What Are You Listening to Now? Part 16

Den här diskussionen är en fortsättning på: What Are You Listening to Now? Part 15

Den här diskussionen fortsatte här: What Are You Listening to Now? Part 17

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What Are You Listening to Now? Part 16

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1Storeetllr
feb 24, 2014, 8:19 pm

Wow! We were up to 341 posts in thread # 15, so I thought it was about time to start a new one. Hope that's okay with everyone.

I'm between audiobooks just now, but I recently finished The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland, which started slow but ended up really good. I wasn't thrilled with the author reading it, though.

2NarratorLady
feb 24, 2014, 10:49 pm

Thanks for this!

3Storeetllr
feb 25, 2014, 7:14 pm

Welcome! It was loading pretty slowly, so...

4CDVicarage
feb 26, 2014, 5:30 am

I'm loving The Last Chronicle of Barset. It's a re-read but I read it in print the first time and Timothy West's dulcet tone is bringing out so much that I missed before. The fact that I have 30 hours of listening is not at all daunting - certainly not as daunting as hundreds of pages of small print was the first time!

5Peace2
feb 26, 2014, 7:24 am

Has anyone listened to/read The Humans by Matt Haig? When I started it seemed promising, but three discs in, I'm losing interest fast. I don't want to miss out on something good by giving up too soon as I'm not sure this might not just be to do with my current mood.

6sebago
feb 26, 2014, 1:31 pm

Listening to Catching Fire - hope to rent the movie this weekend, love the books so far. (I know, I am a bit behind everyone else in listening/reading these lol) :)

7susiesharp
feb 26, 2014, 2:52 pm

Finished Guests on Earth: A Novel by Lee Smith narrated by, Emily Woo Zeller it was an ok book I'd rate about 3 stars.

Now starting The Book of Obeah
by Sandra Carrington-Smith narrated by, Dave Fennoy... Oh my this man has quite a Voice! Dave Fennoy's voice is like a cross between Barry White & Dion Graham! I like it !! This one I am listening to for the ArmchairAudies it is nominated in the Thriller/Suspense category.

8ktleyed
feb 26, 2014, 6:35 pm

I finished on audio Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris narrated by Johanna Parker and am now beginning, on audio, Mackenzie's Magic by Linda Howard, narrated by Dennis Boutsikaris.

9aviddiva
Redigerat: feb 26, 2014, 9:36 pm

Finished Code Name Verity It was excellent. I want to listen to her new one, Rose Under Fire, but I need to take a break from Nazi atrocities, so I'm listening to Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson. Quite good fantasy so far.

10sandragon
Redigerat: feb 27, 2014, 12:42 am

I'm in the middle of three audios. On my own, I've started Ready Player One read by Wil Wheaton. With my 13yo, I'm listening to A Hat Full of Sky read by Stephen Briggs. With my 9yo, I'm listening to Magyk read by Allan Corduner. Not sure about Ready Player One yet, but loving the other two.

11susiesharp
feb 27, 2014, 9:14 am

I just finished Audie nominated in Thriller/Suspense The Book of Obeah by Sandra Carrington-Smith narrated by Dave Fennoy the narration made this book Dave Fennoy has this voice it’s the voice of every scary Voodoo witch doctor that’s ever been heard or read he was perfect for this book. His voice is a cross between Barry White & Dion Graham and I really liked it and was very surprised to find out this was his only audiobook on audible so did some digging and found out he is a voice over actor and has some impressive credits to his name in commercials, animations, games and documentaries. But I hope he does more audiobooks especially the second one in this series I would listen to more!

Haven't decided what to start next.

12Peace2
feb 27, 2014, 3:20 pm

Finished The Humans by Matt Haig with relief - overall I was disappointed by it. It had some good lines but I'm not sure whether it's my frame of mind at the moment but it didn't really work for me.

Today I remembered that I started listening to The Language of Bees by Laurie R King in the car but as I've not really been in the car in the last week it's been sitting there, unlistened to! I was only 1 disc in - it's now going to be a bit of a rush to listen to it all before it has to be returned to the library. I might pop in either tomorrow or Saturday to renew it - I'm only going to need a few extra days I think.

13mabith
mar 2, 2014, 9:04 pm

Just starting A Wrinkle in Time for the first time! Well, I picked it up when I was eight or so, but was just too young to enjoy reading it on my own, so I put it down. When we have time travel I'll have a revised list of chapter books for my parents to read to me.

14ktleyed
Redigerat: mar 3, 2014, 1:36 pm

I finished Mackenzie's Magic by Linda Howard, a short novella and now I'm reading The Falcon at the Portal by Elizabeth Peters, narrated by Barbara Rosenblat.

15Peace2
mar 6, 2014, 12:35 pm

I finished Dan Brown's Angels and Demons yesterday and Laurie R. King's The Language of Bees earlier today. Angels and Demons surprised me - I liked it more than I expected to. My last attempt to read The Da Vinci Code had failed as it didn't engage me enough, but listening to this was fine. The Language of Bees was an interesting take on the Sherlock Holmes idea from the point of view of Mary Russell - again I enjoyed it enough to finish it - now I have to make a decision whether to look out for the next part as it wasn't a complete story - which wasn't something I'd been expecting. I'll have to see whether the next one is available through the library when I return these two.

I've just started Octopussy and the Living Daylights by Ian Fleming, read by Tom Hiddleston - I'm about halfway through the first disc and well, I'm enjoying listening to Tom Hiddleston's voice, too early to say too much about the story.

16mabith
mar 6, 2014, 1:39 pm

I just finished a wonderful old recording of The 13 Clocks by James Thurber, read by Lauren Bacall. She was so perfect, and would have been a great reader for a lot of children's lit. I'm wondering now if she did other things as well or if this was a one off.

Now I'm halfway through A Wrinkle in Time and generally enjoying the narration by L'Engle herself. If she'd had a bit more instruction in stage yelling it would be perfect.

17Tanya-dogearedcopy
mar 6, 2014, 9:50 pm

> 15 Way back when The DaVinci Code was first published, a friend of mine gave me a copy thinking that I would love it as it had to do with an interest of mine: My Master's thesis was on Non-Christian Antecedents of Marian Iconography. Instead, of loving it though, I absolutely hated it for its egregious inaccuracies and I won't even consider reading another Dan Brown novel. That said, I won't lie and say that he is a terrible writer: I was turning the pages fast and furiously to see how the story would pan out!

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine hosted the Simon Vance Shaken Not Stirred Audiobook Challenge: Every month, a few of us would listen to the James Bond novels (narrated by Simon Vance here in the US) and then do a live tweet discussion of the book and watch the corresponding movie! Even though every novel seems to uncannily have at least one outrageously politically incorrect passage in it, they were still enormous amounts of fun! One of the things that I liked about the books was that James Bond and his friends were not immune to the vicissitudes of their trade - a far cry from the Hollywood versions. While not LeCarre, I still found them an interesting reflection of the times in which they were written. I saw the AudioGO UK editions narrated by the various readers; but unfortunately, they are not sold on the US market. Sigh :-/

18Peace2
mar 6, 2014, 10:15 pm

> 17 I enjoyed Angels and Demons a lot more once I stopped worrying about reality and just read it as a bit of 'fun'. If I spent too much time thinking about the actual possibilities or about the actual writing, then I got more concerned with the quality of it.

I was lucky with getting Tom Hiddleston's AudioGo of Bond. Many of them aren't readily available even in the UK and this one was proving particularly difficult. They can be downloaded from Audible but I wanted to have an actual CD copy. The CDs were going for astronomical prices on Amazon uk (generally in the region of £100 but the current listing for a USED copy on Amazon is £1,339.08 to give some idea!!!) but somehow I got lucky and one copy was listed as being about £15 so I snaffled it up straight away - didn't dare risk someone else getting it and the prices shooting back up out of reach again. I may need to listen to this again to really focus on the story as first time around I've just been distracted by TH's voice without paying enough attention to what he was actually saying! Ooops.

19Nickelini
mar 6, 2014, 10:35 pm

Way back when The DaVinci Code was first published, a friend of mine gave me a copy thinking that I would love it as it had to do with an interest of mine: My Master's thesis was on Non-Christian Antecedents of Marian Iconography. Instead, of loving it though, I absolutely hated it for its egregious inaccuracies and I won't even consider reading another Dan Brown novel. That said, I won't lie and say that he is a terrible writer: I was turning the pages fast and furiously to see how the story would pan out!

I had a similar experience--in my case I had enough knowledge of the Bible to go, uhm, yeah, that's a weird take on that . . . but what he said about art history, which was something I'd just studied, whoa . . .

Also, didn't he get the date of the Dead Sea Scrolls wrong? Pretty easy to check that one, don't know why they didn't.

20Nickelini
mar 6, 2014, 10:36 pm

Oh, and I'm listening to Fingersmith, which is so good so far. Recently finished Beauty: a Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast. Both of these have had very good readers.

21Copperskye
mar 6, 2014, 10:48 pm

I'm having a great time listening to Ann Patchett read her book of essays, This is the Story of a Happy Marriage.

22sebago
mar 7, 2014, 10:20 am

I am halfway through Follow The River - very good! I read the book ages ago, but there is nothing like being read to, is there? :)

23mabith
mar 7, 2014, 8:38 pm

Just started The Martian by Andy Weir and Same Sun Here, which is beautifully read by the authors (although Silas House does not (or is not able to) really read in a way that fits the characters age).

24Tanya-dogearedcopy
Redigerat: mar 7, 2014, 9:25 pm

I listened to Same Sun here last year for the Armchair Audies (judging the Children's Titles (ages 8-12)) and I absolutely agree with you in that Silas House does not sound like a boy! Usually my daughter doesn't really care that many child-aged characters are voiced by adults, but even she noticed on this one!

I think it ended up winning a real Audie though! Go figure...

25sebago
mar 10, 2014, 2:23 pm

I watched Catching Fire last weekend.. after listening to the audio. It felt like I was watching a Readers Digest condensed version of the book. So much was left out. On this morning's commute I started Mocking Jay. I have truly enjoyed listening to this series much more than reading it. That happens with some books I guess.

26Peace2
mar 10, 2014, 2:44 pm

As of yesterday, I've now finished The God of the Hive by Laurie R. King narrated by Jenny Stirlin - a good rounding out of the story begun in The Language of Bees. I then listened to Warship : Blakes 7 by Peter Anghelides which was an audio dramatisation and written as such rather than as a book originally.

Today I've started The Prestige by Christopher Priest narrated by Simon Vance. I think this might be the first time I've listened to Mr Vance but I've seen his name mentioned frequently and in very positive terms.

27mabith
mar 10, 2014, 3:12 pm

>24 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I definitely don't mind adults or older adults reading children's books, but yeah. There are changes in rhythm or tone that would have given his narration a more child-like feel. Actually, the writing for his side feels a little too mature most of the time, which is probably part of it. I am really enjoying it though (especially as a West Virginian since YES more awareness of mountaintop removal!).

Not quite halfway through The Martian and really enjoying it. There was one part which was difficult as audio, and they could have really benefited by employing two narrators (one for the 1st person sections and another for the third person).

28Tanya-dogearedcopy
Redigerat: mar 22, 2014, 1:01 am

February was not a very good reading/listening month for me: A total of nine books, four of which were audio. Hopefully, this month I'll be able to get back on track a little bit!

Anyway, the four audiobooks I listened to were:

* Solar (by Ian McEwan; narrated by Roger Allam) - see review below - Grade B+;

* Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter series, Book #2; by J.K. Rowling; narrated by Jim Dale) - Harry and his friends return for another year at Hogwart's where a new teacher and several instances of people being petrified jeopardize the school's future and, perhaps their lives. I'm not ever going to be completely sold on Jim Dale, but since I can't legally get the Stephen Frye narrations, Jim Dale will have to do! Grade: C+;

* The Hard Thing About Hard Things (by Ben Horowitz; narrated by Kevin Kenerly) - Entrepreneurial guide which explains that there is no "secret" to success, just a combination of luck, skill, talent and ambition. I always think business books are going to be boring, but then, after I've read/listened to one, I'm all like "I want to rule the world!" - Grade B

* Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods (The Underland Chronicles, Book #3; by Suzanne Collins; narrated by Paul Boehmer) - Gregor returns to the underground beneath NYC to fulfill The Prophecy of Blood. The purple-eyed humans, outsized bats and giants rats are all hit with a hideous plague. Gregor sets out on a quest to collect a plant that may prove to be the cure. This installment in The Underland Chronicles introduces the deception of politics and graphic descriptions of plague-ridden victims, resulting in a darker world (no pun intended) that conveys the horror of the crises and the imperative of Gregor's mission. While Paul Boehmer's narration in the first two titles in this series was a bit over the top, he seems to have settled down into his role as the voice of Suzanne Collins' fantastic world. His voice of the toddler, Boots has always been effective, rendering some humor from the mouth of an innocent. - Grade: B-

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO:

Stunner: A Ronnie Lake Mystery (by Niki Danforth; narrated by Judith West)
Gregor and the Mark of Secrets (The Underland Chronicles, Book #1; by Suzanne Collins; narrated by Paul Boehmer)
My Korean Deli (by Ben Ryder Howe; narrated by Bronson Pinchot)

**********

Solar
by Ian McEwan
narrated by Roger Allam
(P) 2010, Recorded Books
11 hours, 50 minutes
(includes interview between the author and his editor)

This isn’t so much a review as it is a witness testimony, not like on a court stand, but more like what you might see and hear at a religious revival! I admit that, in the past , I have committed the literary sin of not “getting” Ian McEwan. I read On Chesil Beach and Saturday with due diligence and lit-fic sobriety. In doing so, I was underwhelmed by the prose and declared McEwan “overrated” in rendering the psychological thriller to nothing more than a Tale of Anxiety (and at that, of a white older male anxiety!)

Then, I saw the light. Someone here on LT (wookiebender) mentioned that they had heard Ian McEwan read an excerpt from On Chesil Beach out loud with comic flair! And that the audience was not only enthralled, but laughing along with him! Hmmm, perhaps if I hadn’t dismissed my own sense of humour and replaced it with self-righteous literary pretensions, I might have enjoyed On Chesil Beach, and come to think of it, Saturday more than I had. With that in mind, I picked up Solar which I had heard was supposed to be pretty funny. Admittedly, I had also heard that this was not McEwan’s best and, as a validation of that opinion, it was not nominated for a ManBooker award. So it kind of figures, considering the high rate of ironic incidences in my life, that the McEwan that no one seems to like is the one that I absolutely adore!

The story features Michael Beard, a Nobel laureate who, when we meet him in his early fifties, is wallowing around in the collapse of his fifth marriage, a deteriorating body, and work in physics that is neither intellectually stimulating nor rewarding. The whole of Solar takes place over the course of about ten years (1999-2009) in which we watch Michael Beard muck his way around and through relationships, work and his health, always holding onto the promise of the next chapter in his life. It would be very easy to attach a lot of symbolic import to various artifices in the novel; but after listening to the interview of the author with his editor, you realize that, in doing so, you would be projecting too much into the novel. It is what it is and; what it is is a very honest portrayal of a man with all the absurdist elements that that may imply. Perhaps those who don’t like this novel don’t want to acknowledge that Michael Beard is very much an Everyman and, by default themselves; but I found common cause with the character for being flawed. Rather than finding Michael Beard an unlikable character, I was morbidly fascinated with his ability to have gotten as far as he had. I often found myself cheering for Michael even while admitting that he brought on most of his problems himself.

Roger Allam is a British narrator who delivered Ian McEwan’s novel flawlessly. The production uses British pronunciations, which may sound awkward to American ears, but it does not interfere with the understanding or enjoyment of the story. Allam reads the book “straight,” without comic intonations and also without dropping into the deadly neutral zone :-)

I loved Solar and I can’t wait to read McEwan’s next novel!

29mabith
mar 11, 2014, 9:28 am

Re: Harry Potter narration, I've heard some of Stephen Fry's and for me it really wasn't any better. He gets so manic in his reading. It was an earlier book, so maybe that gets better as the books go on and the kids get older, but it left me gobsmacked as to why he was chosen (okay, national icon, that's why).

30mabith
mar 14, 2014, 2:07 pm

Nearly finished with Dave Gorman Vs The Rest of the World, which has been generally fun, and Pippi Longstocking, which is very well-read by Esther Benson.

31susiesharp
mar 14, 2014, 6:01 pm

Finished The Ghost Writer by John Harwood narrated by, Simon Vance this one was just ok even Simon couldn't save it from its dragginess.

Now starting Savage Girl by Jean Zimmerman narrated by Edoardo Ballerini the funny thing is I had gotten an early review copy of this book and started it and realized I was reading it Edoardo's voice so I took to twitter to tell the publisher he should narrate it and then Edoardo told me he had just finished and it would be a same day release so I put aside my early review copy to wait for the audio to be released!

32Peace2
mar 15, 2014, 8:23 pm

I finished The Prestige earlier today - I can't say it's my favorite of the year so far. I'm now starting on Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch read by Dave John.

33mabith
mar 15, 2014, 8:28 pm

I'm nearly done with Persian Fire, which is interesting and well-read, but I enjoyed the author's Rubicon so much more.

Also just getting started on The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio by Lloyd Alexander.

34mabith
mar 18, 2014, 11:47 am

Still working on The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio, but it's my slow kitchen book. For my regular book I started Two Boys Kissing, which is read well by the author, only I think it probably works better as a print read.

35sandragon
mar 18, 2014, 1:06 pm

I've finished Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie. I like the reader, Robin Bailey, but thought the story was just meh.

Now listening to A Cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenow. First in a series, and my first Stabenow. So far, so good.

36Peace2
mar 18, 2014, 6:04 pm

I'm still listening to Jamrach's Menagerie in the car (trying to drown out the sound of the ominous rattle!) but also have The Da Vinci Code on the go in the house for when I'm cleaning etc. Will probably finish DVC by the end of the week, but expect Jamrach's to take a little longer, although will probably transfer it between house and car once DVC is done. Good thing about both titles is they match actual tree books on Mount TBR so these will be able to go too :D (I seriously need some shelf space!)

37mabith
mar 20, 2014, 6:11 pm

Currently listening to Brother, I'm Dying a family memoir by Edwidge Danticat, read very well by Robin Miles.

38Peace2
mar 20, 2014, 10:08 pm

I finished The Da Vinci Code today. Next up is The Cat Who Came To Breakfast by Lilian Jackson Braun - I'm curious as I don't know anything about this at all.

Tomorrow is my 'visit the library day' to take back the two I've finished TDVC and The Prestige that I finished at the beginning of the week, so I wonder what they've got in for me to try next...

39mabith
mar 21, 2014, 6:07 pm

I've just started The Canterbury Tales, a Burton Raffel translation, read by multiple people.

40aviddiva
mar 21, 2014, 10:08 pm

I'm listening to The Forgotten Garden, read beautifully by Caroline Lee. It jumps around in time quite a bit, and I find I'm not always sure what year it is if I let my attention wander, but I'm enjoying it.

41ktleyed
mar 22, 2014, 5:28 pm

42Storeetllr
mar 22, 2014, 5:33 pm

Third time's the charm, apparently. I'm listening to Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and really enjoying it after trying twice before without being able to get more than one CD in.

43susiesharp
mar 24, 2014, 6:25 pm

Finished Savage Girl by Jean Zimmerman narrated by, Edoardo Ballerini it was good narration was fabulous still trying to write my review without spoilers.

Now listening to Missing You by, Harlan Coben narrated by, January LaVoy it's really good, hard to stop listening wishing people would go away so I can keep listening,it grabbed me immediately!

44sandragon
mar 24, 2014, 8:08 pm

42 - storeetllr, I also gave up on Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie less than one disc in. Now you have me thinking I should maybe give it a couple more chances as well. I've heard many people talk well of it and it's a series I want to like.

45sandragon
mar 24, 2014, 8:12 pm

A Cold Day for Murder was another meh audiobook for me. It was a ho hum mystery and the reader kept pausing in odd places within sentences. Now listening to Caleb's Crossing which is keeping me absorbed.

46Tanya-dogearedcopy
Redigerat: mar 24, 2014, 8:56 pm

> 45 I know exactly what you mean about A Cold Day for Murder ! Last year, I listened to it as part of a mini-challenge (4 audios set in snowy climes) and, not only do I remember little if any of the actual story; but I was less than impressed by the awkwardness of the narration. I had the commercial/retail version from Brilliance narrated by Marguerite Gavin and gave the whole thing 2 stars (meaning I finished it; but I won't be going back for any more in the series.)

47sandragon
mar 24, 2014, 9:00 pm

46 - I'm glad it's not just me. This was the same narrator, Marguerite Gavin. But I gave it three stars because I found the parts about life in a small Alaskan community interesting. If I do pick up the next in the series, it'll be for that reason.

48mabith
mar 24, 2014, 10:22 pm

Still listening to The Canterbury Tales it's a great audio edition (of the Burton Raffel translation), really good readers.

Also started The Ghosts of Ashbury High, with very good readers so far. Multicast but since it's done as letters and exam answers it doesn't have multiple readers in conversation, just one at a time.

49Storeetllr
mar 25, 2014, 2:24 am

>44 sandragon: Hah, so I'm not the only one who had trouble with Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie! (For awhile, I thought there must be something wrong with me. :) I don't often give up completely on books, though, because it's happened that way a few times for me ~ I try a couple of times and don't care for it, then a few months (or years) later I try again, something clicks, and it turns out to be a favorite. Weird.

50Tanya-dogearedcopy
mar 25, 2014, 11:40 am

I think I mentioned it another time/thread that I originally listened to The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie as narrated by Jayne Entwistle (so forgive me if I'm repeating myself!) Even though the narrator was absolutely perfect for the book, precocious and quintessentially becoming Flavia, it was also the same exact reason I haven't been able to pickup any more books in the series! I found Flavia so annoying and I just cannot get her voice out of my head even all these years later and trying to read the next book in print!

51Storeetllr
mar 25, 2014, 3:05 pm

Yes, the first time I tried Sweetness, I also found it annoying, both on audio and in print. For some reason, this time I didn't. Go figure.

52Peace2
mar 26, 2014, 1:32 pm

Has anyone listened to The Song Before It Is Sung by Justin Cartwright? I'm shelving the listen-to for the minute as I really wasn't engaging with it, so I guess I was just wondering if anyone else could advise me as to whether it is worth persevering with before I trek back down to the library to return it.

Instead I'm trying The Rook by Daniel O'Malley, then it will be back to The Cat Who Came To Breakfast and hopefully I'll get to finish Jamrach's Menagerie soon.

I finished Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories more or less a couple of days ago, I got bored during the final story and so skipped most of that one. It was a strange collection - I enjoyed some of the stories but didn't like others. It took me a while to get passed it being Derek Jacobi reading and really focus on the stories, I've not really had that difficulty before.

53aviddiva
mar 26, 2014, 6:45 pm

Let us know what you think about The Rook I quite enjoyed the story, but found the narrator irritating.

54susiesharp
mar 27, 2014, 2:21 pm

Finished Missing You by, Harlan Coben narrated by, January LaVoy I loved it it was hard to stop listening and even sat in my garage for awhile because I didn't want to stop listening!

Now starting He's Gone by Deb Caletti narrated by Cassandra Campbell for the Armchair Audies

55ktleyed
mar 28, 2014, 7:49 pm

I finished Kiss An Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips narrated by Anna Fields and now I'm listening to Why Kings Confess by C.S. Harris, narrated by Davina Porter.

56Peace2
mar 29, 2014, 1:17 pm

>53 aviddiva: I'm about halfway through The Rook now and am enjoying the story tremendously and not having a problem with the narrator (thankfully) - it's always such a disappointment when a narrator doesn't work for you as listener. I'm wondering how long the series will be when finished (and how long we will have to wait for sequels!)

