What are we listening to? (audiobooks) - Page 214

CRussel · 07-31-2021, 12:06 AM

A long commute in the 80's and 90's was what first got me listening to Books on Tape. Which morphed into Audible when BOT got bought out.

Currently doing a binge re-read/re-listen to the Foreigner series by CJ Cherryh, read by Daniel Thomas May.

issybird · 07-31-2021, 07:27 AM

I became a commuting audio convert in 2014. I listened to NPR during my commute, but noted that it left me jangled by the time I got to work as the news was generally upsetting. But it was StoryCorps that pushed me over the edge; I found it increasingly fatuous and after one Friday morning assault on my intellect I was done. I decided it was time to try audiobooks.

I couldn’t have been luckier than in my first choice, Patrick O’Brian’s Post Captain read by Simon Vance, who remains my favorite narrator of all. And bringing this around to topic, I’m currently listening to #19 in the series, The Hundred Days. My rule for the series was summer only, in order to stretch them out - and I gave them a miss altogether during the Covid summer of last year. I’ll be grieved to be done (probably next summer).

I’m not listening to nearly as many audiobooks as I used to. No commute and overall changes in how I spend my days making them less audio-friendly. But I still listen to them in bed.

Catlady · 07-31-2021, 11:47 AM

Seems like it might be interesting to start a new thread about what got us into audiobooks.

SeaBookGuy · 08-09-2021, 09:20 AM

Deleted by author

davtay · 08-15-2021, 07:06 AM

Finished Raymond Chandler's "The Big Sleep" and am halfway through his second Marlowe novel "Farewell, My Lovely." Both are narrated by the fantastic Ray Porter. They are both fast listen/reads, the stories move along and the characters are colorful. But it is Chandler's descriptions and similes that really make it pop. Plus Ray Porter is my favorite narrator/performer and it really isn't close.

If you are interested to read/listen to where all modern detective's/p.i.'s evolved from, "clichés", "tropes" and all, this is where to start.

Hard-boiled and two-fisted.

Catlady · 08-16-2021, 05:11 PM

I listened to two books by AJ Pearce, narrated by Anna Popplewell: Dear Mrs. Bird and its sequel, Yours Cheerfully.

Set on the British homefront during WWII, these were absolutely delightful, gently humorous novels about a young woman working for a struggling women's magazine. I enjoyed everything about these two books and hope there will be more.

WT Sharpe · 08-16-2021, 09:09 PM

Having a lot of fun listening to Razor Girl by Carl Hiaasen (audiobook read by John Rubinstein). Early in the book, con artist Merry Mansfield earns the title of "Razor Girl" when the car she's driving strikes another vehicle as she was shaving. But I can't tell you where.

Oh, heck. I will anyway.

Spoiler:

SeaBookGuy · 08-22-2021, 11:15 AM

Finishing up Mortmain Hall by Martin Edwards, sequel to his Gallows Court. Very different feel, including a switch from female to male narrator.

Catlady · 08-22-2021, 02:23 PM

I finished listening to Sisters in Arms by Kaia Alderson, narrated by Shayna Small--historical fiction about the first black WAC unit in WWII. I love fiction about women involved in the war effort in WWII, so I'd been looking forward to this book and I really wanted to love it. I didn't.

I'm not sure exactly what was wrong with it--why it seemed so boring and pedestrian when it should have been fascinating and powerful. The main characters are supposed to be two strong women but both were generally insipid and prone to fainting in the arms of a man (at least twice apiece), which I found particularly annoying.

Some people just seem to disappear from the story--the men accompanying some of the WACs when an accident occurred, the father of one of the protagonists. Poof!

Instances of prejudice, which were many, somehow lacked emotional power, more melodrama than drama.

After getting through the book, I had hoped for an author's note on what was historically accurate and what was invention, or perhaps a mention of sources on which the story was based, but there's nothing.

Major disappointment.

WT Sharpe · 08-23-2021, 05:10 PM

I'm listening to a book about trees and certain people within their social circles. The Overstory by Richard Powers is a remarkable and epic work. You've got to love a book with lines like, "[Y]ou're a sack of rotting meat wrapped around a little sewage tube that's going to give out in—what? Another few thousand sunrises?"

Tarana · 08-23-2021, 07:38 PM

Currently listening to Spellbound by Larry Correia, book 2 of 3 in the Grimnoir Chronicles series. Getting very frustrated with my Echo which kept stopping. I have since unplugged and replugged it in and it seems to be working better. I am enjoying this book a bit better than book 1 - plot is smoother. Bronson Pinchot is great as narrator. Very distinctive voices for each character.

Catlady · 08-28-2021, 02:53 PM

After the disappointing Sisters in Arms, I followed up with a far superior historical novel about women in wartime: Lauren Willig's Band of Sisters, narrated by Julia Whelan.

Willig's novel is based on a Smith College relief unit that helped civilians in France during WWI, detailing their struggles against bureaucracy and one another, their missteps and successes, and the dangers they faced near enemy lines. Excellent book.

ApK · 08-28-2021, 08:18 PM

Today I started, and am abandoning, "Louisiana Longshot
A Miss Fortune Mystery, Book 1" by Jana DeLeon.

