What are we listening to? (audiobooks) - Page 80

Carmelreader · 03-15-2015, 04:39 PM

Recently finished Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan MacNeal. I had been looking forward to it, but unfortunately I found it a bit tedious. It needed editing badly. The author felt obligated to describe in detail every person on the street, all the time. I think it was done in an attempt to give a sense of time and place. The story also was a wee bit implausible in areas. I hope her other books are better and she grows as a writer.

I am now reading the 3rd Elly Griffiths mystery, House at Sea's End, which was like slipping onto a comfy sofa. After the one mentioned above, I knew I was in good hands after the first 15 minutes. I have enjoyed all of her books so far. The main character is a forensic archaeologist in Norfolk. You get an incredible sense of atmosphere, the characters are interesting and I highly recommend this series. It is one series to read in order I think.

CRussel · 03-15-2015, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRussel

Currently reading Madness in Solidar, the latest Imager book from L.E. Modisett, Jr., read by William Dufris. The reading is well done and familiar - Dufris has been the narrator for all the Imager books.

Finished this evening. Overall, a solid 4 stars. 5 stars for the presentation, and 4 stars for the actual story. We've now moved into a period somewhere between the original first 3 Rhenn stories, and the later (in publishing date, but not chronologically) stories of the original founder of the Collegium, Quaeryt. Now, we're in the period of Maitre Alastar, who takes over a Collegium that has languished since the death of Quaeryt and his wife Vaelora, and is now completely dependent on the generosity of the Rex, without providing any value in return. As always, William Dufris is the voice of Solidar and does a superb job.

taosaur · 03-18-2015, 12:05 AM

I took another run at the fourth Recluce book by L.E. Modesitt, The Order War, and was better able to get into it this time. It has issues--minor continuity issues within scenes, a surplus of named characters with not much to them besides name and faction allegiance--but still a good fantasy read. All of Modesitt's work I've read drifts into an almost curmudgeonly pedantry, but he manages to undercut it enough that it's palatable. It probably doesn't hurt that I've been an aspiring curmudgeon from an early age

Kirby Heybourne remains a solid reader for the series.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

The good news here is that I've discovered that I CAN listen to the Kindle app on my phone while walking and counting my steps with my pedometer app as long as I first close all other apps and restart the device before my walk. A bit of a hassle, but then again my phone isn't one of those costing 600-plus dollars.

I gave my 3-yr-old, fair-to-middling-when-it-was-new phone a cleaning last night, and it improved things a fair bit. I found this guide helpful--mainly the bit about looking through your running apps and uninstalling anything you don't need. A lot of times apps that run in the background are slowing you down or causing other apps to crash. Facebook is a big resource hog, and you get more functionality just requesting the desktop site in a browser, anyway. It doesn't sound like you have root, but if you do (and you're running a pre-Kit-Kat version of Android) the Lagfix app is also a big help. I also grabbed a more minimalist home/app launcher, Smart Launcher 2, which I'm finding quite nice so far.

The makeover was my alternative to clicking "buy now" on a newer used phone on Swappa. A new phone should be pretty far down my list of spending/saving priorities, but it's an ongoing battle

CRussel · 03-18-2015, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taosaur

I took another run at the fourth Recluce book by L.E. Modesitt, The Order War, and was better able to get into it this time. It has issues--minor continuity issues within scenes, a surplus of named characters with not much to them besides name and faction allegiance--but still a good fantasy read. All of Modesitt's work I've read drifts into an almost curmudgeonly pedantry, but he manages to undercut it enough that it's palatable. It probably doesn't hurt that I've been an aspiring curmudgeon from an early age

Kirby Heybourne remains a solid reader for the series.

I tried to like this series, since I've been able to enjoy the Imager series of his. Yes, more than a bit of pedantry, and one does get tired of it, but somehow in the Recluce books it was just too much and I abandoned after a couple of them. Certainly not the reader's fault - I thought Kirby Heybourne was a perfectly acceptable reader.

Currently re-reading CJ Cherryh's Peacemaker - #15 in the Foreigner series, read by Daniel Thomas May.