57alans
apr 1, 2014, 2:44 pm

I'm listening to Better Nate Than Ever my first YA novel. The narrator is the author of the work
Tim Federle and he does a great job telling the story. This is about a 14 year old boy who runs away from home to go to New York to audition for the musical ET. It's full of fun asides about New York theatre and the city itself.

58mabith
apr 1, 2014, 3:33 pm

59Peace2
apr 5, 2014, 6:43 am

Finished and enjoyed The Rook by Daniel O'Malley on Thursday and am now listening to Labyrinth by Kate Mosse for a change!

60Tanya-dogearedcopy
Redigerat: apr 29, 2014, 12:42 pm

Many years ago, I worked as a light board operator for an Improve Comedy Club (WDC.) Before then, I really loved standup comedians, but after having worked backstage and having seen what many comics are like, I've been off of them (and sit-coms) for awhile. "Sordid" doesn't even begin to cover much of what I saw and heard. Anyway, that said, I was willing to listen to the Audies' finalists in the humor category (for The Armchair Audies) because, seriously, you would think I would be over it by now and; I'm more than open to being made to laugh. Ugh. I fell like the prince in that fairy tale wherein he doesn't laugh, but jesters from all over the known world are being brought in to see if any can get the prince to even crack a smile!

Last week, I had wrapped up The Stench of Honolulu: A Tropical Adventure (written and narrated by Jack Handey) which garnered no laughs from me. Not at all. I couldn't wait for it to be done. Yes, even though I didn't like it, I listened all the way through just to make sure I didn't miss anything. Now I'm listening to Someone Could Get Hurt: A Memoir of Twenty-First-Century Parenthood (written and narrated by Drew Magary.) "Bleh" on this one too. I think there are two kinds of parents: one type revolves around the child/-ren and the other revolves around the self. Guess which one Drew Magary is? In all fairness, there are tiny glimmers of unselfishness that may be grounds for giving him the benefit of the doubt; but then he goes and blows it with hostile diatribes. I'm not finding this funny either, but it is better than Handey's book.

So, so far:
04. Someone Could Get Hurt: A Memoir of twenty-First-Century Parenthood
05. The Stench of Honolulu

I have Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls (written and narrated by David Sedaris), Still Foolin' 'Em: Where I've Been, Where I'm Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys? (written and narrated by Billy Crystal) and How I Slept My Way to the Middle: Secrets and Stories from Stage, Screen, and Interwebs (by Kevin Pollack and Alan Goldsher; narrated by Kevin Pollack) to chose from next.

61Tanya-dogearedcopy
Redigerat: apr 8, 2014, 1:33 pm

The Joe Ledger series combines military fiction and speculative fiction bordering on horror. Listeners can expect a lot of ordnance, martial arts and all sorts of monsters, all set within a context of fighting a world threat. It’s a lot of “hoo-rah” action, somewhat tempered by Joe’s introspection and flaws. Maberry divides Joe’s personality into three parts: The Civilized Man, The Cop and, The Warrior and; for the missions that Joe and the Echo Team are assigned, it is essential that the Warrior become the dominant aspect. As The Warrior is called upon time and again to go forward and The Civilized Man and The Cop are put on the back burners, the core - maybe even the soul - of Joe is being chipped away at. I think every boy blogger on the planet will rave about the high octane thrills to be had in any given installment of the series and in the series as a whole; but oddly, while many talk about the action hero, I think we’re actually seeing the fracturing of a man from the inside out; and this is what I think sets Joe Ledger apart from and above many mil-fic stories. Added to this, Ray Porter is quintessentially Joe Ledger and definitely makes these stories live and breath.

Material Witness (Joe Ledger series, Book #1.2)
2011, Blackstone Audio, Inc.; 1.3 hours
"Material Witness" takes place early in Joe Ledger’s career, but after the first-in-series, Patient Zero. The Echo Team of the DMS (an elite and secret military arm of the US) is sent in to secure an author who has become a security risk. Joe and his comrades-in-arms find themselves in Deep Pines, the setting for Maberry’s YA Rot & Ruin series, encountering strange allies and long odds against…

Deep, Dark (Joe Ledger series, Book #1.3)
2011, Blackstone Audio, Inc.; 0.8 hour
In “Deep, Dark,” Joe and his unit are sent to Colorado to an underground lab facility to eradicate a terrorist infiltration; but to say that things are not what they would seem would be something of an understatement!

The Dragon Factory (Joe Ledger series, Book #2)
2011, Blackstone Audio, Inc.; 16.2 hours
The Dragon Factory is a full-length novel that has Joe and the Echo Team racing against the clock as they try and stop an evilly mad scientist from implementing an Extinction Wave - a genocidal plan that would be executed through specially designed pathogens. There’s a lot going on in this story: genetically engineered pathogens, transgenetic coding, gene therapies… and one could credibly argue that it’s pretty over the top; but It’s a lot of fun if you’re in the mood to kick a lot of ass!

Dog Days (Joe Ledger series, #Book 2.1)
2011, Blackstone Audio, Inc.; 1.0 hour
In “Dog Days,” Joe wraps up a loose end from The Dragon Factory and; a canine comrade, Ghost, is introduced :-)

"Material Witness," "Deep, Dark" and "Dog Days" are interstitial stories in the Joe Ledger series and can be found in both short story collections, Joe Ledger: The Missing Files and Joe Ledger: Special Ops. They are also available individually.

62mabith
Redigerat: apr 8, 2014, 3:08 pm

I'm nearly done with Cloud of Sparrows by Takashi Matsuoka, which has been quite good. It's not a narrator I love, but he did the Cairo trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz and I get used to him pretty quickly. He does well with the Japanese words (but Japanese is quite easy to pronounce) other than the vowel heavy words. I'll be happy enough if I never hear him say iaido again.

I'm also a third or so into Esperanza Rising, a children's novel published relatively soon after my childhood. It's read very well and I'm enjoying it so far. I think my child self would have loved it.

63Storeetllr
apr 8, 2014, 2:47 pm

I'm about 1/3 of the way through Shogun and feel like I've been listening to it forever. It's very good, but soooo looooong. I don't care much for the reader (David Case), but he does well with the Japanese pronunciations (I think).

>62 mabith: Just curious: who is the narrator of Cloud of Sparrows

64mabith
apr 8, 2014, 3:08 pm

It's Grover Gardner.

65Peace2
apr 8, 2014, 5:16 pm

Listening to Jamrach's Menagerie and Labyrinth. Am enjoying the latter more at the moment.

66Tanya-dogearedcopy
apr 8, 2014, 9:45 pm

> 62 Are you sure that Grover Gardner narrated The Cairo Trilogy? The only retail editions out there are BBC productions with Omar Sharif and; GG used a different name when he narrated for the Library of Congress. Just curious, because if he did narrate The Cairo Trilogy, I'd love to be able to track those down.

67mabith
apr 8, 2014, 11:57 pm

The voices were certainly similar, though it looks like I was wrong. The Cairo Trilogy I listened to was narrated by Gordon Gould (funny coincidence? I never remember making a note of the name, the tones of voice were just similar). My library had them, though I believe I read Palace Walk in print.

68Tanya-dogearedcopy
apr 9, 2014, 1:41 am

Oh, Wow! I hadn't heard that name in like a zillion years! I just pulled up a sample of his and I can hear the similarities between Gardner and him: There's a nasal tone that they both have and a mid-century style as well. I can't find anything recent of Gould's; but Gardner's voice range has definitely dropped lower over the years.

I know I read or listened to Cloud of Sparrows years ago when it first came out and, I vaguely recall a language barrier between a royal prince (?) and a governess that was somewhat comical, but honestly not much else. A book about East-meets-West that I adored was David Mitchell's The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. I didn't care for the audio (a little too confusing for me though friends of mine have raved about it) so I switched to print and at the end, sighed that little sigh of wistfulness and nostalgia :-)

69Grammath
apr 9, 2014, 8:02 am

Ned Beauman's The Teleportation Accident is my current read. Marvellously bonkers so far, with a great turn of phrase.

70ktleyed
apr 9, 2014, 10:28 am

I finished Why Kings Confess by C.S. Harris, narrated by Davina Porter and now I'm listening to He Shall Thunder in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters, narrated by Barbara Rosenblat.

71CDVicarage
apr 9, 2014, 11:36 am

I've just finished Village School, beautifully read by Phyllida Nash and have now gone on to Battles at Thrush Green. I'm on holiday from school at the moment and they're just the level of reading I need!

72Tanya-dogearedcopy
apr 9, 2014, 12:46 pm

Oh, wait. I'm listening to Someone Could Get Hurt: A Memoir of Twenty-First-Century Parenthood right now, a purportedly "funny" book and I don't even know if I can finish. In this memoir, the author/narrator professes to have pinned down, screamed at (in the face with an intimidating voice,) spanked, *HIT* and thrown his 7-yo daughter into a cold shower when she threw a tantrum. The author then goes on to express remorse, like this incident is really about him.

1) If true, if the event actually happened, the violence of the scene in and of itself is nauseating and reveals this man to be seriously damaged;

2) If not true, if he made this event up, one has to ask "WHY?" He doesn't play it funny, more as a grab for sympathy for him losing his shit. He uses the pronoun "we" like he's the poster boy for frustrated parents, speaking for all of "us." Um, NO.

I know I have friends who believe in corporal punishment, that respect and fear go hand-in-glove; but I am not one of them. It's not funny, or acceptable. This audiobook just beat out The Stench of Honolulu: A Tropical Adventure for being the least funny :-(

So, so far:

04. The Stench of Honolulu: A Tropical Adventure
05. Someone Could Get Hurt: A Memoir of Twenty-First-Century Parenthood

73Peace2
apr 9, 2014, 5:22 pm

Jamrach's Menagerie continued to go downhill for me and so 2 and a half discs from the end, I turned off the CD and just read the rest of the book myself so I could finish more quickly.

Labyrinth is going better and so that is now my main focus, although I need something for the car (as L is on tape), perhaps Hugh Quarshie reading Dr No by Ian Fleming or maybe The Liberator Chronicles volume 2, just to lighten the mood a little (not sure if Dr No will do that or not)

74Tanya-dogearedcopy
apr 9, 2014, 6:26 pm

Unfortunately, I can't legally get the book as narrated by Hugh Quarshie; so I don't know how seriously he reads the book, but I would think that it's light enough to be considered "mental floss" after a more intense or dense read/listen. Despite there being modern parallels and none of the characters being inured to the vicissitudes of the trade, the mid-century stylings and the effects of Hollywood on the common cultural perception of Bond allow a certain campiness to creep in and ergo a lightness to the novels. As for Dr. No in particular, hey! Its' a free vacation to Jamaica! :-D

75mabith
apr 9, 2014, 10:53 pm

>68 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Cloud of Sparrows was a nice listen. It's a regional lord and a missionary, not a governess, and not so comical/not a huge barrier, but close. :)

I've started The Plantagenets and I'm not sure why this was on my list. Also not loving the reader. After this and one ROOT book I think I'll try to stay out of England or at least anything to do with kings and queens.

I'm finishing up Esperanza Rising tonight, which has been lovely to listen to.

76susiesharp
apr 10, 2014, 2:00 pm

Finished Veronica Mars The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line by, Rob Thomas (creator of the tv show & movie) narrated by by Veronica Mars herself Kristen Bell , really enjoyed it and feel it's a must read for fans of the TV show.

Started The Daring Ladies of Lowell by, Kate Alcott narrated by Cassandra Campbell I've heard great things about this one and decided not to wait on it, I really enjoyed Alcott's last book the Dressmaker.

77Seajack
Redigerat: apr 12, 2014, 12:35 pm

Fans of Timothy West ought to consider his reading of Beryl Bainbridge's novellas Injury Time and The Girl in the Polka-Dot Dress, which I read before hearing him narrate Trollope's novels.

Right now, I'm finishing up The Old Ways, which is good, though a tad slow for my sometimes A.D.D. self. I've started The Mangle Street Murders, but not sure what I think of it yet.

78Nickelini
apr 12, 2014, 12:42 pm

Just finished Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. The reader, Jaunita McMann, did a fabulous job.

79mabith
apr 12, 2014, 12:55 pm

>77 Seajack: Glad to hear there's an audio of The Old Ways! I gave the book to my dad for Christmas and have been wanting to read it myself.

I'm still plowing through The Plantagenets but have also started The Swiss Family Robinson as my kitchen audiobook. It's read nicely by George Guidall.

80Seajack
apr 12, 2014, 12:58 pm

Narrator of "The Old Ways" is a very good fit for the material; I confess to have skimmed/skipped through portions of the non-U.K. entries.

81susiesharp
apr 13, 2014, 11:06 pm

I finished The Daring Ladies of Lowell by, Kate Alcott narrated by Cassandra Campbell her narration of this one is now my favorite of her narrations, just superb!

82ktleyed
apr 14, 2014, 8:37 pm

I finished He Shall Thunder In the Sky by Elizabeth Peters narrated by Barbara Rosenblat and now I'm listening to American On Purpose by Craig Ferguson.

83Tanya-dogearedcopy
apr 14, 2014, 10:17 pm

I've started Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls (written and narrated by David Sedaris.) This is another finalist in the Audies humor category. I've not read or listened to David Sedaris before and I was surprised to detect a certain bitterness or contempt in his sense of humor; but so far there's no base crudity or child abuse so he's got that going for him! LEDwO is a collection of routines or presentations instead of one longer piece. Sometimes a story will end rather abruptly, but it's all good :-)

84mabith
apr 14, 2014, 10:39 pm

I knocked off Unusual Uses for Olive Oil today, the fourth in Alexander McCall Smith's series about Professor von Igelfeld. It's just what I needed having 20 hours of The Plantagenets. It's well read by Paul Hecht.

I felt I needed another short, humorous read so I've started Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall, the first of Spike Milligan's short memoirs.

85Seajack
apr 15, 2014, 8:31 pm

I'm not a fan of David Sedaris reading his own work (see also: Bill Bryson).

The Mangle Street Murders is proving a frustrating experience as I love the main character, a young Victorian woman who smokes, and drinks gin. However, I just cannot stand her "guardian" at all -- he's got all of the fussiness and pomposity of Poirot, but none of his charm, actually no tact at all. Even the Lestrade/Japp policeman who has been working with him for a while confesses that he doesn't like the guy much himself. The narration has taken some getting used to, but now I see Lindy Nettleton is a good fit. At this point, I'd be up for listening to the next one, hoping his ward/assistant proves a good influence on The Great Detective.

86ktleyed
apr 16, 2014, 3:30 pm

I'm listening to American On Purpose by Craig Ferguson, narrated by the author.

87susiesharp
apr 16, 2014, 5:14 pm

Finished Whimsey: A Novel by Kaye Wilkinson Barley narrated by, Susanna Burney fun southern fiction with some magical realism thrown in I enjoyed this one very much and want to live in Whimsey fans of Sarah Addison Allen will enjoy this book very much!

Now starting The Other Story by Tatiana de Rosnay narrated by, Simon Vance I have loved her other books so looking forward to this one!

I guess Tatiana's book is too new for a touchstone

BTW why is the default touchstone 'The Hobbit' if it can't find the book you are looking for??

88Peace2
apr 17, 2014, 5:31 pm

Just finished listening to Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith - not an easy book for the fact that it follows a man attempting to solve a series of child murders, but very interesting for the view of life in Russia in 1953, under the rule of Stalin.

Next up on tape is Atonement by Ian McEwan which matches one of my 'To be read in 2014' titles and I think I'll have The Good Thief's Guide to Berlin by Chris Ewan in the car which I'm hoping will be a good one.

89mabith
apr 17, 2014, 5:52 pm

Just a little ways into Master and God by Lindsey Davis. It has two readers, who are very good separately, but it combines in an odd way. They represent two different characters, but it's still third person, so when those two characters interact they sort of take turns at the narration as well as the dialogue. I've gotten more used to it now, but it was very jarring at first.

Still listening to The Swiss Family Robinson where there is a relentless slaughter of animals by monstrously-quick-to-attack young boys. Yikes.

90Sandydog1
Redigerat: apr 20, 2014, 2:17 pm

'Currently "reading" The Magic of Reality; so far it just simply reeks of common sense.

91ktleyed
Redigerat: apr 21, 2014, 11:54 am

I finished American On Purpose by Craig Ferguson, narrated by the author and now I'm listening to Club Dead by Charlaine Harris, narrated by Johanna Parker.

92Storeetllr
apr 21, 2014, 11:59 am

Currently listening to Beauty Queens by Libba Bray, narrated by the author, and have Bloody Jack, narrated by Katherine Kellgren, queued up and waiting.

93Peace2
apr 21, 2014, 5:07 pm

I have a feeling that I came across these audiobooks reading an old 'What are you listening to?' thread, so thought I would post this question here.

Is anyone familiar with Lindsey Davis's Falco series set in Ancient Rome? I've been browsing the local library audio section to see what they have that might tempt and they have some of these but the available titles don't start until about halfway through the series and even then aren't all consecutive. What I'm wondering is whether they're a good set to dabble in and whether they need to be read from beginning of series in order or are they the pick up randomly kind and still enjoyable in that way?

94Storeetllr
apr 21, 2014, 6:26 pm

I read them from the beginning (Silver Pigs). Since they're also about his personal life and relationships, I'd suggest reading from the beginning consecutively. Everyone's different, of course, but you asked for our opinions!

BTW, this is just a wonderful series! I read some in print, ear-read some on audio, and I have to say, I enjoyed the audio versions a lot.

95Peace2
apr 21, 2014, 6:39 pm

>94 Storeetllr: I'd like to listen/read them in order, it's more a case of the local library don't have them all (in any format) and whether if I try to pick up the series part way through it's worth it. If I have to buy the missing ones myself, it will take a lot longer for me to try them out. Too many books waiting to be read in the house already :D

96mabith
Redigerat: apr 21, 2014, 8:23 pm

>93 Peace2: I love Falco. Lindsey Davis is just a great writer, and no one ever makes ancient Rome feel more full and alive to me. While the books are also about his personal life, and it's nicest if you can read them in order, I don't think it's absolutely necessary. Davis is pretty good about filling you in on the background details (though very shortly). They're great books, so I say go for it. Some are just riotously funny as well as being good mysteries. The readers are good too.

97mabith
apr 21, 2014, 8:28 pm

I'm close to done with The Rational Optimist. I do not recommend the book, or the reader (L.J. Ganser), who didn't bother to find out how to pronounce a huge host of place names and personal names. The most embarrassing incident being his mispronunciation of Pepys (totally understandable to not know how to pronounce it, unforgivable to not bother finding out how if you're being paid as an audiobook reader).

98Storeetllr
Redigerat: apr 21, 2014, 11:44 pm

>95 Peace2: That's too bad. Does your local library belong to a library system/coalition? I belong to the Aurora City Public Library, but I can get books from all over the State of Colorado, including some private institutions through ACPL! It couldn't hurt to check it out. But mabith is right about going for it if you have no other choice. They are that good.

99Peace2
apr 22, 2014, 2:16 am

>98 Storeetllr: Although I think it might be possible to borrow some books from other libraries, the charges for the service soon become prohibitive so they onlly offer to do it for 'study' books and things that seem important - I don't think they'd class this in that category! The last book I enquired about it was only a fraction less than buying the book new from Amazon. (it is possible to borrow from the smaller branch without too much difficulty which will add a couple more to what's available hopefully).

Thanks for the helpful suggestions :D

100Seajack
apr 22, 2014, 12:40 pm

FYI - - mabith 97:

I once contacted a narrator about a name that she misread, receiving a gracious, though (what I took as) defensive, remark that "it passed the publisher's 'proofreader' (listener) who didn't flag it."

101susiesharp
apr 22, 2014, 1:11 pm

I finished The Other Story by Tatiana de Rosnay narrated by, Simon Vance, I have loved all of Tatiana's other books but this one just didn't do it for me. It had a lot of very descriptive sexting scenes that took me right out of the book and even Simon Vance's narration couldn't get me back in. Such a disappointment.

I am now listening to Death and the Lit Chick by G.M. Malliet narrated by, Davina Porter for the Armchair Audies Mystery category.

102mabith
apr 22, 2014, 1:40 pm

>100 Seajack: I suppose it depends on how much people care. If I were a narrator I'd be continually paranoid about mispronouncing proper nouns and always looking things up. It would be mortifying to me personally to let those things slip through. I'm sorry the person you contacted didn't take it as a helpful thing for next time (which is all it can be, of course, since no publisher is going to take the time to fix such mistakes).

103Tanya-dogearedcopy
Redigerat: apr 29, 2014, 12:40 pm

My daughter and I just finished listening to Gregor and the Code of Claw (The Underland Chronicles Book #5, by Suzanne Collins; narrated by Paul Boehmer) - 4 out of 5 stars or a solid B both for the book and the series overall. Suzanne Collins created flawed but likable characters with realistic motivations against a darkly fantastic landscape. Yes, there was violence and death, but there was also intelligence, creativity and friendship - all themes that were well executed. The series ended bittersweet but will be remembered fondly. Yes, some kids have Harry Potter; but we have Gregor :-)

Now we're listening to Princess Labelmaker to the Rescue: An Origami Yoda Book (by Tom Angelberger; narrated by Mark Turetsky et al.) Tommy and his friends continue the battle started in The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett in which they band together to fight Fun Time - a school program implemented to help students with standardized testing. The print books probably have a lot of visual appeal, but we love Mark Turetsky's Chewbacca impersonation, so audio it is :-) This is the penultimate book in the Origami Yoda series and we'll be sad to see this one end too.

I finished Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls (written and narrated by David Sedaris.) This was my first Sedaris book, and I was a little dismayed at the bitterness and contempt that laced some of his essays; but I would be lying if I didn't say I laughed. I gave it a sold 3 out of 5 stars. Full review pending.

Now I'm queuing up How I Slept My Way to the Middle: Secrets and Stories from Stage, Screen, and Interwebs (written by Kevin Pollak and Alan Goldsher; narrated by Kevin Pollak.) I don't think I know who Kevin Pollack is; but I loved Alan Goldsher's Paul is Undead (narrated by Simon Vance) years ago, so we'll see...

So far in the Armchair Audies Humor category:

03. Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls (written and narrated by David Sedaris)
04. The Stench of Honolulu: A Tropical Adventure (written and narrated by Jack Handey)
05. Someone Could Get Hurt: A Memoir of Twenty-First-Century Parenthood (written and narrated by Drew Magary)

104ktleyed
Redigerat: apr 27, 2014, 1:12 am

I finished Club Dead by Charlaine Harris, narrated by Johanna Parker, which ended on such a cliffhanger, so now I'm listening to Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris, same narrator, next in the series.

105kgriffith
apr 23, 2014, 5:39 pm

I just finished Better Nate than Ever, enjoyably narrated by the author, Tim Federle. I've listened to the first chapter of The Maze Runner and hope to get back to that tonight.

106Seajack
apr 24, 2014, 11:38 am

Tanya 103: Sedaris' stuff ought to be read in order as his later work has a bit of the "phoned-it-in" quality to it.

1072wonderY
apr 24, 2014, 12:04 pm

>103 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Oh! I had lost track of the Origami Yoda books. Thanks for the reminder to pick them up again.

I'm in the middle of Marissa Meyer's third book of Lunar Chronicles - Cress

108mabith
apr 24, 2014, 12:34 pm

I've just started Inventing a Nation and Matilda.

109sebago
apr 24, 2014, 3:01 pm

Listening to some steam punk for a switch up of genre Cinder: Lunar Chronicles, Book 1 narrated by Rebecca Soler =:)

110aviddiva
apr 25, 2014, 2:08 pm

Thoroughly enjoying Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase, read with delightful nuance by Kate Reading.

