What are you listening to now?

I've got Part 1 of Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin loaded on my iPod and am enjoying it very much!

That sounds good Storeetllr, I'm listening to Prestige right now on my iPod, also good - intriguing. I just finished listening to The Time Traveler's Wife which was WONDERFUL!! Two awesome narrators who really made the story come alive.

Hi, Katy ~ I've got Time Traveler's Wife on my list of TBLT (heh heh). Guess I'll have to move it up to the top of the list!

And also put Prestige on the list. I haven't read any of Priest's stuff yet, but it looks intereting.

I'm listening to Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens right now. I also have Three Men in a Boat by Jerome Jerome downloaded and ready to go.

In the past month, I've "read" two classics on audio ~ Pride And Prejudice and Of Mice and Men which I probably wouldn't have done had I tried reading them in book form. At least with those two classics, as with The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, I enjoyed the audio version immensely and think I'll be reading a lot more classics on audiobook in the coming year, esp. now that I've got an iPod. :)

Storeetllr, did you listen to the John Cleese version or the unabridged version by Ralph Cosham? I always try to listen to unabridged if I can, but I do love John Cleese and am sort of torn as to which one to get. I've read the book many times so I guess unabridged shouldn't be too critical, but would appreciate your opinion.

I also recommend Prestige as you mentioned, it's really good!

Aren't iPods wonderful?

I listened to the one performed by John Cleese, but I don't think it's abridged. Here's the link to the amazon.com page ~ http://www.amazon.com/Screwtape-Letters-John-Cleese/dp/B000J0QAYQ/sr=1-14/qid=11... ~ and the review says, in part: "This set of three audio CDs by author and scholar C.S. Lewis is read by English comedian John Cleese. This full-length version runs over 4 hours, including bonus track "Screwtape Proposes a Toast". Imported from the U.K., the set comes in a deluxe triple case with great artwork and will play in any ordinary CD player." I think this is the version I listened to, but I got it from the library so am not 100% sure.

I'm listening to The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. It's read by Patrick Tull, who is very good, but he also hits the sibilants pretty hard. I'm having trouble listening to it with earphones. Fortunately, most of my audiobook listening is through speakers (in the car or at home).

How appropriate to listen to a Tull narrated book as he recently died. : (

As I recall, other narrators join in and read other parts of the book, so it isn't Tull all the way through.

Thanks Storeetllr, I'm going to have to get the John Cleese version I think - I keep seeing it mentioned and recommended.

I finished listening to The Prestige (I think we're going to see the movie tonight) and it was very good - the ending was odd though - I thought. What did anybody else think?

I've spent the last two days trying to listen to American Gods by Neil Gaiman. YUCK! So many people on LT seem to really like Gaiman, I thought it would be good to stretch my wings and try something different. Too different for me I guess, I have not enjoyed it at all and won't be listening to the rest. And it's not the narrator, I like his voice, it's kind of quirky and interesting, it is definitely the story, I just don't care one iota for any of the characters, just can't warm up to Shadow or anybody.

So I've gone back to listening to Harry Potter again, just for the fun of it, Jim Dale is such a delight.

katylit, I also listened to The Prestige recently, and I enjoyed it -- mostly -- but it definitely is odd. I had the feeling at many junctures that the story was supposed to feel mysterious but that it actually just felt incomplete, and I thought (possibly incorrectly) that some of the period dialect sounded suspect.

I've read American Gods, and I enjoyed it, mostly, but the feeling I usually come away with after reading a Gaiman novel is that the things I like about it have been done elsewhere earlier better. (I recently discussed him with someone and the phrase "wildly derivative" emerged from multiple sources as a descriptor.)

Of course, I've sort of strayed off the ranch here in terms of audio....

In particular, I think that often people holding a Neil Gaiman novel should have it stealthily removed from their hands and replaced with a Lisa Goldstein book -- Dark Cities Underground, Strange Devices of the Sun and Moon, or Travellers in Magic.

Other better but not better-selling writers of modern urban fantasy/fabulism/etc. include James Blaylock (in particular, his "Christian" trilogy, Paper Grail, The Last Coin, and All the Bells on Earth) and maybe his buddy Tim Powers, particularly Last Call.

I'm listening to Bernard Cornwell's The Pale Horseman, the second in the series about the Viking invasion of England during the reign of Alfred the Great. It's not quite as riveting as the first (The Last Kingdom), but it's probably just that I'm not in the mood for it right now & can't get into it. I think it's the same reader, who's really good!

kukkurovaca, I haven't heard of Lisa Goldstein or James Blaylock, ahhh, yet more to add to my TBR list!

You've captured it well with The Prestige, mysterious, yet incomplete - perfectly put, just seemed to leave me wondering. I was very disappointed in the movie last night - TOTALLY different from the book. For once I wished I'd seen the movie BEFORE reading (listening to) the book!

Storeetllr, my Audible subscription allows me two books a month and I get to download new ones on the 25th. I've seen Bernard Cornwell's books at the bookstore and been intrigued, I think I'll see if The Last Kingdom is available at Audible and give it a try. I've read fantasy all summer and am trying to get into a different genre now. I love listening to some good old ghost stories around now too, Audible has some great ones.

I just finished listening to Ruth Rendell's End In Tears, and I'm afraid her writing is getting formulaic and rather boring. I can't really recommend it.

I agree, Gaiman should stick to comic books.

I am currently listening to Fast Food Nation, not a big fan so far, but we shall see.

Gave up (for the time being) on Pale Horseman ~ no sense in trying to force myself to finish an audio that I just don't feel like listening to when there are stacks & stacks of audios (not to mention books) lying around waiting for me to get to them! :) Anyway, just for relaxation, am listening to Curse of the Pharoah by Elizabeth Peters, which I read years ago. It's read by one of my favorite readers ~ Barbara Rosenblat ~ and so pleasant to listen to while I'm knitting on the train commute home in the evenings.

Finishing up with Truth and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code. Next audio will likely be Great Tales in English History - Part One. I got Part Two out of the library earlier this week, and really liked it so went back for its prequel.

Storeetllr, I find Barbara Rosenblat and Amelia Peabody to be like comfort food - I love listening to my Peters audio books again and again. Rosenblat is a delight.

I just downloaded The Professor and the Madman as well as the next Alexander McCall Smith, Blue Shoes and Happiness, so when I'm finished with Harry Potter I have some good listening to look forward to while knitting.

