Audiobooks discussion

Carrying over Kindergarten at 60: A Memoir of Teaching in Thailand from April. Not bad, I suppose, but not outstanding for me either, narration fitting well.

The latest Horowitz & Hawthorne mystery, Close to Death, is a bit different because of the way it is told. I felt the ultimate mystery was a bit too contrived but I do enjoy the series and the narration is great.

Now listening to Don’t Forget to Write. The narrator does a good job of capturing the East Coast accent and attitudes of the characters. The plot is a bit predictable but I'm enjoying the narration. The setting is a lot like the TV series Mrs. Maisel - a Jewish community in 1960.

Starting the month off with Home Is Where the Bodies Are By: Jeneva Rose Narrated by: January LaVoy, Cassandra Campbell, Brittany Pressley, Andrew Eiden

I listened to Stateless to close April, and while it wasn't Elizabeth Wein's best I still enjoyed it. I thought the trio's bond was stronger than the pairing.

im working on Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers and The Novice's Tale - i've been in Europe the last 10 days and been missing my commute and all my listening time...

good pick @MissSusie I get my copy next week!!!

just finished that's not my name by megan lally.

A Winter by the Sea by Julie Klassen | read by Elizabeth Jasicki | Review
Second book in the On Devonshire Shores series

I just finished Ward D by Frieda McFadden - it was certainly a book. A book that I finished. Without giving much away, if you read the description and assume anything about the ending you are probably right. I knew what was going on within about 2 chapters. Great for a self contained story. I have been reading a ton of series and I was/am desperate for stand alone books

I finished The Vampire's Former Flame, latest in the Nocturne Falls series by Kristen Painter. This one featured my favorite Cajun cop vampire so it was nice to see him get his happily ever after.

I also finished chaotic aperitifs, second in the Hidden Dishes series by Tao Wong. This is a very cozy fantasy where the "magic" of preparation and consuming of food is the focus. Nothing actually happens in this story other than cooking and eating, but it did have a point and made my mouth water. The unexpected arrival of one special diner was a real treat.

I finished up Love Minus Eighty by Will McIntosh, which I quite enjoyed despite the somewhat creepy factor. One of the main characters in the book has such integrity, I found it refreshing. There were three narrators, one for each POV, and it worked quite well.

Next up is Old Filth by Jane Gardam. I believe I heard about the book from people here who enjoyed it.

Finished Aftermath: Life in the Fallout of the Third Reich, 1945–1955 by Harald Jähner | read by Rob Shapiro | Review
Details life of the surviving German population, mostly children, women, and imprisoned soldiers. Also the challenges facing the freed Jews into returning to their home communities.

The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar | read by Lara Sawalha | Review soon
Searching for a safe haven in the Middle East and all the while discovering the history of family.

I read the first two novels by Jeff Wheeler in his most recent series, The Dresden Codex (Doomsday Match and Jaguar Prophecies). These were narrated by his usual reader, Kate Rudd. She's not my favorite but I guess she is better than some. The series is available in Kindle Unlimited with the Audible audiobook companion which is why I chose the series, I am trying to use my KU subscription more often. I'm waiting for book 3 to come out this month. This series is a thriller rather than his usual fantasy genre books.

Now I am reading the last of the audiobooks by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, Winterkill. I have read all of her other audiobooks. This one is read by Michael Gallagher, a narrator I have never heard of before. It's YA historical fiction focused on Ukraine in the 30s. Her other audiobooks also centered around Ukraine during World War II, told from the point of view of some Ukrainians. That is different from most European theater WW2 books that either focus on a Western perspective or German.

I'm 25% into Native Son by Richard Wright, and this book is absolutely not what I expected. (view spoiler)[Accidental murder?! On top of racial inequality in the 1930s?? COME ON (hide spoiler)]

Finished Murder at Everham Hall, it was okay. Not my favorite mystery. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the main character but the side characters were mostly great.

Tomorrow I’m moving on to listing to Piglet by Lottie Hazell

i made it less than 10 minutes into I'd Like to Play Alone, Please: Essays - his whole first essay was devoted to the fact that when his father calls him its (view spoiler)[all about his bowel movements and he was very descriptive in it...i.e. poops named after food items etc (hide spoiler)] - just not for me...

so i started The Good, the Bad and the History as well as When We Left Cuba

i'm still working on Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers and To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918

Finished Home Is Where the Bodies Are By: Jeneva Rose Narrated by: January LaVoy, Cassandra Campbell, Brittany Pressley, Andrew Eiden--Highly recommend this thriller!


