Each of these books introduces another layer of paranormal being. We meet a poltergeist in this one. Sadly, we don’t get to know the ghost in the depth we have in the others, witches and vampires. Maybe that is yet to come? I suggest it.
Anyway, as fun as the previous books were, this one didn’t let me down. I’m getting used to not sleeping because the book has me wrapped up in all the yarn tangles.
I love the author’s way of telling a story and I think that Sarah Zimmerman brings it all to life. Her ability to switch accents or voices to act out each character.
My biggest problem is not being able to find another boxed set for books 10-12. Seems like I’ll have to read them one by one.
Bring ’em on! I love this series!
Category: Audible
The Vampire Knitting Club Boxed Set: Books 4-6 by Nancy Warren
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This review is for the Audible edition with this ASIN: B09Z7BLVY4, with Sarah Zimmerman as narrator. The writing is marvelous, but Ms. Zimmerman’s acting is superb!
This series is so much fun that I can’t wait for the next box-set batch of books. As of the middle of the night, I’m already on to books 7-9. It is so much fun it is hard to leave the books and actually go to sleep at night.
Not into vampires, no worries. No biting happens; none of the scary or boring vamps who do interviews. Not conversant in knitting? No problem; no patterns are thrown in the works to get tangled in.
Yet, if you have had some experience with either the undead or yarn, you will feel the author is writing for you personally.
There is a little paranormal romance, but not enough to gum up the works. There is witchy fun despite the cozy murders that keep happening in each book. Regardless of these inabilities, the un-undead, non-knitting heroine will get it figured out.
Now back to my reading/listening fun.
My Planet: Finding Humor in the Oddest Places by Mary Roach
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The world is far too serious. A person needs to step away and see the humor where they can. Here is a step in the right direction.
Have you read Mary Roach’s Stiff? If so, you will need no pushing to pick this up. Ms. Roach has the best sense of humor. This is a dangerous book if you are attempting to be quiet while your partner sleeps. I almost blew a gasket, trying to prevent the laugh-out-loud experience.
I wasn’t thrilled with narrator Angela Dawe’s voice, but I got used to it, and she had a handle on the reader or listener’s funny bones. Mary Roach just told stories about her life, or her take on life, and I can guarantee these situations you have lived through and had similar thoughts but maybe didn’t laugh as hard as the stories caused.
Though this was an Audible, I bet you could pick this up at the library. Give yourself a break for joy.
The Vampire Knitting Club Boxed Set, Books #1-3 by Nancy Warren
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Oh, boy!!! This was so much fun!!! I’ve already picked up the next box set of three books. Sarah Zimmerman, the narrator, made this story even more fun.
Though we had vampires, there was no blood-sucking. And though knitting was part of the story, no patterns were given. Though for some of us, that would be fun to try, I think that would steal the magic from the story. And not all crocheters are saints! That’s all I’m saying about that.
And you don’t have to be a knitter or a vampire lover to love these stories. Just be ready for magic.
Fairy Tale by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Stephen King (Author, Narrator), Seth Numrich (Narrator), made this a story I didn’t want to end. It was difficult to put it down, even at four o’clock in the morning!
Just to let you know, I don’t like scary. Not books or shows. Sure, I like my Walking Dead, but the scary isn’t the zombies; it is other humans who think they know what everyone should want.
The other thing I don’t like is one more rewritten fairy tale. Ugh! But this isn’t. The fairy tale references are more a way for the reader to relate to what is going on for the main character, Charlie Reade. More than 40% of the book is about getting to know this young teen. You grow to love him and feel for him.
Please read the blurb here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6…
By the way, I was lucky to pick this up from Libby Audio. The narrator is so fabulous at all his voices, and I never felt he was demeaning to the characters he played, even though a few characters were horrible beings.
This wasn’t scary. Let me say that again. It is a little thrilling as you watch the adventure unfold, but not in a horror film way.
I hope you get the chance to read this or give it a listen (preferred). Enjoy!
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
There are many reviews of this book. It seems you either love it or hate it. I think I am near to the love it stage. After reading some really serious books recently, this book was fun. I’m 73. I lived through all of this that seems not to have disappeared at all. In fact, the feministic things that seemed to have happened in this book haven’t happened; any more than a dog with an excellent vocabulary hasn’t occurred. However, I do believe the dog part more than the female advancement that fictionally occurred here.
