for-1 deal. Maybe the narrator pushed me over the edge, as it's Cassandra Campbell and I've always found her narrations well done.

Jan wrote: If the historical fiction/western genre appeals to you, I highly recommend The Comanche Kid by James Robert Daniels. The audiobook is excellent.

Thank you for the rec, Jan... I'm halfway through The Comanche Kid and am loving it...I couldn't resist posting already! :) I agree the audio narration by Julia Whelan is excellent!

I gave 4.5 stars to The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. I now have a book hangover from reading this one in 2 days, I have to read something light. Bullet for a Stranger (Red Ryan #3) by William W. Johnstone and JA Johnstone will fill in the gap, I expect it to rate about a 3.

I am listening to The Man Who Rode Midnight, a sort of modern Western. I chose it entirely because of the wonderful George Guidall. He is one of the early heroes of the audiobook industry, and by chance one of the first books he narrated (maybe the first) was a Western so he became a mainstay for the genre. He did books by Tony Hillerman and Hillerman told Craig Johnson that he had to get George for his Longmire series.

Back in the 1990's, stalwarts of audiobooks included Guidall, Barbara Rosenblatt, Davina Porter, and Frank Muller. They were all terrific and I would look for their recordings at the library (about the only way to get the books - on cassette- back then.) Muller unfortunately died after some kind of accident.

Since Three Musketeers is a small group buddy read with a set schedule, I'm tossing between it and Jane Eyre - I'm determined to finish Jane this time after making an attempt several years ago, and I think the dreary weather this week can only help. Wanda McCaddon (with whom I'm familiar thanks to her narration of Jane Austen's work) is lovely.

Anne ✨ wrote: "Thank you for the rec, Jan... I'm halfway through The Comanche Kid and am loving it...I couldn't resist posting already! :)..."

Glad you are enjoying it, Anne! It's one of my few 5-stars so far this year.

Doug wrote: "I gave 4.5 stars to The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles..."

I just listened to that a couple weeks ago and loved the narration. Yes on the book hangover.

I finished the third of the Silo stories by Hugh Howey, Dust, and this re-read brought it all back. What a terrific audiobook, read by Edoardo Ballerini. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Currently listening to Atalanta by Jennifer Saint.

Finished the fabulous Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy by, Angie Thomas narrated by, Joniece Abbott-Pratt Highly recommend this one!!

Now starting With My Little Eye by, Joshilyn Jackson narrated by, Maisy Winn, Graham Halstead, Jeremy Arthur, Jesse Vilinsky & Michael Crouch

Doug wrote: "I gave 4.5 stars to The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. "

I really enjoyed The Lincoln Highway. I gave it a top rating.

I finished listening to A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
Narrated by: Carla Gugino, Audra McDonald
It was performed at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.

It was free from the Audible Plus catalogue. It's a favorite play of mine and I enjoyed it. Audra McDonald is terrific as always.

I have about 20 hours left of the 57 of Alaska by James Michener. I'm listening for the second time since we're going on a family cruise to Alaska later this year. I have to say, it's a very useful relisten. The narrator is Larry McKeever and it appears that he has narrated all of Michener's books. He's good!

I started out by liking Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmore, but then it went downhill. Many recommended it , but it is NOT for me. I explain why in my review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I have this morning begun a semi-autobiographical trilogy by the once popular but nowadays often forgotten Icelandic author Gunnar Gunnarsson. The first book is titled Ships in the Sky. Its style is so very Nordic!

Joshilyn Jackson is usually a favorite but her latest book With My Little Eye is just not grabbing me I got 3 1/2 hours in and decided to set it aside. So weird she is an auto buy for me.

So, now starting Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by, Jesse Q. Sutanto narrated by, Eunice Wong

I'm in the midst of several audio books: Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings by Neil Price is more scholarly than I anticipated, so I'm listening it in small bits. The Lost Year: A Survival Story of the Ukrainian Famine by Katherine Marsh is a middle grade book on a very pertinent topic. And, last, The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway covers an aspect of their tragic civil war in 1992.

They are all so serious! My next audio needs to be much, much lighter.

Chrissie - It looks like Ships in the Sky is not available in audio in the U.S.! Boohoo!

Kathleen wrote: "I'm in the midst of several audio books: Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings by Neil Price is more scholarly than I anticipated, so I'm listening it in..."

Children of Ash and Elm is SO good though!

I've started Madame Bovary, read by Juliet Stevenson. Not bad, probably at the rate of an hour or so a day for a couple of weeks.

John wrote: "I've started Madame Bovary, read by Juliet Stevenson. Not bad, probably at the rate of an hour or so a day for a couple of weeks."

Curious to see what you think of that. I liked it but it didn't wow me.

John wrote: "I've started Madame Bovary, read by Juliet Stevenson. Not bad, probably at the rate of an hour or so a day for a couple of weeks."

