Audiobooking

Okay, I finally did it. I finally got on the audiobook bus. Everyone was talking about how they can knit and cook and do all these fabulous things while listening.

Well, now I am really into the audiobook. Unlike some multi-taskers I can't read and knit at the same time. So by listening to audiobooks, when I have a chance for downtime I am hoping to knit more. I can even audiobook while I work depending on the task -- though I often have to rewind and listen to huge sections at a time, but that's okay.

Wanna know what I've been listening to? Here we go:

This was my gateway book:

I think this falls into the Thriller genre but personally I like to call this sub-genre, "Trainwreck". Pardon the pun, but it was sort of painfully intriguing to see what bad decisions were being made by many of the characters. Unlike Gone Girl, I had a horse in the race and after discussing with my sister and The Manfriend, we all were cheering for that person who really had the potential to better themselves. We really wanted them to find a way back from the depths of their self sabotage and despair. I also found that when I really disliked the way characters would self excuse and righteously explain their behaviors it was an indicator the author had worked some magic on me. The pace of the story was fast and addictive. The audio narration is really fantastic. It's told by 3 different women. Not just one woman representing 3 different characters. The Girl on the Train may not be for everyone, but not only was it for me, it convinced me I am now an audiobooker.

Next up The Mapping of Love and Death, a Maisie Dobbs novel. I was really sucked into Jacqueline Winspear's novels in the beginning of the series. Since then my adoration has waned a bit. I find the books are hit or miss for me. I enjoyed this one, and I enjoyed revisiting the characters and listening to her develop further aspects of their actual character. Also, I felt that towards the end of this book we might get a chance to see Maisie's character develop a little too beyond this, private detective fiercely independent dog with a bone kind of personality. Not my favorite in the series, but definitely has me queuing up for more. :)

 

I guess I really wanted a mystery, but I barely remember this one honestly. An Old Betrayal  is another in a series I've been trying to keep up with. I'm not sure what it was about this story that lost me. I think the subplot and the promises of what's to come for some main characters was more interesting to me than the actual investigation. So meh. I'll try the next one.

Now this story, Whistling Past the Graveyard I really enjoyed. I feel bad I cannot remember which knitters, but I know at least two of you had said how much you enjoyed it and well, if I will knit big @ss never ending garter stitch shawls under your influence, surely I am suseptible to your book influence as well. Hey at least it doesn't take as L O N G to get through. "Sweet baby Jesus!" as our main character repeatedly says. In fact, I find myself interjecting that into conversation ... unnecessarily ... too much, now. There were times when I found the pace ... a little drawn, but it works. There was a thickness in the tension of the story told from a child's perspective that works. In fact even some of the repetitiveness which would normally make me twitchy really works with a child narrator. There were a lot of themes in this book that worked for me. Warning another book where you will want to shake some characters, but it's a satisfying story and not the shock writing as I've heard described of GG or GotT. 

And here we are something that is not a thriller or a mystery,  Armada by Ernest Cline, author of "Ready Player One", which I still haven't gotten around to reading yet. I like the Sci-fi even though there is always the reminder that humanity is arrogant and we will probably be the cause of our own destruction in every great Sci fi book. Think Dune series or even Ender's Game. Anyways, this is for the video game friendly (even if just in concept) reader as well. I loved the beginning of this book, even when it rabbit holes into some serious geek theory territory. I love the allusions that even the main character's mother makes to things such as Lord of the Rings (movie and book versions) and Star Wars and Star Trek. The ending left me feeling I wanted something else, but what? I do not know. This is often the case for me when it comes to SciFi so you know, let's just blame it on my own issues. For the record the boys at home say Ready Player One is a better read...

In a desire to have something else to discuss with The Kid I just finished listening to The Lost Hero. I need to note that I really enjoyed most of the books int he Percy Jackson series and even The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan. However this book so far is my least liked.  Why, Ellen Why? Maybe the whole self involved conflicted poor communicating teenager thing is a little too close to home. Maybe I just found the whole pace too slow for things so ... obvious. Maybe it was just too long. However I now have a baseline for this new series and I also have a talking point with my opinionated son. He along with a few of his friends promise me the books get better and agree it is the weakest in the series. 

I have tried a few more audiobooks, but the reading itself was either so horrible or the quality of the production was too poor that I couldn't invest myself in it. I have been checking these  audiobooks out of the library and it is just one more reason to love the library, non? But we'll talk about my renewed love of the library another day (get it? renewed?!? ha!)

I have a few more things in the works, but we can discuss that later. But please tell me if you have an audiobook you are particularly fond of, or a recent read! 

I will catch up with all of you soon. Wishing you a good story and a happy knit!