Audiobooks discussion

Today I started a YA from 1969: I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip.. Reviewers warn of being a slow story, which I can see but it's only 5 hours. Finding a need to suspend disbelief a bit, both the storyline and teen character's voice, more like adult re-telling events than real time.

Carrying over the Flavia Albia mystery Desperate Undertaking. A strange one that's a throwback to an early Falco adventure, gory as well. Odd that the next, new one isn't available in the States as an audio (yet).

Thanks for always being so prompt in getting new threads set up, John! I will be on Esrahaddon for some time (30 hours, to be exact.) It is a sort of prequel to his original series. I really like Michael J. Sullivan but I am a bit tired of some of the fantasy tropes - like a young person goes to a training school and makes an enemy of a spoiled rich kid - sounds awfully familiar!

4 stars to The Descent of Monsters yesterday - I enjoyed the epistolary format and the intrigue kept my attention. Looking forward to the final book in this series.

Starting September off with a favorite reread, The Lies of Locke Lamora. Michael Page's narration is wonderful.

I loved the Locke Lamora series. Too bad the author stopped writing. I think he had some health challenges, but it's a shame because he definitely had an arc in mind for the series. I also like Michael Page in anything. In this book, he has to create accents for countries that don't even exist!

Robin P wrote: "I loved the Locke Lamora series. Too bad the author stopped writing. I think he had some health challenges, but it's a shame because he definitely had an arc in mind for the series. I also like Mic..."

He'd posted on social media in 2019 about having the next in the series drafted, and showed us the paper stack to prove it. I expect Covid threw plenty of things off, mental health included, and revising has picked back up as of last year. At this point, for me, Lynch is on the same list as GRRM and Rothfuss in that I'll happily devour anything else he releases, but I'm not holding my breath.

Exactly, Ashley Marie! Rothfuss I don't understand at all since he is still active. He is in my home state and is a silent partner in our local independent bookstore.

I finished The Beechwood Harbor Ghost Mysteries Boxed Set books 1-3 by Danielle Garrett and narrated by Amanda Ronconi. I discovered that while I like the value of a boxed set, I feel cheated of the sense of accomplishment when finishing each book in the set. this was a decent series with great narration and I might get more of them... still not sure if I'll go for another boxed set or individual books... am I more interested in value or sense of accomplishment... we'll see.

Starting the month off with The Tobacco Wives by, Adele Myers narrated by, Shannon McManus & Janet Metzger

I finished Pigs in Heaven and liked that it ended as a no win. It was heartfelt and funny while dealing with some difficult themes. Kingsolver did a good job of tackling a thorny issue. Now I'm listening to another favorite author - Kate Morton and Homecoming. It's another mystery caused by the secrets and lies catching up to the present. I enjoy her books. Both books are excellently narrated.

Happy Labor Day folks.

Dream Wheels by Richard Wagamese is good.

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

I have begun Jean-Christophe by Romain Rolland. This I have been looking forward to for a long time.

RE: Scott Lynch and the Gentleman Bastard series...
I waited for years for that fourth book, but have given up. The book was promised for 2021 but never appeared. The author is active on social media, so he is apparently alive and well; he must have given up, too. What's hilarious to me is that the fourth book already has thousands of positive reviews on GR, even without being published!

I enjoyed a fun Regency romance, Georgiana Darcy's Diary: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice Continued by Anna Elliott.

I also finished the second in a fantasy series, The Second Blind Son by Amy Harmon, a good followup to a favorite story.

i have a GR shelf called "The Edge of Never" for books that were promised and never arrived

I've started Medieval Bodies: Life and Death in the Middle Ages, with Michael Page's terrific narration.

I finished Witchy Weddings, a boxed set by Danielle Garrett. It was another one I got in a super sale a while back. This wasn't bad and is part of another series that I've only read the first one of. I may go back and get more of the original series... it's narrated by Amanda Ronconi so the listening experience is great.

Starting Longbourn, narrated by Emma Fielding, this morning with my cocoa. I already like the way it's going. I'll probably listen to a bit then toss back to Lamora, and so on this week til I finish one of them.

I finished Payback in Death, newest addition to the In Death/Eve Dallas series by J.D. Robb and narrated by susan Erikson. The story was classic Eve Dallas and a really good police procedural. The narration was great as usual, too.

I finished Wrong Place Wrong Time. It was quite good and a really interesting way of writing a mystery.

