I loved this audiobook! It was so cute and well read and funny and just plain likable. I hate to say this, as a person who simply can't read series, t...moreI loved this audiobook! It was so cute and well read and funny and just plain likable. I hate to say this, as a person who simply can't read series, that I may have to read/listen to the next one. I'm a little sad to be finished with it.(less)
This was a satisfying but uncomplicated story of bad mothers (it is Jeannette Walls after all), justice (the bullying mill foreman who hits on all the...moreThis was a satisfying but uncomplicated story of bad mothers (it is Jeannette Walls after all), justice (the bullying mill foreman who hits on all the girls), integration, patriotism and the Vietnam war. Bean is a sort of reimagined Scout, and indeed, To Kill a Mockingbird makes more than a casual appearance. Bean and Liz are self-reliant with a deluded and selfish mother. They travel cross-country to stay with Uncle Tinsley, who couldn't be more gruff and homespun with a heart of gold if she tried. Bean's newly met relatives are jocular and optimistic and patriotic. It's a nice book and I'm okay with not always having to look for the hidden meaning! The reading is terrific. Jeannette Walls is a pretty good reader of her own work.(less)
Eric Weiner is so irreverent and neurotic! Man Seeks God isn't quite as funny and irreverent and useful as The Geography of Bliss but it is still pret...moreEric Weiner is so irreverent and neurotic! Man Seeks God isn't quite as funny and irreverent and useful as The Geography of Bliss but it is still pretty good. It's just never quite clear to me whether his search for God is sincere or not. I also don't know why he states that he will only focus on significant religions and doesn't include cults and yet he includes those loopy Raelians (which I had never heard of partly because they are completely irrelevant). However, I really like his unquiet mind and inability to meditate or fully give himself up to emptying his mind (I can completely relate although I'm not neurotic or depressed!). Weiner is a pretty good narrator too and the irreverence, amusement and neurotism are obvious. (less)
I took a long time to decide whether I liked this book or not. The story of Marion and Ika at the center of the book is wonderful. Ika is a little boy...moreI took a long time to decide whether I liked this book or not. The story of Marion and Ika at the center of the book is wonderful. Ika is a little boy who visits retired doctor and immigrant, Marion, once a week. Marion soon figures out that Ika is likely abused. As that story progresses, Marion revisits her history - with her grandfather, mother, brother and husband - and there are lot of shocking things to learn. I loved the last third of the book or at the least the audio version of it that I listened to. And I loved the ending.(less)
When We Wake isn't particularly original but I loved Tegan as a character and Leslie Bellair as the narrator. Tegan is killed as a teenager and wakes...moreWhen We Wake isn't particularly original but I loved Tegan as a character and Leslie Bellair as the narrator. Tegan is killed as a teenager and wakes up 100 years later after being frozen. Some things about Australia have improved (environmentally; gay marriage is accepted) and others have not (the no migrant policy). It made me laugh that the US had fundamentalist wars! There is, of course, some big conspiracy that Tegan is an unwitting part of, in this dystopian future. Leslie Bellair's Australian accent is quite believable. It isn't perfect - some vowels are a bit off but she gets the general tone and pacing pretty darn close. I've heard a lot of horrible fake Australian accents (it must be hard to do) but this one is pretty good. By the way, Karen Healey is a kiwi but When We Wake is set in Melbourne.(less)
Maurice Gee has a way with the written word and Heather Bolton has a way with the spoken word. Rowan is an elderly woman living in a fictional part of...moreMaurice Gee has a way with the written word and Heather Bolton has a way with the spoken word. Rowan is an elderly woman living in a fictional part of Auckland writing about her life as a child and as an adult with her elderly brothers. It's not a brilliant book but it is an engaging one and Bolton makes it come alive. She's a revelation.(less)
James Lasdun is living something of a nightmare and one that doesn't actually end (only the book ends). I really enjoyed this book and I particularly...moreJames Lasdun is living something of a nightmare and one that doesn't actually end (only the book ends). I really enjoyed this book and I particularly liked Robin Sachs's reading (RIP). When Lasdun went to Jerusalem to write a magazine story, the book kind of screeched to a halt and I got a bit bored. (I might have given it more stars otherwise.)(less)
Dr. Hawa is an amazing woman who sets up and runs a hospital in Somalia. It's an almost losing battle with famine, poverty and war. Her continued pres...moreDr. Hawa is an amazing woman who sets up and runs a hospital in Somalia. It's an almost losing battle with famine, poverty and war. Her continued presence is incredible. She's not always the warmest and forgiving person and she is quite open about that. It's a wonderful story that isn't particularly well written. I didn't love the audio either - a wee bit disappointed in the tone.(less)
Sara Tuvel weighed 44 pounds in pajamas at the end of the war. Of all the horrors in this memoir of the Holocaust, this particular fact continues to a...moreSara Tuvel weighed 44 pounds in pajamas at the end of the war. Of all the horrors in this memoir of the Holocaust, this particular fact continues to appal me. I've never really read anything about Ravensbrook before - even worse conditions than all the other horrible camps. I confess that I didn't much care for the narration of this book.(less)
