Posts tagged ‘audio book’

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May 14, 2012

Book Review: #28 – Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith (audio)

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

Narrators: Scott Holst
Source: Audible
Finished: 5/10/12
Rating: 8 out of 10
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Length: 10 hours, 14 minutes
Pages: 336 (print version)
Published: 2010
Challenges: 2012 Audio Book Challenge

Synopsis (from Booklist): Everyone knows that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves and saved the country from disunion, but very few were privy to the fact that Honest Abe was an honest-to-goodness vampire hunter; that is, until Grahame-Smith unearthed Lincoln’s secret journal, an intimate document detailing the lifelong battle he waged against the undead. Motivated by the vampire-initiated death of his mother, 11-year-old Abe vowed to “kill every vampire in America.” True to his pledge, he spent the next 50 years honing his skills and stalking his prey. Recognizing an inextricable link between slavery and vampires, he expanded his mission to include destroying the “peculiar institution.” And the rest, as they say, is history.

Overall Impression: Grahame-Smith managed to capitalize on the vampire hysteria right before it started to fade (and be replaced by fairy tale hysteria). I’m reading it two years later, and while I never really got the whole vampire thing, there is a lot to like about the irreverent Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. While some readers might find the dry, traditional biographical narrative boring, I thought it was very clever (and I like biographies, so I didn’t mind). Grahame-Smith managed to take Lincoln’s actual biography and insert vampires in it in a totally (yet not-at-all) believable way. He took all the prominent events of Lincoln’s life and modified them slightly so that vampires would seem totally reasonable. Grew up in a log cabin? Actually a cover for a secret underground vampire lair. Lincoln’s skill with an axe? The perfect weapon with which to slay a vampire. John Wilkes Booth? A vampire who wanted the vampire-controlled South to rise again. I thought the whole thing was decidedly ingenious. Also, I learned a lot about Lincoln’s actual biography, since so much of what Grahame-Smith wrote was actually true!

Positives: It was just a lot of fun — gimmicky, but not in a bad way.

Negatives: Reducing the slave population to only a feeding source felt a little shallow. I wish he’d also addressed that there were other, more traditional causes for slavery. It made the entire slave population feel very one-note.

Narration: Holst did an excellent job, especially with Abe’s slow, deliberate speech. I do wish there had been more distinction between the other characters, though.

Other books I’ve read by Seth Grahame-Smith: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (review)

Other books I’ve listened to narrated by Scott Holst: none

Other blogger opinions:

Steve Betz: “Yes, this book is a lark, and I’m really not going to line up to read all the knock-offs, but if you want to take a stab at this mini-genre, this one is pretty fun.”

Budd at Scifi Media: “I actually learned quite a bit from this book, which is strange because it is about fighting vampires.”

All Things Writing: “I know that some people are offended by the idea of one of our most beloved presidents being portrayed this way, but personally, I think it worked.”

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May 13, 2012

Book Review: #27 – Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler (audio)

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler

Narrators: Orlagh Cassidy
Source: Sacramento Library
Finished: 5/1/12
Rating: 4 out of 10
Publisher: Penguin Audiobooks
Length: 7 hours, 19 minutes
Pages: 304 (print version)
Published: 2007
Challenges: 2012 Audio Book Challenge, 2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

Synopsis (from Booklist): One moment Courtney Stone is a modern-day L.A. career woman lamenting a lost love; the next she is Jane Mansfield, a well-to-do, willowy lady in nineteenth-century England. What could account for this transplant of time and place? Courtney has no opportunity to ruminate over such matters; she must quickly learn to interact with inhabitants of the brave old world in which she finds herself. It’s not long before Jane finds the lines blurred between her two vastly different selves.

Overall Impression: Might I just say I really dislike writing negative reviews? I feel bad. I’m sure the author is a lovely person. But here it goes anyway:

Perhaps this should have been called All the Jane Austen AND All the LA Girl Cliches Ever. I picked up a copy somewhere and it’s been sitting on my shelf for ages. In an effort to get through more of my TBR pile, I’ve been grabbing books of the library audio book shelf, since I don’t seem to have as much read-an-actual-book time as I used to. I was hoping for a little light escapism (I’ve been reading a lot of heavier stuff lately) — but it really just turned out to be so trite. Courtney was not very likable as a heroine — she complains, she doesn’t have much self-worth, she is kind of a self-centered ditz (where is my vodka and lipstick?), and although she claimed to be an Austen addict, she really is clueless when it comes to how she should speak and act. The men in the book were all cliches as well — the misunderstood brooding hero, the rake who tries to compromise her virtue. I also felt like the author was lazy and didn’t come up with a credible reason why Courtney found herself in Austen’s time. A fortuneteller tells her time is fluid? There’s a connection? Not enough to make this time travel plausible for me.

