November 2014

[Susanne]

I'm finished Me Before You - I really enjoyed this book. It's a love story with a serious central plot element that's introduced in the middle of the book. It kept my attention and was well paced.

[Janice]

Dee wrote: "i loved Kushiel's Dart, but also realize that it isn't for everyone - the world building to me was amazing - thatbeing said, I've never gone beyond the first book - i'm afraid none of the later oen..."

One of the things that stood out for me is that it didn't have the feel of fantasy which attests to the strength of the world that was created. I'm not one for political intrigue and I kind of got lost in all the characters and their allegiances.

[Dee]

see, i liked that it wasn't really high fantasy - i'm not a fan of that, which is maybe why I enjoyed it more - all the characters were confusing, I'll give you that - I read it, couldn't imagine listening to it - kind of like I can't see myself listening to game of thrones because of how complicated I hear it is

[Carol]

I'm listening to Cross and Burn by Val Mc Dermid. I love the main characters in this series and their complicated relationship. Tony Hill is a consulting psychologist for the police and Carol Jordan is the head of a detective squad. The crimes are quite violent and the bad guys are real psychopaths, so not your cozy mysteries.
I've gotten to #1 in the library queue for NOS4A2 by Joe Hill. I've never tried one of his books, but I'll give it a listen to see what I think.
This will be the last "dark" novel for awhile. I think I need to find something more redeeming and positive next!

[MissSusie]

Dee wrote: "FINALLY finished up Virtue Falls - egads HORRIBLE

started Up From the Grave"

I've had Virtue Falls on my wishlist what was horrible about it, Dee?

[Dee]

i'll PM you if you want - a litany of issues

horrible narrator - only one of the characters had a distinctive non-annoying voice - the rest all blended together - they'd start out unique and then change

the storyline was horrible - I was expecting (based on the prologue) more of a mystery/suspense - but I got a half-assed unbelievable romance with a "smart" heroine who sounded like an idiot; a guy who was just ugh - and yeah

[MissSusie]

Dee wrote: "i'll PM you if you want - a litany of issues

horrible narrator - only one of the characters had a distinctive non-annoying voice - the rest all blended together - they'd start out unique and then ..."

Thanks That's enough to make me skip it!

[N]

I just listened to The Art Forger and really liked it. I liked the narrator too. It was one of those books that you can't stop listening to.

Now I'm listening to Fangirl and so far like that too.

[Carol]

I enjoyed The Art Forger as well. That reminds me to look for another of that series. I enjoyed the narrator's pronunciation of the foreign names.

[Kristie]

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius was really good, but definitely not for everyone with the whole "stream of consciousness" thing it has going on. I'm actually surprised I liked it as much as I did. It's definitely a book I suggest people listen to, rather than read. Dion Graham was a fantastic narrator for it.

I'm now about 1/3 of the way into The Valley of Amazement. It's OK. Good, but not great. I expected a little better writing from Amy Tan, something more like literature. But I'm interested in the story and am not planning to quit. Also, Amy Tan does a bit of the narration. It's not a great performance, but not horrible either, since her parts have been relatively small. Were she narrating the whole book I might drop it, though.

[Dee]

Up From the Grave has some CD issues - so i'm going to have to read parts I can't listen to (right now the tracks from Ch 9-11 are scratched)

so i'm also listening to Chasing Mrs. Right

[John, Moderator]

As one of my qualifying purchases for the current promotion, I picked up a Whispersync-priced copy of The Sleuth Sisters. Not sure what I think about it, anyone else familiar with this one?

[MissSusie]

I am listening to my bookclub book A Tale for the Time Being written and narrated by Ruth Ozeki

[Dee]

i've heard good things about that book Misssusie...i don't think my library had the audiobook though

[Dave]

I liked Holidays On Ice fairly well. Santaland Diaries is the first thing I ever read of David Sedaris and I don't think I've ever laughed as hard. And this was in print so I didn't hear David's funny, distinctive voice. I can't remember any of the other stories except the "Six or Eight Black Men" one which was so ridiculous it made me chuckle. His best for me is still Me Talk Pretty One Day.

I listened to Me Before You and quite liked it. Yes, it's depressing but the author really made you care for the two leading characters, and even the peripheral ones. I'd definitely listen to another JoJo Moyes book because of it.

[Jessica]

I just finished In the Woods, and although it was very wordy as many reviewers have said, it was well worth the journey. I thought that the narration was perfect for the manner in which the story was told.

I had planned on listening to something a little lighter from my TBR pile (I've listened to some dark books lately), but I think that I'll begin the next one in the Dublin Murder Squad series, The Likeness.

[Sara]

Kristie wrote: "The Light Between Oceans was really good but so depressing. The narrator, Noah Taylor, was kind of dull and monotone.