While I generally prefer my crime and thriller books to be well researched and realistic, I am happy to suspend disbelief for a good story, and I do enjoy a good cozy. But this book is the reason why we have sexist and chauvinistic preconceptions about chick lit. The main character isn't just unrealistic and unbelievable, she is a caricature of unrealistic and unbelievable, like what a naive child might fantasize such a character was like.

Catlady · 08-28-2021, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApK

Today I started, and am abandoning, "Louisiana Longshot
A Miss Fortune Mystery, Book 1" by Jana DeLeon.

While I generally prefer my crime and thriller books to be well researched and realistic, I am happy to suspend disbelief for a good story, and I do enjoy a good cozy. But this book is the reason why we have sexist and chauvinistic preconceptions about chick lit. The main character isn't just unrealistic and unbelievable, she is a caricature of unrealistic and unbelievable, like what a naive child might fantasize such a character was like.

After reading the blurb for this one, I have to ask, just what did you expect? How could a CIA assassin pretending to be a beauty queen turned librarian--with a human bone buried in her backyard, yet--be anything BUT a caricature?

Quote:

CIA assassin Fortune Redding is about to undertake her most difficult mission ever - in Sinful, Louisiana. With a leak at the CIA and a price placed on her head by one of the world's largest arms dealers, Fortune has to go off-grid, but she never expected to be this far out of her element. Posing as a former beauty queen turned librarian in a small bayou town seems worse than death to Fortune, but she's determined to fly below the radar until her boss finds the leak and puts the arms dealer out of play.

Unfortunately, she hasn't even unpacked a suitcase before her newly inherited dog digs up a human bone in her backyard. Thrust into the middle of a bayou murder mystery, Fortune teams up with a couple of seemingly sweet old ladies whose looks completely belie their hold on the little town. To top things off, the handsome local deputy is asking her too many questions. If she's not careful, this investigation might blow her cover and get her killed. Armed with her considerable skills and a group of elderly ladies the locals dub the Geritol Mafia, Fortune has no choice but to solve the murder before it's too late.

ApK · 08-29-2021, 12:04 AM

I was expecting something less cringe-worthy.
I've consumed lots of stuff with similarly outlandish situations that were far better. ("The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax" and TV's "Northern Exposure" come immediately to mind.)
I'm sure this book ended up in my Audible library because it was a freebie I found here on the forum. If you happen to have access to it, give the first half hour or so a try and let me know what you think.

08-09-2021, 09:20 AM	#3199
SeaBookGuy Can one read too much? Posts: 2,015 Karma: 2487799 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Naples, FL Device: Kindle PW 3, Sony 350 and 650	Deleted by author Last edited by SeaBookGuy; 08-10-2021 at 09:05 AM. Reason: DNF'ed book

08-16-2021, 09:09 PM	#3202
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.	Having a lot of fun listening to *Razor Girl* by Carl Hiaasen (audiobook read by John Rubinstein). Early in the book, con artist Merry Mansfield earns the title of "Razor Girl" when the car she's driving strikes another vehicle as she was shaving. But I can't tell you where. Oh, heck. I will anyway. Spoiler: The accident occurred on Highway 1 in the Florida Keys.

08-29-2021, 12:04 AM	#3210
ApK Award-Winning Participant Posts: 7,318 Karma: 67930154 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: NJ, USA Device: Kindle	I was expecting something less cringe-worthy. I've consumed lots of stuff with similarly outlandish situations that were far better. ("The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax" and TV's "Northern Exposure" come immediately to mind.) I'm sure this book ended up in my Audible library because it was a freebie I found here on the forum. If you happen to have access to it, give the first half hour or so a try and let me know what you think. Last edited by ApK; 08-29-2021 at 09:07 AM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
What Are You Listening to Right Now?	RWood	Lounge	10015	Yesterday 10:05 PM
Publishers are listening...	davidhburton	General Discussions	34	07-27-2010 09:47 AM
PRS-900 Sony, if you're listening	chiefwili	Sony Reader	22	01-02-2010 11:17 AM
Reading or listening? I need both!	jetreader	Ectaco jetBook	9	09-02-2009 10:27 AM
Listening to Music ???	Stu Segal	Sony Reader	7	10-14-2007 12:19 AM

07-31-2021, 12:06 AM	#3196
CRussel (he/him/his) Posts: 12,161 Karma: 79742714 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sunshine Coast, BC Device: Oasis (Gen3),Paperwhite (Gen10), Voyage, Paperwhite(orig), Fire HD 8	A long commute in the 80's and 90's was what first got me listening to Books on Tape. Which morphed into Audible when BOT got bought out. Currently doing a binge re-read/re-listen to the *Foreigner* series by CJ Cherryh, read by Daniel Thomas May.