Positives: The writing was actually pretty good, and there were a few laugh-out-loud funny moments.

Negatives: Plot and characterization.

Narration: Cassidy is actually a fantastic narrator — she nails both the female and male American and British accents with no problem. Part of me wonders if I might have rated it even lower had I read it instead of listened to it. *cringe*

Other books I’ve read by Laurie Viera Rigler: none

Other books I’ve listened to narrated by Orlagh Cassidy: The Postmistress by Sarah Blake (review)

Other blogger opinions:

Dear Author: “I enjoyed watching Courtney grow as a person and delighted in her finally finding her own ‘Mr Darcy.’”

Iris on Books: “I often come to these books prepared to be disappointed and that was wholly unnecessary in this case.”

The Sleepless Reader: “What can I say? Not exactly my cup of tea? Gritting my teeth to powder?”

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May 12, 2012

Book Review: #26 – The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King (audio)

The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King (audio; book #2 in the Dark Tower series)

Narrator: Frank Muller
Source: Sacramento Library
Finished: 4/25/12
Rating: 7 out of 10
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Length: 12 hours, 42 minutes
Pages: 480 pages (print version)
Published: 1987
Challenges: 2012 Audio Book Challenge

Synopsis (from Publishers Weekly) The second volume of King’s post-Armageddon epic fantasy presents the equally enigmatic quest of Roland, the world’s last gunslinger, who moves through an apocalyptic wasteland toward the Dark Tower, “the linchpin that holds all of existence together.” Roland enters three lives in the alternate world of New York City: junkie and drug runner Eddie Dean, schizophrenic heiress Odetta Holmes and serial murder Jack Mort.

Overall Impression: I enjoyed the first in this series (The Gunslinger), mostly because I’d read that it was really just an introduction to Roland and his character. I knew it wasn’t going to be the best in this series, and because of that I had fairly low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. And for The Drawing of the Three, I enjoyed it as well. I was afraid there would be more trekking through the desert, but quite a bit of it took place in New York, and was really well done. I loved the concept of Roland collecting his new companions on the way to the Dark Tower, and how he went about getting them all onto the beach with him (I just realized this review probably makes no sense if you haven’t read it. It’s such a weird concept.). I particularly liked the play between Roland and Eddie Dean, and although I liked the schizophrenic Odetta, sometimes her language got a little too much. Overall, though, I was entertained and I’m looking forward to seeing where the three head in the next book in the series.

Positives: Seeing Roland’s character grow into something a little more three-dimensional. There was also a lot of excellent dramatic tension. Also, the “lobstrocities,” which were some of the most terrifying creatures I’ve ever read about.

Negatives: Still a little slow and uneven. You can tell that King hasn’t yet perfected his storytelling technique.

Narration: I really loved George Guidall for the first book in this series, and I thought Frank Muller did almost-but-not-quite as well. Had I not heard Guidall, I would have given Muller all the praise.

Other books I’ve read by Stephen King:
11/22/63 (review) 
The Gunslinger (review)
On Writing (read before I started writing reviews)

Other blogger opinions:

Shelf Love: “One last thing I want to mention is that I found the suspense in this book to be almost unbearable at times.”

So Many Books, So Little Time: “It’s definitely weird and I swear Stephen King had to have been high when he wrote it, but the story is really good.”

For Love and Books: “This book was FAR better than it’s predecessor, and I had to rush out immediately upon finishing and purchase the entire series.”

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April 24, 2012

Book Review: #24 – Wonder by RJ Palacio (audio)

Wonder by RJ Palacio

Narrators: Diana Steele, Nick Podehl, Kate Rudd
Source: Sacramento Library
Finished: 4/17/12
Rating: 9 out of 10
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Length: 8 hours, 6 minutes
Pages: 320 (print version)
Published: 2012
Challenges: 2012 Audio Book Challenge

Synopsis (from the Book Description): August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He’s about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you’ve ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie’s just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he’s just like them, despite appearances?

