Barbara's comments
(member since Jun 03, 2008)
Barbara's comments from the Books on the Nightstand group.
(showing 1-20 of 52)
Carla, was the audiobook production of Beach Music that you listened to read by Frank Muller? He did everything by Pat Conroy for Recorded Books and became Conroy's voice in my head. They have very different voices, so it was a shock when I heard the real Conroy.
Sadly, though, Muller died after an awful motorcyle accident. So, I am wondering who they will get to do South of Broad. Conroy's books are perfect for audiobooks. That story telling quality just fits.
Chiming in as another teacher here, the kids are there for those limited hours, but a teacher's job goes on far into the night and on weekends. That's what those who look in from the outside usually miss.
Oh, Karen, please read Pride and Prejudice. You will be so glad you did.
My two guilt reads are Ulysses by James Joyce and Robert Fagles translation of The Iliad. Both are sitting on my shelf glaring at me. I bought both when I had great groups to read them with who would help me understand them. And, I just couldn't do it. Joyce's change of voice in each chapter defeated me. Just when I got into the rhythm of one, it was gone. And, I loved Fagles' translation of The Odyssey. He made it a lovely fantasy read, truly understandable. But, The Iliad is so full of war and gore that I just couldn't make it through.
I started keep track of the books and audiobooks I've read in a little notebook about 13 years ago. I did it partially because of my failing memory. I frequently couldn't remember whether I'd read a book and would get it at the library or buy it twice! It also helps to have it when I make a list of my favorite books of the year. I don't write any comments, just the book and author and, in the case of audiobooks, the production company and narrator.
To keep of the books I want to read, I keep a little notebook in my purse. However, I also use the library website. They have an option in which you can keep a list of the books and other materials they own that you want to get in the future. Frequently, an item is on the shelf and doesn't need a hold, but I just don't have time right then to use it.
And, then, of course, there is goodreads. I love using lists here, but have kept them pretty simple.
Thank you, Carla! I hope you don't mind but I am going to post your note on the Audiobooks group and Constant Reader here.
Oh, my gosh, I might not be able to stop, Michael. I would love a program on audiobooks too and am almost as much of a fan as Carla.
Some of my favorites:
Bill Bryson's In A Sunburned Country and A Walk in the Woods--both read by Bryson who is one of the few writers who enhances his books by reading them. Normally, authors should leave the reading to the professionals.
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston read by Ruby Dee--This is the audiobook that hooked me on them forever. Ruby Dee crosses genders and age with such fluidity that I totally forgot that this was one person reading.
Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem read by Frank Muller--Muller was an actor who worked for Recorded Books and was a master narrator. Unfortunately, he died recently after a long recuperation from a motorcycle accident. I am fairly certain, after reading a bit of this book in print, that I only liked it because of Muller's incredible performance. He also does a great job with Pat Conroy's books, particularly The Prince of Tides.
I'm sure I'll be back with more.
Thanks, Michael! I wanted to make a note of it for myself and recommend it to someone else.
Not sure if this is the right place to post this question, but I wanted to ask about a book that Michael recommended that is coming out in March. It was a memoir done by a man whose parents were deaf. Could you remind me again of the title and author?
I heard Dexter Filkins interviewed. I believe it was on the NYTimes Book Review podcast. I was so impressed with him at the time that I immediately put it on a list to read at the library. The experience obviously affected him profoundly and sincerely. But, I haven't been able to bring myself to read it yet.
BTW, very old threads frequently get revived with a new note. I'm glad you did that! I'm currently rereading Anna Karenina with the folks on the Constant Reader group. This is the new translation by Pevear and Volokhonsky and it's well worth revisiting this incredible novel.
Yes, I'm a Michigander, from Ypsilanti. Ann grew up in Michigan. Right now, I'm just trying to make it through our coldest week so far this year.
Thanks for posting about your podcasts, Jeremy. I just subscribed. Now, I'll have more book related things to listen to between Books on the Nightstand podcasts.
Ann, I am the worst person to give advice on this. I don't think you can send an invite to a specific goodreads group on facebook though you can put a link to your goodreads profile there. However, people form groups on facebook all the time and then send invitations to it. A friend of mine just formed an Eartha Kitt group in honor of her passing and invited others there to talk about her.
Ann, will we be able to send invitations, like other groups that are formed on goodreads? If so, be sure and let us know how to do it. I would be glad to send them to my contacts on Facebook, the ones I think would be interested.
As, again, a nonscience fiction fan, I loved Oryx and Crake.
My son's girlfriend gave me The Time Traveler's Wife last year for Christmas. I would never have read it on my own. I'm not usually a fan of time travel and it sounded too much like a romance for me. However, I loved it. The writing and general character development are excellent.
That helps a lot, Ann. I sort of thought it would be connected to whatever worked best for the business. Do you mind if I copy your note to the discussion on CR?
Over on the Constant Reader group, we have been discussing the practice of some book stores using African-American sections to display books. In response, Carlene Brice has established National Buy a Book by a Black Author and Give it to Somebody Not Black Month. You can read about it at:
http://welcomewhitefolks.blogspot.com/
After we started discussing it, she joined in and posted the following note:
Hi All, Thank you so much for having this discussion--that's all I'm trying to do is raise awareness and get some issues to the point of discussion. This country is so crazy when it comes to race it's hard to look at racial issues without feeling a little crazy, oneself. For example, on the one hand, African American sections in bookstores are believed to be helpful to black authors in the sense that they help black readers find our books easily. On the other hand, it puts other readers off and makes it seem like our books are "only" for black readers. I don't mean to dis any practice because I do believe booksellers and publishers are trying to sell books. But I also believe that some conventional wisdom in the publishing industry is based on some old assumptions. We'll see if I'm right.
My Border's store in Ann Arbor has just such a section. I always thought it was an attempt to highlight African-American literature, but it does have the effect of not exposing those books to the casual shopper. Some people in Canada, as well as folks in the northwest U.S. said they had never heard of such a practice. I'm wondering if Michael and Ann can tell us how common it is and what the current thinking behind it is.
And, I recently finished The Senator's Wife by Sue Miller after a recommendation from my sister. So, I was delighted to hear Ann recommend it on the last podcast. I could never bring myself to read The Good Mother (which Ann compared it to) because my sons were small when it was published and I just felt too vulnerable to the subject matter. However, Family Pictures is my other favorite of Miller's and I think this new one is at, or surpasses, that level.
Stephen, thank you for the description of the audiobook production of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I'm a lover of audiobooks and that sounds like a good way for them to present it. I'll be looking for it now. Who did the production? Was it Recorded Books?