Just for interest sake, a womens group here in the Comox Valley started making knitted baby caps for Afghani babies to help them survive the cold. They're being called "Boomer Caps" in memory of one of our soldiers from Comox who died in Afghanistan in the summer. We're giving them to the military who are distributing them to the soldiers over there to give to families they meet. I'm not sure how much it helps, hopefully a little, and I love making the caps, listening to my audio books along the way.

I'm taking a children's literature course right now, and have really liked Bud, Not Buddy and Number the Stars. One of my all time favorites was The Historian -- very creepy.

Katy ~ What a great idea! Do you have a link you can share so I can maybe donate some of my knitted caps too? I'm also planning to start knitting scarves for the military in Iraq. Apparently, the military issues winter hats but not scarves. Of course, the scarves can't be brightly colored (think bulls-eye), but I just got some lovely wool yarn in muted colors that would probably work well.

I love to listen to books while knitting. It combines two of my favorite activities and makes the commute pass so quickly. Plus, I sometimes have difficulty reading a book in a moving vehicle. Audiobooks solve that problem nicely! :)

I wonder just how large a part of the audiobook market knitters are! It's certainly the main reason I consume them. Finishing a book and a pair of socks at the same time (especially while commuting, which for a lot of people is dead time) provide a great productivity rush.

mikitchenlady - I completely agree that The Historian was great. Hearing all of the appropriate parts done in proper British/French/Turkish/Bulgarian/Romanian/etc. accents really added something that I wouldn't have gotten off the printed page.

I'm currently listening to The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue. It's interesting, and good at evoking a feeling or a scene with only a few lines, but I'm reserving any overall judgement until I see how it plays out. What's kind of strange, though, is that one of the narrators (Jeff Woodman) is the same guy who narrated part of Everything is Illuminated. It's not that he doesn't do a good job, but it's just a little strange having the association between the two.

I think I'm probably different from most people in not having a favorite narrator that I seek out... I tend to associate readers so strongly with their stories/characters that hearing them read something different is really jarring. It happened this summer, when I listened to Julie of the Wolves and So You Want to Be A Wizard back to back - totally different main characters, totally different stories, same narrator - really threw me off.

Hi, Fyre ~ But if its a narrator like Barbara Rosenblat, who reads in the voice of the characters and the narrator/pov character, then its magic rather than jarring. For example, I listened to her read the Amelia Peabody mysteries and thought she must be British to the core. Then she read a romance set in America, and her voice was pure American including the different American accents (northern, southern, western, Californian, Valley girlish, northeastern) appropriate to the characters in the novel.

Storeetllr, THANK YOU! That's so wonderful :-D I really like your idea about the scarves for the soldiers too - something nice from home, that's great, and I'm sure will be so appreciated. The group that organized the Boomer Caps is the Western Canada Soroptimists and the link to their latest newsletter is: http://www.wcsoroptimist.org/docs/actionline2006sep.pdf

I hope you can open it okay. The story about Andrew is on page 15. (I tried the link after I posted the message and it doesn't seem to work. I'll try copying and pasting the article:

SLAIN MEDIC ENJOYED
HELPING AFGHAN CHILDREN
Andrea Sands & Elise Stolte, CanWest News Service;
Edmonton Journal -- Published: Sunday, August 13, 2006
EDMONTON -- Cpl. Andrew James Eykelenboom looked
forward to his return from Afghanistan in less than a month
to relax with family and meet his new baby nephew, Neil.
Eykelenboom's life was marked by kindness and a desire to
help children, say those who worked him. "Making the children
happy is the most rewarding thing about this tour," he
wrote in a letter home that was made public Saturday night
during a press conference at the Edmonton Garrison.
He included a photo of two Afghan sisters, one in tears and
holding a home-made doll. Sometime during his six-month
tour, the older girl brought her infant sister to Eykelenboom's
medical centre with second-degree burns on her hand. She
had touched a hot kettle.
Eykelenboom bound up her hand & gave her a doll that a
friend of his parents had sent along to Afghanistan. "She
instantly stopped crying and started sucking on the nose of
the doll," Andrew wrote to his Mom & Dad. "A special
thanks goes from her older sister to your friend for such a
wonderful gift."
"(Eykelenboom) was a loving, devoted and caring individual
and as a medic he exemplified that in the way he treated his
patients," Lt.-Col. Chris Lennox said. "(Eykelenboom) was a
soldier who served with distinction under difficult and trying
conditions. He will be greatly missed and much remembered
by everyone in his unit."

"Our club, SI Courtenay, has launched a Project in tribute to Andrew. On Saturday, President Maureen expressed her wish that an International Project be undertaken that reflected Andrew's concern for the oppression and poverty faced by the women and children he encountered in Afghanistan.
Soroptimists & family and friends are making 'Boomer Caps'
(Andrew's nickname in his ambulance unit was "Boomer") --
knit or crocheted caps for premature or underweight newborn infants in third world countries. A note in memory of Andrew will be attached.
Soroptimist International of Courtenay will be collecting the
caps on an ongoing basis for this project, with the first shipment going to Afghanistan by military transport to Andrew's field ambulance unit for distribution. There will be a basket of them at Andrew's funeral.
Earlier I thanked some of you individually and now have become overwhelmed. I will catch up later but want you to
know that I do appreciate your messages and welcome more.
Gratefully in S o r o p t i m i s t Friendship,
Margaret Wootton,
SI Courtenay,
Western Canada Region, SIA"

Our local yarn store is supporting the effort here in the Valley and you could probably mail them (if you want) to Jen at:

Uptown Yarns
#206-307 Fifth St
Courtenay, BC V9N 1J9
+1 (250) 338-1940
Owner: Jen Gladwin

I can give her a heads up when I go in to drop off some more caps. Thank you again!

I got hooked (pun unintended) on audio books and crocheting/knitting when I was working and had an hour long commute one way like some of you. It was a wonderful way to pass the time. Now I love spending the afternoon knitting, listening and sipping tea, bless the audio books! I bet, kukkurovaca, that the audiobook market is huge in the knitting (or crocheting, cross-stitching, or quilting) community!

Thanks for the info, Katy ~ I'm going to send it to everyone in our knitting club at work and maybe we'll decide to participate as a group. If not, I'm going to do a bit of knitting of premie caps with some leftover cotton yarn for babies.