This is such a beautiful book about the interconnectedness of everything. Ruth (a version of the author) is a writer struggling with writers block liv...moreThis is such a beautiful book about the interconnectedness of everything. Ruth (a version of the author) is a writer struggling with writers block living off the coast of British Columbia. She finds the diary of a 16 year old suicidal Japanese schoolgirl on the beach in a Hello Kitty lunchbox, along with some letters, an older diary in French and a watch belonging to a kamikaze pilot. Nao (pronounced 'now') wrote the diary 10 years before and may have ended up on the beach as a result of the tsunami. Nao grew up in California and moved to Japan when her father loses his job. She is endlessly bullied as a transfer student at school. It's heartbreaking and yet, Ozeki's book is so uplifting and even optimistic. I love that Ruth feels an immediacy for the plight of Nao and forgets that the diary was written long ago. Jiko, Nao's great grandmother, is a wonderful character intoning prayers of gratitude, including to the toilet! There are just a billion different ideas in this book, including quantum physics, kamikaze pilots, tsunamis, crows, Buddhism and a whole lot of other things, and yet Ozeki keeps all the balls in the air. This is the first novel in a while that I have been truly enthusiastic about. Ruth Ozeki reads this herself and she does a wonderfully warm job. She says in an afterward that she always reads the pages to herself as she writes.
Brazil is one of the BRIC countries and its profile is about to go up even more with the FIFA world cup next year and the 2016 summer Olympics. Michae...moreBrazil is one of the BRIC countries and its profile is about to go up even more with the FIFA world cup next year and the 2016 summer Olympics. Michael Palin is always to charming and informative and respectful and irreverent. He may not do great Brazilian accents but he sure did a perfect New Zealand one! Palin floats down the Amazon in a small boat visiting tiny villages, dances with the Yanomami, marches in a gay pride demonstration in Rio and wanders famous Brazilian beaches filled with scantily clad women. Palin is obviously fascinated by the laidback Brazilian attitude (what a kiwi would call "she'll be right"). The attempts by local governments to get control over the drug problems in the favelas was particularly fascinating. (less)
Alexandra Horowitz thought she was fairly observant until she walked her neighbourhood with 11 different kinds of experts - a geologist, an expert in...moreAlexandra Horowitz thought she was fairly observant until she walked her neighbourhood with 11 different kinds of experts - a geologist, an expert in fonts, a blind person, a bug expert etc etc (and her dog and her toddler). Then she discovered how much she was missing. It's quite fascinating. I'm not very observant so imagine how much I am missing!(less)
So fun! Rebus is such a great character and I love driving around Edinburgh and up to Inverness through Pitlochry with him. I love listening to the Sc...moreSo fun! Rebus is such a great character and I love driving around Edinburgh and up to Inverness through Pitlochry with him. I love listening to the Scottish brogue of James Macpherson too.(less)
Such a wonderful cruise through the natural world with an articulate and funny guide. I particularly loved the chapter on salamanders. His first pet w...moreSuch a wonderful cruise through the natural world with an articulate and funny guide. I particularly loved the chapter on salamanders. His first pet was a salamander and we had one living in our basement until the winter came and it went away to hibernate. (less)
Poor Dick Hill forced to read Reacher with a broken nose. Would that broken nose be more explicable if I had read/listened to the previous Reacher nov...morePoor Dick Hill forced to read Reacher with a broken nose. Would that broken nose be more explicable if I had read/listened to the previous Reacher novel? So absolutely far fetched. (less)
Great characters but a story that jumps the shark over and over again. Kim Ravers is a brilliant narrator and the only thing that got me to the end of...moreGreat characters but a story that jumps the shark over and over again. Kim Ravers is a brilliant narrator and the only thing that got me to the end of the book. (I'd give her a five star review.)(less)
This is a lovely memoir of Richard Russo's relationship with his not-so-lovely mother. I'm sure he didn't do everything right but I think a nomination...moreThis is a lovely memoir of Richard Russo's relationship with his not-so-lovely mother. I'm sure he didn't do everything right but I think a nomination for sainthood may be appropriate anyway. I don't love Russo reading his memoir - it seems a little agressive somehow.(less)
So funny and so silly! Martin Jarvis is just great. It's not clear to me why anyone would bother to abridge P.G. Wodehouse but whatever. It's always f...moreSo funny and so silly! Martin Jarvis is just great. It's not clear to me why anyone would bother to abridge P.G. Wodehouse but whatever. It's always fun to spend time with Jeeves, Wooster and Fink-Nottle and all.(less)
