What are we listening to? (audiobooks) - Page 111

ApK · 06-02-2016, 10:45 AM

Just finished Carl Sagan's "Contact." Enjoyable, though the Audible product has several glitches that were enough for them to offer to refund my credit. Nice of them.

The movie is among my favorites, and now that I've finished the book, I think it's among the better page-to-screen treatments. I realize it began life as a proposed screenplay, but I suspect the movie was ultimately very different than the original version.
Reading the book also prompted me to watch the movie again. It's still very good.

I'm now starting LMB's "Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen."

Catlady · 06-02-2016, 10:48 AM

I've just finished listening to Laura Lippman's latest stand-alone novel, Wilde Lake, which I enjoyed for the most part. Lippman here borrows heavily from To Kill a Mockingbird--and I do mean heavily. Names, situations, relationships, themes are only slightly tweaked. Just about every main character in TKAM has a counterpart here.

The backstory is told in first person by Luisa Brant (the Jean Louise Finch character), who relates events of her childhood with her principled lawyer father, older brother, and housekeeper. In the present, Luisa learns truths that force her to see her memories in a different light.

I listened to this book based on the author--I've read most of her other stand-alones--without reading reviews. When I finished it, I started skimming through the reviews at Amazon, and I am nonplussed that only a few of them mentioned the TKAM connection, which is not at all subtle--if you've read TKAM, you can't fail to see it. There's even a scene where Luisa is chastised for insulting another child for his table manners, a la Scout and Walter Cunningham. There's a Boo Radley clone who stabs his father in the leg. There's a Tom Robinson clone accused of rape. There's a Miss Maudie clone--also named Maude--whose house burns down. And on and on.

Which is not to say that there's nothing new here--it's a interesting take on the familiar elements. But ... could all those reviewers never have read TKAM???

ApK · 06-02-2016, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catlady

Which is not to say that there's nothing new here--it's a interesting take on the familiar elements. But ... could all those reviewers never have read TKAM???

It would be hilarious to find that Lippman never read TKAM.
Nothing new under the sun, GMTA, etc.

WT Sharpe · 06-02-2016, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApK

Just finished Carl Sagan's "Contact." Enjoyable, though the Audible product has several glitches that were enough for them to offer to refund my credit. Nice of them.

The movie is among my favorites, and now that I've finished the book, I think it's among the better page-to-screen treatments. I realize it began life as a proposed screenplay, but I suspect the movie was ultimately very different than the original version.
Reading the book also prompted me to watch the movie again. It's still very good....

The movie is one of my favorites also. I've never read the book, and until I can find it on sale, I won't be reading the audiobook (currently $22.63 at Audible). One of my favorite scenes in Contact was when Jodie Foster first heard the alien signals through her headset. I immediately recognized the series of prime numbers being generated, as Sagan had mentioned primes as a possible way for aliens to announce their presence in other Sagan books I have read as well as his Cosmos PBS series. Of course, I also knew that SETI technicians don't physically listen for signals with headphones, but that was forgivable. Whumphs coming through a headset makes for a much more dramatic cinematic moment than a technician spotting anomalies on a computer printout.

ApK · 06-02-2016, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

The movie is one of my favorites also. I've never read the book, and until I can find it on sale, I won't be reading the audiobook (currently $22.63 at Audible). One of my favorite scenes in Contact was when Jodie Foster first heard the alien signals through her headset. I immediately recognized the series of prime numbers being generated, as Sagan had mentioned primes as a possible way for aliens to announce their presence in other Sagan books I have read as well as his Cosmos PBS series. Of course, I also knew that SETI technicians don't physically listen for signals with headphones, but that was forgivable. Whumphs coming through a headset makes for a much more dramatic cinematic moment than a technician spotting anomalies on a computer printout.

I thought you were going to say you immediately recognized the sound of a TARDIS engine. :-)

In the movie, Kent did mention how unusual it was that Ellie listened on headphones.

I'd be happy to send you Contact as your free One Book promotion if you'd like.

Catlady · 06-02-2016, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApK

It would be hilarious to find that Lippman never read TKAM.
Nothing new under the sun, GMTA, etc.

Apparently the print version includes an afterword that acknowledges TKAM.

One of my pet peeves is the failure of audiobooks to include afterwords and other backmatter. This material should be included, and it should be the listener's choice to skip it or listen to it, even if it's just a dry list of names of people the author is acknowledging.

