Tag Archive: audio


ReReview:


A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Outlander, #6)A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Reading this the third time has felt a lot like the first time. I stick with the other two reviews below. What I noticed this time I didn’t take note of before was the story arcs for Jocasta’s slaves. I have to admit I like the stories in the television series more.

The other thing I noticed this time is Arch Bug and the part he has played from the beginning, and his sad ending.

I’m still in love with these stories and the magic of Diana Gabaldon and narrator now character on Bone of My Bone, Davina Porter.

***

Below is the review from the last time I read/listened to this book. I have re-rated this and given it five stars. I think this reading aligns with the latest episodes of the show. The last episode I watched was exactly what I had just listened to that day. I love following both the book and the show and seeing how they translate the written word, especially a long book like this, into an excellently done show.

Though I stay with the thought that the narrator, as excellent as she is, for the most part, had a hard time helping the listener to know whose point of view she was portraying. Still, I followed better this time than I did the last time I read.

I highly recommend these books. Like last time, I have already started book 7. Yay, William as a grown-up!

***

Wow! Am I finally finished with this book? It is the longest book I think I have ever read. I don’t think it needs to be that long, either.

Look. Don’t get me wrong. I still love the story, the characters, and the concept of time travel. I just found the length unbearable with the thousands of books on my TBR shelf.

It is fun to explore the early days in America with the characters. I have to admit that I loved the time in Scotland the most, so this book is missing that aspect.

The other problem with this book is that our magical narrator, Divina Porter, couldn’t handle all the characters. Now that Brea is an adult, she sounds like Clair. Now that Roger is an adult, he sounds like Jamie. All the children sound the same. Maybe if I could read simultaneously as listening, I could sort them out. But that is not possible for me and my eyes.

The last thing I need to point out, in case it counts for your reading the book, is that I am already reading book 7, so…

It is worth the read. Stay with it. There are rewards in the story. And in this crazy world, a sweet time-travel romance can calm the worries that like to strike at bedtime.

View all my reviews


A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy, #1)A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jennifer Ikeda narrated this book with so much variance in her voice, playing each character with enthusiasm and strength.

The story is as interesting this second time around. I am sucked right into the story as if it is the first time. I can remember certain plot points, but getting to those points is half the adventure.

After reading the Vampire Knitting Club and the Vampire Book Club series, I needed to have another lighter story. This one isn’t as much humor as it is a full immersion into Deborah Harkness’s world.

I have enjoyed this so much that I decided to get back into the whole series. I’ve already started reading book two.

Below is my first review of this book

******
This book was so much fun. Now, I have a new author, Deborah Harkness, and a new narrator, Jennifer Ikeda, on my favorites list. The only problem I had with the book was that feeling when the book ended and the next book wasn’t available yet! So, I spent my day in that withdrawal phase that happens when you have learned to love the characters and enjoy the plot.

What some reviewers were irritated with was the clothing issues. I found them to be signs of a modern professional woman who is trying to be ‘normal.’ I loved the range of senses Ms. Harkness called upon to present the world. Ms. Ikeda’s accents made the characters come alive.

I have to thank my cousin for suggesting this book. Only for her would I have read anything to do with vampires. I was led to believe, by the title, I suppose, that this would be about witches. 🙂

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Shōgun (Asian Saga: Chronological Order, #1)Shōgun by James Clavell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this way back in the 80s. It was a big, thick paperback. I loved it. Then I watched the movie (or was it a series?) with Richard Chamberlain. Then I was blown away. I was already crazy about Mr. Chamberlain—so much so that, as an early teen, I’d sneak a mirror into the bookshelf in the hall at just the right angle so that even though it was past my bedtime, I could watch Dr. Kildare. I still think I got away with it.

What I loved about every iteration of Shōgun was the passion, history, culture, and language presented. Richard Chamberlain is going to be hard to beat in his portrayal of Anjin-san, especially in the scene where he is committing Seppuku. But in this Audible edition, I felt that passion through the reading by narrator Ralph Lister.

I have gotten used to Mr. Lister’s reading, but I think this book needs separate actors. I absolutely hate hearing a man do a female voice. It always sounds demeaning to women. And all the men sound similar to each other.

Still, since I am taking Japanese on Duolingo I feel I understand more than the last time I read the book. I’m looking forward to book II and the new streaming series.

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Second Wave: Acorna's Children (Acorna, #9)Second Wave: Acorna’s Children by Anne McCaffrey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

With reluctance, I am rating this one only three stars. Sadly, it was because it was whispersynched with a child’s voice that didn’t modulate between characters. And here I had been longing to have the Acorna books audio.

This story was fun in this time-traveling, interplanetary plague-ridden space opera. The robots and healing horns of Acorna’s children made this maybe the most flexible story of the series. Yet the voice ruined it for me. I wish I could find out who did it, but it doesn’t appear anywhere.

Anyway, I still am enjoying the series. I seem to always love Anne McCaffrey’s books and I still have quite a few to get through.