I really loved The Happiness Project and I really admired Gretchen Rubin for wanting to appreciate her life more. And I cleaned my closet as a result!...moreI really loved The Happiness Project and I really admired Gretchen Rubin for wanting to appreciate her life more. And I cleaned my closet as a result! But Happier at Home just irritated me. My first complaint is that too much of it is just like the first book - she's still de-cluttering, for example. My second complaint is that she is kind of entitled (one of the discussions of the moment!) and it's really annoying. I did not find her attempts to make her children and husband happy particularly interesting or unusual or compelling. I think maybe Kathe Mazur's reading is just so smooth and Rubin's reading of the first book sounded a bit more self-deprecating. (less)
I like the setting, characters and especially the narration of these Louise Penny mysteries. I liked the monastery with Gregorian chants tremendously....moreI like the setting, characters and especially the narration of these Louise Penny mysteries. I liked the monastery with Gregorian chants tremendously. I even kind of like Jean Guy's ongoing struggle with painkillers. But I'm also tired of the backstory of the factory, the video and the problems with the big chief. I'm much too lazy to read these books but I really like listening to them. Ralph Cosham is just great.(less)
This is a great story of an amazing cross-country trip in the middle of winter, including rounding up reindeer, to save over a hundred stranded whaler...moreThis is a great story of an amazing cross-country trip in the middle of winter, including rounding up reindeer, to save over a hundred stranded whalers. However, I did not like the narrator - I had a hard time following the book and paying attention. Missing out on the photos in the book is a bit of a bummer too.(less)
Somehow I have never read much about Dickens's life even though I have read a number of Dickens novels. I knew about his father being imprisoned in th...moreSomehow I have never read much about Dickens's life even though I have read a number of Dickens novels. I knew about his father being imprisoned in the Marshalsea and everyone knows about Dickens working at the blacking factory at the age of 12. But somehow I missed that he had so many children, an unhappy marriage, treated his wife appallingly and had a mistress. Does everyone else in the world already know these things?!
I loved this biography. Tomalin's biography is engaging, intelligent and honest (certainly not fawning). Alex Jennings's reading is also engaging and intelligent. He does a brilliant job of distinguishing between the narrative and the primary sources of letters and novels. I thought a biography might be something that I preferred to read to listening but I was (thankfully) wrong.(less)
I loved this story of Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpott looking for "curies" on the beach of Lyme. I've always liked novels that take real people tha...moreI loved this story of Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpott looking for "curies" on the beach of Lyme. I've always liked novels that take real people that we don't know a lot about and build a fictional life for them. Remarkable Creatures might be more of a three star book but the narrators of the audio version were so terrific that I have to give it four. (less)
Sketches by Boz consists of short observations and stories by Dickens published prior to his first novel, The Pickwick Papers. This audio version read...moreSketches by Boz consists of short observations and stories by Dickens published prior to his first novel, The Pickwick Papers. This audio version read by the incomparable David Timson is an abridged version or "selections" of those sketches. Some are better than others. The descriptions of London at night and in the early morning that start off the book are terrific. Monmouth Street and the Greenwich Fair are a little less interesting. The preoccupation of the British with their gardens is fine but without a narrative structure to keep listening. Where Boz really hits its stride are the short stories - The Boarding House, The Tuggses at Ramgate and The Bloomsbury Christening are all great. I love the scam at the heart of Tuggses - easily my favourite story - so so funny and reminds me of the random whimsical and amusing stories of The Pickwick Papers.(less)
I don't know if this is a bad book (weird, for David Lodge) or H.G. Wells was just an awful person. I got really tired of hearing about Wells's sex li...moreI don't know if this is a bad book (weird, for David Lodge) or H.G. Wells was just an awful person. I got really tired of hearing about Wells's sex life. Some of his relationships were with really young women - not only should the older Wells have known better - it constitutes almost an abuse of power. I think Wells's wife, Jane, would have been a much more interesting subject for a book. I listened to the audio and Steven Crossley was wonderful even if the book wasn't.(less)
This is a silly book transformed into hilarity by the brilliant reading of John Lee. If I tried to read this oddity that looks like a kids book but mo...moreThis is a silly book transformed into hilarity by the brilliant reading of John Lee. If I tried to read this oddity that looks like a kids book but most certainly isn't (nevertheless leaving the adult to be reading about silly pirates), I would likely have given up. But Lee's narration is such a triumph. None of the pirates have names (the pirate captain, the pirate with a scarf, the pirate in red etc) and the pirate captain is vain and silly valuing his beard and ham (!) above all else and doesn't do a whole lot of actual pirating. The first book featuring Darwin on the Beagle with his Man-panzee was much better and funnier than the second with Ahab and the white whale. I highly recommend this audiobook but not reading the paper version! Three stars is based on two stars for the book and four stars for the narration.(less)
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