Audiobooks

Love and Other Consolation Prizes

2018, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Fiction /

A few weeks ago, Jamie Ford was coming to our library so his books were sitting right at the top of the stairs. Love and Other Consolation Prizes caught my eye and I was surprised that not only had we not read it, I’d never even heard that he had another book out. Since I needed an audiobook at the moment, I grabbed the audio version and… it took us forever to finish it. I know I say this a lot but it wasn’t the fault of the book, sometimes shit happens in my life that cause me to not feel like listening to audiobooks. There was a good bit of that in May. Anyway, the book…

Pretty good! I don’t think it was as good as Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet but it was pretty darn good. I liked all three of the main characters. I liked the setting. The way the story wrapped up let me down a little. I’m not sure what I’d have rather had happen, it just felt like not quite the right ending.

Love and Other Consolation Prizes Read More »

Save Me a Seat

2018, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge, Favorites /

From the 2016 Cybils shortlist, we listened to Save Me a Seat on audio. It’s a short book, told from the perspectives of two very different boys — one who grew up in New Jersey, and another who grew up in Bangalore and both find themselves outcasts at Albert Einstein Elementary. One who is very smart (an IQ of 135! lol) and one who has an auditory processing disability so people often assume he is not smart.

On audio, having two separate voices tell each boy’s story was a nice touch. An even nicer touch was the glossary in the back of the book. You’d think, being white Americans that you are (or I am), that there would simply be a glossary of Ravi’s “unfamiliar” Indian words. But nope, Joe’s “unfamiliar” words are there, too.

Kids who are struggling with bullying or self-esteem should read this. Or, anyone who needs a refresher in why there’s more to a person than meets the eye or a reminder that giving up is not an option should this one.

Save Me a Seat Read More »

The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog

2018, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge /

The Inquistor’s Tale was on last year’s Cybils Shortlist in the audiobook category and I see why.

It was Canterbury Tale-like and there were some “ass” jokes, which kids would find very amusing. It was also a story with serious themes that were presented in some pretty kid-friendly ways without minimizing those serious issues. Well done.

The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog Read More »

Raymie Nightingale

2017, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge, Favorites, Fiction /

Raymie Nightingale is on the Cybils shortlist in the audiobook category — so we listened to it on audio and I loved every single thing about it. I chuckled at the 70s southern characters. Little Miss Central Florida Tire… baton twirling… hahaha.

But it wasn’t all amusing, either. The three girls had a lot to deal with and they did it together. LOVED IT.

Raymie Nightingale Read More »

The Hopefuls

2017, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Fiction /

Awhile back, we needed a new audiobook and The Hopefuls caught my eye (mostly because I thought it said it was a Jennifer Crusie book, hahaha.)

It was a little slow for me and I didn’t really like the characters very much, so I never felt compelled to listen to it. I don’t think we listened to it at all during our drive to or from Orlando for BH17… that should tell you something. That’s a long ass drive, lol.

It wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t great.

The Hopefuls Read More »

The Wild Girls

2017, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Favorites, Feminism, Fiction, Women /

We needed an audiobook so I wandered around the library shelves until Wild Girls jumped into my bag.

It was a really quick audiobook and really enjoyable to listen to. It also didn’t end badly, and it had the potential to end badly. I was really impressed that the author didn’t take the easy way to a happily ever after ending. I liked that a lot.

I also liked Joan & Sarah (Fox & Newt) and I liked every single one of the characters. All of them.

Fun read. Let’s all be wild girls!

The Wild Girls Read More »