WT Sharpe · 06-02-2016, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApK

...I'd be happy to send you Contact as your free One Book promotion if you'd like.

I appreciate it, but I'll just wait or buy the Kindle version.

FizzyWater · 06-02-2016, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catlady

One of my pet peeves is the failure of audiobooks to include afterwords and other backmatter. This material should be included, and it should be the listener's choice to skip it or listen to it, even if it's just a dry list of names of people the author is acknowledging.

issybird · 06-07-2016, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

So it was past time for a fun romp, which I've achieved by listening to Sharpe's Havoc read by Patrick Tull, and oh, it's good to listen to Tull doing Sharpe again; it's like coming home. Frederick Davidson read my last Sharpe and much as I like him, he couldn't compare. Sharpe's Havoc is my fourth listen in the series and so far, it's shaping up to be the best yet. A welcome change after two lengthy non-fiction works.

Sharpe's Havoc did live up to its promise; it's my favorite Sharpe thus far. And Patrick Tull is Sharpe to me; I'm sorry that he read relatively few of them. Frederick Davidson has the lion's share and there are also several by Steven Crossley. I have no objection to either gentleman, but it's still a letdown.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catlady

One of my pet peeves is the failure of audiobooks to include afterwords and other backmatter. This material should be included, and it should be the listener's choice to skip it or listen to it, even if it's just a dry list of names of people the author is acknowledging.

Yeah, the Sharpe books have an afterword discussing the historical background to the books, but it's not included in the audiobook. I get the ebooks from the OverDrive so it's not the end of the world, but it annoys.

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.

orlok · 06-08-2016, 05:32 AM

I'm listening to All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy, narrated by Frank Muller. About 3 hours in and not a huge amount has happened, though McCarthy has done a good job as always in developing the characters, and imbuing the landscape with a low level of foreboding, no doubt setting the scene for events yet to come.

This addresses one of my Something for Everyone challenges, a National Book Award winner.

Catlady · 06-12-2016, 05:48 PM

I listened to Just Fall, by Nina Sadowsky. Talk about your honeymoon from hell! Ellie and Rob have a lovely wedding day, but then it's just one darn thing after another.

While the book is well crafted and the twists are plausible (the surprises didn't need to be explained with information dumps), I didn't enjoy this thriller as much as I expected to, largely because there was only one character I liked, and it wasn't Ellie or Rob. Blurbs compared this to Gone Girl (of course) and to the works of Patricia Highsmith; it was the latter that especially intrigued me. I might have liked this book better if I weren't reading books in this genre so voraciously. It also contained a bit too much sex and violence for my liking.

This was a first novel; even though I wasn't blown away, I would most likely try another book by this author.

taosaur · 06-14-2016, 10:53 AM

The Book of the New Sun held my interest throughout, and I enjoyed the timey-wimey bits

The echoes of Hesse remained strong, recalling works like Magister Ludi or Narcissus and Goldmund even as it filtered them through more of a Robert E. Howard (Conan the Barbarian) mentality, all under the influence of varied hallucinogens.

Finishing up New Sun, I moved on to Just One Damned Thing After Another, which I picked up on sale a while back. I'm only on chapter two and overall enjoying the main character, but the Britishisms are laid on a bit thick.

badgoodDeb · 06-14-2016, 04:46 PM

I started reading (not listening) to One Damned Thing After Another after the first one was free (?), and liked it enough to keep buying till I've finished all the ones yet written. Light, but fun. Yes, very British, but I like learning some of that kind of thing.

CRussel · 06-14-2016, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

I started reading (not listening) to One Damned Thing After Another after the first one was free (?), and liked it enough to keep buying till I've finished all the ones yet written. Light, but fun. Yes, very British, but I like learning some of that kind of thing.

I bought the first four of these while they were either free (via KU) or really cheap. Read the first two, and bogged down on the third. Never read the fourth. I primarily listened to them, and had no issues with the narrator, it was the books themselves that I went off. Too little history, too much just stupid stuff that made no sense. I did enjoy the first one, though.

WT Sharpe · 06-14-2016, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

I started reading (not listening) to One Damned Thing After Another after the first one was free (?), and liked it enough to keep buying till I've finished all the ones yet written. Light, but fun. Yes, very British, but I like learning some of that kind of thing.