111mabith
apr 26, 2014, 1:14 pm

Just finished The Twits. read wonderfully by Simon Callow. Now I'm listening to All Our Names by Dinaw Mengestu, which is read very well (Saskia Maarleveld and Korey Jackson), and The Lost Prince by Frances Hodgson Burnett, also read well (David Thorn).

112ktleyed
apr 29, 2014, 9:51 am

I finished Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris narrated by Johanna Parker and loved it, now I'm listening to My Sweet Folly by Laura Kinsale narrated by Nicholas Boulton.

113Tanya-dogearedcopy
Redigerat: apr 29, 2014, 1:20 pm

Kevin Pollack is an actor, comic and celebrity impersonator who wrote and narrated How I Slept My Way to the Middle: Secrets and Stories from Stage, Screen, and Interwebs. As I'm something of a cultural hermit, I'm going to take his and other people's word for it that he is an entertainer of some merit but I have to say I am exceedingly underwhelmed by his performance as a narrator. The storytelling and impersonations are ill-timed and mostly weak respectively. I'm guessing that Pollack's talents are best appreciated live and onscreen. I'm not going to bother finishing this audio, instead going ahead and uploading Billy Crystal's Still Foolin' 'Em: Where I've Been, Where I'm Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys.

Armchair Audies (Humor) ratings so far:

02. Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls (written and narrated by David Sedaris)
03. The Stench of Honolulu: A Tropical Adventure (written and narrated by Jack Handey)
04. How I Slept My Way to the Middle: Secrets and Stories from Stage, Screen, and Interwebs (written and narrated by Kevin Pollack)
05. Someone Could Get Hurt: A Memoir of Twenty-First-Century Parenthood (written and narrated by Drew Magary)

114susiesharp
apr 29, 2014, 4:35 pm

I finished Death and the Lit Chick by G.M. Malliet narrated by Davina Porter it was a cute cozy and of course Davina's narration was great.

Finished Rage Against the Dying: A Thriller by Becky Masterman narrated by Judy Kaye This one is a contender for best mystery for the Armchair Audies, I really enjoyed the story and Kaye's narration was fabulous.

Started and DNF'd The Ward by, Jordana Frankel narrated by, Merritt Hicks. I am sorry to say this wasn’t a very good book, I was confused most of the time and the world building was so non-existent that I could not picture this world in my head at all. I got 50% done and just can’t go on I am bored and confused and not enjoying this one. Hicks's narration was well done but couldn't save this book.

So I decided the best way to get over a bad book is a little Katherine Kellgren so started Heirs and Graces by Rhys Bowen

All but The Ward are Armchair Audie titles in the Mystery category .

115mabith
apr 29, 2014, 4:59 pm

I'm listening to Rez Life now, read by Peter Berkrot who is not my favorite but isn't bad.

116mabith
maj 3, 2014, 11:43 pm

Finished The Ides of April by Lindsey Davis. Reader was fine, though pronounced aedile in a different way than I've heard before (which you have to accept with books set in the ancient world).

Just starting Savage Kingdom: The True Story of Jamestown. I need to store up the knowledge in order to terrify my niece and nephew with tales of their ancestor (just kidding, I'd wait until they were 9 or 10 and at the right age to think a cannibal ancestor gives them great power in the schoolyard).

117Peace2
maj 4, 2014, 7:32 am

Since I last posted, I've finished Atonement by Ian McEwan, The Cat Who Came To Breakfast by Lilian Jackson Braun, If I Stay by Gayle Forman and The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope. There was a long car journey yesterday which helped me get through TPoZ and I also spent some evening time listening to finish it off.

Back home again now, it'll be back to finishing off The Good Thief's Guide To Berlin by Chris Ewan and Adrenaline by Jeff Abbott.

The other achievement over the last few days was to finish a paper copy of The Moon Of Gomrath by Alan Garner so that I'm ready to listen to the audio copy of Boneland I borrowed from the library just before my trip as soon as I've finished these two.

118kgriffith
maj 4, 2014, 12:25 pm

I finished The Maze Runner and decided it was time to dive into A Game of Thrones. I'm a few chapters in and enjoy the narration so far, though I probably should reserve this for when I'm in the car or otherwise able to really focus, or else I'm probably going to have a hard time putting the pieces together before long.

119aviddiva
maj 5, 2014, 1:57 am

Listening to Outlander Read by Davina Porter. I've read it on paper a couple of times, but this is my first listen, and it's interesting how much it changes my experience of the book. Still loving it, but it's different.

120mabith
maj 9, 2014, 2:53 pm

I've just finished Savage Kingdom: The True Story of Jamestown, 1607, and the Settlement of America, and have just started Paris 1919, about the armistice treaty. Both read well.

121ktleyed
Redigerat: maj 10, 2014, 6:34 pm

Finished Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris, narrated by Johanna Parker and now I'm listening to Dogtripping by David Rosenfelt.

122Peace2
maj 10, 2014, 7:45 pm

Finished The Good Thief's Guide to Berlin by Chris Ewan on Friday (liked this one) and Adrenaline by Jeff Abbott yesterday (pretty good one here too).

I've started listening to Boneland by Alan Garner and am three quarters of the way through but am disappointed so far, not really what I'd hoped it would be.

Also just started listening to Dr No by Ian Fleming read by Hugh Quarshie - very listenable so far. I like Mr Quarshie's voice. I wonder if he's done any other audio books.

Next up when I finish Boneland is Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling read by Stephen Fry.

Isn't it odd how some of the touchstones link... for some strange reason Dr No wanted to link to Douglas Adams' Restaurant at the End of the Universe and HP wanted to link to a latin version rather than an English version.

123Sandydog1
Redigerat: maj 12, 2014, 9:36 pm

I'm enjoying a wonderful review of Ovid, Homer, Sophocles, Virgil and the like, by reading Mythology.

Not as good as the originals, a bit flat and dry, but still wonderful.

124mabith
maj 12, 2014, 9:39 pm

I'm taking breaks in Paris 1919 with The Murder of Bindy MacKenzie.

125Nickelini
maj 13, 2014, 2:52 am

Finished Harvest, by Jim Crace. Nominated for the Booker Prize, and a book I enjoyed very much.

126AlaMich
maj 13, 2014, 10:07 am

#92 Storeetllr...I'm listening to the first Bloody Jack myself and I'm having so much fun with it. Katherine Kellgren is terrific, and I like it so much I've already got the second in the series on my phone.

1272wonderY
maj 13, 2014, 2:09 pm

I just finished Agent Zigzag. I love how upright and intelligent the English are portrayed.
Now working my way through The Savage Fortress. Chadda's Devil's Kiss was excellent, so I'm a tiny bit disappointed. This is fantasy that highlights the mythology of India, so it has some charm, but the storytelling doesn't rise above the crowd.

128Peace2
Redigerat: maj 13, 2014, 3:38 pm

Have finished Dr No by Ian Fleming read by Hugh Quarshie - very listenable narration. I really liked Mr Quarshie's voice.

Part way through Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling read by Stephen Fry and will probably finish The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis read by Joss Ackland by tomorrow evening.

Next up are Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood read by John Chancer and Orlando by Virginia Woolf read by Clare Higgins. Can't decide which one should go first. Any opinions?

Has anyone listened to The Abortionist's Daughter by Elisabeth Hyde? My copy has just arrived but where the case says it's complete and unabridged over 7 discs, the actual box only contains 4 (and doesn't have room for more) - I'm trying to find out whether the '7' is a misprint or if there are discs missing.

129Tanya-dogearedcopy
maj 13, 2014, 4:37 pm

I loved Oryx and Crake NOW; but when I read it I was furious at the end. The only reason I rave about it now is because of The Year of the Flood (the second in the Maddam Trilogy) which brought proper closure to O & C. Still, very good writing: strong world-building, characters and a great balance of novelty and credibility. So, read O & C, but only if you happen to have YOTF on hand. You'll want to jump from the former right into the latter. I read O & C in print so I can't comment of the audio edition; but I did listen to the audio of TYOTF (my slightly redacted LT review):

The Year of the Flood is the second title in the MaddAddam Trilogy and a companion piece to Oryx and Crake. The story take place in the year 2050 in which the waterless flood, a viral pandemic, depopulates most of the earth. Toby, an older woman who had, years earlier, been rescued by the Gardeners - a granola-crunchy survivalists group, finds herself holed up in an organic spa when the human apocalypse hits; Ren, a young woman and erstwhile Gardener who came from one of the Helthwyzer compounds - a community fully dependent on science and technology, is quarantined in a room in a strip club and; Adam One, the leader of The Gardeners, finds himself expelled from his Eden - ironically the fringe lifestyle of his cult. Margaret Atwater creates characters with a past and a present in an uncertain future.

The characters' lives are intertwined with each other and with characters from Oryx and Crake, though the treatment of the three major protagonists in The Year of the Flood are unequal. The lives of Toby and Ren are portrayed as dynamic as each of them attempts to move forwards and/or onwards in the aftermath of the human apocalypse and their pasts; but the life of Adam One is portrayed statically: his struggles are mainly philosophical as he tries to marry his suspect theology with reality. There are hints in his sermons as to what is going on in his life; but he is not grounded in the reality of the present the way the other characters are. His past is limited to the arc of the novel. The question becomes, do each or any of them have what it takes to move beyond the immediacy of the present and into the future? Toby is older, wiser and more experienced than Ren; but she is too old to procreate. Ren is young, fertile optimistic; but soft and still egocentric enough to place her feelings before pragmatic considerations. Adam One is strong in his convictions; but ultimately at what cost? What if being bigger, faster, stronger and smarter aren't co-equal in the equation for survival? Which variable(s) will save you over the others? And what if it's a faulty equation to begin with?

The Year of the Flood expands the world that was introduced in Oryx and Crake and there are crossovers that tie up some loose ends from the first book in the MaddAddam trilogy (Yes! We do discover what The Snowman did at the end of O&C!) There is a satisfying sense of closure at the end of TYOTF; though the novel as a whole didn't "pop" the way Oryx and Crake did. Perhaps it is because the novelty of the world that Margret Atwood first introduced, one of color and exotic forms wore off, only to be replaced my images of squalor. Or maybe it was the narration.

Bernadette Dunne, Katie McNichol and Mark Bramhall narrate from the point-of-perspectives of Toby, Ren and Adam One respectively. Bernadette Dunne gives a solid performance, though one wonders if a couple of the characters wouldn't have benefited from some ethnic flavor. Katie McNichols shines as a young woman undaunted, though unprepared for the future ahead; but her voicing of other characters seems underdeveloped (e.g. her voice for Zeb seemed at odds with the physical descriptions of him - a bear-like Russian. He came across as sounding not like a bear-like Russian at all.) Mark Bramhall took all his textual cues, performing the role of Adam One with decreasing optimism and certainty; but often sounded more like a charlatan than a charismatic guru. There is performed music after the Adam One sermons, performed by Orville Stoeber. The voices of Mark Bramhall and Orville Stoeber are a close match so there is a sense of continuity; but the music overall is of a 1970's Church folk style, which if you're not keen on it, can be irritating. The casting was well-conceived; but somehow each of the narrators fell a little short of completely inhabiting their respective characters. The result is that the listener is reminded that they are listening to a narrative, not experiencing the story.

130Tanya-dogearedcopy
maj 13, 2014, 4:38 pm

>128 Peace2: The Abortionist's Daughter should be about eight-and-half hours long, so I think you're missing three CDs (A CD usually holds about 75 minutes of audiobook material ) :-(

131Peace2
maj 13, 2014, 4:39 pm

I'm pretty sure the library has The Year of the Flood so I'd be able to borrow that in fairly short order I hope.

132Nickelini
maj 13, 2014, 6:45 pm

I loved the audiobook of Year of the Flood-- the hymns were so realistic they were scary. You can listen to snippets of them on iTunes if you're interested.

133Tanya-dogearedcopy
maj 13, 2014, 8:07 pm

> 132 The UK edition of The Year of the Flood has Lorelei King narrating the whole of it; And I heard that the music is different! I wonder how it compares? Sigh, I really should set up a Canadian pipeline of some legal sort! :-D

134Nickelini
maj 14, 2014, 12:03 am

#133 - That's so interesting!

135Peace2
maj 14, 2014, 5:12 pm

>130 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Relieved to have just seen your message! Missed it before. I shall contact the seller (I got it through Amazon marketplace) so hopefully even if I don't get the complete book, I should be entitled to the costs back and then I can either look again for a full copy or pick something else!

>133 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I'm going to guess that our library will stock the UK edition so I have my fingers crossed that when I'm through with the ones I've got now that I can take that out and that it will be good. I've certainly liked Lorelei's narration of other stories that I've read (a Tess Gerritsen and The Memory Keeper's Daughter.

So I think I've decided to go with Orlando next because everyone has been so enthusiastic about Oryx and Crake I know that probably sounds contrary, but I'm thinking if O&C is so good that I'm going to want to read straight on to the next book, it would be better to have the others all finished and ready to return to the library so that I can them back and exchange them for The Year of the Flood just before I need it, whereas if I read O&C next then I'll have to read Orlando between them anyway. Have I convinced anyone there is method in my madness?

Right, off to Amazon to track down seller of only half complete audiobook.... Wish me luck!

136ktleyed
maj 15, 2014, 10:38 am

I finished Dogtripping by David Rosenfelt, which I loved - a must for dog lovers. Now I'm beginning MacRieve by Kresley Cole.

137Seajack
maj 17, 2014, 4:49 pm

Nearly finished with Hairy Hikers -- two English guys walk the Pyrenees. Juvenile humor detracts significantly.

138Peace2
maj 19, 2014, 2:39 am

I finished Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J K Rowling read by Stephen Fry, The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis read by Joss Ackland and Orlando by Virginia Woolf read by Clare Higgins.

Next up to start in the car to work today - Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood read by John Chancer.

I enjoyed the HP - Stephen Fry's narration was good for a children's book - I'm not sure that I'd like it in an adult book. Joss Ackland's voice was perfect for Screwtape.

I struggled and kept losing focus on Orlando, but as turning to the paper copy that I'd got of this one and finding that I couldn't inspire myself any more that way, I'd say that this one just wasn't for me at this time.

If I have time to pop into the library on my way home from work, I'll return the Lewis and Woolf and see what else they have available (Looking out for The Year of the Flood), if I don't manage to get there until later in the week, then I'll probably end up also listening to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

139mabith
maj 19, 2014, 2:56 am

140mabith
maj 26, 2014, 12:37 pm

Meant to just start Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, as it's my kitchen book, but I got hooked in right away and have been listening all morning.

My main audiobook right now is Gilead by Marilynne Robinson.

141ktleyed
maj 27, 2014, 9:48 am

Finished MacRieve and am now listening to Definitely Dead, I'm really on a Sookie Stackhouse kick.

1422wonderY
Redigerat: maj 27, 2014, 10:13 am

I found this weekend, that I like Sookie best when narrated by Johanna Parker and not nearly so much by Amanda Ronconi in Home Improvement: Undead Edition. Ronconi even pronounced 'Bon Temps, Louisiana' differently. The story, "If I Had a Hammer" was less than satisfactory as well. Sookie was able to read Sam's thoughts.
I thought the first three stories forced and awkward, and abandonned the audio.

143Peace2
maj 27, 2014, 12:54 pm

Started A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute in the car yesterday. Finished Oryx and Crake in the house today.

Next up is Crusade by Robyn Young, narrated by Jonathan Keeble - which I'm hoping means it will be a good one as I've enjoyed his narrations before.

Also planned for tomorrow a trip to the library to return O&C and HP& the Chamber of Secrets which are both finished and to see what else is available. Have several titles that I'm looking for so hopefully at least one of them will be in, if not I might just leave taking something out until the next two are finished as they are also library books.

144susiesharp
maj 29, 2014, 1:42 pm

I started Dakota by Gwen Florio narrated by,Caroline Shaffer this book is set in my home state and I am so not liking her "Fargo" accents you won't find those accents on that end of the state because really it's more a Northern Minnesota accent not the western end of North Dakota. Also the oil field is named the Bakken pronounced BAHken not BAAken. The book itself isn't bad but wish I had stuck with the paper version (that I won from LT early Reviewers) instead of switched to the audio.

145mabith
maj 29, 2014, 1:47 pm

I'm in the home stretch of Misquoting Jesus. The reader isn't bad, but sometimes goes quite Rod-Serling-Twilight-Zone, which is amusing given the subject matter, but also distracting.

Just started The Story of Doctor Dolittle, read by Nadia May, who I always like.

1462wonderY
maj 29, 2014, 5:13 pm

Alternating between Eifelheim by Michael Flynn and This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage, a collection of essays, but more like a biography, by Ann Patchett and read by her.

I had to get the print book of Eifelheim because each of the disks has errors on the last two tracks and gets stuck. That's alright. There is so much detail packed into the pages, it doesn't hurt to review.

147Seajack
jun 2, 2014, 4:35 pm

I have just a few minutes more to go of the new novel The Transcriptionist, which moves slowly at first, and then very quickly near the end. I've found myself very invested in the protagonist, Lena, as well as the NYC backdrop. I'd certainly be willing to read more from the author (it's her debut work). Xe Sands is a great fit as narrator.

148mabith
jun 2, 2014, 5:43 pm

Just starting Purple Hibiscus and still listening to The Story of Doctor DoLittle.

149Storeetllr
jun 3, 2014, 1:32 am

Listening to The Hallowed Hunt by Bujold, read by Marguerite Gavin. It's set in the same world as Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls, both of which I liked a lot, but unconnected to them. Not crazy about the reader, but I'm hooked into the story, so will finish it. She reads it with the same inflection with which she reads the Kitty Norville books. It works with those, but not so much with these.

150susiesharp
jun 3, 2014, 9:45 am

I am listening to Sorcerer's Legacy by, Janny Wurts narrated by Emily Gray it's really good so far, Emily's narration is fantastic.

151jplolo
jun 3, 2014, 11:28 am

I'm listening to Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. Whew, It's rough. So many main characters. Some of them I love. Some of them I don't care for. I just hope it all comes together in the end. I might give up on reading his books. I haven't found one better than Diamond Age yet.

152TooBusyReading
jun 3, 2014, 12:21 pm

Last night I finished listening to the long Natchez Burning by Greg Iles. The more I listened, the less I liked it.

153Tanya-dogearedcopy
jun 4, 2014, 11:33 am

I'm wrapping up a mini challenge wherein participants listen to four mystery audiobooks with a gem/precious stone in the title:

Opal Fire (Stacy Justice mysteries, Book #1; by Barbra Annino; narrated by Amy Rubinate) - Stacy Justice is a journalist who also happens to have a legacy of witchcraft. The bar that her cousin and friend, Cinnamon owns burns down; and "Cin" is the prime suspect as an arsonist. Stacy is on the case... The whole thing is a silly paranormal cozy and the narrator drives through the narrative too fast; but at least the narrtor sounds like the age of the protagonist. New Adult.

Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds (Cam Jansen mysteries, Book #1; by David A. Adler; narrated by Alyson Silverman) - Cam Jensen has a photographic memory which becomes useful as she witnesses a jewelry store robbery; Children's mystery ably narrated, but nothing overall to write home about.

"A Study in Emerald" (written and narrated by Neil Gaiman) - A detective's consultant is called upon to check out a homicide scene in Victorian England. This is my second time listening to this short story which blends influences from Lovecraft, Doyle and Gaiman's own sense of showmanship. I'm still not quite sure what to make of it for all its strangeness; but I suspect that I'll be coming back to it again. Three's a lot packed into the 49 minutes!

The Ruby in the Smoke (Sally Lockhart Trilogy, Book #1; by Philip Pullman; narrated by Anton Lesser) - Sally Lockhart is a sixteen-year old orphan who is out to discover what "The Seven Blessings" are. She's sharp enough to know that she's in danger, brave/desperate enough to pursue her quest; and lucky so far to survive the vicissitudes of Victorian Era England. This is a thoroughly British story narrated brilliantly by Anton Lesser. The narrator's character voices are remarkable, but not less than the straight narrative. Fast, funny and clever. YA for all ages.

154sebago
jun 5, 2014, 8:37 am

Listening to Falling Home - it has made me laugh and cry. Now this doesn't happen often. Beautiful story, excellently read. :)

155susiesharp
jun 5, 2014, 2:16 pm

Finished Sorcerer's Legacy by, Janny Wurts narrated by Emily Gray, I enjoyed this book and thought the narration was fantastic!

Now starting my re-listen of An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon narrated by the wonderful Davina Porter catching up on this series before me pre-order of Written in My Own Heart's Blood drops into my library in 4 days and 13 hours! Looking forward to the next 100 hours of listening immersed in the world of Outlander!

156Peace2
jun 6, 2014, 1:13 pm

Finished A Town Like Alice and Crusade yesterday and started Sepulchre by Kate Mosse today, read by Lorelei King.

The library still didn't have Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, so I've borrowed The Good Thief's Guide to Venice instead for when I'm finishing up Sepulchre.

157mabith
jun 6, 2014, 2:19 pm

158Seajack
jun 6, 2014, 7:51 pm

I'm about 1/3 of the way through My Life in Middlemarch, and sticking with it as much for Kate Reading's narration, as for the story itself: a hybrid of author memoir, Eliot biography, and a bit of travel narrative as well.

159Storeetllr
jun 7, 2014, 12:01 am

Oh! I do like Kate Reading! She narrated The Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan and, I thought, did a wonderful job on it!

160TooBusyReading
jun 7, 2014, 1:18 pm

I'm about two-thirds through the short We Were Liars and am not loving either the story or the narration.

161Seajack
jun 7, 2014, 6:49 pm

Kate Reading's narration of Somerset Maugham's The Painted Veil is one of the best examples of a perfect book + narrator fit ... she TOTALLY nailed that one!

162kgriffith
Redigerat: jun 8, 2014, 4:10 pm

Just finished Game of Thrones - I'll continue the series, but not on audio; I don't think I can listen to that narrator for another 33+ hours. It was a good entry, though, as I tend to skim a lot of the ancestry and history of battles and so forth when reading books like this. Far less confusing to listen to than to read the setup of the various families and lands.
Oh and, started All Our Yesterdays, one of last week's free audiobooks from the Sync summer listening program.

163CDVicarage
jun 8, 2014, 4:16 pm

I'm just finishing - on the last chapter - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, read by Stephen Fry. This is one I've listened to, and enjoyed, several times before. The better I know the story the more detail I pick up each time. I tend to skim over the fighting in the Department of Mysteries, though, as it's not really exciting any more.

I shall go on to The Grand Sophy, or The Grand Soffee, as my ipod voiceover has it!

164mabith
jun 8, 2014, 9:12 pm

I made the mistake of starting the last Professor Challenger book by Arthur Conan Doyle without looking to see what it was about. It's Challenger I thought, it will be ridiculous and fun.

But no, The Land of Mist is about spiritualism and it's so depressing that Doyle was taken in by this stuff (grief, I know, grief can do terrible things to people). I should just quit, but I have a problem stopping books partway through. 7 more hours of this though...

Do you have a cut-off time for audiobooks if they're not holding your interest, the way that people say read 50-100 pages before they give up on a book?

165SylviaC
jun 8, 2014, 11:03 pm

Mostly I give up on audio books pretty quickly, usually within the first hour. If my mind is drifting, I'm just wasting my time. Sometimes I'll switch to a print version if I think it will go better. The longest I've gone before quitting was about two thirds of the way through Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human, because the narrator was good enough that he helped to balance some of the weaknesses of the writing. I'm glad Audible has such a generous return policy.

166Tanya-dogearedcopy
Redigerat: jun 9, 2014, 12:41 am

>164 mabith: If it's bad narration, I can generally tell within 30 seconds; but I'll give it 20 minutes or so. If it's the story I'm having issues with, I'll give it the first 75 minutes or first CD before I make a decision.

