What are we listening to? (audiobooks)

[pwalker8]

Finished up the Empty Grave. I definitely enjoyed it. It will be interesting to see what Stroud comes up with next. He was written two excellent and fairly unique series, The Bartimaeus series and Lockwood & Co.

I've been listening to the Storm before the Storm at work. It's every bit as good as I thought it would be. Mike Duncan reads it in his podcast voice, which is well practiced and very listenable. This particular time period in Roman history, the time period between the fall of Carthage and Corinth in 146 BC until the death of Sulla in 78 BC is known but little written about, yet it set the plate for Caesar's rise. Duncan has a real talent for making history accessible.

[CRussel]

I just finished listening to Philip Pullman's The Ruby in the Smoke, narrated by Anton Lesser. Simply superb. I was completely impressed with Pullman's ability to paint a complete and complex picture with a couple of sentences, especially the first chapter. The narration is excellent, and while officially YA, this first of the Sally Lockhart books is not limited to juveniles by any means. Highly recommended.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I binge-listened to the first ten Nancy Drew books. These were a lot of fun, even though they were the revised versions, not the originals, more's the pity.

It never would have occurred to me that Nancy Drew was in audio! What a blast! That said, I think listening to the revised versions would break my heart, at least a little. I may have to give it a try, just the same.

[issybird]

Looking for something mindless on Hoopla the other night, I found Coronation Summer by Angela Thirkell, read by Nadia May. I'm a huge Thirkell fan and haven't read this in decades and the May narration is a delight.

For those unfamiliar with the wonderful Mrs. T, she wrote a long series of humorous novels set in Trollope's Barsetshire in the 20th century. Coronation Summer is a non-series book set during the coronation of Victoria. Those who have access to Hoopla and like Nadia May or to whom the idea of Austen with a little added bite appeals might give it a try.

[CRussel]

She also did Before Lunch, The Brandons, and August Folly. (I have the second and third in my library. Might just pick up the other two.)

I find Thirkell a delight, as long as I avoid the later, post-war books. Those I find intolerable.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by CRussel

She also did Before Lunch, The Brandons, and August Folly. (I have the second and third in my library. Might just pick up the other two.)

I find Thirkell a delight, as long as I avoid the later, post-war books. Those I find intolerable.

I don't find them intolerable, but they're no longer fun. She was so sour about the post-war world.

Still, I laughed when the Duke and Duchess of Omnium had to go out after dinner and weed the garden. And why shouldn't they have to?

[WT Sharpe]

I finished two books last week, most of both finished during a round trip to Florida by car.

The first was Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin (audiobook read by the author). It was an entertaining look into the man behind the comedy.

The second was The Mind Club: Who Thinks, What Feels, and Why It Matters by Daniel M. Wegner, Kurt Gray (audiobook read by David Marantz). This seemed well-researched and presented a variety of theories and viewpoints on mind and brain. I do wonder, however, if sleep-walking can be carried to the extremes claimed as a defense in the Parks case when, in 1987, Kenneth James Parks drove into his beloved mother-in-law's house, broke in, assaulted his father-in-law, stabbed his mother-in-law to death, then rode to the police station where he told them he may have killed someone. He said he was asleep the whole time and could recall none of the events, but my son said such intricate behaviour while asleep has been proven impossible. The author seems to take it at face value and the judge and jury agreed. I've only sleep-walked once, and that was when I was somewhere around the age of 10. The younger of my two sisters (eight years my senior) cured me of that with a bloodcurdling scream as I was attempting to get into what I thought was my own bed. I placed one hand on her neck and the other on her belly and attempted to crawl in over her and this seemed to startle her for some reason. I've also driven on autopilot, that phenomena of suddenly realizing you're at your destination but have no recall of anything that transpired between point A and point B (also covered in the book), but never while sleeping. But I can vouch for the fact that driving on autopilot in a thing. All-in-all a most fascinating book.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by issybird

It never would have occurred to me that Nancy Drew was in audio! What a blast! That said, I think listening to the revised versions would break my heart, at least a little. I may have to give it a try, just the same.

I happened to notice them at Overdrive while waiting for my holds to come through, and managed to borrow all ten at once from my various libraries so I could read in order. The first seven are narrated by Laura Linney, who is excellent; those books also use music to enhance the tension (which I wouldn't normally like, but it fits these books). Then the last three are from a different publisher and lack the music; the narrator for book eight does a lot of really oddball voices--Hannah Gruen with a Southern accent! A third narrator handles the last two books, and she's OK.

It was hard to stop myself from digging out the old hardcovers to continue reading, but I managed--at least so far!

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I happened to notice them at Overdrive while waiting for my holds to come through, and managed to borrow all ten at once from my various libraries so I could read in order. The first seven are narrated by Laura Linney, who is excellent; those books also use music to enhance the tension (which I wouldn't normally like, but it fits these books). Then the last three are from a different publisher and lack the music; the narrator for book eight does a lot of really oddball voices--Hannah Gruen with a Southern accent! A third narrator handles the last two books, and she's OK.

It was hard to stop myself from digging out the old hardcovers to continue reading, but I managed--at least so far!

OK, I bit! The Nancy Drew audiobooks were checked out of my libraries, but I put a hold on The Secret in the Old Clock. However, I'm tempted to start with The Hidden Staircase. I could be way off base, but my memory says that Clock fared worse in updating than Staircase.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by issybird

OK, I bit! The Nancy Drew audiobooks were checked out of my libraries, but I put a hold on The Secret in the Old Clock. However, I'm tempted to start with The Hidden Staircase. I could be way off base, but my memory says that Clock fared worse in updating than Staircase.

I think the Clock revision tracks closer to the original; other than some cosmetic changes, the main revision is to eliminate the racial stereotyping of a caretaker, who's quite a minor character. Staircase was one of my favorites in the original, though I'm a bit hazy now on specifics. The revision lacked excitement.

Since I would never ever start a series with book 2, I may be biased.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I think the Clock revision tracks closer to the original; other than some cosmetic changes, the main revision is to eliminate the racial stereotyping of a caretaker, who's quite a minor character. Staircase was one of my favorites in the original, though I'm a bit hazy now on specifics. The revision lacked excitement.

Since I would never ever start a series with book 2, I may be biased.

Staircase was one of my favorites, too. I thought it might be better to lead off the audiobooks with an old reliable; it's not as if there will be any surprises.

My also hazy impression of Clock is that they toned down the snootiness, which was one of my favorite aspects.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by issybird

Staircase was one of my favorites, too. I thought it might be better to lead off the audiobooks with an old reliable; it's not as if there will be any surprises.

My also hazy impression of Clock is that they toned down the snootiness, which was one of my favorite aspects.

The Tophams are quite snooty, so they're still fun.

Have you ever seen the old Nancy Drew movies, with Bonita Granville? One of them is based on Hidden Staircase.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Catlady

The Tophams are quite snooty, so they're still fun.

Have you ever seen the old Nancy Drew movies, with Bonita Granville? One of them is based on Hidden Staircase.

Not in forever, but I see Nancy Drew, Reporter is on YouTube.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by issybird

Not in forever, but I see Nancy Drew, Reporter is on YouTube.

So is Hidden Staircase:



There's also a set of all four movies on DVD. It was WAY cheaper when I bought it!

[orlok]

Just finished Old Man's War by John Scalzi, narrated very ably by William Dufris. This was my first Scalzi, and won't be my last.