Oh gosh, I haven't read this one since college.

I've finished Atalanta by Jennifer Saint and gave it three stars. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I also listened to The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness by Meghan O'Rourke. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I am currently listening to Jasper Fforde's Early Riser.

I have added Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings to my "holds" at the library and look forward to tackling it.

The Man Who Rode Midnight is a modern-ish Western (1987) but what it reminds me of the most is the books by Nevil Shute that take place in Australia. Same love of the land, even when it's not beautiful by standard definitions. Same focus on family, similar story of young love in the midst of hard work. Even a feisty young woman who is of the sort often found in Shute's books. I guess they are both frontier societies.

Jan wrote: "I have added Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings to my "holds" at the library and look forward to tackling it."

Yes! It’s very good and the audio is wonderful to listen to!

Fran wrote: "Chrissie - It looks like Ships in the Sky is not available in audio in the U.S.! Boohoo!"

Fran, I found registered at GR all three of the books of the semi-autobiographical trilogy in one volume. It's this --Kirken på Bjerget - bd.1+2+3. I VERY highly recommend it. I'm still in the first volume having the title I referred to earlier and which you have been looking for. Fabulous writing. I prefer Gunnarsson MUCH more than Halldór Laxness. Both are Icelandic authors. Do whatever you can to get your hands on at least the first volume of the trilogy. Having not gotten further, I do not know how good the following two are. The two authors couldn't be more different! I'm lucky to be listening to this read in Swedish. The original is Danish. The language is so, so, so wonderful. Gunnarsson gets into the head of the young boy. Since its autobiographical his isn't so strange!

I highly recommend people getting their hands on books by Gunnar Gunnarsson. Both Gunnarsson and Laxness were several times considered for the Nobel Prize. The wrong one got it, in my view!

I'm impressed by Gunnarsson.

Is there something wrong with GR. I'm not getting any messages and few are on the site. I had trouble with it last night and am wondering if there are still problems. Wouldn't it be nice if someone informed us?!

Chrissie wrote: "Is there something wrong with GR. I'm not getting any messages and few are on the site. I had trouble with it last night and am wondering if there are still problems. Wouldn't it be nice if someone..."

Just now I tried to click several links in another group and they all went to an error message even though there is something there. Also for the last several days, people are posting messages and it goes to a "cute" GR error message, but the item does post.

((((((Robin))))))), thank you so very much for telling me.

I have a feeling that group chats aren't a priority for GR but they should be. It is the groups with their reviews, games, updates, etc. that get many of us to check in her regularly.

Robin, I agree. I remember when they didn't exist. Why did they add them and now disregard them. I mean that as a rhetorical question!

Robin, now that I can chat with you, I want to spread to others my love of what I am currently reading. I am just so am just so darn impressed by Kirken på Bjerget - bd.1+2+3. I want friends to read it . I want to share how good it is with others.

Chrissie wrote: "Robin, I agree. I remember when they didn't exist. Why did they add them and now disregard them. I mean that as a rhetorical question!

Robin, now that I can chat with you, I want to spread to othe..."

I'm interested but that link doesn't show any translations. Maybe it wasn't translated? I guessed Kirk is Church and should have also recognized Berg as Mountain, as in German. Is there another title? Oddly, I have 2 friends who speak and read Danish so I'll have to ask them about this.

Robin P wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Robin, I agree. I remember when they didn't exist. Why did they add them and now disregard them. I mean that as a rhetorical question!

Robin, now that I can chat with you, I want ..."

Yes. Church on the Mountain is a loose translation of the Danish. Ships in the Sky is the first volume in English. The second is The night and the dream,. The third I cannot find translated but if I translate the title it's approximately The Unexperienced Traveler. It's so very good! The tree books together are over 800 pages. I'm still in the first book. It reminds me so much of my husband's parents. Swedish and Danish traditions and customs are VERY similar. Gunnarsson was from a poor family that tended sheep and were famers up in the mountains. Family was all important. Fabels and the supernatural and God seep into all aspects of life.

Fran--grab the book / books by any means that you can!

Darn, I don't see them anywhere - library, booksellers, even Amazon except one for 88.00. The 2nd book is 23.00 which is possible but the third I don't see at all. About time for this author to be rediscovered! I did recently buy Independent People by Halldór Laxness from a discount book place, so maybe there is interest in Icelandic authors.

Robin, expensive! That's a shame!!!!!

Well, I've read Laxness' Under the Glacier. I gave it one star! I'm still willing to give him another try, but I don't have high hopes. Independent People I'm going to read but first his autobiographical trilogy composed of the books
1.På tunet därhemma
2. Ung var jag fordom
3.Greklandsåret

I prefer Gunnarsson much more than Laxness--unless he changes my mind with the books I'm going to soon read.

