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I haven't posted about what I've listened to in a while, although I think I've mentioned some of these instead in the "What Are You Reading" thread. Listed most recent first:
I finished Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth this morning, fascinating and depressing story of a hard life in pre-revolutionary China. I learned that hunger equals despair, money corrupts, and it was a very bad idea to be born female (which I already knew, but not necessarily how bad).
Before that was Skios by Michael Frayn, a farce set on a Greek island that was shortlisted for the Booker this year. I felt a bit cheated by the denouement, since the con-artist didn't get confronted. All's well that ends??
The Rook by Daniel O'Malley was my favorite of this bunch. Slightly supernatural thriller that was silly and cool. It might have been a bit of a literary cheat, but I loved the letters from the previous Myfanwy Thomas to her "replacement".
Discovery of Witches and Shadow of the Night by Deborah Harkness, the first two books of the All Souls Trilogy. Too much vampire stuff and not enough magic for my taste, plus the romance was lame (a la Twilight). The historical references were interesting and redeemed the books somewhat. My husband raved about the first one; it's his genre, not mine, so feel free to disregard my comments if vampire books are your thing.
The Picture of Dorian Grey was engrossing and easy to listen to for a classic. The cynicism of Lord Henry Wotton as Oscar Wilde's quotable voice was an excellent contrast to the other characters. My second favourite of the bunch.
Peter May's first two Enzo MacLeod thrillers, Dry Bones and The Critic. These are slightly unbelievable puzzle oriented mysteries, set in France with a curmudgeonly Scottish forensic scientist. Enzo's predilection for young women makes him less charming than he thinks, but the setting and the puzzles are fun.
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