Tag Archive: Adult



My Sister's Keeper: A NovelMy Sister’s Keeper: A Novel by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finishing a book early on at bedtime, I was left shuffling. Libby had a Jodi Picoult. I thought I could never go wrong with anything of hers. Yet, within the chapter, I realized I had already read Small Great Things. I enjoyed that book, but I wanted something new. So I searched Libby and found My Sister’s Keeper.

This one immediately intrigued me. The younger daughter shows initiative in fixing her problems.

Richard Poe, Julia Gibson, Barbara McCulloh, Tom Stechschulte, Carol Monda, Jennifer Ikeda, and Andy Paris narrate this book, keeping the reader/listener engaged. However, I could not get to sleep at a decent hour.

I loved hearing the characters’ separate points of view.

I’m trying not to give spoilers. There is a great blurb on GoodReads and Amazon if you are interested. But make sure the Kleenex is near the end of the book.

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his post is part of Just Jot it January, and the prompt word, “initiative,” comes to us from Fandango. Check out his blog here!

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Three WomenThree Women by Lisa Taddeo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The dangers, frustrations, and excitements of being female are explored through the lives of three women. I found myself relating completely to some situations, yet I could not relate to others. What was made clear is that just because we are all women, we are all so different. And honestly, viva that difference! The one sure thing that can be learned here is we are not to judge. Maybe we can learn lessons from the mistakes or the successes of others.

I feel some of my readers may want the warning that the book is sexually explicit, but knowing how closely sex is to a depth of relationships, you learn why the women have such difficult choices in their lives.

I am now interested in watching the series on Starz.

Feminism is clearly seen here, where we can claim our strengths and weaknesses to work on. If you like strong open books about contemporary women, this book is for you. I must admit that listening on the Libby audiobook to the four narrators, one for each of the main characters, helped the reader to feel their story deeper. They are Tara Lynne Barr, Marin Ireland, Mena Suvari, and author/narrator Lisa Taddeo. Great work, all.

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See the Just Jot It January rules here. Today’s prompt brought to us by Barbara. Check out her blog here!

Wicked : The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Wicked Years, #1)Wicked : The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Oz research continues. I dove deep and read the complete Oz books so I would be ready for Wicked. Having done that, a lot felt like the same story just a different point of view.

Though this was fantasy, it doesn’t take a genius to see how a person born and raised unloved, becomes wicked. But what if you are trying to be the best you can? In this book, you learn to feel for Elphaba. And maybe see the wickedness in the people surrounding her whole life.

I recommend others take the time to read Frank L. Baim’s entire series and delve into this world of Oz. My goal now is to watch the movie, eventually buy the Blu-ray, get the musical recording, and finally the sheet music to learn to play all the songs. When I dive, I dive deep. I can’t wait!

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Mother-Daughter Murder NightMother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Once again, I was reluctant to read a book. I don’t like books about murder. And that is the reason I usually don’t read mysteries. They are rarely about missing glasses. True mysteries. And I don’t know where I heard about this book, but thanks to whoever suggested this. It was a lot of fun!

Jane Oppenheimer, narrator, read this with such spirit that I didn’t want to put it down. She was about to change her voice for every character, and I was never lost as to who might be speaking.

The author was clever in shifting a book about the younger women (daughter and granddaughter), and soon, it is the grandmother who speaks the most in the book. Her viewpoint is a little annoying but fun.

Yes, there is a murder or more, but as a team, the three women risk their own lives, careers, and their relationships with each other. Tricky at first, but by the time it all falls apart, each woman searches for strength and wisdom.

Ah, I am not saying what I want to. Just know that this is a fun book, despite the murders and bad guys. I was lucky to pick it up on Libby. Enjoy!

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Full Speed to a Crash Landing (Chaotic Orbits #1)Full Speed to a Crash Landing by Beth Revis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Where did I hear about this book? I have no idea. But it was a welcome change. I only found the Kindle version at first. And reading this with Text-to-Speech on my older Fire worked out quite well until my Fire died. Then, I was in a tailspin to figure out how to read it. I learned that you can set up TTS on your cell phone. I set it up, but the British TTS’s voice on the phone was horrid. I didn’t know how close to the end, but I wanted to read this while I still remembered what happened. I picked up the Audible version. I did enjoy the voices of the main characters. But sadly, I finished the book within half an hour.