Tarana · 03-18-2015, 09:58 PM

Currently listening to The Chase by Janet Evanovich & Lee Goldberg. I like this series. More than a cozy, but less than a thriller. About right during a time when you have chronic interruptions. This is the 2nd book in the series (there are a couple of novellas as well).

taosaur · 03-18-2015, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRussel

I tried to like this series, since I've been able to enjoy the Imager series of his. Yes, more than a bit of pedantry, and one does get tired of it, but somehow in the Recluce books it was just too much and I abandoned after a couple of them. Certainly not the reader's fault - I thought Kirby Heybourne was a perfectly acceptable reader.

Well, it seems widely agreed that the second book is among the worst in the series. It certainly heads off in a whole different direction, with few if any likeable characters, and takes its sweet time getting around to how the events relate to book one at all. It does get more interesting once the story actually gets to Recluce.

Book four is less than thrilling so far, but it's holding my interest. Book three, The Magic Engineer, was quite good. I'm in at least through book six, which gets into the sci-fi origins of this fantasy world. I do find I need a lengthy breather between Modesitt books, though.

melmac · 03-23-2015, 03:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by melmac

Haven't decided what is next either Wayward by Blake Crouch or Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch.

Ended up going with Wayward I really enjoyed it and the ending really hooks you in for the next one

but I think I'll take a short break and either go with Whispers Under Ground or Silent Prey by John Sandford.

CRussel · 03-23-2015, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRussel

Currently re-reading CJ Cherryh's Peacemaker - #15 in the Foreigner series, read by Daniel Thomas May.

Well, that was just as enjoyable the second time as the first, and has me back up to speed for the new one due out shortly.

Now reading A Dangerous Place, written by Jacqueline Winspear, and read by Orlagh Cassidy, the latest in the Maise Dobbs series. I love the series, and am enjoying this edition of it, though I admit the reader sometimes annoys. But the story is worth it.

pwalker8 · 03-23-2015, 05:13 PM

Looks like I'm going to be listening to a lot of audiobooks the next two weeks. I have to take my niece and nephew to school these next two weeks. An hour to pick them up and take them to school, then a bit over an hour to get to work. I should be able to make it through a couple of books! Right now, I'm listening to Childe Morgan by Katherine Kurtz. It's the second in the Childe Morgan trilogy, the last of which came out around 4 months ago. The first, In the King's Service, was pretty good.

voodoo.mutt · 03-28-2015, 03:59 AM

Just finished skin game (dresden files) and re-doing The Martian (andy weir)...coz i can't think what else i want to listen during my commute just yet

Quote:

Originally Posted by melmac

either go with Whispers Under Ground or Silent Prey by John Sandford.

hi hi! the reader for Peter Grant series is excellent. when the tv series inevitably comes out they better cast him. his voice is now fixed in my mind as Peter Grant

taosaur · 03-28-2015, 04:19 AM

I finished up Recluce #4, which carried off the climax quite well, even if readers of the first book had a pretty good idea what was coming. I'm inclined to return to book one before heading into the next book, both because the next book is a direct sequel to the first, and to see how the prequels inform a second reading of the original.

In the meantime, I'm listening to The Bees, which is brilliant! It's right on par with Watership Down, as animal-books-for-adults go. If it sustains to the end (there is a real narrative to it, not just "I wonder what bees think?"), it deserves to be a classic.

melmac · 03-30-2015, 02:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by melmac

I think I'll take a short break and either go with Whispers Under Ground or Silent Prey by John Sandford.

Quote:

Originally Posted by voodoo.mutt

hi hi! the reader for Peter Grant series is excellent. when the tv series inevitably comes out they better cast him. his voice is now fixed in my mind as Peter Grant

Oh my gosh are they going to make a tv series #awesome !!!
I ended up starting Whispers Underground and it is my favourite of the series so far, I have just under 2hrs to go on it

voodoo.mutt · 03-30-2015, 02:24 AM

yeah it's been optioned

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/06/ven...-tv-adaptation

CRussel · 03-30-2015, 12:38 PM

That's encouraging, but optioned isn't the same as someone actually starting to produce it. Though I admit, I'd love to see an adaptation -- these books are just great fun! And Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is perfect as Peter Grant, I'd love to see him cast in the role. He's a bit old for Peter Grant (appears to be in his mid to late 30's), but not hopelessly out of range.