Cloud Cuckoo Land - I *almost* ditched this. Ended up being a 5 star read for me, which is rare. It was 3 very different story lines (one set in the 1400's, one in current time and one way in the future). I was about to think it was too much but had a friend that told me to stick with it. It was a beautiful story that I loved. Recommend highly if you haven't read it. I think the audio version was really well done and helped me get lost in the stories which I loved.

I cruised through Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry in 2 days. Not the funny fluff I was expecting - a very real and hard story about addiction. 3 stars.

Next up is The Wedding Veil

I finished Asian American Histories of the United States, and picked up Tastes Like War, which was on offer with no limit from my library. They are both read by the same reader, so I was a little concerned that they'd blend too much together into one book, but so far no problem there.

Becky wrote: "I finished Asian American Histories of the United States, and picked up Tastes Like War, which was on offer with no limit from my library. They are both read by the ..."

Best of luck with Tastes Like War, Becky - reviews make this one sound deeply messy.

Ashley Marie wrote: "Best of luck with Tastes Like War, Becky - reviews make this one sound deeply messy."

I didn't know anything about it before I picked it up, aside from the fact that it was featured for AAPI heritage month... so I snagged it. But on FB the other day, the account for Libby posted about it, and someone commented that it was disappointing. I'm about 6% in now, and so far it's fine. It's a memoir style book about the writer's mother, her life, and their relationship, so I'm really unsure about what "disappointing" means.

I guess I give a lot of leeway to memoir-y books. The writing is one thing, and I guess I can understand criticizing that to a point... but I can't imagine calling the story of a woman's war-torn life and mental illness "disappointing". Even if it's not anything like what I would expect that to look like - it's their experience, so I don't get to pass judgement on it or be disappointed in it.

I mean, obvious exceptions are "memoirs" like A Million Little Pieces which turn out to be fiction. Criticize that kind of thing forever.

I have no intention of reading reviews of this before I finish it, so I guess I will see what I think as I get further along, but "messy" is also a word that feels really disrespectful to me since it's about someone's unasked-for wartime displacement and trauma. :(

Becky wrote: "I have no intention of reading reviews of this before I finish it, so I guess I will see what I think as I get further along, but "messy" is also a word that feels really disrespectful to me since it's about someone's unasked-for wartime displacement and trauma. :( "

A fair point. From what I'm seeing it looks like family members (her brother, SIL, and more) are weighing in and calling Cho out for creating a fictionalized memoir.

Finished Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto narrated by, Eunice Wong--Highly recommend this one!!

Now starting You Shouldn't Have Come Here by, Jeneva Rose narrated by, Andrew Eiden & Andi Arndt

Ashley Marie wrote: "A fair point. From what I'm seeing it looks like family members (her brother, SIL, and more) are weighing in and calling Cho out for creating a fictionalized memoir."

Ahh, well if that’s the case then I agree with criticizing that. I guess I should look into it now.

Oh wow. Welp, I guess I’m done with that one.

Becky wrote: "Ashley Marie wrote: "A fair point. From what I'm seeing it looks like family members (her brother, SIL, and more) are weighing in and calling Cho out for creating a fictionalized memoir."

Ahh, wel..."

but even then - its based on her memories and they can be flawed - you can think things happen that didn't and vice versa. Just because her family members don't remember something happening - doesn't mean it didn't

ETA - i just read the review by her brother and his wife

they keep saying check out the census - well you can't do that because census results aren't released to the general public until 70 years (I think) after completion - because the 1950 results were just released
military records - there are decades worth of military records that were destroyed in a huge fire in the mid 1970's - so also no real way to verify - people who served for significant chunks can only get military burial permission with a lot of extra work - i've helped on a few cases

i finished up I'd Know You Anywhere - this was another read off my epic To-Be-Listened back log - decent crime story, not really a mystery

Dee wrote: "but even then - its based on her memories and they can be flawed - you can think things happen that didn't and vice versa. Just because her family members don't remember something happening - doesn't mean it didn't"

That is true, but it seems that there's a lot of verifiable things that are presented inaccurately - like the number of Korean people in town differing from actual census data from the time period, which her family claims is to present a specific narrative that isn't accurate, among other things.

I'm generally willing to give memoirs the benefit of the doubt, unless I'm given reason not to trust them. Now I feel like I can't trust this one, so I'm just not going to read it. I can't know what's true or embellished or just invented, so it's not something I want to spend my time on.

Becky wrote: "Dee wrote: "but even then - its based on her memories and they can be flawed - you can think things happen that didn't and vice versa. Just because her family members don't remember something happe..."

i guess because i find census data to be inherantly flawed (i.e. the fact that houses on corners are routinely missed because each street thinks that the other street is doing it when they did door to door) and there is no way to actually verify it right now - its also based on self-identification - so maybe there were more or less but they didn't identify that way - i'm conflicted - not that i was listening to it either way - i'm trying to look at it through an unbiased lens