Overall Impression: I heard about Wonder through an interview with the author on NPR. She wrote the book after she had an experience where her she didn’t respond as she would have hoped when she and her daughter saw someone with a facial deformity. The resulting book is just…wonderful. There is so much compassion and love wrapped up in Wonder. One of my favorite themes in all of literature is the underdog — and Auggie is the underdog of the best kind. While he’s not perfect, and he struggles quite a bit, he so utterly likeble and you want him to succeed SOBAD. This novel is incredibly touching, and had me crying on more than one occasion — both because of the cruelty shown toward Auggie, and the unexpected beautiful kindness. One of Auggie’s teachers quotes Dr. Wayne Dyer: “When given the choice between being right and being kind, choose kind.” Character after character learns this lesson throughout the book — and so does the reader.

The whole book was uplifting and very special. I highly recommend it.

Positives: What a great message — I want to share this with every kid and adult I know!

Negatives: I felt like sometimes the kids in the book seemed younger than ten…and then older than ten. And the ending was a little to Disney — things wrapped up a little too neatly for my taste.

Narration: I wished Wonder had just one or two narrators. Diana Steele did a great job with Auggie’s kid voice, but all of the other kids and adults had adult voices. So Auggie always seemed younger than everyone else. My recommendation is to pick up the paper novel instead of the audio book.

Other books I’ve read by RJ Palacio: none

Other books I’ve listened to narrated by Diana Steele, Nick Podehl, or Kate Rudd: Nick Podehl: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (review), The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss (review)

Other blogger opinions:

KellyVision: “I know it’s a total cliche, but this is the kind of book that changes lives and definitely the kind of book that turns me into a crazy person and start brandishing it at strangers, saying, ‘GUYS.  READ THIS.  READ THIS NOW.’”

Stephanie’s Written Word: “In writing Wonder it seems that Palacio was looking for a way to say I’m sorry to that little girl and I think that her words speak volumes.”

Posted in Books + Media | 4 Comments »

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April 21, 2012

Book Review: #23 – The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan (audio)

The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan

Narrator: Scott Brick
Source: Audible
Finished: 4/14/12
Rating: 4 out of 10
Publisher: Audio Evolution
Length: 8 hours, 54 minutes
Pages: 271 (print version)
Published: 2001
Challenges: 2012 Audio Book Challenge

Synopsis (from the Book Description): In The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan ingeniously demonstrates how people and domesticated plants have formed a similarly reciprocal relationship. He masterfully links four fundamental human desires—sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control—with the plants that satisfy them: the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato. In telling the stories of four familiar species, Pollan illustrates how the plants have evolved to satisfy humankind’s most basic yearnings.

Overall Impression: I think it’s interesting that a lot of the reviews I read said that Pollan didn’t really push too hard — but all I could think as I was listening was “agenda! agenda! agenda!” And thought it’s an agenda that I agree with, for the most part, I still thought The Botany of Desire was way too preachy. I think this might be, in part, to the narration. It was a combination of preachy plus pretentious narration that did this book in for me. There was something about the writing (and narration) that made it seem like Pollan thought he was better than everyone else and that he had this secret knowledge and we were just so darn lucky to be able to hear it, and now that we’ve heard it we can’t help but agree with everything.

Were the chapters interesting? Yes and no. Some of the stories and facts were very interesting — Johnny Appleseed, Tulipmania, the Irish Potato Famine. I guess I enjoyed the history. But when it came to the science, the botany, and the agenda behind them — I found myself bored and rolling my eyes and wishing the book was over. Also, somehow everything became sexy, even though I didn’t think it was needed — Dionysus and bacchanalia and all that. Meh.

Which is too bad — I really liked Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma and downright loved In Defense of Food. Perhaps this was just a miss for me from an author that usually connects.

Positives: Some interesting historical content and theories about how people and plants have co-evolved.

Negatives: Pretentious agenda. Is that a thing?

Narration: I’ve liked Scott Brick in the past, but this was far too exaggerated and sanctimonious for me.

Other books I’ve read by Michael Pollan: The Omnivore’s Dilemma (review), In Defense of Food (no review)

Other books I’ve listened to narrated by Scott Brick: The Invisible Man (review)

Other blogger opinions:

Adventures in Reading: “ One of the perfections of Pollan’s book is that he is not necessarily trying to prove anything.”

The Dogear Diary: “Not terribly scientific, but for someone like me who doesn’t know much about the natural history of plants, quite readable and very interesting.”

Devourer of Books: “He is also fantastic at showing the impact of plants, food, and the topics surrounding them on the lives of normal people, without getting ‘preachy.’”

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