WT Sharpe · 03-30-2015, 09:32 PM

I'm currently listening to The Lost Stradivarius by John Meade Falkner, another audiobook read by Librivox volunteers. The book is entertaining enough, although I initially found myself wondering why a certain amateur musician seemed so upset to discover that the biggest fan of his music is a ghost who always shows up whenever he plays a particular piece. As the story develops, however, it begins to appear that his misgivings concerning the music loving dead man are perhaps justified.

03-18-2015, 09:58 PM	#1190
Tarana Wizard Posts: 3,979 Karma: 38840460 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Minneapolis Device: PWSE, Voyage, K3, HDX, KBasic 7 & 8, Nook Glo3, Echos, Nanos	Currently listening to The Chase by Janet Evanovich & Lee Goldberg. I like this series. More than a cozy, but less than a thriller. About right during a time when you have chronic interruptions. This is the 2nd book in the series (there are a couple of novellas as well). Last edited by Tarana; 03-18-2015 at 10:15 PM.

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03-15-2015, 04:39 PM	#1186
Carmelreader Groupie Posts: 181 Karma: 617380 Join Date: Jun 2009 Device: Kindle Fire HD, kindle HDX 8.9, ipad pro, ipad mini 2, Voyage, Oasis 2	Recently finished Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan MacNeal. I had been looking forward to it, but unfortunately I found it a bit tedious. It needed editing badly. The author felt obligated to describe in detail every person on the street, all the time. I think it was done in an attempt to give a sense of time and place. The story also was a wee bit implausible in areas. I hope her other books are better and she grows as a writer. I am now reading the 3rd Elly Griffiths mystery, House at Sea's End, which was like slipping onto a comfy sofa. After the one mentioned above, I knew I was in good hands after the first 15 minutes. I have enjoyed all of her books so far. The main character is a forensic archaeologist in Norfolk. You get an incredible sense of atmosphere, the characters are interesting and I highly recommend this series. It is one series to read in order I think.

03-23-2015, 05:13 PM	#1194
pwalker8 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,195 Karma: 70314280 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iPad Pro, iPad mini, Kobo Aura, Amazon paperwhite, Sony PRS-T2	Looks like I'm going to be listening to a lot of audiobooks the next two weeks. I have to take my niece and nephew to school these next two weeks. An hour to pick them up and take them to school, then a bit over an hour to get to work. I should be able to make it through a couple of books! Right now, I'm listening to Childe Morgan by Katherine Kurtz. It's the second in the Childe Morgan trilogy, the last of which came out around 4 months ago. The first, In the King's Service, was pretty good.

03-28-2015, 04:19 AM	#1196
taosaur intelligent posterior Posts: 1,562 Karma: 21295618 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Ohiopolis Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2, Samsung S8, Lenovo Tab 3 Pro	I finished up Recluce #4, which carried off the climax quite well, even if readers of the first book had a pretty good idea what was coming. I'm inclined to return to book one before heading into the next book, both because the next book is a direct sequel to the first, and to see how the prequels inform a second reading of the original. In the meantime, I'm listening to The Bees, which is brilliant! It's right on par with Watership Down, as animal-books-for-adults go. If it sustains to the end (there is a real narrative to it, not just "I wonder what bees think?"), it deserves to be a classic.

03-30-2015, 02:24 AM	#1198
voodoo.mutt Member Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2015 Device: kindle paperwhite 2	yeah it's been optioned http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/06/ven...-tv-adaptation

03-30-2015, 12:38 PM	#1199
CRussel (he/him/his) Posts: 12,160 Karma: 79742714 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sunshine Coast, BC Device: Oasis (Gen3),Paperwhite (Gen10), Voyage, Paperwhite(orig), Fire HD 8	That's encouraging, but optioned isn't the same as someone actually starting to produce it. Though I admit, I'd love to see an adaptation -- these books are just great fun! And Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is perfect as Peter Grant, I'd love to see him cast in the role. He's a bit old for Peter Grant (appears to be in his mid to late 30's), but not hopelessly out of range.

03-30-2015, 09:32 PM	#1200
WT Sharpe Bah, humbug! Posts: 39,073 Karma: 157049943 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.	I'm currently listening to The Lost Stradivarius by John Meade Falkner, another audiobook read by Librivox volunteers. The book is entertaining enough, although I initially found myself wondering why a certain amateur musician seemed so upset to discover that the biggest fan of his music is a ghost who always shows up whenever he plays a particular piece. As the story develops, however, it begins to appear that his misgivings concerning the music loving dead man are perhaps justified.

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