However I read it, I did love this story. It’s a little different than other space travel science fiction books. I don’t like a cliff-hanger. This wasn’t quite that. But I felt the book ended too early. Now, I have to wait for the second and third parts to be published. Maybe I’ll wait for the third one and reread them all.

Maybe, like me, you need the diversion. Try this sci-fi. You might like it, too.

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A Man Called OveA Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Man Called Otto is the movie with Tom Hanks. I hope you got to watch it. As grumpy as the main character, I must admit that this man warms your heart. I had watched the movie and then learned the book it was based on. There was the Audible available for one credit, and now it’s mine to read whenever I want. It is bittersweet and often funny but with wonderful truths woven right in.

J.K. Simmons does the narration, which sounds like Tom Hanks. Same sourpuss grumpiness as in the movie.

I enjoyed the book so much that I needed more, so I looked up the movie, and I had to watch it. I think it was on Netflix.

I highly recommend both ways to enjoy the story.

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The Giver of StarsThe Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thought I was rereading a book about the Horseback Librarians, but this one was new to me. Julia Whelan narrated it in such a way that I was swept up into the story right away. She was excellent at accents to make sure each character felt different.

This was a quick read between holds I’d requested. I suddenly had nothing and didn’t want to start something from my own Kindle or Audible library. Libby had this one ready to read, so I grabbed it.

If you are looking for a quick, engaging read, try this one.

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Written in Red (The Others, #1)Written in Red by Anne Bishop
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After starting to read this in Kindle with text-to-speech from Libby, I decided to listen to the Audible version. I prefer the narrator, Alexandra Harris, to the TTS. It was a good read.

It has been a week or so since I finished the read. A little case of COVID got in the way of reviewing reads. Still, I do remember this fondly and look forward to more in the series as I can buy them. In the case of fantasy beings this was a different take. It was fun!

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The Psychology of Time TravelThe Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Below is a previous review of Kate Mascarenhas’s The Psychology of Time Travel. It was with Kindle text-to-speech. I have to admit that this Audible version rates the same. Ellie Heydon (Narrator) doesn’t vary her voice enough to help the listener tell the differences between characters, places, emotions, or times. One difference was one character sounded like they had a cold, but other than that, it was all the same, and I couldn’t figure out why the nasal voice belonged to who it belonged to.

Even so, it was a fun read with time travel rules bent a little differently than other books of this nature. I think it is worth the read, and maybe, in this case, just a paper or visual read.
~~~

A friend recommended this to me. She knew I loved reading about the concept of time travel. And she was not wrong. This was very interesting and even brought up ideas I hadn’t considered before. A lot of time travel science is included in the book, but I loved the story. I loved reading about all the different women who invented the time machines.

I borrowed this Kindle edition from the library. And for a lot of books, the text-to-speech works quite well. But for this book, it made it more challenging. All the voices are the same one, no matter the time or area the person was from; it was the same voice with no emotion. So I got pretty mixed up with who was who. So I have ordered the Audible version to try again later. I am concerned as there are so many characters I may have to take notes to keep it all straight.

Still, even as it was, I found it engaging every single night. I never wanted to quit reading, even when confused.

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The Four WindsThe Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am quite the Kristin Hannah fan now. After The Women, I had to read this when it appeared as a suggestion on Libby. Knowing Julia Whelan, the narrator, sealed the deal. She is the most excellent reader. She seems to intuitively read Ms. Hannah’s characters, making the whole story alive and relevant.

Hannah can write historical fiction so that the facts, ‘names and dates’ type of history get lost in following love and family.

After following the book to the conclusion, I was happy to find a bit of discussion about the writing procedure and even Ms. Whelan’s way of narrating. I am still quite interested in that process.

We Baby Boomers can remember hearing about the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression from our grandparents and parents. Even though I was forced to read Grapes of Wrath (ugh!) and remember dusty pictures in the history textbooks, this made the historical events real.

I highly recommend this audiobook!

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