Next up, a book I got from a Humble Bundle awhile back: [book:..."

I agree with you Kristie. I checked it out from the Library but gave up after listening to 2 CDs as I couldn't stand the narrator's voice. I am planning to read the kindle version though!

[Sara]

I just finished listening to Katherine and Shadows of the Workhouse. I will be listening to Fay & Freud's Mistress next.

[Dave]

Oh, and I'm currently listening to Paris by Edward Rutherfurd. I'm almost done after 30 disks and I think it's only okay.

[Lára]

Just started Prince of Fools, like both, the story and the narrator, so far.

[Catherine]

Finished A Fatal Grace ; a nice visit back to Three Pines, will have to get the next one now

[Mejix]

Close to the midpoint of Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose. I don't know if it is the way it is being read but it feels very Norman Rockwellish. In any case it is an interesting story well told.

[Donna]

I finished We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, I really loved it (after dreading starting it!) - lots of interesting themes around identity and family. Now listening to Kiln People which is an old favorite of my husband's.

[Kelly]

N wrote: "Now I'm listening to Fangirl and so far like that too."

Fangirl is my absolute favorite Rowell book. I read the hard copy but will definitely listen to the audio once my library gets it or I find it for a good deal on audible. The narrator is good?

I finished Splendid Solution. I knew very little about Salk so it was very interesting. Especially his connection with Pittsburgh (my hometown).

I then listened to The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet, while alternating rewatching the vlogs at the same time. That was fun.

Not sure what I'll delve into next. Maybe Never Let Me Go.

[David]

I just finished listening to Sharpe's Tiger, a historical novel by Bernard Cornwell. The book's narrator, Frederick Davidson, really breathes life into the book. Highly recommended. Here is my review.

[John, Moderator]

Popped in to highly recommend One Pair of Hands -- Monica Dickens' (Charles' descendant) story of her time as a domestic worker (mostly cooking) in 1930's England. Audio narration a very good fit here!

[Janice]

I finished Tiger's Curse. It was a little too YA for my tastes.

I'll be starting The Drawing of the Three tomorrow.

[Nancy]

I've been out of work for a few weeks so my commute listening has come to a screeching halt! Hopefully will get back to it but will probably have to restart the book I was listening to!!

[Kathleen]

I finished my long audio book, Written in my Own Heart's Blood, so now I have several shorter books I want to listen to before I attack another long one.

I'm pleased that I've finished all of the Outlander books. The last two were a little bland, but I do want to keep up with the series.

I just finished Everthing I Never Told You through Goodread's Ford Book Club. It is a very well written story, albeit very sad. I would not have thought to listen to or read this book, except through their promotion, and I'm glad they gave me the opportunity. Now I'm going to encourage my book group to read it.

My next audio book is Mudbound. So far it is a good story which is narrated with various voices. I recognize some of them, but have not looked up the names.

[Dee]

I really enjoyed Mudbound when I read it - one of my few 5-star reads for the year

[Michelle]

Just finished Fangirl. Not as good as Rowell's Eleanor & Park but still a great story. Listening now to The Painter. Love the narrator on this one. Perfect.

[Carol/Bonadie]

Just finished Shadow of Night. Enjoyed it, will probably give it 4/5 rating. Just started Gray Mountain. The "young girl" voice of the narrator is taking some getting used to, but Grisham is slowly drawing me into the usual Legal David v Goliath type plot.

[Kristie]

I'm over half-way through The Valley of Amazement, and I'm pretty tempted to drop it. I listened to a bunch of it while painting, so it was hard to stop listening to it, but now I've taken a three day break from it and, well...I just don't care enough to keep goin. It's just...meh. And way too long for a meh book (24 hours).

Regardless of whether I decide to drop TVoA, my next book will be Euphoria.

[Catherine]

Michelle wrote: "Just finished Fangirl. Not as good as Rowell's Eleanor & Park but still a great story. Listening now to The Painter. Love the narrator on this one..."

Read The Dog Stars in print and loved it; I see my library has The Painter in audio. Thanks for mentioning it; one more for the ol' wish list!
Still in the middle of The Last Werewolf, liking it so far

[Kaytlin]

Kristie wrote: "I'm over half-way through The Valley of Amazement, and I'm pretty tempted to drop it. I listened to a bunch of it while painting, so it was hard to stop listening to it, but now I'v..."

I also just started The Valley of Amazement. I see that you aren't enjoying it, Kristie. Shucks, I have high hopes for it, though I must admit that I was reluctant to start it after having recently finished Frog Music, which I consider to be to close in genre since I try to be a well-rounded reader. Frog Music was a 3.5 rating from me.

I just finished Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin today. It is narrated by the author and is simply superb.

[Kristie]

Kaytlin wrote: "Kristie wrote: "I'm over half-way through The Valley of Amazement, and I'm pretty tempted to drop it. I listened to a bunch of it while painting, so it was hard to stop listening to..."