167mabith
jun 9, 2014, 12:38 am

Oh yeah, bad narration I drop in the first minute too. 75-120 minutes is probably the right range for story drops for me. I just keep thinking "But what if it gets amazing?!" especially since it's Doyle I feel very torn. Typically I'm very good at choosing books I'll enjoy...

168Seajack
jun 10, 2014, 1:26 am

An hour or so for Audible books, or the first part for CD or Overdrive ones.

1692wonderY
jun 10, 2014, 6:48 am

I grabbed a couple of CD boxes from a display at the library just so I wouldn't run short while in the car. So lucked into Raven Boys which is powerfully written and very well read. It's urban fantasy.

170sebago
jun 10, 2014, 8:26 am

Loved Raven Boys #169 2wonderY! Great series. :)

171Sandydog1
jun 10, 2014, 10:02 pm

I'm currently reading a Tantor version of The Idiot. This should take me a few weeks...

172Tanya-dogearedcopy
jun 10, 2014, 10:40 pm

On Saturday, finished up The Ruby in the Smoke (Sally Lockhart Trilogy, Book #1; by Philip Pullman; narrated by Anton Lesser) - You can see what I wrote about it above (Comment #153) and nothing has changed: The story is engaging and surprising, and the narrator delivers character voices expertly (One of those situations where you might not believe there's only one narrator performing the entirety of the book!) It's a series I'm going to continue: The next two are in audio; but the fourth title is print-only.
GRADE: A+

Now I'm listening to a lit-fic title, The Spinning Heart: A Novel (by Donal Ryan; narrated by Wayne Farrell.) Set in Ireland, this is the story of a building contractor who wipes out the pension and benefits (stamps and so on) of his workers to finance a big project that went bust. Each of the 21 sections of the book are told from a different and sometimes unexpected point of view. Wayne Farrell narrated the whole of the book, nuancing each section differently to differentiate each character. The book itself was Man Booker long list title. I'm loving both the story and the narration so far :-)

173NarratorLady
Redigerat: jun 11, 2014, 12:18 am

>Tanya: Anton Lesser is one of my all time favorite narrators. You'll enjoy the next two Sally Lockharts every bit as much. The fourth book (can't remember the title now, something about a princess I think) barely includes Sally. I did manage to get a print edition and it wasn't worth the read.

If you're interested in Dickens and want to listen to Mr. Lesser add his magnificent voice(s) to a longer tale, try The Old Curiosity Shop. It's not the best Dickens IMO, but I've never forgotten his rendition of the evil Daniel Quilp. Pure artistry.

174CDVicarage
jun 11, 2014, 2:40 am

>172 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Another vote for Anton Lesser - I'll listen to anything he has read. I have got an audio copy - bought from Audible - of The Tin Princess. It's also read by Anton Lesser. It's not as good as the other three, partly because Sally isn't in it, but still an enjoyable read/listen.

175Peace2
jun 11, 2014, 4:01 pm

I finished Sepulchre by kate Mosse read by Lorelei King while making dinner and now as I do some paperwork that only needs part of my attention, I've started listening to The Good Thief's Guide To Venice by Chris Ewan read by Simon Vance. I'm hoping this will be a 'nice easy listen' for the next few days.

176kgriffith
jun 12, 2014, 10:35 pm

I'm listening to Kathleen Wilhoite's narration of Where'd You Go, Bernadette, and while there is something almost unbearable about it at times, for the most part, her delivery is spot on in its over-the-top-ness. Even with the bits that are a bit screechier than is perhaps truly necessary, I'd say this is one I'll have gotten more out of for having listened as opposed to reading it the first time around.

177mabith
jun 16, 2014, 11:31 am

Just starting The Pirate Coast, read well though with a few odd pronunciations, and The Wind in the Willows.

178Peace2
jun 18, 2014, 4:12 pm

Finished The Good Thief's Guide To Venice by Chris Ewan on Monday - an enjoyable listen, followed it with Twenty thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne which I didn't enjoy so much, found it heavy going.

Now I'm listening to Wild Swans : Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang which is off to a good start.

179Tanya-dogearedcopy
jun 18, 2014, 6:41 pm

I finished The Spinning Heart (by Donal Ryan; narrated by Wayne Farrell) and it didn't disappoint from my initial assessment. Tough having one person voice all 21 different characters is a rather "old school" way of casting a multi-POV book, it worked out extremely well in this case. Though there were one or two voices that didn't quite work out, the narrator did a masterful job in telling the story and disappearing from overt attention. Highly recommended for both the story and the performance.

I started listening to Dancer, Daughter, Traitor, Spy (by Elizabeth Kiems; narrated by Angela Brazil). It's the story of a Russian girl who escapes the USSR in 1982 in the wake of her mother's disappearance. She and her father make it to Little Odessa in the U.S.; but they haven't escaped the implications of her mother's secrets. Mispronunciations, tertiary pronunciations, different/inconsistent pronunciations, misreads for textual clues, misreads of words, inversions of words, booth noises... the audio was driving me crazy. The narrator is all over the place in her delivery/interpretation too, which leads me to suspect that she didn't pre-read the novel and/or she doesn't know how to drive/shape the narrative. I DNF-ed this after the first three chapters (an hour-and-a-half) and switched to print.

I've now moved on to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter series, Book #3 by J.K. Rowling; narrated by Jim Dale.)

180Peace2
Redigerat: jun 18, 2014, 6:46 pm

>179 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I've been waiting for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to be returned to the library so that I can borrow it - I've been waiting almost a month now... *has fingers crossed for tomorrow's library visit* Although having said that, it's the Stephen Fry version rather than Jim Dale one.

hope you enjoy it!

181Tanya-dogearedcopy
Redigerat: jun 19, 2014, 9:19 am

>180 Peace2: LOL, A few weeks ago, I was bemoaning the fact that there are too many UK releases that I can't get my hands on. Then I realized that I just need to get my passport in order and head into Canada. I told my bemused DH that we needed to get our passports in order so I could go book shopping in Vancouver!

A friend of mine was going to do a Harry Potter Audio and Movie Challenge this year (listen to the audio, live tweet the movies) so I got all my ducks in a row by dnloading all the audiobooks and getting copies of all the movies. Unfortunately, she has been de-railed by life, so I decided to go ahead and at least listen to all the audios! At one point, I'll settle down to watch the movies too, when it's just me in the house. Sadly, my 11-year-old daughter has no patience for books that involve wizards and magic!

182Peace2
jun 19, 2014, 12:10 am

>181 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Very jealous now! *grin* I was lucky enough to visit Vancouver several years ago and I LOVED the bookshops! I spent ages in several of them, browsing and chilling - my idea of heaven!

I've never quite made it through to the end of the HP series - life derailed me part way through #6, so I put them all back on the TBR pile because it was that long since I'd read them and then happened across an audio version of part 1 in a charity store and thought - even better way to make it through them all, but it does mean waiting on the others becoming available at the library. I've made it through #1 and 2 and when I'm a bit further I'm going to start on the movies - I've only seen #1-3 (possibly 4) of those, because I was determined to read the books first and I thought if I got too close to where I'd read up to temptation might take over and I'd watch them first.

1832wonderY
jun 19, 2014, 7:55 am

I thought since I was enjoying the Artemis Fowl books so much, I'd try another of Colfer's stories, so I'm listening to The Wish List. It's got lots of potential, but the narrator isn't Nathaniel Parker, who does such a good clear Dublin accent. James Wilby has his good points. His Belch characterization is wonderful; but I'm not catching a lot of the small stuff, which is frustrating.

184Peace2
jun 19, 2014, 9:50 am

>183 2wonderY: Ohhh, Nathaniel Parker - I didn't realize he'd done audio narration... I wonder what other books he's narrated. The Artemis Fowler titles weren't on my TBR, but if he's reading them they must just need to be!

1852wonderY
jun 19, 2014, 10:12 am

>184 Peace2: Well I had no idea he was an actor, so cross-pollination. I just checked out his home page and I like his face. Strong and serious. Checking out season 1 of the Inspector Lynley Mysteries.

1862wonderY
jun 19, 2014, 10:21 am

PS: Do go look at his posted list of accents:
http://www.nathanielparker.com/cms/index.php/take-aways/category/3-list-of-accen...

It seems to cover all of his readings and has some grins - Reptilian, Squirrel, Dumb American.

187Peace2
jun 19, 2014, 11:43 am

>185 2wonderY: I'm pretty sure the first time I came across him was on stage in about 1986 on a school trip. He's the kind of actor that I don't follow all the time, but if I happen across something with him in, I'll stop to watch it because it's probably going to be worth the time and effort.

That was an impressive list of accents there! I did wonder how the 'American Dog' varied from the 'Dog' I guess one has to listen to them all to compare! What a shame so many of his audioworks are abridged - I had a little poke around and found this list http://www.nathanielparker.com/cms/index.php/all-projects-mainmenu-134/audiowork It does look rather like the Eoin Colfer's are going on the TBR list for the library - I'll have to hope they have the right versions!

188mabith
jun 20, 2014, 10:18 am

Just starting Queen Lucia, read perfectly by Nadia May.

189TooBusyReading
jun 20, 2014, 3:05 pm

I started the 2nd in the Outlander series, Dragonfly in Amber. Yes, I know, I'm late to the party.

I finished Where'd You Go, Bernadette and enjoyed it. The narrator was *very* enthusiastic, but it worked for this book.

190ktleyed
Redigerat: jun 23, 2014, 4:16 pm

I'm listening to Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. Narrated by Edward Herrmann. Pretty intense.

191NarratorLady
jun 23, 2014, 12:04 pm

190> I loved Herrmann's narration of Unbroken but then I pretty much enjoy his narration of everything. But I thought this was a great teaming of book and narrator.

192ktleyed
jun 23, 2014, 4:17 pm

#191, I'm really enjoying his narration, but the odd thing is, his voice also sounds an awful lot like William Shatner's! My husband heard it briefly and though it was Shatner!

193Tanya-dogearedcopy
Redigerat: jun 23, 2014, 9:48 pm

I finished listening to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter series, book #3; by J.K. Rowling; narrated by Jim Dale.) I'm beginning to wonder if every title in this series is going to reveal a little bit more about Harry's parents' death? Be that as it may, it's entertaining enough that I almost queued up the next book in the series. However, I decided to give myself a tiny break before diving back in...

I've just started Turn Coat (The Dresden Files, Book #11; by Jim Butcher; narrated by James Marsters.) From the opening passage I was hooked, so I'm hoping that this turns out to be one of the better titles in the series/it doesn't devolve into a cliched mess! :-)

Maybe I'll be able to have listened to all of the Harry Potter titles and gotten got up with The Dresden Files by summer's end!

194ktleyed
jun 24, 2014, 9:24 am

I finished Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, narrated by Edward Herrmann and am now listening to Enter Laughing by Carl Reiner, narrated by the author.

196aviddiva
jun 26, 2014, 4:48 pm

I'm in the middle of The Girl with All the Gifts, well read by Finty Williams. (Coincidentally, it's also on this month's Early Reviewers list in both print and audio.) I'm not generally a fan of Zombie stories, but this one is something special, and I'm really enjoying it.

197mabith
jun 26, 2014, 6:33 pm

I'm trying to listen to The Night Watch by Sarah Waters but the reader, Juanita McMahon is really whispery and quiet, which I have a hard time with. What kind of sound editor lets people get away with these quiet and ridiculous quiet readings?

198kgriffith
jun 26, 2014, 7:26 pm

I've just started an audiobook of an old favorite, Anne of Green Gables, narrated by Colleen Winton. I think this is the first time I've listened to a book I'm already so familiar with, so it'll be interesting to see how it goes. She narrates Anne fairly close to how I've always imagined she would sound, if a bit overly perky.

>197 mabith: I'm listening to a sample of that and while she has a lovely, husky quality to her voice, and it's quite melodic, I could NOT listen to her for long and actually hear the book.

199Nickelini
jun 26, 2014, 7:46 pm

#197 - That's odd. I recently listened to something read by Jaunita McMahon (perhaps the same author's Fingersmith) and she did a great job.

I'm listening to The Flying Troutmans and it's a fun read, but there are a lot of "he said" "she said" "I said". When the voices are all so different, it's not necessary and so I find it's getting old.

200mabith
jun 26, 2014, 9:29 pm

>198 kgriffith: Exactly! She has a nice voice, but I find it so easy to space out too. I've upped the speed a bit and that's helped somewhat.

Glad someone likes her, Joyce! The quietness in this is just hard for me.

201Nickelini
Redigerat: jun 27, 2014, 1:26 am

Glad someone likes her, Joyce! The quietness in this is just hard for me.

Well I'm wondering if it's more the production or as you say, the sound editing. Whatever production I heard her read, quietness wasn't an issue. This makes me think of the Seinfeld episode with the soft talker.

202ktleyed
jun 27, 2014, 9:28 am

I finished Enter Laughing by Carl Reiner and now I'm resuming the Sookie Stackhouse series, listening to Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris, narrated by Johanna Parker.

203CDVicarage
jun 27, 2014, 9:31 am

I'm filling in time with a short Fairacre story - Mrs. Pringle - before I start Phineas Finn for the imminent group/tutored read.

204mabith
jun 27, 2014, 10:26 am

>201 Nickelini: It is a slightly quiet production from the sound engineering standpoint but this would be an issue anyway. Even with my sound turned up she still dips below a comfortable range, so then if you turn it up louder half her narration is way too loud. And of course she could have just done something a little different stylistically with the other book.

205Nickelini
jun 27, 2014, 10:50 am

#204 - Mabith - that sounds dreadful! Yes, I'd hesitate to listen to her as a reader again too.

206Peace2
jun 27, 2014, 1:53 pm

Hmmm, having a run of not such good listens - I ordered The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith and when it arrived it was an abridged version - I listened to it anyway but found the story really disjointed. Next up was Elidor by Alan Garner, read by Jonathan Keeble, a narrator I usually love, but I found both the story and the narration disappointing.

Now I'm listening to Run by Jeff Abbott, read by Piter Marek - the first disc was damaged (it was a library loan) fortunately I managed to get it to play on my laptop, even though it wouldn't play on anything else - this did involved figuring out which tracks were damaged and skipping them, but the CD player and in-car CD couldn't get passed the bit that was damaging. I've got as far as the third disc and can't say I'm loving it, it's not bad enough to turn off, but I'm persisting.

Wild Swans : Three Daughters of China is a good one, but I've got to be within earshot of the tape deck and I haven't had much time to sit down where I can use it much this week (or even stand and do the ironing!)

>197 mabith: I tried The Night Watch read by Juanita MacMahon a few months ago (late last year) and really didn't like her narration. I gave up about 3 or 4 discs in - I have to say that ever since I've avoided both the narrator and the author as I felt so uninspired by it. So you have my sympathies - it's always a shame when something doesn't 'work' for you I think. I want to love every book I read and every narration I listen to, but the reality doesn't live up to that.

207mabith
jun 27, 2014, 2:32 pm

Peace2, yes exactly! I remember I tried to listen to one of hers a while back and couldn't. It's harder still when the narrator isn't flat-out terrible but there are things that just don't work. Increasing the speed has really helped (she's such a slow reader as well as the breathyness), so I'm going to try and power through it and then maybe I'll eventually get to her other books in print.

2082wonderY
jun 30, 2014, 8:01 am

I was listening to What the Dog Saw, read by himself, Mr. Gladwell, in the car this weekend. I drove past my exit(!) which I'm always so careful of, because it's 12 miles to the next exit and 13 miles back. (Don't ask, it's Kentucky.)
And then I drove right past my driveway too! Some interesting, if dated, essays.

So, decided to listen to something else while on the road - who knows where I'll end up next. So listening to Stuck in Neutral, read by Johnny Heller. I'm loving both the book and the reader's voice, and wishing it were longer than three discs.

209Nickelini
jun 30, 2014, 11:20 am

Mabith - I thought this might amuse you. I listen to audiobooks on my iPhone using the OneClick app through the public library. It's great except it's often difficult to find something I want to listen to. Last night I scrolled for ages before downloading The London Train. When I tested it, I found out it's narrated by Juanita McMahon. Oh noooooo! Well, I'll give it a try and report back on how it goes. (and yes, I could have checked the reader before downloading but so far I haven't bothered).

Yesterday I finished The Flying Troutmans, which was an excellent audiobook except that there were a lot of "she said" "he said" "I said" that started to grate--in paper the eye would just glaze over them. But other than that I think this is one I prefer on audio.

210Peace2
jun 30, 2014, 3:58 pm

>186 2wonderY: Thanks to your rec as Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban still isn't available at the library, I just happened to see a copy of Artemis Fowl narrated by Nathaniel Parker lurking in a darkened corner, so I snaffled that instead and was so keen I started it on the way home!

Although I'm enjoying Wild Swans : Three Daughters of China, it's a problematic copy that keeps stopping - old worn cassette tapes, which is a shame. It's well read though and I'm a little over a quarter of the way through.

Does anyone remember back when CDs first came out and the sales pitches that they were undamageable (I remember the guy who fitted my mum and dad's first CD player telling them they could cover it in ketchup and it would still play? Oh how I wish some of those claims had been true - I can't believe how many problems I have with some of the ones I borrow from the library - scratched, grubby... *sigh* I've just finished Run by Jeff Abbott and had real difficulty getting a couple of the discs to play - the car CD seems to be particularly sensitive.

Anyway, left the library with a bit of a haul of audio today, Artemis Fowl as noted above, but also Lord of the Flies which I somehow seem to have missed ever reading, and The Harbour by Francesca Brill. Fingers crossed I'm in for some good listening.

211mabith
jul 1, 2014, 12:52 am

>209 Nickelini:, Oh Juanita! She's just everywhere. I am loving being able to change the speed on things. I never could have gotten through The Night Watch without that.

I've just started The Man Who Broke Into Auschwitz, which is read oddly by James Langton. His rhythm is very strange. The book thus far is that typical "Well, other soldiers thought about sex, but not me of course," and "Such and such was the norm, young people today just wouldn't believe it!" That kind of thing bugs me. It's not the most well-written book, but it's not too bad, so I'm sticking with it.

212ktleyed
jul 1, 2014, 10:29 am

Finished Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris and am now listening to To Die For by Linda Howard, narrated by Franette Liebow.

213Seajack
jul 3, 2014, 11:03 pm

I'm about halfway through The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry -- I like the narration and writing, although the storyline itself is good, but not outstanding.

214Tanya-dogearedcopy
jul 3, 2014, 11:36 pm

Turn Coat
The Dresden Files, Book #11
By Jim Butcher; narrated by James Marsters
(P) 2009, Penguin Audio
14 hours, 40 minutes

Warden Morgan comes to Harry Dresden, famed Chicagoan wizard detective and fellow warden, for sanctuary and help. It appears that Morgan has been framed for the murder of a senior White Council wizard. The act could create a schism within the Council and further fuel an ongoing war with other supernatural factions. Though Morgan has been historically Harry's enemy within the Council, Harry decides to take up the cause in the name of truth, justice, and the discovery who might be behind this treacherous double act of homicide and treason. The hook into the story was excellent and the plot tracks very well. Butcher's writing seems to have evened out and gotten better since Blood Rites (the nadir of Butcher's writing skills in The Dresden Files) though there are a few cut-and-paste phrases that are used multiple times within the story, and Butcher is addicted to his movies and cliched physical prototypes. Marsters, as always, inhabits the character of Harry completely, though there are moments where the narrative flow seems to jump in logic, maybe from the way Marsters interprets the lines. Characters are clearly delineated and Spike fans get to hear a bit of Marsters' British clip in the character of Binder :-)

Now I'm listening to Anansi Boys (by Neil Gaiman; narrated by Lenny henry) and enjoying it very much :-)

215mabith
jul 3, 2014, 11:52 pm

Just finished Salt, Sugar, Fat, which was very interesting. I am glad I don't eat much processed food anymore. I even make my own corn tortillas now.

Just started The Summer of the Danes by Ellis Peters, a nice comfort-read series for me.

216wifilibrarian
jul 4, 2014, 12:11 am

Listening to The Wall by Marlen Haushofer post apocalyptic. So far it seems like a cross between The Martian and The Dome but from a woman's perspective.

217SylviaC
Redigerat: jul 4, 2014, 9:18 am

Why We Buy: the science of shopping by Paco Underhill. It's interesting enough so far, but is more about how to get customers to buy more, than why we actually buy stuff.

218Peace2
jul 6, 2014, 5:12 am

Finished Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer narrated by Nathaniel Parker - brilliant reading of this (so much so that I've already borrowed number 2 from the library but am holding it in reserve until I finish the others I have on the go).

Also finished Wild Swans : Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang read by Rowena Cooper - narration was good for this, unfortunately I ended up having to read my paper copy for quite a few parts as the audio copy was old, worn and kept jamming which is a real shame.

Now I'm listening to The Harbour - I'm not entirely convinced by the narration to this, but the story is okay so far (I've just started the second disc in the car).

I've also just started Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Somehow I've managed to not ever read this before, which was part of the reason I thought I'd give it a go. I have it in both audio and paper and I may end up reading it myself, as I'm not convinced by the author's own narration of the story. He almost sounds bored.

It's a strange thing when looking at audio versions as to whether to choose things read by the author or not - when I listened to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams' narration was enthusiastic and his enjoyment came through and superseded any failings in his narration, Khaled Hosseini's own reading of The Kite Runner also worked for me, but this one I'm definitely less enthusiastic about and I'm sure I've read previously that some authors shouldn't read their own work because as narrators they can't do it justice.

219Tanya-dogearedcopy
Redigerat: jul 6, 2014, 1:47 pm

>218 Peace2: I'm always very wary of authors reading their own works unless it's an autobiography (and sometimes even then!) I understand that they wrote the book and that, forever how long they were writing the book they heard a voice in their head so they have very specific ideas as to what the book should sound like; but more often than not, the voice in their head is not the voice of a narrator. It's the same principle in Hollywood where screenwriters aren't usually directors or actors.

Yes, there are authors who make decent narrators; but I would really rather they didn't. Even Neil Gaiman, who is usually the example of a great author-narrator is someone I avoid in audio for the simple reason that his performances become definitive, giving the listener no margin for interpretation whatsoever. An example: My daughter read Coraline and loved it. She quoted from the book and made up a music for the songs. Then she heard the audio. She came back with, "I was doing it wrong." This is something I think even adults fall victim to, a sort of lazy listening, listening that doesn't fire up the brain or spark the imagination. The audio becomes a showpiece, but then lacks the flexibility of interpretation that the print allows and that professional narrators know how to provide.

When I saw that you were picking up Golding's Lord of the Flies, I wondered about that. I've been tempted in the past to pick it up. I want it to be really good; but repeatedly I keep hearing how many are disappointed by it.
I started listening to The Kite Runner in audio; but despite the native pronunciations, found it a rather uninspired reading so DNF-ed it. If I ever pick it back up in print, at least I'll know how many of the words are really pronounced!

220Peace2
jul 6, 2014, 1:39 pm

>219 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I think that perhaps all the names and pronunciation was what made The Kite Runner work for me - it wasn't the best narration I've heard but it wasn't a fail.

I definitely wouldn't recommend Lord of the Flies, I'm really not enjoying it at all, but it was only a six hour read, which has meant that I've got through most of it today while cleaning and ironing and stopping for lunch. I've got just over an hour to go and am thinking that I'll probably just keep going until it's done. The story itself is disappointing, somehow I was expecting something more, but I'm not quite sure how or why. The author's narration is an almost mumbling monotone - there is little variation in it, by comparison with what I've come to expect. Between each chapter, the author comments on symbolism and such like, which distracts from the story (although in a way it ought to add to the interest) but it's as if he's been given a series of questions and is bored stiff in trying to come up with his response.