I hope you like this more than I did. Maybe I’ll reread the series and try to just use the text-to-speech.

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Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBIKillers 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.

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Record of a Spaceborn Few (Wayfarers, #3)Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

THIS is my favorite kind of science fiction! So may questions about what might happen if we were to get out among the stars! Patricia Rodríguez (Narrator) made the story even better! Becky Chambers writes such different and intriguing books!

I am still feeling the charm, so I have downloaded the first two books to read again. I just didn’t want to leave Ms. Chambers’s universes.

What if we left Earth. What if it were doable to save as many as possible and fly through space. What if other worlds were found? What if other beings were found and able to learn from us and vice versa? What if whole generations lived, died, and were born on a spaceship of some kind? How do we deal with the dead? How do we document life and death to make it understandable for us and others? How do religion and politics play a part? Sexuality? So many questions!

So many characters. A friend mentioned keeping track of the characters. I may need to do that on the next read. I think I’ll need to dedicate a whole notebook for this next read!

Don’t worry. No matter that you don’t know who or what is speaking, it all works out that you realize you did follow it and are so happy to have been there with the author in the end.

I can’t wait to start again!

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Virgins (Outlander, #0.5)Virgins by Diana Gabaldon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In my attempts to soothe my addiction to all books Gabaldon, I found this, a short story sequel. Thank goodness I found it on Libby as I would have been very disappointed to have spent any money on it.

I was so used to Davina Porter’s voice that this new narrator was harsh and not as easy to follow. I could not tell who was who. Allan Scott-Douglas has a great accent to help make the story feel Scottish. And though having a male voice for the males, I think Davina could have done this better.

The story is quite forgettable. I had hoped for more about how Ian lost his leg, but it was even before that happened. I don’t know that we gained anything about the characters that we didn’t already know.

Please don’t take it from me, there are lots of five-star ratings for this book, so I don’t want to discourage you from trying it out for yourself. It could just be a moment in my life that didn’t fulfill me as I hoped.

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Midnight in Washington: How We Almost Lost Our Democracy and Still CouldMidnight in Washington: How We Almost Lost Our Democracy and Still Could by Adam Schiff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Midnight in Washington was not a good book to read before going to sleep. It was a Libby (library) audio in the author’s voice, so I wanted to neither keep myself awake on reliving the horror of January 6th or miss parts of the story by falling asleep as the recording continued. So I settled on listening while busy with my hobbies, keeping my hands busy but my mind engaged in the reading.

I saw the author, Adam Schiff, on several talk shows and knew I wanted to hear his account of what had happened. I was surprised and pleased to see he included an autobiography. Meaning you were seeing what happened from his point of view.

I felt the book was honest and fair to others as it occurred to the author.

It is interesting having read this before the hearings we are listening to today. I feel more engaged and understand more. I highly recommend this book, especially in Adam Schiff’s calming voice.

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A Breath of Snow and AshesA Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Below is the review from the last time I read/listened to this book. I have re-rated this and given it five stars. I think this reading corresponds with the newest episodes on the show. The last episode I watched was exactly what I had just listened to that day. I love following both the book and the show and seeing how they translate the written word, especially a long book like this, into a show excellently done.

Though I stay with the thought that the narrator, as excellent as she is, for the most part, had a hard time helping the listener to know who’s point of view she was portraying. Still, I followed better this time than the last read.

I highly recommend these books. Like last time, I have already started book 7. Yay, William as a grown-up!

***

Wow! Am I finally finished with this book? It is the longest book I think I have ever read. I don’t think it needs to be that long, either.

Look. Don’t get me wrong. I still love the story, the characters, and the time travel element concept. I just found the length unbearable with the thousands of books on my TBR shelf.

It is fun to explore the early days in America with the characters. I have to admit that I loved the time in Scotland the most, so this book is missing that aspect.

The other problem with this book is that our magical narrator, Divina Porter, couldn’t handle all the characters. Now that Brea is an adult, she sounds like Clair. Now that Roger is an adult, he sounds like Jamie. All the children sound the same. Maybe if I could read simultaneously as listening, I could sort them out. But that is not possible for me and my eyes.

The last thing I need to point out, in case it counts for your reading the book is that I am already reading book 7, so…

It is worth the read. Stay with it. There are rewards in the story. And in this crazy world, a sweet time-travel romance can calm the worries that like to strike at bedtime.

View all my reviews


LexiconLexicon by Max Barry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m so glad I found this on Libby as an audio recording. The narrators, Heather Corrigan and Zach Appelman, made this story come to life.

At first, the book seemed to have a lot of aspects of things we face today. Not as heavily as the author’s other book I loved Jennifer Government. I highly recommend it also. I am going to need to read his other books now!

Reading this before going to sleep was problematic for sure. First of all, it was hard to put the book aside. Second, some scary concepts can keep you awake.

The most fun concept is the power of words and poets presented here.

This book might be too violent for some. It was for me at times. Still, it keeps you on the edge of your seat as you move through the story. Read if you dare!

View all my reviews

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