What are we listening to? (audiobooks)

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by ApK

I guess I'd better put my question is spoiler tags too then:

Spoiler:

Would you classify this as science fiction?
By which I mean, other than the very existence of the robot, does the science or technology feature in the story in any significant way?

To answer your question--hope this helps:

Spoiler:

The husband in the story is a tech wizard whose startup firm is working on robotics and AI--robot helpers for department stores. The robot "wife" is an extension of that work. She/it has had the memories and personality of his real wife uploaded. I guess if you consider something like The Stepford Wives to be science fiction, you might call this SF (it's probably a little more SF than Stepford). It's not heavily technical, but a second narrator fills in the backstory of the workplace and how they developed the robots. Really interesting.

I think the blurbs left out the robots to avoid the SF tag--I don't like SF, so I probably would've been more hesitant to pick this up if I'd known about the robots, especially if I hadn't read and enjoyed the author's previous books.

[trichobezoar]

'Just finished listening to chapter 9 of The Power of Now. It is heavy stuff! 'Will listen to it again. I've been relistening to chapters all along. It's time-consuming, but the alternative is to wiz through the audiobook without comprehending most of the principles within.

[sun surfer]

I've been on a whirlwind of audio because of heavy work and travel recently. Since last I posted in June, I listened to Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters, and have started Ivanhoe by Walter Scott as read by Michael Page and Rory Barnett who do a good job (and it's only $5 - cheaper than a credit - on Audible, which I was surprised by, since I chose them based on being the best narrated sample rather than on price).

[issybird]

Originally Posted by sun surfer

and have started Ivanhoe by Walter Scott as read by Michael Page and Rory Barnett who do a good job (and it's only $5 - cheaper than a credit - on Audible, which I was surprised by, since I chose them based on being the best narrated sample rather than on price).

I listened to Ivanhoe as read by David McCallion and he mispronounced Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert from first to last, which really spoiled it for me. Sometimes I wonder where the qc is on audiobooks. In any case, a consistent mispronouncer is someone whom I'll never listen to again (assuming I remember, and I'm pretty sure I remember the most egregious).

[ElspethB]

The two female narrators of Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood pronounced the name of the security force CorpSeCorps as "corpsy-corpse." Drove me bananas. As a result, I will never ever listen to a book read by Bernadette Dunne or Katie MacNichol.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by ElspethB

The two female narrators of Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood pronounced the name of the security force CorpSeCorps as "corpsy-corpse." Drove me bananas. As a result, I will never ever listen to a book read by Bernadette Dunne or Katie MacNichol.

Oh, that's painful. There's no justification for that pronunciation. No matter how you construe "CorpSe" (and I'd go with "corpse" myself), you can't have that last syllable be anything but corps.

I listened to Campbell Scott read Oryx and Crake, but I can't remember how he pronounced it.

[Bookworm_Girl]

I recently finished The One in a Million Boy by Monica Wood which I enjoyed very much. I liked the spirited character of 104-year-old Ona. You are never too old to form new friendships or chase Guinness Book World Records.

I am currently listening to The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith. I really like the writing style. The narrator, Edoardo Ballerina, is excellent.

From Goodreads:

In his earlier, award-winning novels, Dominic Smith demonstrated a gift for coaxing the past to life. Now, in The Last Painting of Sara de Vos, he deftly bridges the historical and the contemporary, tracking a collision course between a rare landscape by a female Dutch painter of the golden age, an inheritor of the work in 1950s Manhattan, and a celebrated art historian who painted a forgery of it in her youth.

[CRussel]

Currently listening to, and reading side-by-side, The Shepherd's Life, the September selection of the New Leaf Book Club.