221mabith
jul 6, 2014, 2:03 pm

It would be nicer if authors kept in mind their age and sex when wanting to be the audio reader for their own novels... In the British Audible catalog you can have Lord of the Flies narrated by Martin Jarvis, who seems much better, and Coraline by Dawn French. I really dislike when the reader is the opposite sex of the main character, so Gaiman reading Coraline sounds annoying. It's not as though you can't provide a reader with some direction...

Not that you want children reading children's books, but someone who would have been great reading something when they were younger might not have the voice for it when they're older. I can't find out anywhere when that William Golding recording was made (the release date is ten years after he died, so maybe that was the problem, Zombie Reader).

222Peace2
jul 6, 2014, 3:18 pm

>221 mabith: Zombie Reader - terrifying thought! The copyright on the cassettes says 1995 which was still 2 years after he died although I seem to remember that he mentioned it being 1976 in one of his commentary bits on the audio.

At this point, I've finished the ironing and Lord of the Flies and am now happily listening to Artemis Fowl : The Arctic Incident as narrated by Nathaniel Parker - I can relax and enjoy (well when I've finished a few more chores anyway!)

223Storeetllr
jul 8, 2014, 2:38 pm

I've been on an audiobook jag the past month:

The Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan, read by Kate Reading
Tropic of Serpents Book 2 by Marie Brennan, read by Kate Reading
The Hallowed Hunt by Lois McMaster Bujold, read by Marguerite Gavin
Monk's Hood by Ellis Peters, read by Derek Jacobi
The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold, read by Grover Gardner
Three Weeks With Lady X by Eloisa James, read by Susan Duerdon
Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold, read by Grover Gardner
Brothers in Arms by Bujold, read by Grover Gardner
The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley, read by Jayne Entwistle
Borders of Infinity by Bujold, read by Grover Gardner
Mirror Dance by Bujold, read by Grover Gardner
I Am Half Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley, read by Jayne Entwistle

I really enjoyed the two Brennans and am devouring the Vorkosigan novels like potato chips. Also surprised by how much I am enjoying the Flavia de Luce mysteries.

I didn't care as much for The Hallowed Hunt as I had expected, but I think it was the reader, not the novel itself. The Cadfael was fun, a trip down memory lane, but for some reason not as much as I'd expected.

Currently, I'm listening to Top Secret Twenty-One, which is turning out to be more interesting than I'd expected.

224Tanya-dogearedcopy
Redigerat: jul 10, 2014, 1:47 am

Anansi Boys
By Neil Gaiman
Narrated by Lenny Henry
(P) 2005, Harper Audio
10.1 hours

"Fat Charlie" Nancy is a rather unprepossessing guy. He’s an accountant. He has a fiancée that he hasn’t slept with yet. He suffers from stage fright when confronted with a karaoke mic. When things get rough there’s nothing more than he’s like to do than find succor with a bit of goat curry and a cup of tea. But when his unrepentantly flamboyant father passes away, Charlie travels from his home in England back to Florida for the funeral. From there on out, Fat Charlie discovers things about his family, his brother in particular, and especially himself that are harrowingly frightening, funny and amazing all at the same time. This story is Afro-Caribbean in nature and feels very different from Gaiman’s usual style of weird, drippy, wet London. The story dazzles with bright sunshine, flashes with slick and clever dialogue, and echoes with the rhythms of ancient drum beats from West Africa. But Gaiman’s trademark other-world-that-is-nowhere, a land where reality has a rather tenuous grip and is fascinating for its strangeness is still here in the form of a dreamlike place where the world begins and ancient folkloric figures inhabit.

Lenny Henry (Dawn French’s now ex-husband) is the British narrator who reflects the world beats of the story with relative facility: The English accents (natch) of Fat Charlie and other UK characters, and the smooth American voice of Fat Charlie’s brother in particular. While I wouldn’t say all his character voices (i.e. the older figures in the story) were on the mark, the rest of the cast, men and women alike, were well delineated without resorting to overly/extreme comic interpretations. There were a couple places where I didn’t catch a word; but overall, well paced, clear, and entertaining.

**********

Now I'm halfway through The Martian (by Andy Weir; narrated by R.C. Bray) - This is a SFF novel about an American astronaut, Mark Watney, who got left behind in the planet of Mars. There's a lot of science that you need to pay attention to; but the payoff is in understanding the real challenges that Mark faces in his pursuit of food, clothing and shelter in an alien and hostile environment. Humor cuts the tension (plenty of great lines); but for some reason I'm starting to get a little restless. I'll probably wrap it up in the next couple of days.

225Nickelini
jul 8, 2014, 7:15 pm

#197 and others Mabith - Just finished Juanita McMahon reading The London Train and she didn't do any of that whispery quiet crap that drove you crazy. She did different voices for different characters, and overall I liked her narration. So I don't think she's always bad!

226mabith
jul 8, 2014, 9:16 pm

Ah, glad to hear it, Joyce! I'll make sure and catch a sample if she pops up for me again.

227Seajack
jul 9, 2014, 8:28 pm

I just finished The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, which as terrific (although I had a few quibbles here and there). Scott Brick's narration really brought the book to life; I'd never heard him read before.

228alans
jul 11, 2014, 11:40 am

I started this week The Paris Architect which is a relatively new book. The narrator is the same person who read Edward Rutherford's New York and that is a huge book which took me months to finish, so sometimes I get lost in both worlds because they are both historical novels. This new one is very very good. The narrator is also very good but don't you find when you are so used to a voice and their vocal patterns, that you kind of don't find the book to be as fresh as if it was read by someone completely new.

229mabith
jul 11, 2014, 1:58 pm

Alans, yes, I find that. I wonder how I'd find a book with a new-to-me reader versus Nadia May who I'm very familiar with.

Just starting Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Really not sure what to expect from it yet.

230ktleyed
Redigerat: jul 12, 2014, 8:29 am

Finished Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris narrated by Johanna Parker and am now beginning Lady Be Good by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, narrated by Anna Fields.

231Tanya-dogearedcopy
Redigerat: jul 13, 2014, 6:12 pm

The Martian
By Andy Weir
Narrated by R.C. Bray
(P) 2013, Podium Publishing
10 hrs, 53 minutes

Mark Watney is an American astronaut who is left for dead after a destructive sandstorm forces the evacuation of the third manned Mars mission, Ares III. Unfortunately, he wasn’t dead; and now he is confronted with the enormous challenges of figuring out how to survive in a hostile environment with the odds against his rescue. Relying on his ingenuity, sense of humor, salvage from the base camp, and the efforts of the world’s space bureaucracies, Watney needs to figure out out to sustain himself with air, water, food, clothing and shelter - in the face of miscalculations, equipment failure, and adverse weather. The enormous amount of exposition required to set up each challenge, however remarkable for its seeming veracity in regards to technical issues and resolutions, is often boring and tedious; but the payoff for the tenacious listener is being able to fully share in Watney’s triumphs and setbacks - his experience as if we were there with him.

The narrative follows Watney’s point-of-view, some action on Earth, onboard the spaceship Ares III, and every once in a while from a point-of-view dispossessed of any personality (recounting an action in which there are no plausible witnesses.) The narrator, R.C. Bray performs the role of the Mark Watney extremely well, lending credible voice to a character in an incredible situation. Bray also does well with the different genders and ages, though he does a little less well in rendering the foreign accents demanded of him; but the characters come to life and are well delineated. The story is told clearly and with sensitivity to the characters’ personalities.

On a personal note, I almost gave up on this audiobook halfway through; but I’m glad I didn’t. Despite things happening in the story, it wasn’t clear that the story was actually going anywhere; And I wasn’t sure that the constant grind of having science & technology explained to me was worth the one-liners and/or the end result of each challenge. But I ended up being emotionally vested in the fate of Mark Watney, and consider the hours spent listening to his story well spent.

232mabith
jul 13, 2014, 6:24 pm

Just started Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat by Hal Herzog, read well enough by Mel Foster.

233Sandydog1
jul 13, 2014, 8:07 pm

Half-way through Letters From Earth. typical Twain, you have to separate the wheat from the chaff.

234Peace2
jul 15, 2014, 5:49 pm

Finished listening to Lord of the Flies which ended up, for me, as bad as I thought. Rewarded myself by starting the next Artemis Fowl The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer read by Nathaniel Parker - although the story didn't seem as strong as the first in the series, the narration was still excellent.

I've finished listening to The Harbour by Francesca Brill and read by Tara Ward - this was 'okay' on all fronts, the narration was fine, not the best I've heard, but not awful. I ended up with similar feelings about the book, I didn't overly like any of the characters, but did feel sorry for some of their suffering.

Next up Artemis Fowl : The Eternity Code and I'll follow that with I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella and The Zahir by Paulo Coelho. All are library loans, but I probably won't get to the Sophie Kinsella or Paulo Coelho until next weekend.

235kgriffith
jul 15, 2014, 10:08 pm

I've started the version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone that my local library carries, which happens to be the Jim Dale. I'm not thoroughly opposed, but I do find myself getting annoyed every time I hear "Voldemort" said with a silent "t" at the end. Before the films, I'd have felt differently, but I feel like JKR should have been consulted about the pronunciation for either/both... right?

236CDVicarage
jul 16, 2014, 2:31 am

>235 kgriffith: I've never heard it pronounced that way before, Stephen Fry sounds the final 't'.

237mabith
jul 16, 2014, 9:20 am

Just starting War With the Newts.

238Tanya-dogearedcopy
Redigerat: jul 16, 2014, 11:51 am

>235 kgriffith: I can't think of any other instance, then or now, in which an author would have been consulted across all mediums or iterations for character pronunciations, so I'm not sure why JKR would have been the first, especially given that: Fifteen (plus!) years ago, audiobooks were the red-headed children of the publishing industry and very few authors regardless of their imminence would consider such a consultation worth their time; It is a given that actor-narrators are given a certain latitude or artistic license regarding interpretations. It was (and is) still more important that a narrator be consistent within the work or canon than anomalous to the movies or another narrator's interpretations; and no one anticipated there being a crossover of audiences and comparisons being made between market (UK vs US) versions, much less the movies!

239kgriffith
jul 17, 2014, 4:22 pm

>238 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I didn't know authors aren't typically consulted :) But, especially given the relative (un)popularity of audiobooks in years past, that makes sense. I definitely was more bothered - jarred out of the story, really - by the inconsistent pronunciations of several names in GoT than hearing a name consistently said differently from how I'm accustomed to hearing it.

240mabith
jul 17, 2014, 4:24 pm

Often authors accidentally sign away any right to have an input in the audiobook production without realizing it.

241Tanya-dogearedcopy
jul 17, 2014, 6:44 pm

>239 kgriffith: The Song of Ice and Fire audiobook series is its own soap opera, with its fans and haters alike! I still haven't gone there, either in print or audio (or TV for that matter!) though I think I have the first two or three in both audio and ebook. I feel like I really need to clear the decks and dedicate some serious time to them... So it's probably not going to happen either way!

242kgriffith
jul 18, 2014, 10:42 am

The first book (audio) was good enough for me to listen for some 30+ hours, but I wasn't in a huge rush to get to the next. I've started the Wheel of Time series, because I was given all 14 volumes, and am enjoying that more, so will continue to hack away at it - but it definitely required a reason to make the commitment to that amount of reading! I've had the books for ages, and only just started because a friend is reading them as part of the Hugo award panel.

243Tanya-dogearedcopy
Redigerat: jul 18, 2014, 5:57 pm

>242 kgriffith: Ack! Where's the glitter!?!

I really should get to The Wheel of Time series in audio; but sometimes when I'm faced with the task of starting a series from that start, and it's more than 8 titles long, it seems so daunting! And usually by book 3 or 4, the author will have annoyed or bored me. :-/

Right now, the series I'm most actively engaged in (audio) is The Dresden Files (will be starting #12 in a couple of weeks) and The Harry Potter series (just started "The Goblet of Fire" yesterday. I need to get caught up with the Andy Carpenter series (I'm three behind, including the one that's just about to drop,) and I want to get going on the Dave Robicheaux series. I've listened to the first two, but even though I loved them, it's been years since then!

244mabith
jul 18, 2014, 7:36 pm

Should a new thread be started soon?

I'm a little ways into Mean Little Deaf Queer, which is, thus far, an amazing memoir, and read well.

2452wonderY
jul 19, 2014, 1:50 pm

Just finished The Martian and want to thank whoever recommended it. Very well done!

246mabith
jul 19, 2014, 4:16 pm

I loved The Martian too. I finally found my exact, perfect, type of sci-fi with that one.

247kgriffith
Redigerat: jul 20, 2014, 8:08 am

>243 Tanya-dogearedcopy:, And the day came when the administrative need to combine LT.com and LTFL user accounts was greater than the desire to buck employee naming convention. :)

(ETA: I jest, but the truth is that I anticipated this from the start, and was only surprised it wasn't a need before now. And I took a few screen shots before the switch, for posterity. ;) )

248SylviaC
jul 20, 2014, 10:11 am

>247 kgriffith: But the glitter made it so easy to pick you out of the crowd!

249kgriffith
jul 20, 2014, 11:42 am

248> I know; now I'm all stealthy and stuff, muahahaha... ;)

250ktleyed
jul 20, 2014, 10:38 pm

Finished Dying to Please by Linda Howard and am now listening to the last of the Sookie Stackhouse series Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris.

251mabith
jul 20, 2014, 11:26 pm

Sped through Ronia the Robber's Daughter by Astrid Lindgren today. It was read by Khristine Hvam, who wasn't terrible (I didn't consider canning it), but I did not enjoy her, particularly her voice for Ronia which was grating.

252Peace2
Redigerat: jul 21, 2014, 4:01 am

Finished The Eternity Code by Eoin Colfer earlier in the week - this was a good one - preferred it to The Arctic Incident and returned it to the library and have managed to borrow The Opal Deception to add to the TBR pile. I really enjoy Nathaniel Parker's narration.

Started listening to The Zahir and am not particularly enjoying the story or the narration - a bit dreary all round. I think I'm in the mood for something a bit more upbeat. I'm almost two-thirds of the way through and hope to finish it either later today or tomorrow at the latest.

I got my 'more upbeat' when I started listening to I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella and read by Clare Corbett. I forget that I like this kind of thing because I don't read them often. Light humour, romance that isn't heavy. I tend to go a year or so between reading Sophie Kinsella books but when I do read them I devour them. I absolutely raced through this - I managed about 4 or 5 CDs yesterday! I'm tempted to see if the library has anything more on these lines when I go in this week, because clearly I'm in the mood for this kind of thing right now.

Next up with The Opal Deception is Beyond the Deepwoods by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell. This one is read by Michael Praed - another blast from the past! I'm interested to hear him narrate and hope it's going to be good.

253aviddiva
jul 21, 2014, 2:10 pm

>252 Peace2: Peace2, if you are looking for something like I've got Your Number (which I read in print and really liked,) you might enjoy Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. I'm currently listening to it, and it has some similarities - large parts of the story are told in email exchanges, light romance, quite. funny. Not the same, but it made me think of I've got Your Number. Haven't finished it yet, but it's good so far.

254mabith
Redigerat: jul 21, 2014, 2:47 pm

Just starting Miss Mapp.

255Peace2
jul 21, 2014, 3:54 pm

>253 aviddiva: Thanks for the suggestion - I'll see if the library have got it :D

256kgriffith
jul 22, 2014, 10:32 am

Just finished Emma Galvin's narration of Divergent. I really appreciated her reading style; it wasn't affected, the pacing was good, and her voice itself felt "right" for Tris. Moving right on to Insurgent.

257Seajack
jul 23, 2014, 8:42 pm

Today I started The Crooked Maid, a story of Postwar Vienna. I'm not usually a fan of historical fiction, but Kate Reading's a perfect fit for this book.

258Tanya-dogearedcopy
jul 23, 2014, 8:50 pm

I'm listening to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter series, Book #4; by J.K. Rowling; narrated by Jim Dale) and it's not really holding my attention; but I will persevere! After the first twenty minutes and a day off from listening, I had to go back to the beginning and re-start as I didn't recognize the place where I had left off. I kept re-winding in 30 second increments for a few minutes before I said "To hell with it" and went back to 0:00:00! Normally, I would bail on the series by now, or even just read the synopses; but I did challenge myself to read the series this year. It seems that anything written my a Millennial has a reference to HP in their work, especially in the fantasy genre, so it would behoove me to understand what has become a foundation work. Anyway, apparently, you-know-who (he-whose-name-must-not-be-spoken) is after Harry. Again. Ha!

259mabith
jul 23, 2014, 9:37 pm

That you-know-who was nothing if not persistent! There are lots of amusing posts by Potter fans about how the muggle-born students would ACTUALLY react to arriving at Hogwarts and finding no internet connections, or the fact that they don't seem to teach math at Hogwarts...

I'm listening to Rabbit-Proof Fence, and baffled as to why they chose an Englishwoman to read it (Rebekah Germain). She's not doing a bad job, but surely you'd choose an Australian reader. I should be starting Empress Dowager Cixi soon, as my slow, kitchen book tomorrow.

260Tanya-dogearedcopy
jul 24, 2014, 12:36 am

LOL, I don't know what they do in "arithmagic" class as Hermione is the only one taking it so far; but there does seem to be a little a bit of math (geometry) in their divination class: They're struggling with angles in lining up the astronomical bodies to create their own astrology charts!

I was actually thinking the same thing about technology: What might have these books been like had they been written after the introduction of the now omnipresent APPL devices and their ilk? In The Dresden Files (by Jim Butcher,) the aversion of technology is explained as computer devices running amok in the presence of magic; but the technology is there nonetheless (just always exploding or malfunctioning!) In the Rivers of London/Peter Grant series (by Ben Aaronovitch,) the absence of technology (at The Folly, the main house where the wizard-protag lives and works from) is explained as being a result of no visitors being allowed. Peter Grant has cable an such installed at the coach house instead. OTOH, in the Matthew Swift series (by Kate Griffith,) the wizard-protag has a very close relationship with technology! Hmmm, this is something I'm going to look out for as I read more in the urban fantasy genre!

261mabith
jul 24, 2014, 1:57 pm

I'm not much for urban fantasy, and I admit I'm not the type of fiction reader who thinks about these issues. I read the book and then I stop thinking about it. I had an ARC of the first Harry Potter book when I was 13, so it caught me at the right age. I was pretty annoyed that I was teased for having the books my freshman year of high school but two years later those same girls were talking about them constantly. Sigh, that's the trouble with being on the cutting edge! I think there were some interesting technology-magic things in Kim Harrison's witch series though?

Just starting Who Fears Death, read by Ann Flossnick, who I don't care for as a reader. She's doing this way too husky. If I couldn't change the speed I wouldn't be able to sit through it. Thank you SO MUCH through to whoever mentioned recently that you could change the speed on Overdrive. That's been an absolute lifesaver. Normal speed it's awful, but a 1.2 it's totally fine (if not ideal).

262Peace2
jul 24, 2014, 7:05 pm

I gave up on Beyond the Deepwoods by Paul Stewart not because the narration was bad or the story - but because on closer examination I discovered it was abridged and as I own a complete paperback copy, I abandoned the abridged version in favour of reading the complete version.

So instead my new listens are Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer and Sacrilege by S J Parris with The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton next in the pile. On current efforts, I expect to finish the Artemis Fowl tomorrow and then I need to make a decision whether to listen to Sacrilege both in the car and in the house or whether to start The Secret Keeper in the house. I'm thinking that I might concentrate on Sacrilege as they are both huge (about 17 discs each) so that's quite a sustained listening commitment.

263sebago
jul 25, 2014, 11:02 am

Good morning! I just loaded Fall of Giants and World Without End onto the MP3 player yesterday. World is 36 parts! yay! Listening keeps me sane while commuting to and from work ha! Have a wonderful weekend all!

264Peace2
jul 30, 2014, 5:12 am

Finally finished Sacrilege by SJ Parris and am going to try to whizz through Shadowmancer by GP Taylor read by Cornelius Garrett and then start on The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton.

265Tanya-dogearedcopy
Redigerat: jul 30, 2014, 10:43 am

I'm wrapping up Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter, Book #4, by J.K. Rowling; narrated by Jim Dale) - 3 discs to go out of 17; and am also finishing up Ranger's Apprentice, Book 1: The Ruins of Gorlan (by John Flanagan; narrated by John Keating.) Both are considered fantasy novels for middle graders, and as such I recognize that I'm not the intended audience; but still...

In "The Goblet of Fire," Harry Potter enters his fourth year at Hogwart's where he has been entered into a three-way wizarding contest - as the fourth contestant! Harry is placed in life threatening situations, and it looks like He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is at work again, though, even this late in the book, it is not clear how. The writing seems a bit bloated, and Dale seems to have lost a bit of his rather already-tenuous grip on some of the older character delineations; but so be it. At least now I know what is meant by an "auror" when it's mentioned in a book or in real life!

"The Ruins of Gorlan" is rather awkwardly written story about a fifteen-year old orphan who aspires to become a warrior apprentice; but is instead selected to become a ranger's apprentice. Rangers are mysterious-seeming for their ability to use camouflage, and being adepts in archery and knife-work; but such is the life of these medieval spies. The story sometimes shifts the third person POV within a scene, which disrupts the flow of the narrative and/or the mood. It's like having your train of thought broken. The narrator mispronounces words (e.g. "fief") and doesn't pay attention to textual cues (e.g. The line may read that the character has laid emphasis on a particular word, but Keating doesn't deliver the line with an emphasis on the word.) It's a bit violent as characters indulge in petty vindictiveness, but for all the action, I often find I'm not paying attention 100% of the time :-/

Right now, both books would be sitting comfortably in a "C/C-" range if I were grading.

In print, I just started Every Dead Thing by John Connolly) which is much more graphic than I had anticipated. From the description which explains that Charlie "Bird" Parker is a former cop that sees the dead; and from having read Connolly's Samuel Johnson series, I thought this would be a bit lighter, like Koontz's Odd Thomas series. But this is a little intense from the get-go with a gruesome double murder in the prologue to set the tone. I heard that the UK audio of this series was excellent, but not having access to UK audio nor wanting to do the US series which uses a bunches of different narrators, in addition to being incomplete, I went to print.

266Peace2
jul 31, 2014, 3:07 pm

Well Shadowmancer was not in the least enjoyable - the only reason I stuck with it was that the narrator seemed to be doing a pretty reasonable job. I'm onto The Secret Keeper now and that seems much more promising.

2682wonderY
jul 31, 2014, 3:56 pm

I'm resuming listening to Debt: The First 5,000 Years, but it's so long and varied that I might prefer to skim the physical book instead.

And I've got a cleaner copy of Eifelheim and hoping the discs all work. Last copy, each disc had burn-out issues and I was reading along to keep continuity of the story. It's good, but slow exposition of a long story.

269wifilibrarian
jul 31, 2014, 8:19 pm

>268 2wonderY: I really enjoyed Eifelheim but it is a slow story. I listened to the Overdrive version. Narration was good, and probably meant I could finish it, if I'd been reading it I may have given up. It was my second Michael Flynn, after Firestar, which also had little in the way of plot but I enjoy exploring Flynn's ideas.

270JackieCarroll
aug 2, 2014, 11:16 pm

I didn't know we had a group for audio. I'm so glad I found you guys!

I've always got an audiobook going but I go through them slowly. I only listen when I walk the dogs and when I can't fall asleep. I just finished Map of Time by Felix J Palma and started The American by Henry James. The narator is Robert Lawson.

271Sandydog1
Redigerat: aug 3, 2014, 7:22 pm


>270 JackieCarroll:

James is tough on audio as well as "in traditional reading mode". I haven't read The American, but may start listening to Washington Square next. I listened to, and found The Ambassadors a bit tedious.

Wasn't it HG Wells who said that James' writings were like a Hippopotamus trying to push and pick up a pea with his snout? Or something like that.

I just finished a wonderful old ISIS recording of The Lost World of the Kalahari.

It was narrated by John Nettleton. His voice was reminiscent of the "Fractured Fairy Tales" narrator, Edward Everett Horton (but with a much heavier British accent!).

