12-07-2019, 12:56 PM | #2776 |
languorous autodidact ✦
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I finished The Shining, which I liked better than I was expecting. What can I say, I can be a sucker for stories about people being stranded, but it was the best King I've read (not that I've read many). I do know that over the years King and fans have made a big ruckus over the film version being a disappointment as an adaptation, but I'll say it- the Kubrick film version is better than the book.
I did like it well enough to, since I didn't have anything else lined up, immediately start on the sequel audiobook- Doctor Sleep narrated by Will Patton. I've just finished that one and it's a dud. Silly, and more of a supernatural YA action-thriller than a horror. Not that there's anything wrong with supernatural YA action-thrillers, I could like something from that genre, but this book was just silly. I even laughed out loud at the part where Spoiler:
[edit- For those keeping track, yes I am still going to see the Doctor Sleep film version with my friend for their sake as I'd told them I would. I will suffer through it but at least there's Ewan McGregor to enjoy.] Now I'm onto The Blue Lagoon by Henry de Vere Stacpoole, as read by Adrian Praetzellis. I bought this on Audible then found out as I started listening (as it wasn't part of the preview) that they declare they (the company "booktrack") used a Librivox recording and just added background music. Well, it's my only option as there are no other audiobooks I can find of The Blue Lagoon so I'm sticking with it, but I found that distasteful. I hope that they informed Praetzellis and are giving him some part of the revenue, but it sounds like they aren't since if they had an agreement with Praetzellis they would've left out the "from Librivox" part. I understand Librivox recording are in the public domain and as such can be used like this but it still feels distasteful for them to do that, and not have it clear to buyers on the Audible site. At least they do announce it on the actual audiobook anyway. That said, I actually do enjoy the music they added, and it's full-audiobook music, not just at the beginning and end. This may annoy some people but I'm enjoying it very much and in the past I've wished some books with bits of music would play throughout as well. They also have taken care to change up and use appropriate music for each scene and for me it really adds to the feel of the audiobook. I wish more audiobooks would add soft scene-appropriate background music and noises all throughout. Last edited by sun surfer; 12-07-2019 at 01:03 PM. |
12-07-2019, 01:21 PM | #2777 |
Can one read too much?
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I listen to a fair amount of nonfiction myself, James.
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12-10-2019, 12:38 PM | #2778 |
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Currently listening to Accepting the Lance, the latest Liaden Universe novel from Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. Narrator is Eileen Stevens, who is "good", but not a 5 star narrator, for sure. Her voice tends to fit the Theo arc better than the more general Korval arc, IMNSHO, but the story is good enough to carry it.
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12-14-2019, 01:59 PM | #2779 |
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Finished up Winter Warriors by David Gemmell and listened to Professional Integrity, a short story of the Riyria by Michael J Sullivan (it was free, BTW). Really enjoyed both. One of the advantages of listening to series where they keep the same narrator through out the series is that you know that you are going to like the book.
I decided to go with a change of pace book and started listening to the Many-Colored Land. It's been a long time since I read Julian May's Saga of the Pliocene Exile series of which the Many-Colored Land is the first. I remember enjoying it when it first came out many years ago, but I don't remember much in the way of details at all. I've only listened to the first 10 minutes or so, so I haven't really formed an opinion on it yet. |
12-19-2019, 08:35 AM | #2780 | |
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01-05-2020, 01:05 PM | #2781 |
languorous autodidact ✦
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I finished The Blue Lagoon and it was wonderful. I didn't think the 1980s film was as salacious as everyone made out (but of course I was pre-pubescent when I saw it the first time and so watched it without any thoughts of anything like that), but the book was even less so being very naturalistic even if a sort of idyllic fantasy. I was surprised how closely the film followed the book, aside from Richard having auburn hair in the book. The narrator, Adrian Praetzellis, (apart from a few dodgy accents) did a very good job which I was happily surprised by with it having originally come from librivox. It's the first narrator I've listened to from librivox I think. I had assumed the recordings might not be as professional but Praetzellis could easily rank in with the professionals.
Now I'm onto In the Woods by Tana French narrated by Steven Crossley. Others have mentioned the book not so long ago, but it's about a girl that is murdered in the woods near Dublin, and the detective narrating had been found in the same woods as a kid while his two friends had gone missing (and he hides this so he can work on the case). First off, I am not enjoying the narrator at all. I feel I've listened to him on something else too but I'm not sure (one reason I'm happy about the roster of narrators built in the other thread, to help with this sort of thing). It's so off that I'm considering returning it to switch to the other available narrator, John McCormack, which I probably should've got in the first place. As to the story, I already have my suspicions. Spoiler:
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01-07-2020, 02:19 AM | #2782 |
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I set The Terror aside for a while and, cruising Overdrive for what was available, ended up with The Passage by Justin Cronin, which I finished tonight. My final impression is strongly ambivalent. Cronin hedges his bets, but it is in many respects a Left Behind / 28 Days Later crossover novel: noble cops and soldiers doing The Lord's will to save women and children from a world overrun with super-rapists and super-pedophiles (also The Lord's will). On the one hand, I kind of applaud going that direction with a zombie or vampire story, as "It's a virus!" is no more plausible or less superstitious, just superstitious about different things. On the other hand, the whole world and all the characters reflect a kind of evening-news paranoia, preoccupied with sex crimes and child abuse and justifiable violence. What held my attention a lot of the time, especially in the extended "present day" prologue, was more a car-wreck fascination with the mindset behind the story than the actual characters or events.