Read it as an ebook. Not as lighthearted as the title would suggest; lots of blood and violence.

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06-02-2016, 10:45 AM	#1651
ApK Award-Winning Participant Posts: 7,389 Karma: 68329346 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: NJ, USA Device: Kindle	Just finished Carl Sagan's "Contact." Enjoyable, though the Audible product has several glitches that were enough for them to offer to refund my credit. Nice of them. The movie is among my favorites, and now that I've finished the book, I think it's among the better page-to-screen treatments. I realize it began life as a proposed screenplay, but I suspect the movie was ultimately very different than the original version. Reading the book also prompted me to watch the movie again. It's still very good. I'm now starting LMB's "Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen."

06-02-2016, 10:48 AM	#1652
Catlady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,418 Karma: 52613881 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip	I've just finished listening to Laura Lippman's latest stand-alone novel, Wilde Lake, which I enjoyed for the most part. Lippman here borrows heavily from To Kill a Mockingbird--and I do mean heavily. Names, situations, relationships, themes are only slightly tweaked. Just about every main character in TKAM has a counterpart here. The backstory is told in first person by Luisa Brant (the Jean Louise Finch character), who relates events of her childhood with her principled lawyer father, older brother, and housekeeper. In the present, Luisa learns truths that force her to see her memories in a different light. I listened to this book based on the author--I've read most of her other stand-alones--without reading reviews. When I finished it, I started skimming through the reviews at Amazon, and I am nonplussed that only a few of them mentioned the TKAM connection, which is not at all subtle--if you've read TKAM, you can't fail to see it. There's even a scene where Luisa is chastised for insulting another child for his table manners, a la Scout and Walter Cunningham. There's a Boo Radley clone who stabs his father in the leg. There's a Tom Robinson clone accused of rape. There's a Miss Maudie clone--also named Maude--whose house burns down. And on and on. Which is not to say that there's nothing new here--it's a interesting take on the familiar elements. But ... could all those reviewers never have read TKAM???

06-08-2016, 05:32 AM	#1660
orlok Close to the Edit! Posts: 9,797 Karma: 267994408 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis, Amazon Fire 8", Kindle 6"	I'm listening to All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy, narrated by Frank Muller. About 3 hours in and not a huge amount has happened, though McCarthy has done a good job as always in developing the characters, and imbuing the landscape with a low level of foreboding, no doubt setting the scene for events yet to come. This addresses one of my Something for Everyone challenges, a National Book Award winner.

06-12-2016, 05:48 PM	#1661
Catlady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,418 Karma: 52613881 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip	I listened to Just Fall, by Nina Sadowsky. Talk about your honeymoon from hell! Ellie and Rob have a lovely wedding day, but then it's just one darn thing after another. While the book is well crafted and the twists are plausible (the surprises didn't need to be explained with information dumps), I didn't enjoy this thriller as much as I expected to, largely because there was only one character I liked, and it wasn't Ellie or Rob. Blurbs compared this to Gone Girl (of course) and to the works of Patricia Highsmith; it was the latter that especially intrigued me. I might have liked this book better if I weren't reading books in this genre so voraciously. It also contained a bit too much sex and violence for my liking. This was a first novel; even though I wasn't blown away, I would most likely try another book by this author.

06-14-2016, 10:53 AM	#1662
taosaur intelligent posterior Posts: 1,562 Karma: 21295618 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Ohiopolis Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2, Samsung S8, Lenovo Tab 3 Pro	The Book of the New Sun held my interest throughout, and I enjoyed the timey-wimey bits The echoes of Hesse remained strong, recalling works like Magister Ludi or Narcissus and Goldmund even as it filtered them through more of a Robert E. Howard (Conan the Barbarian) mentality, all under the influence of varied hallucinogens. Finishing up New Sun, I moved on to Just One Damned Thing After Another, which I picked up on sale a while back. I'm only on chapter two and overall enjoying the main character, but the Britishisms are laid on a bit thick.

06-14-2016, 04:46 PM	#1663
badgoodDeb Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,551 Karma: 64462893 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Harrisburg outskirts Device: Palms, K1-4s, iPads, iPhones, KV, KO1	I started reading (not listening) to One Damned Thing After Another after the first one was free (?), and liked it enough to keep buying till I've finished all the ones yet written. Light, but fun. Yes, very British, but I like learning some of that kind of thing.