272aplski
aug 3, 2014, 9:08 pm

I am catching up with old friends. Presently, Asimov's "Foundation". Just finished Miller's "A Canticle for Liebowitz". I read these thirty years ago, but listening to them has been a brand new experience. Maybe it is the passage of time, or a lot of water under the bridge, but I have been delightfully surprised by what I missed with my first reading. Listening slows me down and I find that I take in more.

273JackieCarroll
Redigerat: aug 3, 2014, 10:57 pm

>271 Sandydog1: I think most of his early novels (including The American) are a bit tedious. A good narrator can breathe some life into a tedious book, but that's not the case with this narrator. He sounds bored. James was a master at short stories, and I think I'll stick with that format from now on.

Thanks for mentioning The Lost World of the Kalahari. I've been trying to remember the name of that book for ages.

274mabith
aug 4, 2014, 9:55 am

Just getting into Leonardo and the Last Supper, read well.

275Peace2
aug 4, 2014, 12:03 pm

I've finished The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton - enjoyed the story, but some strange things happened with the author's accent for different characters - wouldn't be my favourite narration.

Now listening to The Moon Looked Down by Dorothy Garlock which is narrated by Susanna Burney - it reminds me a little of listening to Lorelei King (and that's meant in a positive way). Story is going well so far. I don't think it's going to take me long to get through this.

276aviddiva
Redigerat: aug 4, 2014, 2:44 pm

Listening to Alias Hook, a quite interesting spin-off of the Peter Pan story from Hook's point of view. The narrator is good, but tends to drop his voice at the ends of phrases, which makes it hard to listen to in the car. Took me a little while to get into the story, but now I'm enjoying it.

277Nickelini
aug 5, 2014, 2:36 am

Today I finished A Cupboard Full of Coats, by Yvette Edwards. In part of my review I say:

Although this wasn't the most fascinating or compelling of books, for the most part I enjoyed listening to A Cupboard Full of Coats and having the story disclosed, bit by bit. I particularly commend the reader, Adjoa Andoh, who smoothly transitioned between a pretty straightforward British narrator, a working class/East End London accent, and various Caribbean voices. Between her skill here, and the well-rounded characters, A Cupboard Full of Coats felt fresh and different

278sebago
aug 5, 2014, 11:26 am

I started World Without End this morning during my commute to work. I loved Fall of Giants. World is much, much longer but such a great novel. The narrator sounds Scottish, I need to check that out. Happy Tuesday all!

279ktleyed
aug 5, 2014, 8:24 pm

I finished The No. 1 Ladie's Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith, narrated by Lisette Lecat. Now I'm beginning The Time Traveler's Guide to Elizabethan England by Ian Mortimer, narrated by Mike Grady.

280jldarden
aug 5, 2014, 10:09 pm

Recently started Joyland by Stephen King. Not liking the narrator, though.

281Peace2
aug 6, 2014, 4:31 am

Just finished The Moon Looked Down by Dorothy Garlock which I enjoyed and now starting Better than Fiction: True Travel Tales From Great Fiction Writers which I'm interested to see how it goes. The collection is edited by Don George and includes writers such as Isabel Allende, Carol Birch, Bryce Courtney and Alexander McCall Smith.

2822wonderY
aug 6, 2014, 7:54 am

My library now has all audio books grouped together on one set of shelves, so browsing the other day, I found a Junior book called Fish by L.S. Matthews. It is excellent. A couple of aid workers are fleeing a war zone, the saga told from the perspective of their child. Only three discs; lovely characters.

283Seajack
aug 7, 2014, 9:18 pm

Popping in to recommend The Crooked Maid, a novel set in postwar Vienna, read beautifully by Kate Reading.

2842wonderY
aug 8, 2014, 12:29 pm

I don't like horror, but thrillers are okay, so I'm listening to Odd Thomas. I do like a lot of the characters. I hope they all survive.

285Peace2
aug 8, 2014, 12:55 pm

I gave up on Better than Fiction because for me it really wasn't - it's the old short story complaint again - I couldn't engage with a story before it was over or if I was engaging with it, it was over too quickly and I had to start over again. As each one was written by a different author, the styles were (understandably and perfectly justifiably) different which only seemed to make it harder. The fault is not with the book (or the audio version of it), but for me it didn't work.

Some long journeys ahead so I have stocked up my MP3 player with a whole range of stories and really don't know where to start. These are my choices - Brideshead Revisited, Moonraker, Quiver, The False Friend and The Unseen. Any comments on where to start with that pile?

286Tanya-dogearedcopy
aug 8, 2014, 1:14 pm

>285 Peace2: I've only read/listened to two out the five titles you listed; but I would recommend Moonraker over Brideshead Revisited to start. The Bond novel is simply more fun and a great way to start off a binge! I would save Brideshead Revisited for a nice long quiet stretch when you can savor the writing :-)

287mabith
aug 8, 2014, 2:26 pm

I'm a little ways into The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker. George Guidall reads it and I think he was a good choice. I'm only a quarter or so into it (the audiobook is 19 hours), but loving it so far.

288JackieCarroll
aug 8, 2014, 10:36 pm

I just finished The American. It was OK, I guess, but like a lot of his early books, it was very dry. It had a great ending, though. I have a lot of unread audiobooks and I'm trying to deside what's next.

289JackieCarroll
aug 10, 2014, 10:47 am

I just finished Larger Than Life by Jodi Picoult. It was a brief book--just a short story, really. I think it lasted about 2.5 hours. I liked most of it but was disappointed in the ending, which felt rushed and contrived. I gave it 4 stars for the success of the first and middle parts of the book.

Looking for something to read...I'm thinking about The Glimpses of the Moon by Edith Wharton. I read it many years ago and can't really remember the story, but I remember enjoying it. The Goldfinch is another option.

290kgriffith
aug 10, 2014, 4:54 pm

I'm listening to Code Name Verity, and am absolutely spellbound. >9 aviddiva:, I didn't know there was a sequel, but I'm going to need a break between, too, I can tell.

291mabith
aug 10, 2014, 7:50 pm

>290 kgriffith: I listened to it as well, and wow, it was one of the most intense things I've read (and I've always read a lot about WWII). I was so spellbound.

292Peace2
aug 14, 2014, 6:15 pm

So I listened to The False Friend first from my list and found it an interesting story although the ending was a little unsatisfying. Have now moved onto Moonraker as per >286 Tanya-dogearedcopy: suggestion :D Thanks - I'm enjoying it so far (approaching 2/3 of the way through) - I wasn't sure whether I'd like Bill Nighy as a narrator but it's working well so far. I think I'm going to leave Brideshead Revisited until I've got time to really appreciate it uninterrupted, so given that I'll probably go onto The Unseen next and try that in another day or two. I think it's a long one, so will probably take me a week or more to get through it.

293JackieCarroll
aug 14, 2014, 10:46 pm

I'm listening to The Republic of Pirates and I'm about halfway through. I love pirate fiction so I thought I would like this book as well, but the writer has gone out of his way to make it as boring as possible. I can't wait to finish it.

294ktleyed
Redigerat: aug 15, 2014, 1:00 pm

I finished The Time Traveler's Guide to Elizabethan England by Ian Mortimer and now I'm beginning Queen of Hearts by Rhys Bowen, narrated expertly by Katherine Kellgren.

295mabith
aug 15, 2014, 5:06 pm

Just started Soon I Will Be Invincible. It's for an online bookclub, and most of the people aren't enjoying it, they're all reading in print, so it will be interesting to see if the audio edition adds to it or not.

296Seajack
aug 22, 2014, 2:15 pm

I'm finishing up the latest Flavia de Luce offering: The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches, and it pains me to say that I don't think I "get" the plot resolution. Flavia pulled a stunt where one would have to suspend disbelief A LOT not to feel she would have grounded until her 21st birthday in real life. We are now several books into the series, and I don't think we have EVER once heard ANY mention of her, or his sisters, actually attending school? I still like Flavia, and Jayne Entwhistle continues being "the" voice for her. Be prepared for a bit of a surprise regarding their ... butler/manservant/co-parent Dogger.

297mabith
aug 22, 2014, 2:28 pm

I finished up a wonderful reading of Their Eyes Were Watching God, and a very good reading of 10 Things I Hate About Me.

Now I'm nearing the end of Ireland: A Concise History and starting The Phoenix and the Carpet.

298Sile
aug 22, 2014, 5:44 pm

I'm listening to Death of a Celebrity by M. C. Beaton and read by David Monteath. I don't know what I'll do when I get to the end of the Hamish MacBeth audio series.

299CDVicarage
aug 22, 2014, 6:14 pm

I've finished Phineas Finn, which was very good, mainly because of the wonderful reading by Timothy West, and I've moved on to another Georgette Heyer - The Quiet Gentleman.

300Tanya-dogearedcopy
Redigerat: aug 22, 2014, 6:32 pm

I had Changes (The Dresden Files, Book #12; by Jim Butcher; narrated by James Marsters) on my player for three weeks, but didn't mange to work up enough enthusiasm to even start it! I finally decided to table it until I was in the right mindset, and instead dnloaded and started listening to The Thing About December (by Donal Ryan; narrated by Wayne Farrell.) TTAD is the story about Johnsey Cunliffe, a mentally challenged young man who must negotiate the treacherous politics of village life in rural Ireland, after both his parents die. Ryan's writing has the unmistakable undertow of fate/tragedy flowing through his lyrical prose, but its current also keeps the reader swept up in the narrative. Told from Johnsey's POV, Wayne Ferrell strikes a slightly monotone but compelling approach that's pitch perfect for the protag. It's possible Ryan may continue to write stories set in this world. I, for one wouldn't mind :-)

301ktleyed
aug 23, 2014, 1:45 pm

I'm now listening to Lord of the Silent by Elizabeth Peters, narrated by Barbara Rosenblat.

302mabith
aug 23, 2014, 2:30 pm

Just started Empire of the Summer Moon, read well by David Drummond.

303infjsarah
aug 28, 2014, 11:21 am

Listening to TransAtlantic in the car. Excellent so far. As it's based on real people I keep having to suppress the urge to look them up on Wikipedia - until I've finished it anyway.

304mabith
aug 28, 2014, 1:55 pm

After a lot of dithering I'm starting Orange is the New Black read by Cassandra Campbell, who is fine for this. I should be starting Mary Poppins soon too.

305Seajack
sep 7, 2014, 6:00 pm

I'm a few hours into The Impersonator, which I find a bit slow moving, but the main character is very compelling, and the narration by Tavia Gilbert is a terrific fit for the material.

306mabith
sep 7, 2014, 6:08 pm

I listened to The Devil in the White City (Scott Brick reads, not my favorite), and found it lacking, though not due to the narration.

I'm listening to Caddie Woodlawn in the kitchen, and have gotten almost halfway through The Long Mars today. I haven't loved the series, but I was curious enough about where they were going with it to keep reading.

307Nickelini
sep 7, 2014, 6:53 pm

Recently finished the very long the Mill on the Floss by George Eliot, and am now enjoying The End of the Affair by Graham Greene and narrated by Colin Firth.

308ktleyed
sep 8, 2014, 8:56 pm

I finished Going Clear by Lawrence Wright, morbidly fascinating. Now reading Midsummer Moon by Laura Kinsale, narrated by Nicholas Boulton.

309mabith
sep 8, 2014, 9:09 pm

>307 Nickelini: I loved The End of the Affair, such gorgeous writing.

3102wonderY
sep 9, 2014, 8:10 am

Just finished One Crazy Summer, which is particularly well read by Sisi Aisha Johnson.

I'm nearly through Cooked, read by the author, Michael Pollan.

I've ordered both books in print form to scan details and make a few notes.

311Peace2
sep 12, 2014, 8:44 am

Bit of a surprise that I haven't commented since mid-August.

I finished listening to The Unseen by Katherine Webb which I enjoyed in part - the historical story far more than the modern accompaniment which felt superfluous.

Since then I've listened to Pearl of China by Anchee Min and The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng. Both of these were fascinating in their own way. I've just heard the last of Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella which despite its humour left me crying at the end. It seemed different to the others of hers that I've read.

Next up and just slipped into the player is The Cry of the Go-Away Bird by Andrea Eames. I'm not sure what to expect of this one, but it looks to be a little different to anything else I've read recently.

312Nickelini
sep 12, 2014, 11:32 am

I finished the End of the Affair by Graham Greene, read by Colin Firth. It was outstanding, and I'm not the only one who thought so--it won audiobook of the year for 2013.

313mabith
sep 12, 2014, 2:41 pm

>311 Peace2: I hope you end up enjoying The Cry of the Go-Away Bird! I really did, and if nothing else, it's read well.

314susiesharp
sep 12, 2014, 3:47 pm

Finished Dollbaby by Laura Lane McNeal narrated by, January LaVoy Wonderful southern fiction book and LaVoy's narration truly brings the characters to life.

Also finished Stay Where You Are And Then Leave by John Boyne narrated by, Euan Morton very powerful story and beautifully narrated.

Now starting The Right Thing by Amy Conner narrated by, Kate Baldwin for Southern Lit Lovers monthly read only an hour in it's pretty good so far, the narrators voice is fine but she takes very loud breaths which is a little annoying.

315mabith
sep 12, 2014, 8:55 pm

I'm listening to 13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown, which isn't read too wonderfully, but it's not terrible. The financial-ese is a bit over my head at times, but I'm getting the big concepts. Listening to Mary Poppins as well, and loving the non-Disney Mary.

3162wonderY
sep 13, 2014, 2:14 pm

I'm listening to Dancing on the Head of a Pin for two reasons -

1. I thought the premise was interesting - a Private Investigator who used to be a Seraphim angel.
2. It's read by Luke Daniels.

It's the second in the series, but the only audio copy. The premise is good, but the writing doesn't really fulfill my expectations. There is a dog character - Mallory - which explains why Daniels is reading. His rendition of Oberon in the Iron Druid Chronicles is wonderful, and Mallory is one of the high points in this listen too. Though dealing with heavenly and hellish characters, Thomas Sniegoski shies away from any theology except for the harshness of God's judgement. I could overlook that if I thought there was other value here, but so far, I'm just enjoying the narrator.

317Peace2
sep 14, 2014, 2:01 pm

>313 mabith: I found The Cry of the Go-Away Bird fascinating, beautifully descriptive, rich language and Elise's point of view is remarkable. Clare Corbett is becoming a favourite narrator - I hadn't realised until today how many books I'd listened to read by her this year. I'm surprised I haven't seen more talk about this one. It's not an 'easy' listen but definitely one that's worth the time (even in audio it's only taken me two days to get through it).

I'll probably give Quiver by Peter Leonard a go until I can get to the library to see what else I can get my hands on.

I must also find out if Andrea Eames has written anything else...

3182wonderY
sep 15, 2014, 7:42 am

I gave up on Dancing on the Head of a Pin. Mallory was too much off-stage. Nothing else attractive there.

I started the fifth (?) in the Young Wizard series The Wizard's Dilemma. I've read it in print a while back, but listening now, I'm picking up nuances.

I've got Thinking Fast and Slow in the warm-up pen. Gotta get more audios!

319mabith
sep 15, 2014, 12:18 pm

I'm starting quite a long one, Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. Still a little to go on Mary Poppins, as well. I was out of town over the weekend of my listening rather suffered.

320ktleyed
sep 15, 2014, 9:33 pm

I finished Midsummer Moon by Laura Kinsale, narrated by Nicholas Boulton and now I'm reading The Son by Philipp Meyer, narrated by Will Patton and Kate Mulgrew.

321Peace2
sep 16, 2014, 12:15 pm

Quiver is finished - thank goodness - this book was a mistake - not my cup of tea at all, I persisted just so that I could finish and get rid of it.

Thankfully I'd got to the library yesterday and managed to pick up Letter from Peking by Pearl S. Buck (I'd wanted to read something be Pearl Buck since reading Anchee Min's Pearl of China and seeing her mentioned in various discussions here on LT. I've also acquired Raven's Gate by Anthony Horowitz which helps me rid myself of another book of the shelf (or at least to have read 1) and then as my reserved Harry Potter still hasn't been returned (despite being somewhat over due!) I also took Round the Bend by Nevil Shute as I enjoyed A Town Like Alice a couple of months ago and thought trying another work would be good.

I've put Pearl Buck in the car, so started disc 1 on the way to work this morning (I was in the car alone) but didn't quite get through it. I then started Raven's Gate when I got home, but I think I dozed off for a while during the first disc so may try and speed read a bit of my dead tree version before moving on to make sure I didn't miss anything too important.

When I got home 15 seconds by Andrew Gross was on the doormat, so that will go on the pile of things to listen to at some point when I can't get to the library (along with Brideshead Revisited and Goldfinger - I think they're the only ones left now).

322mabith
sep 16, 2014, 12:46 pm

>321 Peace2: I hope you enjoy Letter From Peking! I've really liked everything I've read of Buck's so far (though it's not much given her whole output).

323Tanya-dogearedcopy
sep 16, 2014, 1:45 pm

I finally finished The Thing About December (by Donal Ryan; narrated by Wayne Farrell.) It is a prequel to Ryan's Man Booker 2013 longlisted title The Spinning Heart (also narrated by Wayne Farrell.) The story is about "Johnsey" Cunliffe, a 24-year old man who is a little slow in the head and victim of lifelong bullying who is orphaned and the inheritor of a large farm. Pressures mount when the village decides that, in the throes of the economic and housing boom (about ten years ago? Cellphones and texting are mentioned in the text, but clearly the EU/Euro crises which saddled Ireland with debt hadn't happened much less the housing crash...), they want his land to develop into housing estates. The audio is only about 6 hours long, but it took me close to 6 weeks to listen to it! It's not that the writing or narration were bad; As a matter of fact, quite the opposite! It's just that the undercurrent of tragedy was strong from the very beginning and it was almost unbearable. I love Irish literature, but it often takes me time to screw up my courage to get through it! Anyway, Wayne Farrell takes a somewhat monotone approach to the voice of Johnsey which is a legitimate approach to the character. If you want to hear what the narrator can do in terms of vocal diversity, I would recommend The Spinning Heart in which he tackles 21 different points of view! There were a couple of voices in TSH that didn't work, but given the demands of the book in which each voice needed to be distinctive from each other, I found the whole remarkable.

I'm about to start Boy, Snow, Bird (by Helen Oyeyemi; narrated by Susan Bennett and Cara Pstterson.)

324Seajack
sep 22, 2014, 8:10 pm

Finished the historical fiction novel The Impersonator today. Tavia Gilbert's narration was an excellent fit, and the 1920's background details were quite well integrated into the story.

325AlaMich
Redigerat: sep 23, 2014, 11:02 pm

I recently finished The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore and read by Euan Morton. Morton also read Fool by Moore, and Lordy, do I love to listen to him read these books. They are nominally a series (if two books makes a series) in that they share the single character of Pocket, the Fool. Morton does sublime voices and is generally hilarious. I can't wait to listen to Sacre Bleu, which Morton also reads.
And I just started Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway which I'm liking a great deal also. Not sure who the reader is, though. My first Harkaway novel.

326Peace2
sep 24, 2014, 4:08 am

Finished Letter from Peking - very melancholy but I did sort of enjoy it nonetheless. Also finished Raven's Gate which sort of reminded me of The Weirdstone of Brisingamen but I liked it less.

Next up I listened to The Outsider by Albert Camus - I'd read this as a set text in French both at school and at university L'Etranger and wondered if I would 'get' it more as an adult. I can't say I enjoyed it, but from a sort of 'academic' review of something I'd read in the past and a reminder of what it was about, it was fine (and quick).

Currently listening to Round the Bend by Nevil Shute and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The HP is being read as part of an ongoing make it through the series all the way to the end this time process. I thought I'd try the Shute because I'd listened to A Town Like Alice earlier in the year and appreciated it. Three discs in and I'm not engaging with this one as much, but it's also not at a level I'd give up on.

3272wonderY
sep 24, 2014, 6:42 am

Listening to The Eagle has Landed. Oddly, the German characters all speak with British accents too.

328mabith
Redigerat: sep 24, 2014, 8:59 am

As someone from a primarily English speaking country, the 'everything in every country uses British accents' makes sense from a knowledge of class accents. I know what the upper class and lower class (and rural and specific city) accents are in England and Scotland, but I don't know what they are in any other country, basically. It's an immediate recognizable thing (plus, not all audiobook readers can handle accents, god knows, so I'd really rather they not attempt it if they're not very very good), and while the book is probably telling you about the person speaking I definitely think it's handy for movies. Nicer when they get someone who knows the language of most of the characters and can pronounce things properly and do good accents, but we can't have everything.

329sebago
sep 24, 2014, 10:41 am

Listening to Must Love Dogs- making me laugh in the car - on the way to work! Don't we all need that in the morning? :)

330SylviaC
sep 24, 2014, 12:15 pm

>326 Peace2: Round the Bend is one of Shute's odder books. It's not one that I would recommend to a new reader of his books, unless you have a particular interest in eastern religions and aircraft maintenance.

331Peace2
sep 24, 2014, 1:49 pm

>330 SylviaC: I'd agree so far - it's a bit heavy going with as you say the aircraft maintenance and the religious aspect. Unfortunately the local library only seems to have two books by him - A Town Like Alice and this one - so... I'm sticking with it for now but it's not going down on my 'loving this' pile at this point.

Is there something else that you would recommend for me to try?

332NarratorLady
sep 24, 2014, 2:38 pm

>330 SylviaC:/331 There is a recording out there of Nevil Shute's Pied Piper which is a marvelous story. I believe the narrator is David Rintoul.

333SylviaC
sep 24, 2014, 2:41 pm

>331 Peace2: Trustee From the Toolroom is excellent. An Old Captivity has a fantasy element to it, On the Beach is an apocalyptic classic, Landfall is good WWII fiction, The Far Country also features a strong Australian setting, and The Chequer Board has always been a favourite of mine.

334SylviaC
sep 24, 2014, 2:50 pm

>332 NarratorLady: The print version of Pied Piper is one that is on my shelf waiting for me. It looks good.

Audible has 27 unabridged Nevil Shute books listed, so most of them have been recorded at least once.

335aviddiva
sep 24, 2014, 10:01 pm

I finally finished listening to Outlander and am moving on to Dragonfly in Amber. That one was not my favorite in print, but someone (maybe on this thread?) told me that the audio version totally changed her impression of the book, so I'm giving it a go. I'm also planning to start Lock In by John Scalzi, since my son just read it and wants to talk about it.

336Peace2
sep 26, 2014, 6:24 pm

Thanks for all the Nevil Shute suggestions. I've reached the end of Round the Bend with a degree of relief that it's over and a certain thankfulness that I can start something completely different.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is progressing satisfactorily in the car - I'm about three discs in now and this evening I've made a start on The Chocolate Lovers' Diet by Carole Matthews. I'm hoping this will be some light relief. I've also grabbed from the library Arthur C. Clarke's The City and the Stars - this is my first foray into Clarke's writing so I have my fingers crossed that I've borrowed a good one.

337Tanya-dogearedcopy
sep 26, 2014, 10:53 pm

Boy, Snow, Bird (By Helen Oyeyemi; Narrated by Susan Bennett and Cara Patterson) - 9 hours, 19 minutes - ✭✭✭✭

Once upon a time, there was an evil mother, a beautiful daughter, and an attentive father…. The narrative of their lives starts when Boy runs away from the home where she was physically and psychologically abused by The Rat Catcher, and ends up in a small artisanal town in Massachusetts. In Flax Hill, MA, Boy meets and marries a local widower who has a daughter of his own, a classical, ethereal beauty named Snow. With the arrival of Boy’s own daughter, named Bird, Boy and Snow’s promising relationship becomes estranged and culminates with Boy sending Snow away to live with another relative. Throughout all of Boy’s and Bird’s life, perhaps with Snow’s as well, there are fantastical, sometimes terrifying events involving visions, mirrors and tapping into the “technically impossible” aspects of the world in which they live.