About 30% done with A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by, Holly Jackson Narrated by: Bailey Carr, Marisa Calin, Michael Crouch, Gopal Divan, Robert Fass, Kevin R. Free, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Carol Monda, Patricia Santomasso, Shezi Sardar, Amanda Thickpenny, Various

I finished Piglet by Lottie Hazell earlier today. Ultimately, I don’t think this one was for me. I wish I loved it more. It had enough to keep me interested but I just wish it had that bit more.

Once I finished that I started Home Is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose. I’m only about 30 minutes in and unsure if I’ll like the brother.

I finished Home Is Where the Bodies Are - I thought it was ok and gave it 3 stars. Lots of family dysfunction going on but pretty good overall.

Finished A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson Narrated by: Bailey Carr, Marisa Calin, Michael Crouch, Gopal Divan, Robert Fass, Kevin R. Free, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Carol Monda, Patricia Santomasso, Shezi Sardar, Amanda Thickpenny, Various- I enjoyed this one and will probably read the rest of this series.

Now starting Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894 by, Daniel James Brown narrated by, Mark Bramhall

I put Native Son back on the shelf and jumped over to finish my Shades of Grey reread on audio - John Lee is excellent no matter which genre he reads. 4 stars.

I finished Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier and narrated excellently by Sarah Coomes. Delightful!

I also listened to The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, the first of the series. Lesley Manville narrates well.

I am currently enjoying War on the Run: The Epic Story of Robert Rogers and the Conquest of America's First Frontier by John F. Ross.

And The Moor's Account by Laila Lalami, a fictional telling of the 16th-century harrowing travels of a small number of conquistadors (and one slave, the narrator) in what would become the southern US and northern Mexico. Not loving the narration, but the story is incredible.

I finished all nine available books in the Divine Apostasy series by A.F. Kay. This is an excellent and often funny LitRPG series. The first book wasn't as satisfying as all the rest, but fun overall. Now I'm having to wait for the next one which comes out in the fall.

I enjoyed both Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide and The Guncle. For both, the audio contributed quite a bit. The first book is narrated by Simon Vance and Neil Patrick Harris. The second is by the author, Steven Rowley, who is terrific, especially at depicting the main snarky character. I am happy to see a sequel, The Guncle Abroad, is coming.

Nancy wrote: "I finished Home Is Where the Bodies Are - I thought it was ok and gave it 3 stars. Lots of family dysfunction going on but pretty good overall."

I’m a little over halfway done and leaning towards this opinion as well. Might end up being a bit below average for me because I’m not really connecting with any of the characters.

The narration is incredibly well done though

I finished Home Is Where the Bodies Are last night. Unfortunately, I didn’t really like it. The narration production was fantastic, but outside Beth to some extent, I had trouble connecting to any of the characters. The way it was told, in 4 povs, sorta ruined the mystery for me. I will try from this author again though; they had a nice writing style.

Today I’ll be starting the nonfiction book I Want a Better Catastrophe: Navigating the Climate Crisis with Grief, Hope, and Gallows Humor by Andrew Boyd

I finished up recently listening to The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean. I had started the book in print, but was going slowly, found an audiobook and it went better for me. I've since heard there was a movie made about this book, which I want to try to find.

I have started another book, In the Country of Women by Susan Straight. It's an autobiography and biography of her and her husband's family, generations back. I have the print book of this as well, so I can view the included photos. I'm quite enjoying this one so far.

i finished up To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918 last night - i didn't know much about the conscientious objectors in WW1 (or how prevant it was) - it amazed me that the UK had the death penalty at that time and the majority of the cases were related to people who refused to/were unable to fight

Finished Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894 by, Daniel James Brown narrated by, Mark Bramhall. This was a truly heartbreaking story, but well told. Yes I ended up down a rabbit hole on yotube for documentaries about this fire. Just horrifying I would say the closest instance in our time would be the Paradise/ Camp fire. A really fascinating if horrifying story.

Now starting another non-fiction I got way earlier than I expected to, so a bunch of people must have suspended their holds. Sociopath by, Patric Gagne read by the author

I finally got around to finishing The Running Grave which a few people finished up before me. I agree with the assessment that it's the best in the series so far although I don't think I've listened to all of them.

Also completed Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon. The narrator, Jane Oppenheimer, did an amazing job making a very unlikeable character, wait for it, likeable! Go figure. It was decent murder mystery.

Now I'm into The Burning Shore by Wilbur Smith where the men are brave and the women are strong and beautiful!

i finished up The Good, the Bad and the History - i think its one of my favorite St Mary's in a while - i felt like some of the earlier books. liked how she pulled the ARC together. new time police book due out in a couple of weeks

I had started Promise Boys by Nick Brooks on my Kindle, and finished it up on audio yesterday. Can definitely recommend the full cast audio, even if I don’t love narration of text conversations (there weren’t enough to really bother me).

