Tag Archive: audio-libby



Ali in WonderlandAli in Wonderland by Ali Wentworth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Humor makes the reading difference. I had just read Mean Baby by Selma Blair when I picked this up from Libby. Both were read by the authors. Both covered many of the same types of life situations. But I have to admit I could handle this far easier. I think because Ali had found the humor in the situation, it made it easier not to get triggered by the author’s circumstances. That is not to say one is better than the other—just my ability to handle the essays.

The other reason I think this went down more effortless for me was that I felt more familiar with Ali Wentworth. I like watching her on the talk shows and even listening to her podcasts. So I encourage others to read both books. Just know as you enter that this is humorous, even some laugh-out-loud moments. That could be a bad thing if you aren’t in the mood to laugh. 🙂

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Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing UpMean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up by Selma Blair
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Many reviews about this book are high, some are low ratings. It’s her life. I don’t think it is up to me to judge it. Her life is far different than mine. Yet, I found a deep dive into another life, another memoir gave me insight into writing my own.

Until I saw Selma Blair on the View, I think it was, I had only heard the name and couldn’t put a face with the name. Not too uncommon for me with anyone. Her movies weren’t my type of movie. But I have known friends and loved ones that had MS. It is such a horrifying disease. I was curious to see how this person handled it.

If you like autobiographies, memoirs, this is for you. If you don’t, you might move forward to another read. Ms. Blair gets personal and honest about many aspects of her life. I found the writing well done. And her voice is actively involved; honest tears are felt when she reads the parts most vulnerable.

Since her life always included pain and depression, it is spelled out quite often. If that is triggering for you, this might not be the read for you. It does help to see how someone else worked through her own darkness. I think it was worth the read.

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Record of a Spaceborn Few (Wayfarers, #3)Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers

This is my second reading of the series thus far. In fact, I just read this book a month ago and decided I needed to read the whole series again. So here I am again. Below is the first review I wrote on this book, and I am sticking with it.
***
This is my favorite kind of science fiction! So many 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!
***
And I intend to read this another few times. I still loved it!

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Ali's Well That Ends Well: Tales of Desperation and a Little InspirationAli’s Well That Ends Well: Tales of Desperation and a Little Inspiration by Ali Wentworth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Even COVID19 has nothing on the humor of this fine lady.

I have enjoyed Ali Wentworth on Kelly and Ryan’s show as she is on there as a co-host or guest often. She speaks her truth humorously and always makes me feel we could be friends. I like her take on everything. When she mentioned she’d written a book, I found and put it on hold on Libby.

Even though it was her experience with the virus and her family’s, as scary as that can be for some of us, Ms. Wentworth found the lighter side and shared it with us.

I enjoyed this so much that I have already picked up another of her books on Libby and have her podcast lined up on Audible.

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Yellow WifeYellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a challenging, necessary read. But with Robin Miles narrating, the story became something I couldn’t stop ‘reading.’ It is a book written colloquially, so I think without narration, it might have seemed bad writing. But as you hear how the language is spoken, it feels quite natural.

I have never heard the term “Yellow Wife.” But it makes sense. How horrid the things humans have done to humans. I don’t understand that at all. To force people to work beyond their capacity or force women to marry those they didn’t love or chose to be with. It is all baffling.

At any rate, I am glad there are authors to take us into the past to see the kinds of things that have happened.

Since it was based on someone who had existed and that person’s history, the fiction around it became something believable. Just bring a box of Kleenex and gird up your loins for a good story that includes the cruelties of humans against humans.

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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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Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical ExaminerWorking Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner by Judy Melinek
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First of all, don’t read this book before going to sleep. Or you won’t, especially from the part about 9/11 on. Still, it is such an engaging read. And the narrator, Tanya Eby, made the book lively, even though much of it is about death.

If Grey’s Anatomy has taught me anything about the life of a potential surgeon, it is the lack of sleep and how dangerous that lack can be for the doctor and the patient. It is that lack of sleep and trying to be a young mother that the author, Judy Melinek, realized she needed a different path, even though this path was nearly finished for the author. But all that training did lead her to be a Medical Examiner in New York.

We Americans hide from sex and death. We can talk of taxes until the cows come home. But of the two topics, death seems the least discussed. And that is too bad. We need to know about that part of life for ourselves and our loved ones.

If you are a writer, this book can be quite the reference. I can see many ways the book can be used to write a mystery or lend credence to a fatality in the novel.

I highly recommend this book, especially in audio form. I was lucky to pick it up from the library on Libby.

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The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels (Dangerous Damsels, #1)The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don’t do this often, but I think I should include the blurb from the GoodReads page.

“A prim and proper lady thief must save her aunt from a crazed pirate and his dangerously charming henchman in this fantastical historical romance.

Cecilia Bassingwaite is the ideal Victorian lady. She’s also a thief. Like the other members of the Wisteria Society crime sorority, she flies around England drinking tea, blackmailing friends, and acquiring treasure by interesting means. Sure, she has a dark and traumatic past and an overbearing aunt, but all things considered, it’s a pleasant existence. Until the men show up.

Ned Lightbourne is a sometimes assassin who is smitten with Cecilia from the moment they meet. Unfortunately, that happens to be while he’s under direct orders to kill her. His employer, Captain Morvath, who possesses a gothic abbey bristling with cannons and an unbridled hate for the world, intends to rid England of all its presumptuous women, starting with the Wisteria Society. Ned has plans of his own. But both men have made one grave mistake. Never underestimate a woman.

When Morvath imperils the Wisteria Society, Cecilia is forced to team up with her handsome would-be assassin to save the women who raised her–hopefully proving, once and for all, that she’s as much of a scoundrel as the rest of them.”

My friend, a Pirates of the Caribbean fan like me, suggested this for fun. Her book club had just enjoyed it.

But after the serious reading I had been doing of late, this was just not my cup of tea. At least at first. By the end, my sense of humor came back, and I had a hard time reading it before bed without letting Laugh out Loud moments escape me.

My copy came from the library on the Libby app. It was the audio version and the narrator, Elizabeth Knoweldon, was a hoot to listen to. I loved her accent and how she adjusted her voice according to the character.

If you are looking for a fun summer read, this might do the trick!

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A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War IIA Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Juliet Stevenson (Narrator) kept this story alive. I felt I was right in the moment with Virginia Hall as she attempted to end the war on her own, seeing that few men could do what this poor, disabled woman could.

This book was written very well. I often find nonfiction biographies boring and stilted. The author was able to write this with the urgency of a fictional spy thriller.

In this day of women losing rights, this will strengthen your determination to keep everyone free. This was a true American who happened to be a woman. Please read it if you have the chance.

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The Lost and Found BookshopThe Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book would have been a perfect read if I only had a beach. Even so, it felt like You’ve Got Mail in a way. But the list of books mentioned throughout the book to check out was longer. The book series that contained Ballet Shoes wasn’t even mentioned.

What I loved was the multiple generations not just mentioned but given problems seen from both sides of the issues. And the story goes back generations and includes historical events of their times that affected the outcomes of the current characters.

I love how often San Francisco played in the story. I felt I got to travel just the tiniest bit.

The writing was fun, and the narrator, Emily Rankin, was great.

This is a book that I recommend for fun and leisure. Go for it!!!

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