Audiobooks discussion

A bit early perhaps, but didn't want to forget to do this one ...

Starting the month with the novel Beware of Pity, part of last month's huge sale - great narration!

Decided to spring a few bucks on the first in a 1920s mystery series: A Body on the Doorstep. A bit slow, but not bad.

I went back to Scrublands. The narration was very good, but the story became very complicated with multiple crimes interlocking - and in a tiny town.

Starting The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver. It was part of a trilogy in an Audible sale a long time ago. I am a sucker for time travel stories.

I'm finishing up Don't Let Him In today. Then I'll be starting The Widows’ Guide to Murder.

Finished 1984 by George Orwell.

A quick three hour listen but it was a challenging one for me.

The full cast and surround sounds made for an immersive listen that is going to haunt me for a long time.

I'm finishing up two: The Sanctuary Sparrow and The Woman in White.

Interested to hear how you enjoy The Woman in White. How is the narrator?

I'm new to this group... I'm currently listening to the Talon series, Book #3 -Soldier by Julie Kagawa. I've listened to this series before. It's very well done vocally, and the story is quite fun!

I just finishedThe Longmire Defense. 19 in one of my current favorite series. I'm just starting Heartwood and I'm already intrigued.

Hey, April!

I have some series that I can re-listen after a few years, not remembering the resolution so it's like new again.

John wrote: "Hey, April!

I have some series that I can re-listen after a few years, not remembering the resolution so it's like new again."

Me too, John! I like re-listening to favorites!

Starting the month off with Welcome to Murder Week by,Karen Dukess narrated by, Carlotta Brentan

I am beginning the second half of the year with a book that has been on "Mt. To Be Read" for about a decade, Hyperion by Dan Simmons. It won the Hugo and Locus awards for best science fiction in 1990. I have always heard good things about this series (The Hyperion Cantos) and I have had it in my Audible library for at least 8 years, unread.

i finished up The Virgin in the Ice yesterday - had to push for it because my library killed their hoopla contract so i wasn't going to be able to renew it - i used to like this series, but its feeling a bit ehhh now

also listening to The God of the Woods; as well as Random in Death and The Forgotten Names

Doug wrote: "I am beginning the second half of the year with a book that has been on "Mt. To Be Read" for about a decade, Hyperion by Dan Simmons. It won the Hugo and Locus awards for best science ..."

Good luck! I feel this one also passed me by somehow, I look forward to learning what you made of it.

Welcome to the group, April!

I am in the middle of The Waringham Chronicles, Volume 1: The Runaway by Rebecca Gablé. The MC is likable, and although parts of book include a narrator, much of it is read by a full cast. I've tried a few of those before and didn't like them, but this one is working for me.

Who recently brought up the topic of full cast recordings? Was it Michelle? To be honest, I didn't realize this one was such a one until I began it. LOL

Hey all, I'm new here. I just finished Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West yesterday and thought the audiobook was fantastic.

More specifically I listened on Spotify, as its included in premium for free. Loved the narrator and thought the pacing was excellent for the audiobook medium. Highly recommend!

Welcome to the group, Seth! Blood Meridian is too dark for me, but I did just follow a fun podcast on Spotify called "The Sleepy Bookshelf" which uses classic audiobooks to help you fall asleep. Genius!

I just finished House Corrino by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. I really enjoyed it, and I think the narrator did a good job as well. Before that was Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler, and I was underwhelmed. I know it won a Pulitzer, but meh.

Misty wrote: "I just finished House Corrino by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. I really enjoyed it, and I think the narrator did a good job as well. "

Good choice, I finished that one June 24. I really enjoyed it too, what did you think of the other two books in that Dune prequel series? Scott Brick, either people like him or they don't. I happen to like him.

I'm currently finishing Middlegame by Seanan McGuire. I love it! Narrated by Amber Benson.

Doug wrote: "Good choice, I finished that one June 24. I really enjoyed it too, what did you think of the other two books in that Dune prequel series? Scott Brick, either people like him or they don't. I happen to like him."

I actually had it confused and did not realize it was book 3 in the series until I already started it. I don't normally like reading books out of order, but I did this time. I was already quite a bit into the book when I realized it. I would like to go back and read the other two though.

Happiness Falls was a wonderful book.