Boy, Snow, Bird opens with the story told from twenty-year old Boy’s point of view. We are at once struck by her coldness, her emotional disconnect from events surrounding her and the seemingly heartless decisions she makes as her intellect supersedes her emotions. There are non sequiturs that jump out from the story in the blink of an eye and just as quickly disappear. The confusing episodes remind the reader of the demi-world between wakefulness and sleep, a place where a feeling becomes manifest as in a dream with the equal chance that it will be a nightmare. This is the part of the novel where Oyeyemi successfully casts her first spell, luring the reader/listener into the twilight of Boy’s world.

The second section of Boy, Snow, Bird is told from thirteen-year old Bird’s point of view. Bird is precocious, inquisitive and vivacious, but impetuous and even a bit cruel. She is an aspiring journalist who is sharp enough to ferret out information even as she seeks to uncover the truth of the world around her. In the process of negotiating her burgeoning adolescence and dinner table politics, she strives to find her voice, test her boundaries, and wield her power. In this section, the clues as to what is really going on in this novel proliferate; but they are like the blue jewels set in the chain mail that Bird’s father makes: You can become mesmerized in the fairy tale references, without seeing how they connect to the whole of the narrative.

The last section of the novel reverts back to Boy, now a thirty-three year old mother and wife, and is the most controversial part of the book. It is a section fraught with twists, denouements and, a different kind of ending than many readers might have anticipated; but it is in the final part that the key to the novel is to be found: “I need to know how to break a spell.” When you see it, you can only marvel at the tale of enchantment that Helen Oyeyemi has spun.

Susan Bennett and Cara Patterson are the two narrators in the audiobook production. Ms Bennett performs the role of Boy, while Ms Patterson voices Bird (and Snow in the instance of the covert correspondence that Bird and Snow take up.) Ms Bennett lends a clear, detached, and an entirely appropriate voice to the character of Boy; though apparently 1950s Manhattan sounded like Brooklyn; the relative isolation from New York made no impact on Boy’s accent after thirteen years; and she was immune to her New England neighbors. Ms Patterson’s approach to Bird is also commendable for its brightness and briskness, which matches Bird’s personality; though it suffers somewhat by being obviously more mature than her character, and in comparison to Ms Bennett’s more professional finish.

**********

Now I'm listening to The Tiger in the Well (Sally Lockhart Mysteries, Book #3; by Philip Pullman; narrated by Anton Lesser) - I've just started, and the author has given the listener about 20 minutes of calm before the sh*t has started hitting the fan: A process server has delivered Sally divorce papers and her estranged husband wants immediate custody of their daughter. Problem is, Sally has never been married, has no idea who this person is, or why he wants to claim her daughter!

Pullman always draws on some aspect of daily life/social issues, and this time he is highlighting Jewish immigration during the Victorian Era.

Anton Lesser, as to be expected, is delivering an amazing performance.

338CDVicarage
sep 27, 2014, 4:41 am

I've been whizzing through audiobooks lately, all shortish ones: The Enchanted April beautifully read by Nadia May, The Jennings Report, which was a hoot, read by Simon Vance, Celebrations at Thrush Green, read by Gwen Watford - this is towards the end of a long series and is a bit 'tired', and Carry on, Jeeves read by Martin Jarvis. I'm about half way through another Georgette Heyer - The Toll-Gate, read by Daniel Hill, which, although not one of her best, is still a good read, and well-read.

339infjsarah
sep 27, 2014, 10:40 am

Finished Transatlantic which I thoroughly enjoyed although sad in places.
Now listening to The Python Years: Diaries 1969-1979 Volume One by Michael Palin in the car. It's abridged and OK for the car. Don't think I'll carry on with the diaries though but it has given me a yen for perhaps listening to the audio of his travelogues e.g Around the world in 80 days or Pole to Pole.
Am also listening in bed to an audio of the short stories of Sherlock Holmes - I have read all these in the past and love them. Am finding them good for bed as I know the story so it doesn't matter if I fall asleep!

3402wonderY
sep 27, 2014, 12:35 pm

I'd never considered The Enchanted April on audio. Just ordered it. Thanks!

341sebago
sep 29, 2014, 10:42 am

Finished Must Love Dogs this morning! Loved this book! Next up is A Country Doctor by Sarah Orne Jewett (how can you go wrong with a Maine based book/author?!)

342mabith
sep 29, 2014, 10:52 am

I've started As I Lay Dying and for my kitchen audiobook, Trouble-Twisters by Garth Nix. I've never been disappointed with Nix's books, and both books are very nice audio editions. Miriam Margolyes has impressed me with her ability to do the children's voices really well, which I wasn't expecting.

343Seajack
sep 29, 2014, 6:26 pm

Sebago 341 --

Poet May Sarton's journals are set in Maine, and she was later exposed as a HIGHLY unreliable narrator! However, as a 3rd generation Orono grad, I can certainly see where you're coming from.

344sebago
okt 2, 2014, 11:43 am

343Seajack - I so wanted to love A Country Doctor but got bogged down after Nan went to live with the Doc. I will try to finish at a later date. During the commute I really need something that grabs and keeps my attention. :) Next up is The Strangers on Montagu Street: Tradd Street Series by Karen White

345mabith
okt 2, 2014, 12:12 pm

Just started The Eye in the Door, the second in Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy set during WWI.

346ktleyed
okt 3, 2014, 9:47 pm

Finished The Son by Philipp Meyer and am now reading A Tale of Two Cities narrated by Simon Vance.

347Seajack
okt 4, 2014, 11:24 am

Last night, I gave up on the new Poirot book The Monogram Murders when I realized I was forcing myself to listen.

348TooBusyReading
okt 4, 2014, 8:40 pm

I'm about 2/3rds through Hillary Clinton's Hard Choices, and am finding it very interesting. I'm not going to get political here, but I am amazed at how many issues *any* Secretary of State has to try to balance.

349Peace2
okt 6, 2014, 3:19 am

I finished Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and The Chocolate Lovers' Diet - I enjoyed the former more than the latter - clearly I'm not enough of a chocolate lover for this one to work for me!

In the car, I've now got The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke - I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this one. The story is an interesting idea, but I'm not sure whether it's the writing or the narration that isn't engaging me as much as I'd hope.

I'm struggling a bit with The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by R.L. Stevenson read by Michael Kitchen and have started reading the paper copy that I've got instead - I'm wondering if this is a case of one of those stories that I know too much about without ever having actually got around to reading it. That in my own mind I've put more of a modern slant on it and so the 'dated' language drags somewhat. I think I also expected more suspense.

I've also started listening to Pigeon Pie by Nancy Mitford and am finding this very light and good humoured. It's being read by Rosalind Ayres and I'm enjoying her narration - so this is a good find.

I'm still waiting for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to come in at the library (I've pre-ordered but the copy is late being returned), so I grabbed a couple of extras while I wait and so have Little Women and Northanger Abbey waiting in the wings. I'm hoping that by the time I hear from the library that I can pick up the HP-I'll be able to return the Clarke, Stevenson and Mitford books at the least, if not more!

350mabith
okt 6, 2014, 11:45 am

I started A Murder is Announced, a Marple mystery. It's an old recording read by Joan Hickson, and she is NOT a good reader for these. Every character's voice and the narration are just too samey. Luckily my library had one edition on tape but a different one as an e-audiobook, so I've switched to Rosemary Leach's narration.

Still listening to Trouble-Twisters as well. It's rather long for a children's book!

351vivienbrenda
okt 6, 2014, 12:57 pm

I've said it before and I'll say it again: If you want a delightful listening experience, get your hands on any ((Louise Penny)) book narrated by Ralph Cosham. Right now I'm in the middle of The Long Way Home. Her cozy mysteries are beautiful with a deep understanding of human nature. The mysteries set her apart from other writers in that they are works of art. Ralph Cosham narration is soothing, perfect.

352Tanya-dogearedcopy
okt 6, 2014, 1:13 pm

>351 vivienbrenda: Ralph Cosham passed away a few days ago. I wonder who will narrate the Louise Penny novels now? I can't even imagine.

3532wonderY
okt 6, 2014, 1:52 pm

Gave up on Gods Behaving Badly. It had great potential, (Eros is a convert to Christianity!) but the author failed to deliver. Most of the chatter is about Apollo and Aphrodite, the two least appealing characters.

Now savoring The Enchanted April.

354TooBusyReading
okt 6, 2014, 5:53 pm

>353 2wonderY:
I listened to Gods Behaving Badly quite some time ago, and while I did finish it, I didn't enjoy it. If I had it to do over, I would bail not very far into it.

3552wonderY
okt 7, 2014, 5:27 pm

>354 TooBusyReading: I'm getting better at tossing a bad book. If I'm not enjoying the company I'm keeping it's time to leave. I'm glad you confirmed my hunch about the rest of the book.

356vivienbrenda
okt 7, 2014, 9:01 pm

Ralph Cosham dead? I'm stunned. I can't even imagine Louis Penny without him. I'm really sorry to hear that news.

357mabith
Redigerat: okt 7, 2014, 9:20 pm

358Tanya-dogearedcopy
okt 8, 2014, 1:02 am

I've started The False Prince (Ascendence Trilogy, Book #1; by Jennifer A. Nielsen; narrated by Charlie McWade.) So far, a bunch of boys have been taken from orphanages by a court official who has some sort of plan in mind... Charlie McWade sounds very young (which is good for an audiobook targeted for middle-graders) but very American and casual - which all seems a little against the grain of a story taken place in a feudal setting. Still, the story itself is engaging enough that I want to find out what this plan is and what's up!

359TooBusyReading
okt 8, 2014, 3:28 pm

Having finished Hillary Clinton's Hard Choices, I went for a potato chip book: Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues. I enjoyed the first in the series, and wanted something light and fluffy, if you can consider zombies, decaying bodies, and gore light and fluffy.

My reading tastes are nothing if not eclectic.

360booklovers2
okt 18, 2014, 8:21 pm

I am currently hooked on Outlander series. I was going to take a break, but after I downloaded Book #5 in the series - The Firey Cross to my phone - I didn't have enough storage space to add another book! so... I have listened to this series since May 2014 --- Excellent, Excellent, Excellent - just very, very very very Long!

361mabith
okt 18, 2014, 11:07 pm

I just finished Moll Flanders and Return to Gone-Away (not read well by Colleen Delany, who doesn't do children's voices very successfully and seems wrong for the time period).

Now I'm halfway through The Riddle of the Compass (non-fiction, not read wonderfully, but it's short) and Inside Out and Back Again (a children's book about a Vietnamese family fleeing Saigon when it fell and their experiences in the US, read very well).

362JackieCarroll
okt 19, 2014, 7:16 am

I've been away from audiobooks for a while because I don't have a good time to listen to them. I don't drive, so listening in the car isn't an option, and going off to myself and putting headphones on feels rude, so I've given it up for a while. I'm starting my holiday knitting projects now, and audiobooks are just the thing to keep me from getting too bored with my work.

I've downloaded some audiobooks from my library website and just started listening to Bad Manors by Lisa Armstrong. It has a bad rating here at LT, but the narrator's voice is pleasant and the story line is OK, so I think it will be good company while I knit.

363kgriffith
okt 19, 2014, 8:50 pm

I'm pretty happy with Kristen Sieh's narration of Emma Straub's The Vacationers; she approaches it more as a reader than a voice actor, which I much prefer when a novel is just sort of a narrative from the life of someone who could be my neighbor or a work peer or an old college roommate.

364mabith
okt 19, 2014, 10:21 pm

I just started Dracula, the multi-cast edition with Simon Vance, Alan Cumming, Tim Curry, John Lee and others. So far it's just Simon Vance doing the journals. I'm not usually one for multi-cast things, but the people in this edition were too fun to pass on.

365Peace2
okt 22, 2014, 8:34 pm

Since I last posted I finished Pigeon Pie by Nancy Mitford which was great - a real quirky listen, also Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. I gave up on the audio version of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by R. L. Stevenson and finished it in paperback form instead.

I'm now listening to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J K Rowling and The Shakespeare Secret by J. L. Carrell (the touchstone has a different title but is the same book).

Next in the firing line is The Small Hand by Susan Hill - a short ghost story for the end of October.

366JackieCarroll
Redigerat: okt 23, 2014, 1:33 am

I just finished Bad Manors which turned out to be much better than I expected. I'm starting Murder in Montmartre.

367JackieCarroll
okt 23, 2014, 2:00 am

I'm giving up on Murder in Montmartre because the reader is painful to listen to. She gasps loudly at every comma and at the end of every sentence, and she stammers now and then. I have a few others out of the library plus several that I own and haven't listened to yet, but I'm too tired to pick out another one tonight.

3682wonderY
okt 23, 2014, 7:53 am

Listening to The Christmas Kid, a short story collection centering on Brooklyn characters. The title story is very good. The rest of the book is somewhat uneven.

Also thought I'd treat myself to another go with The Martian.

369mabith
okt 23, 2014, 9:16 am

If I meet my reading goal early this year (right now I only count new-to-me reads) then one of the first things I'm going to re-read (well, listen to) is The Martian. It's definitely still winning for best fiction read of the years.

Dracula is going well, it's multi-cast only in that they have different readers for the different character's diaries and letters and such, but not switching between readers for dialogue, which I'm happy about. I've also started Heidi.

3702wonderY
okt 23, 2014, 9:51 am

>369 mabith: Since I was recommending The Martian to my daughter, I checked her library system, and they only have the print version, so I started reading it, and though the tone is the same, the technology chunks stand out more on the page, and possibly could be a turn-off; while on audio I can let them run lightly over me and just appreciate Bray's rendition. I recommended that the library invest in the audio version and I'm thinking I might buy it myself.

371sebago
okt 23, 2014, 11:37 am

For this week's commute I am listening to The Strangers on Montagu Street by Karen White. I am really enjoying this story! The only problem I am having is the southern accent of the narrator. It seems a bit over the top sometimes. Other than that I would recommend it highly :) Stay dry all that are in the Northeast. It is a wild one out there today.

372SylviaC
okt 23, 2014, 12:31 pm

>370 2wonderY: Funny, I'm the opposite. In print, I could skim any of the technology that I didn't understand, whereas it would have irritated me to have to listen to it, and I would have lost the flow of the story.

3732wonderY
okt 23, 2014, 12:55 pm

>372 SylviaC: That's so, but this story is tied intimately to the technology. You have to keep some level of awareness of it to follow the story and appreciate Mark Whatney's predicament and his work-arounds. It's his attitude and humor that hold my interest the most, which is why the narrator's job is so outstanding.

374Tanya-dogearedcopy
okt 25, 2014, 1:12 am

I've been avoiding my audiobook, The Tiger's Well (Sally Lockhart mysteries, Book #3; by Philip Pullman; narrated by Anton Lesser.) It's a great story and a great narrator; but Sally Lockhart started getting into a hole very early on, and things are getting bleaker and bleaker. Admittedly, this probably wasn't the best choice after the anxiety engendered by The Thing About December (by Donal Ryan; narrated by Wayne Farrell;) but as this is ostensibly a YA book, I thought it would be easier on my nerves than this! The tension and desperation are wearing on me and I'm only a third of the way in. Unlike in print, where I could "cheat" by peeking at the end pages, I'm timidly sniping away at this audiobook only 2 or 3 tracks (each about three minutes long) every day. I'm nervous because the second book in the series was so dark; and when he wrote The Tiger's Well, it was supposed to be the final book in the series - all of which means Pullman could pull a "Hamlet." There's a fourth title in the series; but from I understand, it's in Lockhart's world, but does not feature her as the protagonist... So, I may do what I very rarely do, and that is to drop the audio and go ahead and pick it up in print. I know, it's a cop-out; but I really do need to move on with my listening life!

375CDVicarage
Redigerat: okt 25, 2014, 4:01 am

>374 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I listened to that series and loved it. Anton Lesser is my favourite reader so that's why I chose it and I don't think I would have read the books in print. My audiobook is usually my reading in bed book but I had to listen to this one during the day it ends all right and Sally lives to fight another day.

376CDVicarage
okt 25, 2014, 4:05 am

I'm currently listening to Just one damned thing after another, read by Zara Ramm. I read the print books recently and loved them but whizzed through them so fast I'm sure I missed things. This reading is very good, it's in quite a matter of fact style so that you feel that time travel is a perfectly possible, everyday occurrence.

377Peace2
okt 25, 2014, 4:47 am

I finished Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire yesterday. So this morning while eating breakfast, I listened to A Terribly Strange Bed by Wilkie Collins - it's only about 45 minutes long! So it's already done and dusted. The narrator was Robin Bailey (who I listened to earlier in the year reading A Town Like Alice) and it was fine.

While doing chores today, I'm now listening to The Small Hand by Susan Hill. I'm not overly enjoying the narration of this one. At times the narrator's voice reminds of (this is likely only to be memorable to people in the UK) the voice of the Saturday football results on TV as a kid/teen. My Dad always used to watch it, and it always made me smirk the way the guy's voice would suddenly pause halfway through a result as he waited for the second half to come through - West Bromwich Albion 2 .... long pause .... Tranmere Rovers ..... 1 - and it always had a slight cadence and singsong quality to it. The narrator of this is not doing that throughout, but at times that's where my memory goes.

378JackieCarroll
okt 25, 2014, 9:39 am

I started Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths last night but I'm going to start over this afternoon. I kept dozing off...

379NarratorLady
okt 29, 2014, 5:28 pm

374: I know what you mean by A Tiger in the Well and I think that much of your dread comes from Anton Lesser's exceptional performance. He's an amazing narrator and I've listened to lesser books narrated by him just for the pleasure of hearing him. But by all means, switch to print because the trilogy is certainly well worth reading.

There is a fourth book, (can't remember the title) but it has nothing to do with Sally and wasn't worth the time it took me to read it. (I could never track down the audio version but apparently Lesser did record it.)

380Tanya-dogearedcopy
Redigerat: okt 30, 2014, 12:00 am

>379 NarratorLady: I did get the print version of The Tiger in the Well and finish the story! Just having the book in hand gave me the comfort of feeling in control! I love Anton Lesser too and he was the big draw for me in this series overall. I know I cheated myself out of listening to a fine performance; but I was just feeling Sally's circumstances too keenly. This happened to me once before a few years ago with Jane Stanton Hitchcock's Social Crimes (narrated by Barbara Rosenblat.) Again, nothing wrong with with the story or the narration; I just couldn't handle the grind!

I looked at the synopsis for the The Tin Princess and it looked to be a spinoff more than a continuation of the Sally Lockhart series, and a rather bizarre spinoff at that! I don't think I will pursue reading it, though if I had access to the audio I would definitely get it, my experience with The Tiger in the Well notwithstanding. Unfortunately as I'm in the US, I can't get The Tin Princess in audio either.

I did a little digging: The Tin Princess was recorded by BBC (UK), which then became AudioGO (UK). All of the AudioGO UK titles went to Audible UK upon AudioGO's dissolution; so if you have access to audible.co.uk, you can dnload The Tin Princess.

**********

I'm currently listening to The Last Good Man (by A.J. Kazinski; narrated by Simon Vance.) There are 36 truly good men on the earth (humanitarians, monks...) at any given time; but apparently the current crop is dying off one by one. I'm not sure if this is going to be a Scandinavian crime thriller or an Italian mystery; but it's early in the book yet so I expect it will sort itself out soon enough!

381mabith
okt 29, 2014, 10:11 pm

I'm listening to A Briefer History of Time and Johnny and the Dead by Terry Pratchett. Also having a slow re-listen to Freddy the Detective. Finished the re-listen of Freddy and the Ignormous earlier today, and wow, it's such a great children's series.

3822wonderY
Redigerat: okt 30, 2014, 6:48 am

I'm listening to The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater, second book in The Raven Boys series. Intense! Fantasy-mystery-thriller. The author gets the complexities of adolescent emotional lives and her phrasing is sometimes breath-taking. Will Patton is exceptionally good reading it.

383CDVicarage
okt 30, 2014, 7:40 am

After an exciting listen to Just One Damned Thing After Another I'm back with Georgette Heyer and Sylvester

3842wonderY
okt 30, 2014, 8:00 am

>383 CDVicarage: Kerry, have you ever read To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis?
Just One Damned Thing After Another sounds like it riffs along similar lines, but perhaps more entertainingly. It's not in my library system yet, but I'll keep checking for it.

385CDVicarage
okt 30, 2014, 8:40 am

>384 2wonderY: I've seen it mentioned (and recommended) on LT and it is in my mental wishlist but that's as far as it's got!

386sebago
okt 30, 2014, 10:10 am

3822wonderY - thank you! I will have to go and request if on the library site. :)

387Tanya-dogearedcopy
okt 31, 2014, 8:39 pm

I took advantage of audible's free Halloween dnload of Neil Gaiman's 11-minute short, Click-Clack the Rattlebag. It's an extension of the author's blog feature, All Hallow's Read, wherein free books are distributed as treats in addition to/instead of candy. I see on twitter there are a bunch of Halloween give-aways from various publishers as well, some with the All Hallow's Read hashtag, some without. Anyway, this little story is a bit predictable, but Gaiman's fans will eat it up! It's about a boy cajoling his sister's boyfriend to tell him a bedtime story... Happy Halloween! :-)

388TooBusyReading
nov 3, 2014, 11:45 am

I am listening to Angry Optimist, a biography of Jon Stewart, by Lisa Shaw, but I'm not loving it. I enjoy The Daily Show and Stewart seems like an interesting person, but so far, the biography falls flat. A narrator I'm not crazy about doesn't help.

3892wonderY
nov 3, 2014, 11:51 am

>386 sebago: You must read (or listen to) The Raven Boys first!

390ktleyed
nov 3, 2014, 12:48 pm

I finished Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman, narrated by Emily Gray and am now listening to Yes, Please by Amy Poehler, narrated by the author.

3912wonderY
nov 3, 2014, 12:59 pm

Over the weekend drive, I listened to The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher, a middle grade story about a family with two dads. I was favorably impressed by the treatment. Not a hint of anything sexual; in any family, from the children's POV, their dads are only parents.

Now listening to Ironhand by Charlie Fletcher, read by Jim Dale. London fantasy. Well done.

392mabith
nov 3, 2014, 1:44 pm

I'm halfway through Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit, read by my favorite Wodehouse reader, Jonathan Cecil. In the kitchen I've started Jo's Boys, read by Barbara Caruso, who does a good job (so far anyway, and of the versions available I certainly like her narration best).

393sebago
nov 3, 2014, 2:04 pm

3892wonderY I did and loved it! :)

3942wonderY
nov 3, 2014, 3:06 pm

Ah! I see that you did, and probably before I did too.

395Peace2
nov 7, 2014, 4:40 am

So I've finished three audio books since I last posted and have three more on the go - finished up are Hunger by Melvin Burgess - This was a truly gruesome one for Hallowe'en. Not to be listened to while eating or if your imagination draws too vivid pictures - I felt decidedly nauseous.

Also finished The Shakespeare Secret by Jennifer Lee Carrell. I actually kind of ended up liking this one, it's a bit of a conspiracy thriller, murder in the present with links to the attempts to solve or reveal information about the past. It had some good twists and some bits that made me smirk at the sheer unlikelihood of the whole set up. It was a bit of a romp from the UK to the US, with bombs and kidnapping and murders and lost Shakespeare plays among other things.

I finished Brideshead Revisited yesterday. This was a 'heavier' read than the previous couple, far more densely prosaic, serious subject matter. It's not an easy or comfortable read, but it gives a view of the English gentry and the behaviour of people in the period - the book was published in 1945 and follows Charles Ryder's friendship initially with Sebastian Flyte and then with the other members of his family. It shows Sebastian's descent from his position of privilege although despite his suffering, his name and wealth still give him a degree of protection from the worst of what could happen. Other members of the same family are also shown as their stars rise and fall, all observed at varying distances by Charles. The story also deals in part with conflicting religious beliefs between the family who are Catholic and Charles who is atheist. Interesting but not easy listening.