Jeanie wrote: "I finished Payback in Death, newest addition to the In Death/Eve Dallas series by J.D. Robb and narrated by susan Erikson. The story was classic Eve Dallas and a really good police procedural. The ..."
Looking forward to listening to this one next week

I wrapped up Chain-Gang All-Stars - it was different, the scary thing is i could see something like that - if televised becoming popular.

slightly funny story - one of the classes I teach is for a masters program and its all their practicum type stuff. One of the modules is on experiential learning through gaming. And we started off by playing this game called futureology - its a creativity prompt to get students to think out of the book. In groups of 4-5 they each draw a card (K, Q, J, 10, A) - each card correlates to a person, technology, some kind of social event, that could occur in the future. The goal is then as a group to write a short paragraph alternative future incorporating the 5 random anonymous things your group came up with.

One of our groups in the faculty practice round had Elon Musk, televised prison games, big cable mergers, population...all basically elements of this book (minus Musk - but I could (and maybe it was me) see similarities between him and the television dude

How was the audio, Dee? I think that one had multiple readers, right? And how were the footnotes handled?

Finished The Tobacco Wives by, Adele Myers narrated by, Shannon McManus & Janet Metzger, Fascinating history, gave me some of the same feels as Radium Girls, they knew all along how harmful smoking was and hid it.

Now about 40% done with I'm Not Done with You Yet by, Jesse Q. Sutanto narrated by, Yu-Li Alice Shen, Saskia Maarleveld, Leiana Bertrand & Eunice Wong

Becky wrote: "How was the audio, Dee? I think that one had multiple readers, right? And how were the footnotes handled?"

they were so seemless that if they were included I had no idea they were footnotes - lol!

Dee wrote: "Becky wrote: "How was the audio, Dee? I think that one had multiple readers, right? And how were the footnotes handled?"

they were so seemless that if they were included I had no idea they were fo..."

Ahh, that probably improved on them then! I read the ebook version and I didn't particularly like the way that some of them were handled, and felt like they'd have been better if they were incorporated into the book.

I love how audiobooks can smooth out things like that!

I'm currently listening to How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need. It's really interesting so far, but I am very conflicted about the person doing the relaying. I think, in general, he means well, and is trying to address a critical humanitarian need, but... I just have a real distaste for mega-billionaires in general.

Becky wrote: "I'm currently listening to How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need. It's really interesting so far, but I am very conflicted about the p..."

concur - i think i'd be more accepting if his investments were actually working - but most of them seemingly go bust

I finally got back around to another second book in series: Harly Merlin 2: Harly Merlin and the Mystery Twins by Bella Forrest. The first book stretched credibility too far, imo, and the first few chapters of the second continued on the same path so I paused it some time ago. I now only have an hour and a half left to finish it and went to look at the remainder of the series...

Audible no longer carries any of them... and there were a total of more than 25,000 reviews, so it's not like no one wanted them. Does anyone know why Bella Forrest no longer has any books on Audible?

Jeanie wrote: "I finally got back around to another second book in series: Harly Merlin 2: Harly Merlin and the Mystery Twins by Bella Forrest. The first book stretched credibility too far, imo, and the first few..."

Probably some kind of contract issue.

MissSusie wrote: "Now about 40% done with I'm Not Done with You Yet by, Jesse Q. Sutanto narrated by, Yu-Li Alice Shen, Saskia Maarleveld, Leiana Bertrand & Eunice Wong"

Saskia Maarleveld narrates most of Kate Quinn's more recent books, I like her!

Ashley Marie wrote: "MissSusie wrote: "Now about 40% done with I'm Not Done with You Yet by, Jesse Q. Sutanto narrated by, Yu-Li Alice Shen, Saskia Maarleveld, Leiana Bertrand & Eunice Wong"

Saskia Maarleveld narrates..."

She's a favorite!

Homecoming by Kate Morton was a 3+*. For Morton fans this wasn't my favorite. In my opinion, it needed an edit and it was also predictable.

Now I'm listening to Assegai by Wilbur Smith. I'm addicted to this historical fiction series.

I wrapped up I Swear: Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan - i'm a huge KP fan girl - especially when she pulls her whiteboard out. I thought she did a good job of balancing both her campaign to get elected, as well as her first year(s) in congress (her REO/OREO made me laugh)

now on to Persist - its been on my pile for a while - and finishing up Katie's book made me want to get back to it.

I'm also listening to Pačinko

Completely agree, Dee! I love Katie Porter. She’s incredible!

Dee wrote: "I wrapped up I Swear: Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan - i'm a huge KP fan girl - especially when she pulls her whiteboard out. I thought she did a good job of balancing both her..."

I really enjoyed Pachinko. It was interesting to have themes of class and racism set in another country. The audio was well done. I hope you enjoy it.