I didn't care for The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. The narrator had a Russian accent which was sometimes hard to decipher. The book itself was quite drawn out, with too much detail on technical points. And I was bothered by the extreme libertarianism presented as ideal.

Finished John Adams by David McCullough. Another five star listen.

Now listening to The Fellowship of the Ring narrated by Andy Serkis

While traveling I listened to a couple of audios:
The Risen by Ron Rash. Somewhat short, decent story about two brothers and a summer of love, but looking back. The girl's remains have appeared, they were buried in the woods some decades ago.

Got through most of Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao and finished this week. It's outside my typical fare, but I enjoyed it. I'd say this was fantasy, as it depicts another world but it interacts with our regular world through a pawn shop. The book was a quest-type book.

Robin P wrote: "I didn't care for The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. The narrator had a Russian accent which was sometimes hard to decipher. The book itself was quite drawn out, with too much detail on tec..."

but considering when it was written in hte 1960's and considering the geopolitics of the era - its not hard to see why

i just finished The God of the Woods - I read some reviews that said the ending took people by surprise - but for me i kind of figured it out - not saying it was bad or obvious - but her previous book did a similar reveal (and i enjoyed that, although i haven't had a chance to watch the mini-series yet)

Starting the final book in the Stillhouse Lake series Darkwater Lane: Stillhouse Lake, Book 7 by, Rachel Caine & Carrie Ryan narrated by, Emily Sutton-Smith

Forgot to add I'm now listening to Wildfire Days: A Woman, a Hotshot Crew, and the Burning American West by Kelly Ramsey, along with another long book that I'm mostly not listening to.

This year I have on deck or already read several books about fighting forest fires. Seems to be my theme for the year, although not purposefully. 🔥

I finished Say You'll Remember Me. I enjoyed it a lot. My review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I have started The Busybody Book Club. It is another quick and easy read so far. I made it 30% through today.

Dee wrote: "i just finished The God of the Woods - I read some reviews that said the ending took people by surprise - but for me i kind of figured it out - not saying it was bad or obvious - b..."

My library book group just discussed that Thursday, and I think Friday was the first day we heard of the terrible flood at a girls' camp in Texas. It seemed so immediate after reading about a girls' camp. I found the book just ok, I usually find thrillers too contrived. And even in the 1970's, I'm sure there was no camp that sent kids as young as 8 into the woods with inadequate supplies and expected them to kill and dress animals for food!

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 for the uplifting and heartwarming One More Day of Us by Shari Low https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Pamela wrote: "Forgot to add I'm now listening to Wildfire Days: A Woman, a Hotshot Crew, and the Burning American West by Kelly Ramsey, along with another long book that I'm mostly not listening..."

I was just in Northern California and saw the devastation caused by the 2021 Dixie Fire around Lassen Volcanic National Park. I just can't imagine being a wilderness fire fighter. Also saw a fire off in the distance while in between Zion and Bryce National Parks.

I've been on the road the last few weeks and it's been slow going on the listening front. There's either been so much to see or I'm completely exhausted by the end of the day.

We have been listening to the GuideAlong tours of the National Parks and they are well worth the price. (I'm bragging that we've been to nine national parks this summer.)

In between we've been listening to The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post and have about 4 hours left. It's historical fiction, but seems to follow her life fairly accurately.

At night I've been listening to Burner by Mark Greaney. It's been slow going after driving and/or hiking around all day.

Robin P wrote: "Dee wrote: "i just finished The God of the Woods - I read some reviews that said the ending took people by surprise - but for me i kind of figured it out - not saying it was bad or..."

i always figured it wasn't a traditional camp - since it was driven by rich family - I also have to wonder (view spoiler)[with the twist - how much of it was contrived to support plan for barbara to escape, since that wasn't a spur of the moment thing - vs. what they did every summer (hide spoiler)]

but a bit of research i did, showed this idea of summer camps in the 1920's through 1970's and the concept of primitive living to "overcome the ills of contemporary society" - i can see this camp falling into that spectrum

Dee wrote: "Robin P wrote: "Dee wrote: "i just finished The God of the Woods - I read some reviews that said the ending took people by surprise - but for me i kind of figured it out - not sayi..."

Good point about the spoiler, I never thought of that!

Mary wrote: "Finished 1984 by George Orwell.

A quick three hour listen but it was a challenging one for me.

The full cast and surround sounds made for an immersive listen that ..."