Storeetllr - maybe it's because of the readers are using the same "voice" for the main characters.

But, I still think I'd have a problem, for example, listening to Jim Dale read anything but Harry Potter, even though he's so good at voices, because his "normal" reading voice is so associated with Harry in my mind.

Hi, Fyre ~ OK, I'm just going to have to listen to Jim Dale reading Harry Potter (Phoenix?) before I comment further on this subject.

One of the wonderful things about LT is all the new stuff I learn to expand my horizons! :)

Storeetllr! You're in for a treat listening to Jim Dale read Harry. I have a bit of a problem watching the movies because the actors don't have the voices that Jim Dale gives the characters! lol

Fyre, I loved Jim Dale's Christmas Carol too, he does an excellent job with it. He's a talented fellow.

Storeetllr - Any of the Harry Potter books read by Jim Dale are excellent; I think OotP gets singled out all the time because he had to do 159 (or something) different character voices, and that set a world record.

Of course, did the Guinness people go and listen to the book and determine if the voice for Random Witch #1 from chapter 2 and Random Witch #59 from Chapter 25 were really different? Probably not. :) But he does do an excellent job with all of the primary and secondary characters, making them almost instantly recognizeable just from his voice.

I just posted a note to Storeetllr personally before I read the whole list. Just a note of caution about the scarves, please check with your military contacts first before making them. It's possible the loose ends of a scarf could be considered hazardous (and it might be why the military doesn't issue them); you might consider those tube-like neck warmers instead. Sorry to pull the thread off topic again...

On an audio note, I have Nathaniel Philbrick's Mayflower here to listen to but haven't been able to get to it. 'Tis the season, so now's the time:-)

I'm listening to Phil Lesh read his book Searching for the Sound. Sorta far out, man.

I've finally started listening to The Mayflower and it is quite good (and very seasonal). It's read by Edward Herrmann who I first remember as playing FDR on some TV movies back in the 70's. He's doing a terrific job thus far; his voice is clear and expressive, providing a certain gravity when needed.

I had a long drive today and listened to The Professor and the Madman, narrated by Simon Jones (who also does the Bartimeus trilogy). It was so good. What an amazing story! Regretfully I was only able to get the abridged version, so now I want to buy the book and read the whole thing!

Oh, yes, Katy ~ I don't like abridged versions either. I mean, if a book's worth reading (or listening to, in the case of audios), then I want the full effect of the author's vision! :)

I've just started listening to audio books - it's one of the few pleasant side effects of a long commute. If you enjoy Jasper Fforde's books I recommend Something Rotten, read by Emily Gray.She has a beautiful voice herself and does a great job giving distinct voices to the characters.

I also just finished Neil Gaiman's Two Plays for Voices CD which was excellent. It's an ensemble reading, with sound effects, and may not be to everyone's taste, but I thought they were incredibly well done and the stories were chilling at times. I hope he plans to have more of his short stories read this way.

I just started Count Karlstein by Philip Pullman. It's a full cast audio - so far so good . . .

I've started listening to The Thirteenth Tale now and am completely captivated (not so much that I can't still drive to it, but enough to find me sitting in a parking lot waiting for a "good spot" to get out of the car). Both readers are excellent; Vanessa Redgrave reads for the part of Ms. Winter.

I'm juggling two audiobooks at present. At home, on cassettes, it's Mark Twain's The Innocents Abroad read by Michael Prichard. It's very funny, and I don't want it to end!
I'm not as enamoured of Walking Across Egypt by Clyde Edgerton, a NetLibrary download on my mp3 player. I like the protagonist, but the other major character has just appeared and I'm not all that keen on him.

I've only ever listened to one abridged book - as luck would have it, I found it tedious so glad I didn't get the full version of Annie Proulx's The Shipping News.

I haven't tried The Shipping News on audio, but I did read the paper version this summer and... you didn't miss much, I'm sure.

On Writing by Stephen King

Just started Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. So far so good!

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee read by Roses Prichard which I'm really enjoying except that it's a library cd and the 7th of nine discs is scratchy and keeps skipping over tracks. Argghh! I may have to get the book to finish it.

Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes, one of my favorite books.

I've finished The Thirteenth Tale which is a riveting story full of gothic & Victorian elements. The readers are both excellent and their voices really place the book in its setting and brings life to the two main characters. And to correct my earlier post, it is Lynn Redgrave, not Vanessa, that reads the part of Vida.

Now the choices are On Beauty or One Thousand White Women...decisions, decisions...

Am listening to Darwin's Radio for the second time. Greg Bear is one of my favorite scientific fictiona authors. I haven't read (or listened to) the sequel; Darwin's Children though. What's up with that?

I'm listening to How To Be Lost by Amanda Ward. I'm about halfway through and it's better now that a lot of the backstory has been cleared away. The plot is sort of like "The Lovely Bones" but from a survivor's point-of-view; by the way, I felt that book was probably better on audio than had I read it in print as the narrator "sounded okay" so it wasn't truly creepy. That having been said, this book's reader's voice is quite similart to that one's, although the names are different.

HeyJude! What's the word on Devil in the White City? Did you enjoy it? I've wanted to read it, but have found a million other things to read first.

Avaland, thanks for your short review of The Thirteenth Tale. I'm going to look for it on audio.

Seajack ~ I read The Lovely Bones in book form awhile ago and after reading your post think I'd like to hear it on audio now. I imagine an "okay"-sounding narrator would make the thing seem less macabre. ;) How to be Lost also sounds interesting. Let me know how it was when you've finished it.

I was listening to The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (which I was enjoying) but set it aside to finish listening to Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander series) I recently finished Last Days in Dogtown by Anita Diamant narrated by Kate Nelligen and enjoyed it very much.

sammimag, don't worry about setting aside The History of Loveand picking it up again...it will still be fabulous. I did the same thing but only because Hurricane Katrina hit in the middle of my listening to it. It was probably a month or more before I got back to it (and I did have to backtrack a little when I restarted).

Listing to One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus. So far, so good. The very American reader took some getting used to after the very British readers of The Thirteenth Tale.

So, when do you all listen to your audios? At home, work or in the car? For me, it's almost exclusively in the car. I had a long commute to work up until last Wednesday. I suppose now I could choose to go to a grocery store in another town or just keep driving around the cul-de-sac OR sit in the car in the driveway (with the window cracked, of course).