Current reads are Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling, Worst Case by James Patterson (which I'm enjoying more than I expected to) and Dead or Alive by Tom Clancy which I'm not enjoying and am thinking another couple of discs for it to prove itself and if it's no better by then it's going on the 'abandoned without finishing' pile.

396mabith
nov 7, 2014, 11:11 am

I've just started The Last Nude by Ellis Avery, which is one of those very vaguely historical novels (real people, but the interactions between them being totally imagined by the author). It's about Tamara de Lempicka and her paintings of and relationship with her model Rafaela who she (in real life) meets by chance in a park. If nothing else it's made me remember just how much I enjoy some of Lempicka's work.

3972wonderY
nov 8, 2014, 11:26 am

Just finished two short inspirational books.

Help Thanks Wow read by the author. She plows through without pauses, but the pacing isn't too bad. I enjoy her voice as I've read her stuff ages ago and already know her.
Love Wins, again read by the author, Rob Bell. Since he's a preacher, his reading is much more polished while still being informal. I really like his take on the subject.

3982wonderY
nov 9, 2014, 1:32 pm

I've just started Romulus Buckle and the City of the Founders and plan to enjoy it. Good descriptives, appealing characters, steampunk fantasy, and read by Luke Daniels. What's not to love?

399mabith
nov 9, 2014, 2:02 pm

I'm a third of the way through Millions Like Us: Women's Lives in the Second World War (British women's lives, that is). Which is enjoyable. A variety of readers are used to distinguish quotes, which is sometimes a bit jarring, but important.

400Seajack
nov 9, 2014, 7:59 pm

Just about finished with One Pair of Hands -- great story about being a domestic worker in inter-war Britain. Narration a perfect fit.

401sebago
nov 10, 2014, 1:36 pm

I am listening to Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi. I was unsure when I started this if I would like it. It is good! I find myself sitting in the parking lot at work trying to find a stopping point. :)

402Peace2
nov 10, 2014, 2:25 pm

>401 sebago: It's good to hear that - I don't have the audio version, but the tree version is sitting on my TBR pile. I shall look forward to reading it :D

403sebago
nov 11, 2014, 9:32 am

402 Peace 2 - I just realized that it is a series of 3 books. The first 2 are available through our online library site (audio) but not the 3rd so will order that one - paper version. :)

404Peace2
nov 11, 2014, 12:14 pm

>403 sebago: I shall look out for your thoughts after you've made it through the other two as well in that case (not that I have the other two.... yet!) ;p

405mabith
nov 11, 2014, 12:51 pm

Finishing up The Penelopiad. The audio edition is good except for the maid's chorus. They used some audio effect to try to make it sound like there were more voices but it just sounds awful and makes it difficult to understand what they're saying.

406Nickelini
nov 11, 2014, 2:41 pm

I'm currently listening to Y, by Margorie Celona, and read by Erin Moon. I've listened to books read by her before, and I think she usually does a good job. I'm irritated by this one though -- first, I really, really hate the book, so that's not helping, but then Moon repeatedly pronounced "Robson Street" in Vancouver "Robe-son." How annoying. "Robson" is a straightforward English name that any English speaker should know how to say without even thinking, but even worse, Robson St is probably the best-known street in Vancouver, and as she is a Canadian, I expect that Moon would be familiar with it. She mispronounces a few other words too, but this one is unforgivable.

Her voice will remind me of this awfully written book, and I will be avoiding this narrator for the near future.

407aviddiva
nov 13, 2014, 11:34 am

Really enjoying Midnight Riot (Rivers of London) by Ben Aaronovitch.

408Peace2
nov 14, 2014, 8:56 am

So I finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and enjoyed it (Stephen Fry reading version), I also enjoyed Worst Case by James Patterson a lot more than I expected to which is good. I'm sticking with Dead or Alive by Tom Clancy although I'm still struggling to keep track of all the different people and plots as none of it seems sufficiently related, but no doubt all will become clear before the end! (Or at least I hope it will).

Another trip to the library has netted me the following to try out - Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy and The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge - all three of which are also sitting on my TBR pile so that should help reduce it by a little while I'm doing other things as well :D

4092wonderY
nov 15, 2014, 9:51 am

I'm not as enthusiastic about Romulus Buckle as I had hoped to be. The author annoys me by setting a time limit; for instance, on a foot expedition, everyone has a 40 minute air supply. At twenty minutes they aren't close to their destination, but he dawdles on every page with repetitive descriptors of the scene and character emotions and then even more outrageous obstacles. GET ON WITH IT! He's losing believability and reader indulgence.

410Tanya-dogearedcopy
nov 15, 2014, 10:55 am

The Last Good Man
By A.J. Kazinski
Narrated by Simon Vance
Ⓟ 2012, HighBridge Audio
13.9 hours

The "Tzadikim Nistarim" are the 36 hidden righteous people of the earth according to Jewish mystic tradition. None of the 36 people self-identify as being good or righteous, but their actions have the effect of being socially just or averting a greater humanitarian disaster. If all the Tzadikim Nistarim are eliminated, humanity is doomed. In 2009, a number of seemingly unrelated deaths span the globe, and one man - an Italian police detective named Tomasso di Barber in Venice, makes the connection: Someone is killing the righteous people of the world. And so begins this international thriller that races against the clock to identify and secure the eponymous man of the book.

The Last Good Man has all the makings of a great thriller: a touch of the occult, international settings, deadlines with dire consequences if not met, spiritual musings, flawed protagonists, and an elusive villain... and yet, it all falls a bit flat. The novel's arc is robbed of tension with its schizophrenic quality: Is this going to be a police procedural set in Italy? Or is it going to be a Scandinavian crime thriller ? Is the whole of the novel supposed to be a sort of modern, metaphorical, Talmudic commentary? A.J. Kazinski seems to have mashed three novels into one, supplying the listener with an overabundance of detail and sub-plots (e.g. eighty cents, Skype sex, an Arab terrorist, an architect...) that do nothing to advance the story and worse, weaken the overall narrative until it collapses into a series of anti-climactic events.

Simon Vance is the British-American narrator who brings his BBC4 polish and credentials as a reader of international thrillers (e.g. The Millennium Trilogy - by Steig Larsson) to The Last Good Man. His reading is clear, the pace steady, pronunciations are consistent, all characters are delineated well and credibly... all the things that listeners have come to expect as de rigueur from a seasoned professional such as he.

OTHER: I dnloaded a digital copy of The Last Good Man (by A.J. Kazinski; narrated by Simon Vance) from downpour.com. I receive no monies, goods or services in exchange for reviewing the product and/or mentioning any of the persons or companies that are or may be implied in this post.

411Tanya-dogearedcopy
nov 15, 2014, 11:00 am

You Have to Fucking Eat (by Adam Mansbach; narrated by Bryan Cranston) - 4 minutes ✭✭✭

In this follow up to Go the Fuck to Sleep (narrated by Samuel L. Jackson), Mansbach tackles another parental frustration: the insanely peculiar eating habits of kids. In four minutes, the author pretty much covers it all, and there's a nice finish ;-)

I actually liked the text of You Have to Fucking Eat more than I liked Go the Fuck to Sleep; but admittedly it's probably because I never had trouble getting my daughter to sleep and I'm all too aware of the eating challenges! I wasn't as crazy about Cranston's reading as Jackson's though: Whereas Jackson never broke character and let on that he was doing a humor bit, Cranston is a bit too aware. I love the idea of bad ass narrators reading these, and even though I know Cranston played Walter White, I still think of him as Malcolm's Dad so there's a bit of disjunct going for me!

OTHER: You Have to Fucking Eat (by Adam Mansbach; narrated by Bryan Cranston) is a free digital dnload from audible.com. I receive no monies, goods or services in exchange for reviewing the product and/or mentioning any of the persons or companies that are or may be implied in this post.

412Nickelini
nov 15, 2014, 12:37 pm

and even though I know Cranston played Walter White, I still think of him as Malcolm's Dad so there's a bit of disjunct going for me!

Ha ha -- and to me he'll always be Tim Whatley, the dentist on Sienfeld.

413SylviaC
nov 15, 2014, 12:55 pm

>411 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I, too, preferred Samuel L. Jackson's reading to Bryan Cranston's. I'm not very familiar with either as an actor, so I can't have been influenced by the characters they've played.

414NarratorLady
nov 15, 2014, 2:28 pm

408 Peace2: I loved Lynn Redgrave's reading of Inkheart. Is that the one you have? I still miss her voice.

415mabith
nov 15, 2014, 4:32 pm

I'm re-listening to two things (one in the kitchen), Three Hands in the Fountain by Lindsey Davis, which I think I've only read the once before, and Archangel by Sharon Shinn.

416Peace2
Redigerat: nov 17, 2014, 1:19 pm

>414 NarratorLady: Yes, it is the Lynn Redgrave version, so I shall look forward to it even more.

I've almost finished The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge and read by Miriam Margolyes, can't say I loved the story, but the narration is good.. Still ploughing on slowly through Dead or Alive.

417mabith
nov 22, 2014, 9:44 pm

I'm listening to China Dolls by Lisa See, which could really benefit by having three different readers, but alas. There's just very little differentiation between the voices used for the different narrators.

418CDVicarage
nov 23, 2014, 5:00 am

I've just finished Jamaica Inn, read by Tony Britton. He is a marvellous reader and all the male voices are distinct with different accents and tones. His female voices are not quite as good but seemed to improve as the book went on. I shall certainly be looking for some more books read by him. Meanwhile I have moved on to The One Hundred and One Dalmatians read by Martin Jarvis.

419Peace2
nov 23, 2014, 5:39 am

>417 mabith: Some books really benefit from multiple narrators.

I've finished up both The Little White Horse and Dead or Alive (which was read by Lou Diamond Phillips). I'm now well on the way with Inkheart read by Lynn Redgrave and Malorie Blackman's Hacker but I can't remember who the narrator is on that one.

Next up The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling read by Stephen Fry, both of which I hope to start during the week ahead. Ah, so many books, so little free time!

420JackieCarroll
nov 23, 2014, 10:30 am

I just finished Anne Perry's Belgrave Square and started Lawrence Block's The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons. The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons is really a silly novel, but I'm really enjoying the book discussions scattered throughout. The protagonist, who owns a book store, discusses a wide range of authors and books, both classics and modern. It's a pleasure to jump from book to book, especially when Block brings up the same ideas that I had when reading the books. This is apparently part of a series, and I hope my library has some of the other books in the series.

Between the two, I listened to a lecture by Alexander McCall Smith called Confessions of a Serial Novelist. I guess it's not really a book, but my library had it in the audiobook collections. The author is a delight to listen to, despite the fact that he has a silly giggle. I highly recommend it.

421TooBusyReading
nov 24, 2014, 10:29 am

I'm listening to Stephen King's Insomnia. It was written several years ago, but I never got around to it until now. I got the audio from Downpour, and the music between segments is annoying. It is creepy music and I guess it is supposed to add atmosphere, but the writing is enough atmosphere for me, and the music steps on some of the words.

It is far from my favorite King novel, but I'm enjoying the story.

422ktleyed
Redigerat: nov 24, 2014, 7:34 pm

I'm listening to A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre, all about Kim Philby. Narrated by John Lee.

423JackieCarroll
nov 25, 2014, 12:41 pm

I finished Lawrence Block's The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons and I'm starting The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. I'm also listening to my Early Review audiobook--A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marion James. It is a fascinating book but it's going very slowly because they sent CDs instead of a downloadable file. The only place I have to listen to it is the music room, which is in the center of the house and not shut off by doors. It's very violent and the language is quite rough, so I'm only comfortable listening when I'm home alone, which isn't very often. I guess I need to pick up a portable CD player.

424mabith
nov 25, 2014, 1:18 pm

>423 JackieCarroll: When I get CDs from the library or when I did from ER I rip the files to the computer and then I can put them on an mp3 player or listen on my computer without the hassle of changing CDs (which can be soo jarring when you're not ready to stop listening).

I'm listening to Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein (mostly good narration but one voice she does is just AWFUL and extremely high-pitched, way more than I've ever heard on a real person), and re-listening to Blade of Fortriu by Juliet Marillier.

4252wonderY
nov 25, 2014, 1:29 pm

>423 JackieCarroll: Or a portable DVD player works too. I bought one to replace the CD player in my car when it quit. You can plug it into the speakers while traveling. It's the size of a book, and goes everywhere handily.

426JackieCarroll
nov 25, 2014, 2:57 pm

> 424 Unfortunately, I don't have a computer with a cd slot.

> 425 That's a great idea.

427Seajack
nov 27, 2014, 1:07 pm

I'm about halfway through Florence Gordon, with such unlikeable characters that I'm reading it as a satire, although I don't think it's intended that way.

4282wonderY
nov 27, 2014, 1:52 pm

I just finished my second go-through of Love Wins by Rob Bell. It's a brief, but compelling description of Christianity. It apparently caused much critical reaction in the Evangelical community when it was published in 2011. I've got several of those publications on order so that I can read 'the rest of the story.'

429jldarden
nov 28, 2014, 5:57 pm

414> I, too, loved Redgraves' reading of Inkheart. The sequels, read by others, were nowhere near as good!

430Peace2
nov 28, 2014, 7:49 pm

>429 jldarden: I enjoyed Inkheart read by Lynn Redgraves as everyone said I would :D I shall be starting Inkspell in the next week or two but this one is read by Brendan Fraser - I'm curious as to how he will perform as a narrator.

Currently enjoying Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince read by Stephen Fry and am over halfway through it, I've just started The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy read by Carole Boyd and have The Spook's Apprentice by Joseph Delaney on the go in the car. It's a bit soon to say how I feel about TGOST but I'm not riveted by The Spook's Apprentice so far, but as it's only six CDs long and I'm already about halfway through, I figure I'll definitely finish it, but won't rush into the sequels.

4312wonderY
nov 30, 2014, 10:13 am

Another I probably heard about here and will be recommending to everyone - The Rosie Project. Gives me marks for another book about an autistic-spectrum main character and an Australian author. Very funny take on the dating/mating scene. Nice characters!

432Peace2
dec 14, 2014, 5:08 am

I finished up Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on the last day of November and I liked it - I liked the Order of the Phoenix more but this wasn't bad. The Spook's Apprentice by Joseph Delaney did get finished, but I didn't like it anywhere near enough to continue with the series. The God Of Small Things was also finished up. This is a more tricky one to comment on as there were aspects I liked and others that I didn't - if you like an author who plays with rich imagery in their writing, creative descriptions than I would say this is one worth a try at least, but be prepared for something that is not a 'happy' story.

Since then I've also listened to The Norfolk Mystery by Ian Sansom which I would say was not really my cup of tea overall, although in parts it reminded me of an Agatha Christie Poirot style type of book. Not absolutely terrible but not something that I will be looking for more of.

Yesterday I finished up The Sanctuary by Raymond Khoury - which reminded me of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code and J. L. Carrell's The Shakespeare Secret - the whole past and present intertwined with a mystery that's some kind of secret to ... eternal life... the answer to the universe... riches forever... I have a limited capacity for books in this genre (is it a genre? Are there enough of this type to warrant calling it a genre or does it have another name/grouping to which it belongs?) and I think this pushed me over the limit. Again it's not that the book was awful although I didn't overly warm to the narrator (Richard Ferrone I think), but that it's not hitting that mark that I want a good book to hit (and if only I could work out what it was before I started the books, wouldn't life be so much easier).

I'm currently about 4 CDs from the end of The Ides of April, the first of the Flavia Albia books, by Lindsay Davies. I'm quite enjoying it although not finding myself deeply engrossed by it, parts are quite humorous, while others seem to need to up the pace a bit. I've not tried any of Lindsey Davies other books, and while I wouldn't rush to start another, I also don't find myself feeling like I'd never want to touch another, so in all, not bad.

Next up - probably tomorrow - Inkspell by Cornelia Funke - I'm hoping this lives up to the first in the series. Once I finish The Ides of April I'll also start on The Yard by Alex Grecian.

433mabith
dec 14, 2014, 9:22 am

>432 Peace2: For what it's worth, The Ides of April is by far not Davis' best work. I've read almost everything else she's written and loved it and was then pretty disappointed by that one. Her Falco series is just great. I think it takes the first three books or so to hit her best stride and it's all magic from there (and the first ten or so can be read out of order, in which case I'd recommend starting with Last Act in Palmyra, especially if you've ever had much to do with the theatre). I read in order though, and loved them.

I'm listening to The Chosen by Chaim Potok for my main audiobook and have a re-read/listen to The Well of Shades by Juliet Marillier as well.

434Peace2
dec 14, 2014, 12:24 pm

>433 mabith: Thanks for the advice - I'm pretty sure the library has some of them. I'll have to note down the titles from here before I try looking for them.

4352wonderY
dec 15, 2014, 8:31 am

My library system is switching to downloadable audio, which is a pain for me. The only device I have to download to is my laptop. And that is not a convenient way to listen. Can't do it in the car, and it anchors me to one room in the house. I listened to Hunted, the sixth in the Iron Druid Chronicles; and also Carpe Demon. The story line gets fuzzy in my head after a certain point, so I miss key points.

436JackieCarroll
dec 15, 2014, 9:02 am

>435 2wonderY: My library did that too, and it took some adjusting. I love it now because it's so convenient--If I need a new book I can get one instantly. They seem to have a lot more books to choose from now, too.

Are you sure you can't download the books onto your phone? My phone is sort of bottom-line, but it plays books just fine. If not, it might be worth getting a cheap tablet for listening to books. My problem is that the cord to my headphone gets caught on things as I move around the house. I can't tell you how many times a day my ear buds get jerked out.

4372wonderY
Redigerat: dec 15, 2014, 9:17 am

My telephone is just that and nothing more. I will probably have to invest in another gizmo soon.

438CDVicarage
dec 15, 2014, 10:06 am

I've just finished Venetia, which I enjoyed very much and am about to start my annual listen to A Christmas Carol, read by Anton Lesser.

439mabith
Redigerat: dec 15, 2014, 12:01 pm

>437 2wonderY: At least now small mp3 players can be had pretty cheaply. I have a little external speaker that plugs into it so I don't need to wear headphones when I use it (plus it charges through the computer and one charge will last a couple months, even though I'll listen at least a little every day).

It's sad to see libraries taking a one or the other approach, though I know space is always an issue. There are plenty of books on tape still at my library that don't seem to be available digitally at all.

440Seajack
dec 22, 2014, 3:20 pm

I'm halfway through Dead Don't Dance, third in the Apelu Soifela mystery series set in American Samoa. This one's slower than the previous ones, as he's become rather a recluse on a remote island after a personal tragedy; the story is carried more on the Samoan culture than anything else, as though it's an anthropological work on the framework of a mystery genre offering. Phil Gigante is great at narrating these books.

441Peace2
dec 22, 2014, 3:49 pm

I finished up The Ides of April, Inkspell and The Yard. The first was okay- I shall take mabith 's advice and look for something else by Lindsey Davies at some point in the New Year. Inkspell was good - although it felt completely different to the first part because of the different narrators - I can't fault either narrator - just Lynn Redgrave's and Brendan Fraser's interpretation of voices and characters seemed quite different - what a shame part 3 which I will go to the Library to collect with luck tomorrow is narrated by yet a third person - I would have liked to have stuck with Brendan Fraser's interpretation (purely because he was part 2 and the most recent in my memory).

The Yard was interesting. The narration was fine, the story was set in the months following the end of the Jack the Ripper era and follows a group of Scotland Yard policemen and an associated doctor as they attempt to solve a variety of crimes that interweave in their repercussions despite being separate culprits. Some bits that made me grimace at the gruesomeness - but they were meant to do so!

I'm now racing through A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini which is well read. Set in Afghanistan, it follows the lives of two women Mariam and Laila whose lives become intertwined. It's a moving piece, disturbing in the time it reflects.

Once it's finished, it's on with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Depending on whether I return one or two to the library when collecting Inkdeath tomorrow, I shall also look for something else - perhaps the sequel to The Yard or another possibility that I saw on the shelf last time I was there was The Piano Teacher by Janice Lee.

4422wonderY
dec 22, 2014, 4:30 pm

I was in the car a lot this weekend and was disappointed by the two audios I had along.

I loved Fly by Night a few years ago, so I was looking forward to listening to another by Hardinge. But Well Witched was a complete fail. None of the characters engaged me and the literary flow expressing a love of words seems dammed.

With The Drunken Botanist, I was expecting something like Michael Pollan's Cooked, as they share material. But Amy Stewart is a list maker, and that doesn't translate well in audio format. It seems now a book better browsed than read and I've ordered the print book.

Unusually, I preferred silence to either choice. It was a nice sunny day though.

I'd just finished Hunted by Kevin Hearne, and I share this series with SIL and borrowed his copy of Hounded to re-listen.

443aviddiva
dec 27, 2014, 4:50 pm

2WonderY, if you like the Kevin Hearne books, you might also like the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch, read really well by Kobna Holdbrook Smith. The first is Midnight Riot (US title.) My husband and I have been binge-listening to these, and are eagerly awaiting the release of the fifth book next month. They are police procedurals about a young mixed-race London cop who becomes the apprentice to the one-man department of the London Police that deals with "Unusual Occurences." (Magic, ghosts, River Gods, etc.)

444booklovers2
dec 31, 2014, 1:19 am

just finished everything I never told you by Celeste Ng - Although it has gotten rave reviews, I found it repetitive and boring. Half way thru calling me home by Julie Kibler and loving it - reminisce of Driving Miss Daisy in a way

445mabith
dec 31, 2014, 10:33 am

I've gotten a good start on The Secret History of Wonder Woman. It's interesting, but the reader's pacing varies so much. Often too slow and then for some things quite fast (so a slight increase in speed on the player doesn't really help that much). Might be a good one to pick up in print. I'm also having a re-listen to Night Watch by Terry Pratchett.

446aviddiva
dec 31, 2014, 3:47 pm

Partway into The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett. It was recommended to me, but so far I'm finding it slow going. The reader is good, but the story has yet to pull me in. I'll give it another chapter before I give up on it and hope something happens to make the main character more interesting.

447Peace2
dec 31, 2014, 7:39 pm

Finished The Piano Teacher by Janice Y. K. Lee on the 26th, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan today. The Piano Teacher was fine, decently read and engaging enough. Deathly Hallows was very well read by Stephen Fry - I've loved his narration of the whole series this year. On Chesil Beach was a complete and utter disappointment. Firstly the story did not engage me and to supplement that the author's own narration of the story didn't do anything to engage me either.

Next up Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and then it will likely be Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke. I'm not sure whether to look forward to this latter or not. I've listened to the first two parts - they were excellently read but because they used different narrators (Lynn Redgrave for the first and Brendan Fraser for the second), I didn't really get the feeling of continuing something I was already invested in. The third part has a different narrator again. A shame!

448sara232
jan 8, 2015, 8:31 am

Think about going with Catching Fire and The Key, True Reign

4492wonderY
jan 8, 2015, 8:48 am

Kizzy Ann Stamps is a short epistolary novel told from the view of one of the first black students to attend an integrated school in 1963. Pretty good.

450mabith
jan 8, 2015, 9:49 am

I'm listening to The Borgias (read okay) and Tell the Wolves I'm Home, which is read well.

Should we start a new thread for the new year?

451Peace2
jan 8, 2015, 1:51 pm

A new thread sounds like a good idea to me - both for the New Year and because at 450 entries this is getting pretty long.
Den här diskussionen fortsatte här: What Are You Listening to Now? Part 17