07-31-2021, 07:27 AM	#3197
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 20,232 Karma: 222235366 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5	I became a commuting audio convert in 2014. I listened to NPR during my commute, but noted that it left me jangled by the time I got to work as the news was generally upsetting. But it was StoryCorps that pushed me over the edge; I found it increasingly fatuous and after one Friday morning assault on my intellect I was done. I decided it was time to try audiobooks. I couldn’t have been luckier than in my first choice, Patrick O’Brian’s *Post Captain* read by Simon Vance, who remains my favorite narrator of all. And bringing this around to topic, I’m currently listening to #19 in the series, *The Hundred Days*. My rule for the series was summer only, in order to stretch them out - and I gave them a miss altogether during the Covid summer of last year. I’ll be grieved to be done (probably next summer). I’m not listening to nearly as many audiobooks as I used to. No commute and overall changes in how I spend my days making them less audio-friendly. But I still listen to them in bed.

07-31-2021, 11:47 AM	#3198
Catlady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,345 Karma: 52398889 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip	Seems like it might be interesting to start a new thread about what got us into audiobooks.

08-15-2021, 07:06 AM	#3200
davtay The Continental Posts: 59 Karma: 2222222 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Paducah, KY U.S.A. Device: Kindle Oasis 3	Finished Raymond Chandler's "The Big Sleep" and am halfway through his second Marlowe novel "Farewell, My Lovely." Both are narrated by the fantastic Ray Porter. They are both fast listen/reads, the stories move along and the characters are colorful. But it is Chandler's descriptions and similes that really make it pop. Plus Ray Porter is my favorite narrator/performer and it really isn't close. If you are interested to read/listen to where all modern detective's/p.i.'s evolved from, "clichés", "tropes" and all, this is where to start. Hard-boiled and two-fisted.

08-16-2021, 05:11 PM	#3201
Catlady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,345 Karma: 52398889 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip	I listened to two books by AJ Pearce, narrated by Anna Popplewell: Dear Mrs. Bird and its sequel, Yours Cheerfully. Set on the British homefront during WWII, these were absolutely delightful, gently humorous novels about a young woman working for a struggling women's magazine. I enjoyed everything about these two books and hope there will be more.

08-22-2021, 11:15 AM	#3203
SeaBookGuy Can one read too much? Posts: 2,015 Karma: 2487799 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Naples, FL Device: Kindle PW 3, Sony 350 and 650	Finishing up Mortmain Hall by Martin Edwards, sequel to his Gallows Court. Very different feel, including a switch from female to male narrator.

08-22-2021, 02:23 PM	#3204
Catlady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,345 Karma: 52398889 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip	I finished listening to Sisters in Arms by Kaia Alderson, narrated by Shayna Small--historical fiction about the first black WAC unit in WWII. I love fiction about women involved in the war effort in WWII, so I'd been looking forward to this book and I really wanted to love it. I didn't. I'm not sure exactly what was wrong with it--why it seemed so boring and pedestrian when it should have been fascinating and powerful. The main characters are supposed to be two strong women but both were generally insipid and prone to fainting in the arms of a man (at least twice apiece), which I found particularly annoying. Some people just seem to disappear from the story--the men accompanying some of the WACs when an accident occurred, the father of one of the protagonists. Poof! Instances of prejudice, which were many, somehow lacked emotional power, more melodrama than drama. After getting through the book, I had hoped for an author's note on what was historically accurate and what was invention, or perhaps a mention of sources on which the story was based, but there's nothing. Major disappointment.

08-23-2021, 05:10 PM	#3205
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 listening to a book about trees and certain people within their social circles. *The Overstory* by Richard Powers is a remarkable and epic work. You've got to love a book with lines like, "[Y]ou're a sack of rotting meat wrapped around a little sewage tube that's going to give out in—what? Another few thousand sunrises?"

08-23-2021, 07:38 PM	#3206
Tarana Wizard Posts: 3,982 Karma: 38840460 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Minneapolis Device: PWSE, Voyage, K3, HDX, KBasic 7 & 8, Nook Glo3, Echos, Nanos	Currently listening to Spellbound by Larry Correia, book 2 of 3 in the Grimnoir Chronicles series. Getting very frustrated with my Echo which kept stopping. I have since unplugged and replugged it in and it seems to be working better. I am enjoying this book a bit better than book 1 - plot is smoother. Bronson Pinchot is great as narrator. Very distinctive voices for each character.

08-28-2021, 02:53 PM	#3207
Catlady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,345 Karma: 52398889 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip	After the disappointing Sisters in Arms, I followed up with a far superior historical novel about women in wartime: Lauren Willig's Band of Sisters, narrated by Julia Whelan. Willig's novel is based on a Smith College relief unit that helped civilians in France during WWI, detailing their struggles against bureaucracy and one another, their missteps and successes, and the dangers they faced near enemy lines. Excellent book.

08-28-2021, 08:18 PM	#3208
ApK Award-Winning Participant Posts: 7,318 Karma: 67930154 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: NJ, USA Device: Kindle	Today I started, and am abandoning, "Louisiana Longshot A Miss Fortune Mystery, Book 1" by Jana DeLeon. While I generally prefer my crime and thriller books to be well researched and realistic, I am happy to suspend disbelief for a good story, and I do enjoy a good cozy. But this book is the reason why we have sexist and chauvinistic preconceptions about chick lit. The main character isn't just unrealistic and unbelievable, she is a caricature of unrealistic and unbelievable, like what a naive child might fantasize such a character was like.