Audiobooks

Chains

2 Comments / 2010, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge, Favorites /

We listened to Chains on audio and it took a good bit longer to finish than I expected. For some reason I had it in my head that it was a short book, it wasn’t. It was pretty darn good, though. At first, I was skeptical. I like Laurie Halse Anderson’s contemporary YA fiction and I wasn’t sure she could pull off something about slaves just prior to and in the early days of the Revolutionary War but she did it. And she did it well.

I’ve got a little love/hate with the ending. I guess it did end as it should have (and goodness knows, she’d have needed another 400 pages to get us to another ending…) but I would really have liked to find out what happens next. Hah… good thing there’s a sequel… though reading the synopsis on Amazon leads me to wonder if I’m going to be happy with what happens next. I’m reserving it on audio now.

And with this book, I’ve finished the Middle Grade Fiction books from the Cybils Shortlist – they were all excellent choices, every darn one of them.

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Devil Bones

2010, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Mystery, Women /

I was trying to backtrack through the Temperance Brennan series to figure out exactly how the Ryan/Tempe break-up happened. So, I grabbed Devil Bones on audio. Turns out TW had already read it in print – and she kept sharing spoilers all the way through it. She’s annoying. Really annoying. I enjoyed the book, though. I’d have enjoyed it more if I’d listened to it without TW – and her spoilers.

Oh, I still didn’t go back far enough. This one was early in the break up, when Tempe first hooks back up with Charlie. I think I need to go back one more…

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206 Bones

1 Comment / 2010, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Fiction, Mystery /

I like Kathy Reichs’ books on audio but we missed a few and in 206 Bones I found myself wishing I had read more about the Tempe and Ryan’s break-up. So, I reserved another book on audio, somewhere in between Break No Bones and 206 Bones so I could feel caught up.

Anyway, this one was good – typical Tempe adventures. Nice little side-trip to Chicagoland, which was fun in that “we live here” sort of way. Which is nice, since we don’t really like living here, ya know? 😉 And boy does Reichs like her similes.

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The Double Comfort Safari Club

2010, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, Women /

We always listen to the Ladies #1 Detective Agency books on audio. It’s a tradition. Thankfully, my reserved copy arrived really quickly and we didn’t have to wait long. (Oddly, the day I picked up the reserve copy in audio, I saw a large print copy just sitting on the shelf – that would never have happened at my old library! I grabbed it for TW’s mom – she’s not a fan, apparently…)

We enjoyed The Double Comfort Safari Club, as expected. There wasn’t enough storyline from the apprentices, hopefully the next one will include them a wee bit more. Violet was back and wreaking havoc, of course. Grace got a new pair of shoes. And in the end everything was as it should be in Botswana.

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The Red Hat Club Rides Again

1 Comment / 2010, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Women /

I was looking for something light, on audio, and when I stumbled into a sequel to Haywood Smith’s Red Hat Club, I thought that would be perfect. And it was. Sort of.

The Red Hat Club Rides Again made us laugh because of the southern-ness of it. It also made us cringe because of the… horribleness. Patriarchy. Body image bullshit. The body image BS was the hardest. All of the negative comments about their bodies. The month long cruise where they had every type of cosmetic surgery known to man. It was… troubling. I wouldn’t recommend it – unless you’re a Red Hat Club fan and you can forgive Smith for these sins.  I forgive her, mostly.

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Odd and the Frost Giants

1 Comment / 2010, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge, Favorites, Fiction /

First, Neil Gaiman books should be listened to on audio, right before bed. If we listened to Odd and the Frost Giants when I was tired, his voice threatened to put me to sleep. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a boring voice – it’s a good bedtime story voice. Next, you should know that this is a super short book – a plus in my opinion. Two cds (on audio) – nice. No chance of this one being overdue at the library.

Now, about the story – nicely written, nicely told. I liked Odd. I liked Loki and Thor and Odin and Freya AND the Frost Giant, whose name we do not know because he didn’t tell us. Everyone should read (or listen) to this one.  

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Shades of Grey

1 Comment / 2010, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction /

Jasper Fforde is a wee bit crazy. But it’s a good kind of crazy. The Thursday Next books are a lot of fun. The Nursery Crimes are amusing, too. But with Shades of Grey, Fforde has carried is own brand of crazy to a new level.

We listened to this one on audio, and at first we thought it was just a wee bit convoluted for us. We turned it off after the first 15 minutes because we just couldn’t follow it – we had no clue what was going on and we didn’t feel like we’d ever figure it out. We turned it on again, a few days later, and within a few minutes we were chuckling. There are moments when it’s difficult to follow but that’s ok, it’s just part of the crazy, brilliant, funny. It’s ok to be confused, Fforde’s characters often are and that is part of their charm.

I hope this is going to be a series – I think it will be an even better series than Thursday Next.

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Going Bovine

1 Comment / 2009, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Fiction, Queer, Young Adult /

Not sure why I grabbed Going Bovine on audio, probably related to having just finished South of Broad on audio and feeling like something was missing by being in the car without an audio book.

It was a good choice for audio. I think it was probably better in audio than I’d have found it if I’d read it in paper.

Amusing story and I appreciated that the ending wasn’t fairy tale (TW was less appreciative of that and I bet if the kids had heard the ending, they’d have been disappointed.)

The best parts were related to the CESSNAB (Church of Everlasting Satisfaction and Snack and Bowl) and the “freeing of the snowglobes”.

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The Wordy Shipmates

1 Comment / 2009, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Favorites, Non-Fiction /

Another book we saw at Women and Children First. The Wordy Shipmates, I reserved on audio not having the remotest clue as to what it was about. All I knew was that TW wanted to read it and we hadn’t had an audio book for awhile.

Hah. Best audio decision I’ve ever made. Better even than the Ladies #1 Detective Agency books on audio.

At first, we just looked at each other in disbelief. The voice, the writing – it was our friend from BlogHer, Suzanne Reisman. But of course it wasn’t, it was Sarah Vowell but still… so, very Suzanne Reisman-like.

The snark! The glorious snark! And all of it directed at our Puritan forefathers. This ought to be required LISTENING for high school students. It’s interesting. Funny. Smart. I was sorry to see it end.

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