Then started WEB Du Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk and I’m already nearly halfway through; didn’t realize it was so short.

Finished Sociopath by, Patric Gagne Fascinating book, I liked that it was just her story not a clinical look at sociopathy. The author does a good job with the narration.

Now starting The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by, Helen Simonson narrated by, Fiona Hardingham

i finished up When the World Goes Quiet - about the last days of WW1 in Bruges, Belgium - good listen

I concluded The Bridei Chronicles with The Well of Shades, another solid one by Juliet Marillier. I am just in time for the release of Final Strike by Jeff Wheeler. Wheeler isn't the greatest author but it is in Kindle Unlimited (with audiobook) and I have read books 1 and 2 already, so I will finish this trilogy.

I finished I Want a Better Catastrophe: Navigating the Climate Crisis with Grief, Hope, and Gallows Humor . Unfortunately it wasn’t what I thought it was so I didn’t enjoy it much. Yesterday I started I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle

We’re listening in the car to Stephen King’s Carrie as it is the fiftieth anniversary of the book’s publication. I read it so long ago that I don’t remember the story.

The audio, narrated by Sissy Spacek, is irritating because she keeps changing her volume, so I’m constantly raising and lowering the controls. I was surprised the other day, when we were in our older car, that the volume was steady, and didn’t need changing. Apparently the 2015 vehicle, the same brand as our newer car, is balancing the volume.

Could there be another reason? I would expect the newer car to have a better sound system. Neither car is the top of the line nor the bottom.

BTW, we’re listening to a library copy, not the new edition from Audible which includes Margaret Atwood’s essay on the book. I hope to find her comments someplace online.

I finished the "sci-fi" Godfall by Van Jensen, which was really just a good murder mystery. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I am really enjoying Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett and hope the series is just as good.

The Last Kingdom was very good on audio, I see there are a lot more in the series.

Robin P wrote: "The Last Kingdom was very good on audio, I see there are a lot more in the series."

Thanks. I added it to my TBL.

I finished In the Country of Women by Susan Straight. I had the print book, but the narrator was excellent for this. The print book had family photographs throughout, which was nice, but not really necessary. The book is an autobiography and family history written for the author's three daughters.

5 stars to The Souls of Black Folk! I'm excited for more Du Bois when I get the chance, he's so easy to follow.

I also found Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral by Phillis Wheatley on a whim on Hoopla and enjoyed it, 4.5 stars.

And a solid 4 stars to Red Side Story, Jasper Fforde's newest, narrated by Chris Harper. For a sequel published 16yrs after the first book, this picked up right where Shades of Grey left off and didn't disappoint!

Ashley Marie wrote: "I also found Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral by Phillis Wheatley on a whim on Hoopla and enjoyed it, 4.5 stars..."

I marked this for future listening. Thanks, Ashley Marie!

"And a solid 4 stars to Red Side Story, Jasper Fforde's newest, narrated by Chris Harper. For a sequel published 16yrs after the first book..."

Oh, I will have to go back and re-read Shades of Grey now! It's been a while.

I am listening to That Bright Land by Terry Roberts, a detective story, really, set in North Carolina just after the Civil War. I'm very much enjoying it so far.

We finished our car listen of Carrie. My husband said it is the worst audio book we’ve listened to.

Today we started The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook by Hampton Sides. It’s long so it will probably take us several weeks to finish. He recently read it and suggested it for our next car audio, and printed out a map of the voyage for the car.

On my morning walks, I’m listening to one lecture a day from The Era of the Crusades by Professor Kenneth W. Harl.

And I’m listening to The Bird Hotel by Joyce Maynard. I suspect that the audio is better than the print version, but I’m enjoying it the story. It’s 4 stars for me, but completely ignored by the standard reviewers.

Kathleen wrote: "And I’m listening to The Bird Hotel by Joyce Maynard. I suspect that the audio is better than the print version, but I’m enjoying it the story. It’s 4 stars for me, but completely ignored by the standard reviewers."

That's on my list to listen to this year. I'm excited about the audio!

Finished The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club I enjoyed it great narration.

Was going to start Demon of Unrest but ended up getting a hold from Libby so now I am starting Dancing with the Octopus: A Memoir of a Crime by Debora Harding I am on a non-fiction roll this month!

I was looking forward to reading Rednecks by Taylor Brown. I started listening and I find that it isn't quite catching with me. I'm nearly 20% in and I will continue to listen, hopefully it will improve for me. I've seen great reviews on this, maybe it's just my reading mood?

I went into immersion mode with the BBC's production of Julius Caesar today, listening while reading along. I'll be reading Antony and Cleopatra later in the year, so it all works out :) (I mean, not for Antony or Cleopatra or Brutus or Caesar, y'know, but...)