Hi, Ava ~ I listen to audiobooks on my iPod now, which I carry with me in my little go-everywhere purse, so I pretty much can listen wherever I am. I loaded it up with a whole bunch of different kinds of books so I can pick and choose, depending on how I feel and what I'm doing. For instance, I've got Team of Rivals, Angel's Fall by Nora Roberts, The Iliad, When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro, Jonathan Strange, The Historian, and Pride and Prejudice, among many others. I listen on the train commute, when I'm doing boring, rote stuff at work that doesn't need concentration, when I'm walking, when I'm doing housecleaning chores, when I'm shopping. (I HATE to shop, I'm sure I'm one of the few women alive who feel that way, but there it is.) I absolutely love my iPod!

I have to say having an ipod makes audio books tons more fun. Now I don't have to sit in my running car to finish a good part of a book. I can just take the book with me. Have been catching up on missed reading while commuting. Really suggest life of Pi. I listened to Marie Antoinette. I was not impressed with the book but liked the narrator Donna Peters. I love listening to any of the Steph Plum Books by Janet Evanovich. I also just listened to The Highest Tide and really enjoyed the story. Also The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night.

Oh, yes, I read The Curious Incident of the Dog on audio too and absolutely loved it. I heard from some that you HAD to read it in book form because some of the things in the book were not able to be translated into speech, and I'll probably go back and do that someday, but I thought the narrator did a really good job on it.

If you liked "Curious Incident ..." try Motherless Brooklyn on audio. Better than print as the main character has Tourette's Syndrome!

I am glad to know I am not the only women wandering around shopping with white ear buds.

Seconded about the audio version of Motherless Brooklyn - if you get the Frank Muller version from Recorded Books that is...he is almost unrecognizable and handled the tics and manic flow of words perfectly.

I was referring to Frank Muiller's version. One of the best performances I've run across and I've heard a lot of books!
I didn't feel I was missing much in listening to the Curious Incident vs. reading the print version.

I was referring to Frank Muller's version. One of the best performances I've run across and I've heard a lot of books!
I didn't feel I was missing much in listening to the Curious Incident vs. reading the print version.

I listen to books in the living room while I crochet instead of watching TV :) This way I can keep up with my two favorite past times: books and hooks;)

I've started History of Love again and I'm enjoying it. I also like listening to the Stephanie plum books. She is such a hoot.

I didn't listen to One thousand White Women but enjoyed reading the book.

Well, I'm six discs into One Thousand White Women and it's a reasonably entertaining story but feels really light to me. It might be the reader, I'm not sure. I find myself getting impatient with it. Perhaps the oral reading of the story drags it out and reading it might've been better...

I'm not of the ipod culture yet but I did just download my first podcast. It was The Book Show on the Australian Broadcasting Corp. Now, if I could just find time to listen to them...

ok, it looks like I'm probably not going to finish One Thousand White Women. On to something else...

I just remembered another novel that I absolutely loved on audio: The Egyptologist by Arthur Phillips.

For those of you with audible subscriptions ... help!

I'm not having technical trouble, but I'm 5/6th of the way through Microthrills by Wendy Spero. She is so very eccentric that I'm not sure what to think? Obviously very, very bright and incredibly observant (the 6 hrs will not "fly by" by any means!), but also coming off as intensely self-absorbed to the point of narcissisism. I highly recommend the book as an audio choice - worth it alone for her portayal of her mother. I get the feeling reading the print version would be a completely different experience. I know people (including myself at times) say that, but this book may the one to date where the voice matters so much.

storeetllr, can i ask where you got team of rivals? I look on amazon and it seems they only have the abriged, on itunes - the unabridged version is $70. i have been wanting to 'read' it for quite some time now

thanks

My public library has two options for "Team of Rivals" on unabridged audio: a 42-hour (yes FORTY TWO hours) 581 Mb NetLibrary book for direct download, or a set of 36 CD's. It would be slightly tedious, but I'd rip the CD's in that case. If your library does not have it, and has no plans to purchase it, I believe you can rent the CD set directly from Recorded Books.

Hi, Tullir ~ Seajack's done his homework! I got the CDs from my library (L.A. City Public Library). There were 36 CDs contained in two volumes, each volume of which I had to reserve separately, and then I downloaded them to iTunes and thence to my iPod.

Thanks for the info seajack and storeetllr, I also wanted to know how you guys deal
When you put your books on the ipod from cd's - the ipod does not do that 'bookmarking' feature that I love so much - when you pause your audiobook and go listen to music for a bit then come back to your book and it picks up right where it left off- compared to the cd's where it starts from the beginning when you go back to it.

You would think it would see that it is an audio file of 6 hours and that it must be a audiobook, i guess its a good thing that those things don't have a brain....yet

I don't own an ipod. My two players are a Cowon i5 (no longer avail but same as G3 model basically) and Creative Zen Nano Plus - each are 1Gb, running on a AAA battery (the G3 itself is AA). The Cowon can insert a genuine, retreiveable bookmark, so one can go off and do other things and come back to that spot; it does not play Audible books at all, and the timer counter/resume feature on NetLibrary books doesn't work. The ZNP has no bookmarking, but plays Audible and NetLibrary books just fine. Both play OverDrive books, and ripped CD's equally well,but the Cowon has an edge there as it's much easier to navigate between files with that one.
Bottom line for you is that with ripped books on an iPod I guess you'd need to listen to music between 70-minute CD's? If you'd like the ability to switch to FM radio, or music files, during a book, the G3 would be perfect for you as a second player; the G3 comes with Cowon software that allows you to rip each CD as a single track, rather than 20+ little files, so that "Team of Rivals" would be 36 CD-length files rather than 700+ 3-minute ones. Again, drawback is that it does not handle .wma files over 2 hours well. I don't know your listening patterns, but the ZNP is a cheaper, more easily obtained secondary player (so light I've forgotten I had it in my pocket at times!) if you'd work better with say a ripped book on that one, and using your iPod for everything else?

I started listening to On Beauty on a trip to Maine this week and am really enjoying it. The reader has a wonderful grasp of various accents: British, Caribbean, various American... Of course, the story is fabulous also.

>69 tullir:

tullir - since you're using an iPod, I'm assuming you're also using iTunes, which means you ARE able to make it bookmarkable. When you've got a track in iTunes, under Get Info>Options, there should be an option that says "Remember Playback Position" which will do exactly that... you can go and play something else and it will return you to the spot you left off when you play that track again.