Brilliant book. I did a relisten a few months back. A lot of parallels to what is going on now. And after having read "Capital in The 21st Century", no much we can do about it.

The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness Jonathan Haidt

Johnathan Haidt's NYT bestseller lives up to the hype. Easy 4 stars. And he doesn't read it himself which is a plus. I listened at 1..25 and it was about right. This is a must read for those with children. We are literally rewiring the brains of our children by moving them from a play based childhood to what can be a very harsh phone based childhood.

The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook Matt Dinniman

High anxiety? Read "1984" lately and feeling the parallels? Or maybe you indulged in Sinclair Lewis who wrote a book about it can't happen here. Or you watched the news and need to get away.

Dungeon Crawler Carl is the perfect series. I just finished book 3 which is a whole lot like the prior 2. For some reason it didn't get old.

Aliens squished the earth and left a multilevel world below using the materials of our prior world. Those that survived found the stairways down to become dungeon crawlers. It a game of survivor unlike anything Jeff Probst ever conceived of. Sound cheesy? Yeah but this new to me genre (LitRPG) works for lifting you right out of your funk. And it stars a cat.

Hi, I'm a newbie as of today.
I just finished a great audible listen. " A Cold and Hearless Lullaby" It has a full cast of characters that makes the experience immersive. It has great sound effects as well as narratives. And a very surprising ending.
The story is about a man that has put his daughter in a medical pod until she can conquer her disease. He has his "soul" put into a metal robotic so he can still be alive when his child gets well. About a hundred years before an apocalypse and another 50, after. It's told thru flashbacks. I'll say no more. 5 stars

Donna wrote: "Hi, I'm a newbie as of today.
I just finished a great audible listen. " A Cold and Hearless Lullaby" It has a full cast of characters that makes the experience immersive. It has great sound effect..."

Welcome, Donna! Feel free to post in any of our threads - and be ready to add lots of books to your "To Be Listened" list!

Bill (Just a) wrote: "The Dungeon Anarchist's CookbookMatt Dinniman

High anxiety? Read "1984" lately and feeling the parallels? Or ma..."

i've never read or listened to this - but all the audiobook threads on reddit recommend it (almost obnoxiously)...

I finished up The Forgotten Names the other day - yet another WW2 event that I hadn't heard much about - the rescuing of children before deportation in France. Many of them were "lost" because all the paperwork with their real names was destroyed to protect them. Its based around the work done by Valerie Portheret (that starts as part of her dissertation in the 1990's) - of the 108 children rescued - she's had identified 90 of them - but i believe they've all been identified now - https://www.xoeditions.com/en/auteurs...

audiobook was a review from NetGalley - review to follow.

I started Detective Aunty, Cold Iron Task and Wish You Weren't Here

I finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, so good. Just started Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I have only read a quarter of the book, and like it.

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill was a unique read.

thank you for the welcome, Robin P.
How do you comment directly to someone like you did me?

Donna wrote: "thank you for the welcome, Robin P.
How do you comment directly to someone like you did me?"

Under the message, in small print in green, there should be an option for "reply".

I'm glad you asked. I knew nothing about the site when I started here. It took me a year or two to even understand how to use the add book/author! I am still often surprised to learn about features on here that I was unaware of.

I was underwhelmed by the YA thriller The Thrashers by Julie Soto. I read it for a Kindle Challenge, immersion read. It was only ok, not really great.

Now I am reading Blue Labyrinth (Pendergast #14) by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I like this series quite a bit, it started slow but the characters build as the series goes on and it became pretty good. It must be entertaining to me or I wouldn't be on book 14. Narrated by Odo from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (René Auberjonois).

While traveling this weekend I read The Family Gathering. I really enjoyed the story and the variety of chacters.

I have had two back-to-back bummers. I listened to Bellefleur by Joyce Carol Oates, and I did not enjoy the book, and the narrator was horrible. It was almost a DNF for me for practically the whole book. I'm not sure why I finished it. Yesterday, I finished City of Night Birds by Juhea Kim, and it was better, but not by much. The characters were one dimensional. They story was blah, and the narrator wasn't really very good either. Boo.

i finished up Detective Aunty on the commute into work - I like her romances, but this one leaned more mystery and just left me ehh...it felt like there was a ton of backstory I was missing but its marked as first in a series