What are we listening to? (audiobooks)

[WT Sharpe]

I'm still listening to What Angels Fear, but I just finished The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson (audiobook narrated by Alan Bomar Jones). Despite the name, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is a novel, and a very powerful one indeed, of a light-skinned black man who ultimately made the choice to pass for white. Highly recommended.

[taosaur]

Just One Damned Thing After Another ended up being rather meh. It was okay, but I won't be looking for more in the series or from the author. As someone (perhaps Tom?) mentioned, the body count is considerably higher than the early quirky tone would lead one to expect.

I've moved on quite randomly to Perdido Street Station. I've been meaning to try some China Mieville for years, and it jumped out at me from the library's "available now" listings. It's trying hard on the weirdness front, but we seem to have decently grounded characters engaging that weirdness head-on, so things look promising

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I've started listening to What Angels Fear by C.S. Harris (narrated by Davina Porter)....

Originally Posted by CRussel

Sounds interesting, Tom. Especially since I know Davina Porter is an excellent narrator. By all means, let us know what your final verdict is.

I loved it. Sebastian St. Cyr was a most interesting character who was nicely drawn as nobler than he would admit but with enough chinks in his armor to let you know that he's far from a perfect human being. His love interest, Kat Boleyn, was an interesting woman in her own right; a prostitute with a rather mysterious past who he would have married at one time. His father had his own secrets, and while understanding his motives makes him understandable as a character, I couldn't approve of everything he did. A wonderful mystery, with perhaps one too many remarkable escapes, but interesting through the final chapter. I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars. I feel compelled to warn the faint-hearted, though, that the villain of the book seems to be a character straight out of Criminal Minds; a rather nasty sort who rapes and kills women — not necessarily in that order.

[melmac]

I recently finished City of Mirrors which was a good conclusion to the series. I felt that Cronin didn't actually want it to end as several times I thought the end was near only for it to continue, I took to calling it the book that doesn't want to end but when it did I was sad to see it go. Cronin has this knack of switching from character to character and when he does you're outraged because all you want it to find out what happens to your favourite but within a few pages you're so in love with the new guy/girl that you wouldn't leave even if your could

After that I listened to Mortal Prey the 13th in the Lucas Davenport Series by John Sandford I nearly didn't read past the first 2 books in this series but boy am I glad I did I find each one to more entertaining than the last. Lucas and his crew are fast becoming my favourites in this genre.

Currently I'm part way through Staked book 8 in the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne in recent books Hearne has been telling the story from alternating views of 3 characters I must say I'm enjoying it immensely particularly in this book it's like getting 3 different novels in one.

[WT Sharpe]

Currently listening to The Consultant by Bentley Little, read by Ramiz Monsef. Very good, so far, as everyone at the trouble company is becoming more and more concerned for their jobs, but this is a horror story from the man Stephen King called "The horror poet laureate," so I have no doubt that by the book's end, they'll be, as the promos say, fearing more for their lives. This consultant fellow is truly creepy.

[ElspethB]

Summer starts tomorrow, but I anticipated it this weekend. After nine dreary Aubreyless Maturin-free months, I hit play on The Far Side of the World, read by Simon Vance.

I give you joy of it! Further, I am impressed by your self-control. I binge-listened to the entire series, one right after the other this year. i don't know if your pantheon includes Simon Vance, but mine certainly does. Just finished listening to Bleak House read by Vance and enjoyed it very much. Still missing Jack and Stephen, though.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I loved it. Sebastian St. Cyr was a most interesting character who was nicely drawn as nobler than he would admit but with enough chinks in his armor to let you know that he's far from a perfect human being. His love interest, Kat Boleyn, was an interesting woman in her own right; a prostitute with a rather mysterious past who he would have married at one time. His father had his own secrets, and while understanding his motives makes him understandable as a character, I couldn't approve of everything he did. A wonderful mystery, with perhaps one too many remarkable escapes, but interesting through the final chapter. I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars. I feel compelled to warn the faint-hearted, though, that the villain of the book seems to be a character straight out of Criminal Minds; a rather nasty sort who rapes and kills women — not necessarily in that order.