In general, though, long tracks (anything over 10 min.) are very bad for your iPod because of the way the file architechture's set up - they suck battery life and wear out your hard drive mechanism before its time. Unfortunately, I didn't learn this until after my iPod had already kicked the bucket.

I'm 4 hrs of the way through a 31-hour Audible download of Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens. Can't say as I'm "hooked" yet, but interested enough to continue without feeling compelled to do so.
I have Audible's 9-hour autobio by Ellen Burstyn (narrated by the author) Lessons in Becoming Myself loaded on my player, and might switch to that at Dickens' halfway point if the going gets tough.

Glad to see this group. I do a lot of driving, so I've started to listen to books to make good use of the time. Usually they're books I won't get to in written form. Recent listens have been The Da Vinci Code (glad I didn't waist my time on the book), To Kill a Mockingbird (Looking forward to renting the movie), and currently listening to The Hobbit. I listened to this one before, but couldn't get into it. Now that I've seen the Lord of the Rings movies, I can visualize what's going on.

Welcome, Josie!

I haven't read "The DaVinci Code" - nor do I wish to. However, I did listen to Bart Ehrman's Truth and Fiction in the DaVinci Code recently; Ehrman summarized enough of the Code's plot to follow his refutations. Another audiobook you might like is Jaroslav Pelikan's Whose Bible is it? : a history of the Scriptures through the ages.

I'm listening to In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson. I loved his A Short History of Nearly Everything, so I thought I'd give his audiobook on Australia a shot.

I'm pretty new to the world of audiobooks. I've just started listening to Lemony Snicket's The Reptile Room.

Seajack, Thanks for the reccomendation. Sounds like a good book. Yeah, the only reason why I bothered with The Da Vinci Code was because someone had given me a small book named The Da Vinci Code and the Secrets of the Temple. I wanted to read the original first. The good thing was that I had just read Foxe's Book of Martyrs, so the three books together had some good (and not so good) church history. I think I heard that Jaroslav Pelikan passed away this year.

I'm listening to the first Artemis Fowl, am almost finished it and will soon be starting A Slight Trick of the Mind.

Fowl has been delightful - I'm hooked and will probably get the rest of the series now :-)

Happy New Year!

Nature Girl by Carl Hiassen.

In a discussion a few months ago someone had mentioned that they were listening to Artemis Fowl. My 10 year old loves the Artemis Fowl series so, for our 14 hour drive to Ohio for Christmas, I downloaded Artemis Fowl from Audible. We listened to it on the car stereo using my ipod and an fm transmitter. It was great! Really helped pass the time and I enjoyed the story as much as my son I think. I also downloaded The House at Pooh Corner for my 5 and 3 year old. That turned out to be a good choice because each chapter is a complete story and just about the right length for their attention spans. I'm a big fan of Winnie the Pooh so I enjoyed it too but my husband couldn't stand the narrator's snorts after everything piglet said.
I'll definitely be using audiobooks for future roadtrips.

Happy New Year and may 2007 be filled with blessings and lots of great reading experiences!

I'm listening to Nora Roberts' Angels Fall now. I'm only about a third into it, and it's okay but not the best of hers (so far). I do like the main female character and some of the supporting characters and am hoping the main male character gains a bit of likeability soon. :)

Listening to David Copperfield by Dickens. Finally I am enjoying the book. Only took the first five hours. Required reading for a lit class. Also have to find Mrs. Dalloway. Tried to read it and am having a really hard time knowing who is speaking so I am hoping having the book narriated will make it easier. My next personal non school listen will be Next by Michael Crichton.

As per my post #73 above, I have paused midway through Dickens' (31-hour!) "Our Mutual Friend", but instead of Ellen Burstyn's autobio, I decided to go with Heir to the Glimmering World by Cynthia Ozick. Never read anything by her, and am impressed by her writing so far.

OK, I have to get this off my chest. I borrowed a tape set from the library...and it broke! I'm afraid to take it back for fear they are going to make me pay them for it. Books on tape are not cheap. I don't want to lie and say it was already like that. It got caught up in my tape player. Has anyone had this happen?

All the time, Josie!

It can be a tedious job, but you unscrew the cassette using a small (eyeglass-repair) screwdriver, do a splice job with scotch tape, and re-screw the cassette housing.

Good luck!

Sometimes they can get replacement tapes depending on where the book came from. They may only charge a replacement cost for that one tape and it might be something like $7. Also, they may take into consideration how long the item has been in circulation and how may times it has checked out and not charge at all. The only way to know for sure is to take it back and find out. Let us know what happens.

Yes, I had a tape player chew up a tape so badly (it got permanently stuck in the tape player) that I had to throw away the tape deck!

I am almost positive that Books on Tape, for example, will gladly just send that one new necessary tape to a public library when this happens. I think you will be surprised at the reasonableness of the charge. In my case, I immediately fessed up. The library was very gracious about it (I honestly can't remember whether they even charged me).

When in doubt, honesty is the best policy. Good luck!

I have had it happen also that a cassette will be so worn that the resulting sound is un-listen-to-able. You tell the clerk which one when you hand it back, and the library obtains a replacement one from the vendor (I am assuming that service is included in library purchases - one time I had to replace a tape on a book I'd rented as a retail customer for a flat $5 including postage).

Books on Tape and Recorded Books are very good at sending out replacement tapes. It usually does cost the library but I guess whether the cost is passed on to the patron or not is determined on how well the library is funded.

Our local public library actually had somone on staff in the AV department who would repair, not only the library's broken cassettes, etc., but for a nominal fee (the last time I needed help it was $2) would do the same for the patrons' cassettes.

Wow, thanks for all the encouragement and advice! It's good to know I'm not the only one who's had this happen. You guys were right on. Each branch of the library decides whether or not to charge, based on everything you've said (the publisher, the age of the set, etc.) The tape set looks new, so I'm sure they won't write it off. I went to our main library branch and asked about it, and decided to take it back to the small branch near my home that I got it from and speak to them face to face. I got on the Recorded Books website and found out that the whole set, the exact copy, only costs $30.00. This was a big relief. I can handle that. I also called and asked them if they sold replacement tapes. They don't, but like honey_bee (#91) said, maybe they have an arangement with libraries and will sell one to them. Either way, $30 won't be too bad. I'm going to bring it down later this week. Then, I'm switching to CD's. Stensvaag (#89), thanks for the honesty suggestion. I agree. Thanks again all of you for your help. I'll let you know how it turns out. You're the best!