Outside of the near murder of a rapist by pencil near the beginning, most of this book is aimed at the hope that things can change, even though the 50s and 60s didn’t advance most of us.
The best part of this book was the voice of Miranda Raisom, the narrator. She kept the book lively and showed the humor within it.
The interview with the author, Bonnie Garmus, and Pandora Sykes at the book’s end was also interesting.
Rather than taking it to heart, I suggest this as a beach or summer read.
I am so grateful for the library system that helps us all read more, even when funds are less. I listened to the Libby audiobook.
It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again: Discovering Creativity and Meaning at Midlife and Beyond by Julia Cameron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’ve been meaning to review this. I finally remembered. A friend and I have been working through the book as a sort of class to get our creative muses up and running again. We would do the tasks and work on our memoirs as homework. We both picked up quite a bit through this book.
We both had the paperback, and I had the Audible, which we would listen to on Zoom while we followed along in the paper copy. That worked pretty well. We both felt we got more in touch with areas of our lives we wanted to improve.
My biggest gripe was that I felt too old for the book. It seems if you are an early retiree, this would be perfect. We had already passed the floundering when you aren’t part of the workforce. If, in fact, you are at that stage, I think this would be the perfect book to start the next part of your life.
Heather Henderson (Narrator) was excellent in leading our little ‘class.’
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
First, the blurb:
From the best-selling author of The Lost City of Z, soon to be a major film starring Charlie Hunnam, Sienna Miller, and Robert Pattison, comes a true-life murder story that became one of the newly created FBI’s first major homicide investigations.
In the 1920s the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, they rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe.
Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off. The family of an Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, became a prime target. Her relatives were shot and poisoned. And this was just the beginning, as more and more members of the tribe began to die under mysterious circumstances, and many of those who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered.
As the death toll climbed, the FBI took up the case. It was one of the organization’s first major homicide investigations, and the bureau badly bungled it. In desperation its young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to unravel the mystery. Together with the Osage, he and his undercover team began to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history.
~~~
The team of David Grann (Author), Will Patton (Narrator), Ann Marie Lee (Narrator), Danny Campbell (Narrator), and Random House Audio (Publisher) made quite the book. In this case, an audiobook from Libby. I loved how it was broken up between the narrators. It presented the story with the Osage, then the FBI, then the reporter. As you would hope, there is an overlapping of what happened, but from each point of view, it gives a more vivid picture of what might have happened so long ago.
This pulled me in even though I am not one for history or true crime. Probably because it centered on the non-white man, whom most history is about. I am ashamed of my history classes as there was no mention of the Osage Indians. See the above sentence.
I feel richer knowing the story though sadder to see what happened to this tribe, or any other non-white male. I highly recommend this read.
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Don’t complain about the title. By the time you finish reading this, you will see why and hold hope for this young woman.
This was, in fact, a tough read. Jennette McCurdy read her autobiography. I think it added a layer of truth you might not get reading the words yourself.
I didn’t know Jennette McCurdy before reading this. I saw her on one of the talk shows and thought reading another autobiography would help me with my own. This one made me realize I need to read mine aloud. There was something therapeutic in listening to her life story. Maybe there will be something from my life to help someone else?
If you read the blogs and the reviews on GoodReads or Amazon, you will get no closer to deciding to read this. Would you choose to watch a train wreck? No? But this one offers hope in the end and makes you feel good for Ms. McCurdy. Take a chance.
I Swear: Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan by Katie Porter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I don’t know how I heard of this book, but as often happens, I hear about it and go straight to Libby and put it on hold. I love the ability to get audio or Kindle versions of books even when I can’t afford to buy them. I do enjoy hearing the book read by the author, especially in the case of a memoir.
I must admit to feeling refreshed when Katie Porter shows up on a show. She pulls no punches and speaks honestly, not buying into the usual memes of either political party. As a young mom, being in any career seems challenging. Single mom, even harder. But she chose to try to make life better for others. It seems more accurate when you know what she has given up to be where she is.
The hardest part of this book was listening before going to sleep. Her raspy voice and the exciting topics she brought up made sleep hard to come by.
Even so, I highly recommend this book, especially in audio form.
Darswords 
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