I hope you have better luck than I did with TVoA. I didn't mind it at first, but the longer it went on, the less able I found myself to hang in there with it. If I hadn't taken a few day break from it in the middle maybe I could've held on.

[Dave]

I listened to The Tortilla Curtain a few years ago. It is the only T.C. Boyle book I've truly enjoyed. But I enjoyed it enough to try and listen to about three other books of his, but nothing was that good.

[Susanne]

I finished As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride. Cary Elwes narrates with a few parts narrated by Rob Reiner, Robin Wright, Billy Crystal, Chris Sarandon, etc. I really enjoyed it.

[Jeanie]

Someone else talked about listening to Across the Nightingale Floor, so I had to re-listen... for the third time. I still love it. I find the rhythm of the narrators providing a real Japanese feel even though they are reading English. My only problem now is that I'm tempted to re-listen to the next two in the trilogy instead of working on the unread books in the huge TBR pile.

[Janice]

Wow! You really must have loved it Jeanie!

I know lots of people were miffed because it didn't accurately reflect historical Japan, but it is fantasy after all, and not historical fiction. That didn't bother me at all. I really enjoyed the world that was created.

[Margaret]

I'm about 2/3 of the way through The Long way Home, the latest in the Three Pines, Inspector Gamache, series by Louise Penny. The story is as intriguing as usual with Ralph Cosham's excellent narration. A friend who has completely different tastes in fiction called it to my attention. She was delighted to learn that it was about the 9th or 10th in a series.

[Jeanie]

Margaret wrote: "I'm about 2/3 of the way through The Long way Home, the latest in the Three Pines, Inspector Gamache, series by Louise Penny. The story is as intriguing as usual with Ralph Cosham's excellent narra..."

I so adore this series. I'm not sure what will happen for the next one wthout Ralph Coshem... how will I ever find Three Pines again without his voice to guide me?

[Kathleen]

I finished Mudbound - not only is the story good, but it is an excellent audio book because of the almost linear storyline and limited characters. I will recommend it to my book group. And today I started another Mississippi book, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter. I usually listen at 1.25x speed, but I had to stop this audio book and reset it for 1x as the narrator reads fast.

[Sandi]

I finished listening to The Secret Place by Tana French today. I loved the narration. Tana French is one of my favorite authors.

I'm now listening to Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer. I read the first two books in text, and really wanted to read the third one. But, I haven't been spending much time reading lately, so I went with the audiobook. It's read by three fabulous narrators, Bronson Pinchot, Xe Sands, and Carolyn McCormick. 3 hours in and I'm pretty sure the only narrators who've appeared so far are Bronson Pinchot and Xe Sands. At least, the female narrator doesn't sound like the one who read the Hunger Games series.

[Kristie]

Euphoria was a good book with strong narration by Xe Sands and Simon Vance. I really enjoyed this quick but compelling read whose main female character is based loosely on the life of Margaret Mead.

Next up: Black House. I read The Talisman back in February and loved it. I hear Black House is much darker...should be interesting.

[Sandy]

I just finished Kim, narrated by Ralph Cosham and he was as excellent in Kim as he was in Three Pines. I enjoyed the book a great deal. I read Hopkirk's 'The Great Game' first so I would know the history of the region. Now I want to continue with both Kipling and Cosham but have so many others on my TBR list.

[Heidi]

I am listening to A Fistful of Collars on playaway and Rebel Belle . The narrator of Rebel Belle seems to narrate a lot of my series books and I am not a huge fan. I am listening to the other book on one of the original style Playaway Audiobooks and my only complaint is I have no idea how much of the book I have left. It only tells you chapters. Well, to be honest, it also drives me batty that it has no light so when I pull into my garage I have to turn my internal car light on to turn it off. The good news is I love the newer Playaways because they take care of both problems!

[Dee]

Kristie wrote: "Euphoria was a good book with strong narration by Xe Sands and Simon Vance. I really enjoyed this quick but compelling read whose main female character is based loosely on the life ..."

I liked Euphoria - but really wished I hadn't listened in the middle of the night while I was driving to TN - I think that took some of the enjoyment out of it for me - I should have gone with something more mindless

[Jessica]

Sandi wrote: "I finished listening to The Secret Place by Tana French today. I loved the narration. Tana French is one of my favorite authors..."

I'm loving Tana French right now, too. I'm about an hour away from finishing The Likeness and will be starting Faithful Place immediately after. Which Dublin Murder Squad book has been your favorite, Sandi?

[Kelly]

I'm listening to "Edge of Eternity" - 3rd in the Century Trilogy, and the 2nd book of Game of Thrones. Both great reads, although "Fall of Giants" remains my favorite of the Follett books.