I'm going to have to give one of these a try. Thanks for the report back.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by ElspethB

I give you joy of it! Further, I am impressed by your self-control. I binge-listened to the entire series, one right after the other this year. i don't know if your pantheon includes Simon Vance, but mine certainly does. Just finished listening to Bleak House read by Vance and enjoyed it very much. Still missing Jack and Stephen, though.

Much obliged!

I binged at first, I admit, and I'm not usually someone whose abstemious side comes into play. But I just couldn't bear to blow through them too quickly, hence my two rules of summer only and not listening to two in a row. I figure I can spin them out for three more summers including this one, and possibly into a fourth. It's worth it.

And Vance might well be Zeus in my personal pantheon.

[Catlady]

I didn't do too well choosing books to use up my Audible credits before I canceled my membership. I've listened to three of the four last-minute purchase, and all three were "eh."

I had high hopes for The Crooked House, by Christobel Kent, but it didn't hold my attention--I kept losing the thread of the story, backtracking, forgetting who was who--and, worst of all, not really caring too much, just wanting to be done. It wasn't awful, but I simply couldn't stay focused.

Then I listened to The Other Child, by Lucy Atkins. This one held my attention, but the story had a lot of faux suspense--a lot of the seemingly nefarious doings turned out not to be nefarious after all. The "villain" of the piece wasn't so bad. All these terrible things had happened, or almost happened, but then they turned out to be less than they seemed. At the end, I felt like singing Peggy Lee's "Is That All There Is?"

And the third book, just finished, was Sisters and Lies, by Bernice Barrington. Probably the best of the three, but it led in a poor field. The narrators here had lovely-to-listen-to Irish voices, but the two women sounded a bit too much alike to my ear. The story here was OK, if somewhat predictable, but I didn't find either of the two sisters very likable.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by issybird

I've started Mrs. Adams in Winter by Michael O'Brien, read by Cassandra Campbell, an account of Louisa Catherine Adams's trip from St. Petersburg to rejoin her husband, John Quincy Adams, in Paris, during the winter of 1815. I'm quite charmed by its discursive style thus far.

I found the book quite enjoyable. History-lite in its broad range, but that was part of the appeal. An interesting snapshot of European travel in the early 19th century as well as an examination of the dynamics of a marriage in an age when women had little agency. However, Cassandra Campbell's narration, while pleasant in tone, was rife with mispronunciations. I won't listen to another book read by her. Really a shoddy job.

Originally Posted by ElspethB

Itill missing Jack and Stephen, though.

This past winter, once thing that helped me get over the withdrawal pangs was listening to a few of the Bernard Cornwell Sharpe books. They're no Aubrey/Maturin in sweep or style, but are still quite entertaining tales of derring-do during the Napoleonic Wars. While the books tend to the formulaic, the historical events that serve as a springboard are quite fascinating in themselves.

[badgoodDeb]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I loved it. Sebastian St. Cyr was a most interesting character who was nicely drawn as nobler than he would admit but with enough chinks in his armor to let you know that he's far from a perfect human being......

If "St." is usually pronounced as "sn", am I right in thinking that this character's last name is pronounced "sincere"? And is that meaningful to the story?

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

If "St." is usually pronounced as "sn", am I right in thinking that this character's last name is pronounced "sincere"? And is that meaningful to the story?

Honesty was one of his virtues, but I never made that connection. He was one of those who had no time for hypocrisy.

[WT Sharpe]

Just started Keep Moving: And Other Tips and Truths about Aging by Dick Van Dyke with Todd Gold (audiobook read by Dick Van Dyke). Pretty good, so far.

[ApK]

I'm listing to "Really Professional Internet Person." I'm not sure why.
But now that I am listening, I think I'm going to have my middle-school-age kids listen to it.
Some interesting insights from a much younger person.

[sakura-panda]

I'm getting to the end of my Diana Gabaldon books. I finished An Echo in the Bone last month and this week I've started The Space Between (novella).

After this, I have one more novella and one more full length book, assuming a new one doesn't come out in the meantime.