Fran wrote: "Homecoming by Kate Morton was a 3+*. For Morton fans this wasn't my favorite. In my opinion, it needed an edit and it was also predictable.

I was planing to use an Audible credit on Homecoming since it is not on Overdrive, but I think I will pass on it. Thanks for saving me a credit.

Dee, I agree that Pachinko is very good.

Kathleen wrote: "Fran wrote: "Homecoming by Kate Morton was a 3+*. For Morton fans this wasn't my favorite. In my opinion, it needed an edit and it was also predictable.

I was planing to use an Au..."

Happy to oblige Kathleen! I felt the characterizations were overdone and then overdone again if that makes sense. They were all trying to do the right thing but the wrong way for a lifetime!

I recently finished a book I very much enjoyed. It is read by Meryl Streep, who does a fabulous job!

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett - 5* - My Review

I am about 75% finished with the 47 hour long 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. It is my first Haruki Murakami book and it is definitely weird. I am enjoying the book, although I believe he overuses the sexuality in it. Other than that it's a great story. I have a couple of other Murakami books in my library and I had to pick the longest one to try out the author, ha ha. I have read some books that were longer (the entire Outlander series for example) but not many.

4 stars to Jo Baker's Longbourn, narrated by Emma Fielding. What an excellent book this was, regardless of the "retelling" label (because yes it is, and there's a certain amount to be gained by already being familiar with the characters, but it also works so well on its own).

Ashley Marie wrote: "4 stars to Jo Baker's Longbourn, narrated by Emma Fielding. ..."

I really enjoyed that one, too, Ashley Marie; it was a solid 4 stars from me. I was just thinking of all the Austen spin-offs I've read, most recently Georgiana Darcy's Diary: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice Continued. Most were romances, but some historical fiction and some historical mysteries (even zombies!). There are hundreds left to try!

Finished the wonderful I'm Not Done with You Yet by, Jesse Q. Sutanto narrated by, Yu-Li Alice Shen, Saskia Maarleveld, Leiana Bertrand & Eunice Wong, this one was an excellent and there is one character that I swear in Nicholas Sparks and it made me laugh! ( yes I am a horrible person haha)

Now starting The Wrong Family by, Ellery A. Kane narrated by, Madeline Pell This is a new author and narrator for me.

I finished A Fistful of Collars from the Chet and Bernie series by Spencer Quinn and narrated by Jim Frangione. I hadn't appreciated the last several ones in this series so I was pleased to actually enjoy this one. I have one more from the series in my Library--accumulated during sales before I learned my lesson about buying further books in a series before reading the first. Maybe the next one will be okay, too.

Jeanie wrote: "I finished A Fistful of Collars from the Chet and Bernie series by Spencer Quinn and narrated by Jim Frangione. I hadn't appreciated the last several ones in this series so I was pleased to actuall..."

I love them all because of Jim Frangione's excellent narration. It seems like he must have been a dog in a previous life.

Joy D wrote: "I recently finished a book I very much enjoyed. It is read by Meryl Streep, who does a fabulous job!

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett - 5* - My Review"

Glad you enjoyed Tom Lake. I’m on a very LONG waiting list for it at the library. I might give in and use an Audible credit for it.

It's really a wonderful audio. Sometimes libraries will add extra copies for a popular audiobook. I got on the waiting list for it before it came out, which is why I was able to get it so quickly. I also have the e-book.

Currently listing to Mørke menn and Rainbow Valley. Finish Anne of Ingleside

Currently listening to The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. Really good, but honestly, as an atheist skeptic myself, it's a little repetitive and "preaching to the choir"y for me. I am enjoying it though.

Past the halfway mark in my Locke Lamora read, and I started Camp Damascus today, read by Mara Wilson. I still may track down a physical copy because a) it's short and I just want to devour it and b) print tends to hold my attention better on a first read - but Mara!

Anyway, right off the bat and I already see exactly who our MC is.

My library just bought more copies of Tom Lake in audio format, so I’ve moved up to number 113 of 17 copies. Originally I requested the ebook, but changed to audio since it’s narrated by Meryl Streep. I’m even more interested since Joy D says it is a 5* listen!

Now I’m very emotionally invested in Dominicana by Angie Cruz - a YA immigration story. The emphasis is not on getting to the US, but what life is like in NYC for a recently married 15 year old Dominican Republic woman in 1965.

Miriam wrote: "Currently listing to Anne of Ingleside and Mørke menn"

Nice combination Mirian! Do you often listen to books that are worlds apart?

Are the Jens Henrik Jensen books very dark? (I've been eyeing those, but I'm a wimp).

3.5 stars to Camp Damascus!