So of course, I'm starting the sequel. |
01-09-2020, 01:32 PM | #2783 |
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I've tried reading The Passage a couple of times, but never really could get into it. Just not my cup of tea, I guess.
I just noticed that the Stirling and Drake series, the General, has appeared on Audible. Apparently, the first book, The Forge, arrived in August, but I missed it. I haven't heard of the narrator, a fellow named Franklin Pierson, before but the reviews are good. I'll listen to that after I finish Rise of Empire, only 10 more hours to go. Rise of Empire is about 26 hours long, so one definitely gets one's money's worth out of it! I've really enjoyed it so far. |
01-10-2020, 12:10 AM | #2784 |
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I've just started listening to No Fixed Line, the latest Kate Shugak book from Dana Stabenow, read by Marguerite Gavin. For some reason it released a week before the eBook. IAC, I'm quite enjoying it.
Charlie. Last edited by CRussel; 01-10-2020 at 01:26 PM. |
01-10-2020, 12:06 PM | #2785 | |
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01-11-2020, 04:31 PM | #2786 | |
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I am currently listening to Olive Kitteridge. I probably should have watched the HBO series instead. The narration by Kimberly Farr is excellent, but the book is boring with a few sparks of interest. I like Olive's character but not so much the other people in town. |
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01-23-2020, 02:51 AM | #2787 | |
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I finished In the Woods. All I can say is that I pretty much had it all deduced from the start, which my mind can work in overdrive and I grew up on reading mysteries, so I generally come up with some theory early on when reading mysteries and sometimes I get it right. I didn't terribly mind not having any surprises, but I did mind that the author apparently assumes she's so clever that no one reading would have solved her mystery ahead of time. She has the audacity to have the narrator of the book (the detective) break the 'fourth wall' so to speak and actually tell the reader near the end that they (they reader) didn't figure it out ahead of time. I literally rolled my eyes reading that and if I weren't holding an electronic device would've thrown the book across the room.
Aside from that though, the book was all right, and if you don't solve things early on then I don't think you'd mind all that. I loved the setting, the characters were interesting (aside from some tropes I could've done without), and for a police force (garda) mystery, the 'procedural' and forensic investigative aspects that I'm not as interested in were there but toned down in favour of the good mystery aspect. I might be interested in reading another of hers to see if she can do a better job putting me off the scent next time. Quote:
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01-23-2020, 08:09 PM | #2788 |
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I finished up Rise of Empire, by Michael J. Sullivan, book 2 of The Riyria Chronicles. It was very good, but after 26 hours, I was ready to give the series a rest for a couple of weeks. I started listening to The Forge, by SM Stirling and David Drake, book 1 of The General, narrated by Franklin Pierson. I loved the series as ebooks. As far as I can tell, the General series are the only books narrated by Franklin Pierson. I just started it, so I'll have to see what I think of him.
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01-24-2020, 07:06 PM | #2789 |
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I started and finished The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks read by Stephen Kenny. It's sort of a black comedy drama thriller set in the early 1980s about an isolated, odd and possibly sociopathic teen boy who lives with his father just off the coast of a small town in Scotland connected by a bridge to their own island. He has an older brother who is insane and in a mental institution, and has escaped.
None of the shown Goodreads genre shelves for it listed humour, so I wasn't expecting it to be funny, especially for how dark it is (and it's very very dark... this book is the blackest of black humour). There were some parts that were so funny I unexpectedly laughed out loud, and there was one part in particular that was so funny I had to stop the audiobook until I was done laughing, and then rewind and listen to it again so I could start laughing again. It had to do with someone's last words and I'll leave it at that. However, this is not only a dark book, it's a gross and violent book, especially towards animals, and I'm sure some people would have trouble reading some of it. I'm personally not a fan of realistic and descriptive violence in books (hence not generally being a big fan of war books and such), but I am okay with off-screen(/off-scene) violence or with it treated less realistically or not going into detail about it. It's odd in that I'd say this book's treatment of violence towards animals is disturbing while its treatment of violence towards humans - including children for goodness sake! - is less realistic and, dare I say, even bleakly funny at times. But I still found the sadistic violence against animals very off-putting and stomach-churning. Still, I have to say I was impressed by the story and its unique perspective and despite that integral aspect that I didn't like at all, I really liked the book overall by the end. |
01-24-2020, 11:59 PM | #2790 |
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Currently listening to the 4 book epic Heritage of Shannara by Terry Brooks (it's one story). I'm on book 2 - Druid of Shannara. I started a relisten of the Shannara books in anticipation of the final book currently scheduled to be published in June. I won't be able to get the audiobook until I rejoin Audible in November, but I think it will take me until then to get the rest done anyway.
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