For Sale: One audio version of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" with only a few words missing.

Josie:

These things happen, and it's not as though it were a book you'd ruined by dropping in the bathtub or something. You didn't break it; it broke. I would be as certain as I can be that at most you'll be liable for a cassette replacement. If they don't want to charge you, and you still feel bad about it, donate a few bucks to the Library Fund.
Unfortunately, much of the pre-CD era stuff is *only* available on cassettes!

Seajack

I'm listening to The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama and The Collectors by David Baldacci - They are both good (unabridged) and I like listening to Obama...He has a soothing voice for the listener.

Just finished Angels Fall by Nora Roberts. It's one of her better stand-alone thriller romances. I liked the reader after the first disk or two. :)

Read Ellen Burstyn's autobiography Lessons in Becoming Myself. Disclaimer that she's a Hollywood star with a New Age perspective (which I actually appreciated), but she's lead an interesting, difficult life to get where she is today.

Now I'm back to the second half of "Our Mutual Friend" - it's moving s-l-o-w-l-y, but I'm genuinely interested in the fate of many of the characters.

ChieuyBananas, there's a Library of Congress webcast on The Collectors by David Baldacci available at their site:

http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=3934

The webcast is a 63-minute streaming video of Baldacci speaking about The Collectors at the LOC's Books & Beyond series. Part of the webcast is just Baldacci speaking about the experience of being a writer with some funny stories about interactions with his kids and with his reading public. He also talks about The Collectors and at the end of the webcast he answers questions from the audience.

You might enjoy watching/listening to the webcast along with your audiobook listen.

Drove to New Orleans a few days ago and listened to Prisoners of War by Steve Yarborough set in the MS delta.

Started Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear last night (OverDrive download from the library). So far, so good, but ... I'm a bit concerned, however, that there are three different narrators for the first three books (#3 does #4 also).

Picked up Artemis Fowl on audiobook from the library tonight and can't wait to load it on my iPod so I can start listening to it. It's read by Nathaniel Parker. Anybody know that name or, more pertinent to the matter, that voice? ;)

#101, Storeetllr - I just finished listening to Artemis Fowl by Nathaniel Parker - what a delight!! Such fun - I really think you'll enjoy it. I'd never read any of the books and I'm looking forward to getting the other 3 (I think there's 3 more in the series).

I believe that Nathaniel Parker is a British actor. If he's the guy I'm picturing, he stars in the Inspector Lynley series by Elizabeth George. They're very well done - I love British mysteries - and...well...he's not tooo hard on the eyes either ;-)

check out http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0662511/

Oh, Katy, yes, I see what you mean. Very nice indeed! ;~b

Well, that does it, I'm loading Artemis Fowl on my iPod tonight!

We listened to Artemis Fowl in the car during a 14 hour drive to Ohio at Christmas and it was great. I thought Nathaniel Parker was fantastic. I couldn't believe how easily he switched back and forth between 4 or 5 different accents. He's as easy on the ears as he is on the eyes!

Finished Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear yesterday (Over Drive library download); this one is the first of the Maisie series (there are currently four books). The "mystery" itself in this one isn't really riveting, but a plot device to work in the protagonist's background information. Well-written enough that I'm looking forward to the next installment.
After that, I began an Audible purchase: Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War by Michael Isikoff and David Corn. They devote quite a bit to the story of Valerie (Plame) Wilson and her husband, but as Scooter Libby's trial is underway these days, couldn't be more relevant.

Finished On Beauty finally, have started Middlesex.

Started listening to Anderson Cooper today Dispatches from the Edge...love his voice.

An hour or so into Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. "Lovely Bones"-ish, in the sense of brutal murder/disfigurement of young girls. Not sure I would be sticking with the print book, but the narrator, Ann Marie Lee, does an outstanding job of making the reader care about protagonist's mission.

Finished Skinny Dip by Carl Hiassen in the car; started I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This by Bob Newhart.

Have Undead and Unwed by MaryJanice Davidson on the Zen.

I hate the idea of audio books, but I recently downloaded John Hodgman's book The Areas of My Expertise because it was free on iTunes. It's read by John Hodgman himself, so it doesn't sound silly like other audio books, and is absolutely hilarious.

I've been listening to The Hungry Tide, by Amitav Ghosh, and really enjoying it. I have about 3 hours to go.

In addition to Middlesex loaded in the car, I have loaded The View from Castle Rock by Alice Munro into my new ipod. Eventually, I'll get the fm tuner do-dad, but I can only handle a certain amount of new technology at once:-)

I loved The Hungry Tide, have you passed the big climatic scene? (I'm being careful not to include spoilers)

Started I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe. So far I really like it...the reader is great...a little daunting to think it is 31 hours.

Finished I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This by Bob Newhart - he did the narration and it was just like seeing him on stage or TV. Unfortunately it was an abridgement (only 3 CDs) but still a fun listen.

Have started Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris in the car.

Hoping to start Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder on the Zen. Maybe while sorting tax papers, ho hum....

Well, I'm almost finished with Team of Rivals, which, if you'll believe it, was what I was listening to at the start of this thread back in October! It's taken me awhile, but I'm so glad I stuck with it. It's one of the best books I've ever read, including fiction! Detailed without getting bogged down in irrelevent minutia, as riveting as any political thriller novel in parts, and including emotions without being maudlin or melodramatic, it's widened my understanding of that era and made me appreciate Lincoln even more than I did before. I've heard that much of the facts can be found in other histories, but I like the way Goodwin gathered all the strands together into a coherent and comprehensive whole. Anyway, it was about 36 disks, and I'm on 33 now, so I expect to be finished with it by tomorrow evening. Then I'm going to wait a day or two to let the experience settle before moving to something completely different ~ Twillight, a YA paranormal by Stephenie Meyer.

(Edited to try and get "Twilight" to touchstone.)

I'm listening to Mary, Queen of Scotland and the Isles and enjoying it. It's very long too - about 42.6 hours! So it's going to last me a long time :-)

I finished The Hungry Tide, by Amitav Ghosh, which was very good. I wasn't too fond of the very end, and I thought the last line in particular was a clunker. All in all, though, a great story and very well read.