[melmac]

Currently listening to The Likeness by Tana French Narrated by Heather O'Neil from audible US, I could listen to this on repeat forever the narrator is a joy to listen to. The Audible AU version is narrated by Grainne Gillis and sounds terrible in comparison. Ever since accidentally purchasing an Iron Druid book not narrated by Jeff Daniels I always check a sample from both regions

[Tarana]

Currently listening to Going Postal by Terry Pratchett and How the West Was Won by Louis L'Amour (old recording narrated by George Guidell). Both are great, but I have found that I have to really concentrate on Diskworld novels or I keep missing stuff. Louis L'amour, not so much, so that is my listening-while-doing-something selection.

Don't think I will complete Diskworld this year. I like to have a little time between books to savor them.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by melmac

Currently listening to The Likeness by Tana French Narrated by Heather O'Neil from audible US, I could listen to this on repeat forever the narrator is a joy to listen to. The Audible AU version is narrated by Grainne Gillis and sounds terrible in comparison. Ever since accidentally purchasing an Iron Druid book not narrated by Jeff Daniels I always check a sample from both regions

Indeed, it can make a huge difference. It's the primary reason I maintain UK and US Audible accounts. That, and the fact that there are still really good WhisperSync deals in the UK, but they're basically gone in the US.

[issybird]

I'm listening to two books both narrated by Simon Vance, the 18th Aubrey/Maturin novel, The Yellow Admiral, by Patrick O'Brian and the fourth Barsetshire novel, Framley Parsonage, by Anthony Trollope. I prefer not to listen to two books by one narrator at the same time, but sometimes it just falls out like that, especially when I have a lot of that narrator's oeuvre in my library.

I'm winding down on Aubrey/Maturin and it's undeniable that the books are not as good as they were in their prime, but still a marvelous listen when you're invested in the series, as I am. As for Framley Parsonage, I'm delighted after what I considered a disappointing outing in its predessor, Dr. Thorne, that Trollope is back on form with all his verve and sparkle.

[ElspethB]

Will you be listening to 21, issybird? I did when I went through the series a few years ago; however, I decided that when I listen to the series again I will probably stop at Blue at the Mizzen.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by ElspethB

Will you be listening to 21, issybird? I did when I went through the series a few years ago; however, I decided that when I listen to the series again I will probably stop at Blue at the Mizzen.

I'm done for this year, as I'm only allowed to listen to the books in summertime.

I figure next summer I'll listen to the last two books plus the fragment and then I'll take stock. I am, however, seriously annoyed, as when I posted my status on Yellow Admiral at Goodreads, I read a review that while not specific was distinctly spoilery and I'm anticipating with dread what I've deduced from it.

I'm not seeking comments to confirm or deny (please, no!), but why do people do that? I expect spoilers for the current book, which is why I'd never read a review until I'm done with it, but why make even an indirect allusion to a later book in a series? People are jerks.

Where's a forgetter when you need one?

Going back to the series, I think Yellow Admiral was the weakest yet, beating out The Truelove aka Clarissa Oakes. This one failed in a lot of respects, from discontinuities (Stephen sold the Surprise to Jack, among others) to tedious infodumps, about "inclosure" and prizefighting and more. And anyone who knows even a scintilla about the Napoleonic Wars knew how this one was going to end.

A long-winded answer to your question! But I can't imagine walking away with part of the series, no matter how fragmentary and unsatisfying, unheard. And once I'm done, I'll make my own adjustments; I could even end with The Wine Dark Sea and the Surprise shattered and becalmed in the south Atlantic, a metaphor for where all Jack's and Stephen's wanderings brought them.

[ElspethB]

I rated The Yellow Admiral my least favorite of the series, in part because of the problems you mentioned but even more because there was far too much Diana in it.

So sorry that some thoughtless person may have spoiled a future plot development for you!

I admire your restraint in confining your Aubrey/Maturin listening to summers only! I flew through the series in about 7 months. Of course, it was at a time where I was traveling long distances by car daily to care for my ailing mother-in-law; sailing with Jack, Stephen, and the gang was my joy on those long rides during a bleak time. I will always be grateful to Patrick O'Brian (and Simon Vance) for allowing me that escape.