Jensownzoo's comments (member since Nov 06, 2008)

Jensownzoo's comments from the The Next Best Book Club group.

Cat 1: The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

I enjoyed Whitechapel Gods by S. M. Peters and Perdido Street Station by China Mieville.

Also, there is a short story anthology that has submissions from a lot of the authors that are currently doing steampunk called Extraordinary Engines that I own but have not yet started.

NOVEMBER

87. Daughter of Witches by Patricia C. Wrede
88. Cable & Deadpool volume 8 Deadpool Vs. The Marvel Universe TPB
89. 15-Minute Vegetarian Recipes by Susann Geiskopf-Hadler
90. Talk to the Hand by Lynne Truss
91. The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee
92. Tell Me Where It Hurts by Dr. Nick Trout
93. Sum of Our Days by Isabel Allende
94. Enchanted, Inc. by Shanna Swendson

Grover! My dad could do a spot-on voice impression that used to send me into the giggles when I was little. My favorite sketches were the SuperGrover ones.

Can't pick a favorite overall Muppet though...there are just too many good ones!

I second Black Beauty.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH involves animal experimentation.

I really enjoyed The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor.

Kissing in Manhattan is in my TBR pile.

I read Anne Lamott's Operating Instructions A Journal of My Son's First Year and found it to be a pretty good read. Not particularly funny, but definitely an honest look at the experience.

Expecting Adam A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic was really good too, but not funny either.

I think it is hit or miss on author's reading their own stories, El. They may know how it should sound, but many of them aren't voice actors enough to pull it off.

I did like Neil Gaiman narrating his own stories in Fragile things. I got Neverwhere on clearance recently, so I'll see how I like him in a longer format.

I would like to check out World War Z, but it makes something inside of me twitch to know that the work has been abridged. I probably should actually read the book first, THEN listen to the audio...sort of like I do with movie adaptations.

I recently went on a longish car trip and took some audiobooks with me. I haven't really listened to too many of these in the past (my car has a CD player and most of the audiobooks at my library are still on cassette tapes) but I found some good sales and have purchased a few in the last 6 months or so.

I was interested in finding out what audiobook performances just blew you away...where the actor/reader just added so much to the book experience that you prefer or almost prefer the audiobook to the print book.

For myself, I doubt that I will ever buy another David Sedaris print book again...I would miss his voice bringing out the comedy in the stories.

Also, I listened to The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke recently, and found that the formal, somewhat archaic style that she uses in her stories is most difficult for me to sit down and read (I get bored), but I had absolutely no problem remaining fascinated during the audiobook performance. I am planning on attempting Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell again...this time in audiobook where I might get a little farther!

What audiobooks do you recommend based on what the performance adds to the story?

I feel that chapter breaks are almost like coming up for air (a necessity for all divers, eventually), even if all you do is spend an extra fraction of a second moving your eyes to the first sentence in the new chapter. With chapters too short, it feels like hyperventilating, though. :-P

I would say that I like to have chapter breaks when it feels natural, usually resulting in differing lengths. Like others, sometimes the lack of chapters just feeds the overall mood of the story. Sort of like that axiom that you first need to know the rules inside and out so that when you break them you can do it deliberately and with purpose.

OCTOBER

74. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
75. Street Gang The Complete History of Sesame Street by Michael Davis
76. Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder
77. Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder
78. Grimspace by Anne Aguirre
79. Wanderlust by Anne Aguirre
80. Doubleblind by Anne Aguirre
81. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke
82. I Have Chosen to Stay and Fight by Margaret Cho
83. The Know-It-All One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A.J. Jacobs
84. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
85. The Last Time I Wore A Dress by Daphne Scholinski
86. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

SEPTEMBER

71. The Shadow Queen by Anne Bishop (yes, AGAIN)
72. Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs
73. Hurry Down Sunshine by Michael Greenberg

What does everybody think about the new style of paperbacks that are about two inches taller but no wider than regular paperbacks? I've decided I hate them and will never buy a book that is in that format. I just don't like how it feels in my hands--it seems to take even more effort to keep the book open.

I've managed to cut my spending on books this year by buying a lot of them from thriftstores. This way I don't feel deprived when I don't come home with bags of books each week. But, pretty much all of my entertainment budget is spent on books.

TOTAL POINTS = 100

15.3 Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho

I gave this book 4 stars. It is essentially a social commentary disguised as a story, but one done well. And it is not as depressing as it sounds!

For new books, I don't have much of a preference, although I tend to be more willing to try something new if I can hold the book in my hand first. For used, I prefer physical stores unless I am searching for something specific that I'm having trouble finding. I enjoy the treasure-hunt aspect of combing through thrift stores and used book stores, looking for something that catches my interest. Plus, my favorite used book store is in an old two-story house with lots of small rooms (each with a different subject) and two friendly cats who wander the premises soliciting petting.

One thing that one of my teachers did in honors english (but not sophomore year) was to provide a list of books with their descriptions. The class ranked the books in order of which ones they would most like to read. Then the teacher paired off 5 students based on their higher ranked book (but making sure that no two groups were reading the same book). The groups met in class for 20-30 minutes every other week to discuss the book for the first two months (the teacher provided discussion topics and guidance by circulating between groups), then the next two months the groups spent preparing presentation for the rest of the class (and any other visitors the teacher invited). We were encouraged to be creative in our presentations (some dressed up like the characters, there was a puppet show, etc.). It was a lot of fun and made that class very popular for that teacher.

Good one, Susanna! I thought I was missing one.

Darkness Visible A Memoir of Madness by William Styron
The Quiet Room A Journey Out of the Torment of Madness by Lori Schiller
Flock The Autobiography of a Multiple Personality by Joan Frances Casey
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar

I also recommend I Never Promised You a Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg. It's one of my favorites.

I'll also add to the list:

Daughter of the Queen of Sheba A Memoir by Jacki Lyden
When Rabbit Howls by Trudi Chase
Electroboy A Memoir of Mania by Andy Behrman
The Day the Voices Stopped A Schizophrenic's Journey from Madness to Hope by Ken Steele
Mockingbird Years A Life In and Out of Therapy by Emily Fox Gordon
An Unquiet Mind A Memoir of Moods and Madness by Kay Redfield Jamison