Now I'm starting The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss. I read her Man Walks into a Room a year or so ago, and really enjoyed it, and also listened to Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by her husband Jonathan Safran Foer a while back. I've heard there are some interesting parallels between the two books (her husband's and hers).

Just finished A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. I listened to it on the Playaway edition, narrated by the author. Playaways are definitely an exciting new format, one that works well for walkers!

About to start The Shadow in the North by Philip Pullman, the second book of his Sally Lockhart trilogy. Snagged these as mp3 downloads (Over Drive) from the library. They're very well-suited for audio - almost like radio plays.

I'm listening to "How the Irish saved Civilization" on audio CD. It is an intersting historical piece.

Finishing up Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin.
Just over halfway through Hillinger's California : stories from all 58 counties by Charles Hillinger.

Am listening to The Egyptologist from Recorded Books. It's another multi-narrator creation which, in this case, works well. I love Simon Prebble. British to the core.

#122: Bookmarque ~ I agree with you 100%! The Egyptologist got mixed reviews, but I found it fascinating, a 5 out of 5 star novel, perhaps in part because I listened to it on audio too.

Still working on Hillinger (see #121), but finished Elsewhere. Also listening to the second book in Jacqueline Winspear's series featuring Maisie Dobbs: Birds of a Feather.

I just started Hide by Lisa Gardner and am intrigued so far. I just finished The Face by Dean Koontz and it was brutal. I wanted to know what happened, but wanted to skip the 200 pages of extra description he adds. Is that just Koontz's style?

Alana

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I recently finished listening to Team of Rivals (finally!), which was absolutely spellbinding (I cried pretty much through the last half of the last CD), and then listened to something a bit lighter ~ Artemis Fowl, which started out slow but which eventually I couldn't turn off.

Now am trying to decide between Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, more light fare, or When We Were Orphans by Ishiguro, which is no doubt a bit meatier.

Dang! I love my iPod!!! :)

I decided to take a break after Part 1 of Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, pray, love : one woman's search for everything across Italy, India and Indonesia and listen to the third part of Philip Pullman's Sally Lockhart trilogy The Tiger in the Well before re-joining Ms. Gilbert at her ashram in India.

Finally put enough road time in to finish Definitely Dead which I enjoyed immensely and started Treasure of Khan (Clive Cussler). Many CDs so it will take a while unless I find excuses to go shopping on the other side of town or visit out of town friends.

Loving Rise and Shine by Anna Quinlan excellent reader.

Have just begun The Hippopotamus by Stephen Fry and read by Stephen Fry. I love the narration, but so far am not enamoured of the character. He's funny, but in a grating kind of way.

When my family travels, we'll usually "rent" something at Cracker Barrell. And that led me to a buy biograpghy on Benjamin Franklin that I listened to at work.

Now, I use Audible for most of my books. I just finished the Ender part of the Ender's Game series. I had read the first book and then the Ender's Shadow part of the series about four years ago. I'm a big fan of Orson Scott Card.

Right now, I've got Snow waiting for me, but I'm considering The Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan as my next BIG read.

I just started using LT this past week and am happy to find some audiophiles!

>131 nikkifikes: - The Wheel of Time were the first books that I listened to on audiobook that I hadn't read already, and they're quite good - dead long, but the readers do a very nice job.

The only problem is that since clues and hints tend to come books apart, oftentimes I'd forget this first part of it by the time I listened to the second part.

I've been listening to Gossamer by Lois Lowry just before bed. It's a short sweet story about dreams and the creatures that bestow dreams, and the reader has a very soothing voice. Too soothing! I end up falling asleep after only a few minutes every night.

I'm listening to Ender's Game. It's been recommended so many times on LT I decided to get it from Audible. It's incredible! My hands are so sore 'cause I knit all day yesterday while listening to it, the time just flew by and I was so wrapped up in the story I couldn't stop it. Now I want to read it and all the other Ender books - wow!

katylit, LOL. I wouldn't be able to concentrate on knitting but I went for a walk yesterday so I could finish Gossamer. Legs are tired today :o)

I read the Ender's Saga eaons ago and really enjoyed them. They slowed down a little in the last couple of books but were still interesting reads. Ender's Game reminded me a little of Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Both books I had to keep reminding myself that these characters were young children. It's amazing to think what children could be capable of in a given situation.

Just finished Hide and it was excellent!! If you are a fan of suspense, check it out.

I just started the audio of The Killing Hour by Lisa Gardner. I don't like the reader as much as in Hide, but it will do.

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#135 sandragon - do you really think children could be capable of the things they do in Ender's Game? That's a scary thought isn't it? Do you think it's partly instinctive (like in Lord of the Flies, survival of the fittest) or has it been trained/bred into them?

One of the things I found so compelling, near the beginning of the book was when the "principal" of the school discussed Ender coming with him and he said it was so important for humanity to win against the buggers. I found that so ironic as it seems to me that the children lose their humanity by training to fight the buggers. I do have to keep reminding myself that Ender is really young, but that's he's intellectually superior - way above the average child his age. That's a good comparison, with Lord of the Flies. I guess I'll have to re-read it now.

Ender's Game is just amazing. (I'm taking a break from knitting today) ;-) I truly love LT - I've read so many new books I'd never have heard of or considered before.

I like Lois Lowry - I haven't read anything of hers in over 20 years. Gossamer sounds like a good one to check out.

#137 katylit,
I think children are very capable of doing what they think they need to do to survive. There was a very long answer I was going to compose and type but I'm not being very articulate today. Short answer is, I look at some of the kids/gangs out on their own in the streets today, with no caring parental role models, and I can see in them the characters from Ender's Game and Lord of the Flies.

Gossamer is only the second Lowry book I've read. I 'discovered' her only a few months ago (on LT of course) and I'll definitely be reading more from her.

*sigh*, you're probably completely right sandragon. It just makes me so sad to think of children being denied their childhood I guess. Which is probably one of the points Orson Scott Card is trying to make.

Sometimes I think I'm just too naive and head-in-the-sand-ish. I know my 20-something daughters often despair of me ever entering the "real" world ;-)

I was just as naive katy, until I started working in the accounting office of an organization that tries to help those kids. So, although I don't work with them directly, I hear about it. The first time it really hit me that homeless does not pertain only to adults I nearly cried.

Anyways, I've just started (last night) listening to The Order of the Phoenix read by Jim Dale. It's a long one. I hope I can finish both this and The Half Blood Prince in time for the 7th book to come out.

Right now I'm listening to "The Mermaid Chair" by Sue Monk Kidd. Last night I finished (with a sigh of relief) "Bee Season." The last thing I really loved was "Trickster's Choice" by Tamora Pierce. I've got Trickster's Queen queued up and ready, but I'm going to listen to some things I've had around for awhile before I listen.

Finally finished Middlesex, a spectacular novel and audio production! Next up is The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

Finished Artemis Fowl last week, which I really enjoyed a lot and am looking forward to listening to the rest of the series now. Started Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, which I find I am enjoying now that I'm past the beginning, which seemed a bit slow to me.

I'm finishing up Margaret Maron's "Winter's Child". The reader, C. J. Critt, uses her Stephanie Plum and Joe Morelli voices for the protagonists here: Deborah Knott and Dwight Bryant.

I also started The Mermaid Chair this week and so far it is just what I needed.

I'm listening to Harry Potter right now. It is time to begin the series in time for the last book.

I just finished an Erica James, whom I love! The last one I listened to was Love and Devotion, but also liked Gardens of Delight, Hidden Talents and Airs and Graces. Ms. James writes great books!

Tried listening to Devil in the White City, but gave up after a couple of hours. I just couldn't get any interest going.

Recently began The painted Veil by Somerset Maugham. Promises to be pretty good.

Just started Valley of Bones by Michael Gruber but it's too early to tell yet if it's good or not. Before that was The Watchman by Robert Crais and The Man in the Middle by Brian Haig. Both were excellent by a couple of my more favorite authors.

I started listening to The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood yesterday - so far, so good!

I'm about 1/3 of the way through Lisey's Story by Stephen King. I've heard it's not really horror like his other books, and so far it's more suspenseful than horrific, but it's still making me pretty jumpy.

About 2/3 of the way through The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton.

Another Harry Potter. But I listened to Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier not too long ago and loved it. The book is dark, but the reader had the perfect voice!

I recall listening to Jamaica Inn read by the actor Trevor Eve years ago, and liking it very much.

Hey, if anyone was around when I asked the group what to do if a library audio book breaks, I have an update. First, thanks SO MUCH for your advice and support. I found out that if I needed to purchase the set, it would have been around $35.00, so I wasn't too worried. But, I started a college course and haven't had the time to take it there and deal with it. Until...Amnesty Week! What a glorious thing! Last week, I brought the set in (made the time) and they accepted it, wiped out any other late fines I had, and wished me well. So thanks for supporting a fellow librarythinger.

today I started Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld.

I recently started Black Swan Green by David Mitchell. I like Mitchell's writing style and am enjoying this book very much so far. I have to listen carefully, though, because I am hard of hearing and the narrator has an adorable British accent! :-)

Partway through Cut by Patricia McCormick. Story of a teen girl in an institution for cutting herself; she refuses to speak. Narrated by Clea Lewis (Audrey from the Ellen TV series), who does a great job.
For fiction dealing with that subject, I very highly recommend listening to: Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn.

Small Town by Lawrence Block as read by George Guidell. So far he's managed to make the mundane interesting.

The Gulag Achipelago, Volume 1., the Prison Industry, Perpetual Motion, an unabridged audio download from Audible.com.

Finished listening to The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood on my way to work this morning, and started listening to The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas on the way home. :)

Just finished Fever Dream by George R.R. Martin. A little slow to start but worth it. An interesting twist on Vampires.

Now reading The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerritsen and so far it's a page turner.

Finishing up Goodbye to a River by John Graves (downloaded from Audible) - story of a late 50's canoe trip down the upper Brazos, before several (then-slated) dams would change the region's landscape. Narration couldn't be a better fit for the author's excellent writing skills.

Finished the Road by Cormac McCarthy. The reader was great for the most part, but if I had to hear him say "I'm sorry" to the boy one more time... While the prose is delightfully spare and artful, I found the book overall a bit overhyped.

Leaving tomorrow for NY with an unabridged copy of To Kill a Mockingbird in my car and have picked up The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories to listen to on the way to Maine next weekend. The View from Castle Rock remains languishing on the computer and ipod. I will finish it eventually!

Downloaded How I Paid for College by Marc Acito from the library. Jeff Woodman's narration fits quite well, with an interesting mix of characters.

I'm 3/4 of the way through To Kill a Mockingbird which is read wonderfully by Sissy Spacek. It's amazing what I don't remember from my reading of it so long ago.

I didn't care much for The Ladies of Grace Adieu. I only listened to the first story. I haven't read Jonathan Strange yet either...

I'm listening to The Lake House. The jury is still out for me. So far it is kind of tedious and irritating, but interesting too. We'll see.

I'm almost finished my audio book of The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas so it's time to choose another ready for tomorrow...

I think I'll go with Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

Started The Restless Sleep by Stacy Horn - story of the NYPD's cold case squad. Interesting story with good narration.

I started A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith today.

Does anyone ever have a physical copy of the book in front of them when listening to an audiobook? I've done that for part of Krakatoa , and I'm finding it interesting to see the subtle differences the narrator chooses from the actual text edition I have, especially since Simon Winchester narrates it himself.

#170 ~ Never read & listened concurrently, but it sounds like fun. I considered reading hard copies of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, The Book Thief, and Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time after having listened to them on audio, but maybe I'll try doing both at once.

I don't read and listen at the same time, but with most of my audio books I've already read the book too. And if I haven't and I really enjoy the audio version - then I go out and get the book, like with The Time Traveler's Wife. I find there's times when I want to go back and read a favourite section over, or refresh my memory of something that happened elsewhere in the book, and that's just easier with a hard copy, then rewinding and trying to find it in audio.

bettyjo, I really enjoyed A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I'd read it years ago and it was lovely to listen to it, very well done too I thought.

The Tiger in the Grass by Harriet Doerr - can't say as I'm wild about it, but it's well-written,fairly short (just under 6 hours), and read by the incomparable Barbara Rosenblatt.

Update: Abandoned the effort halfway through.

Tried to listen to Dean Koontz's Life Expectancy but couldn't get into it and didn't like the reader. So put that aside after about 15 minutes.

Last night I started So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish by Douglas Adams read by Martin Freeman. Much more to my liking! I've listened to only about 25 minutes and not much has happened yet, but the British reader has a very soothing voice. Easy on the ears.

Simple Genius by David Baldacci, on my ipod. Interesting characters, good suspense.

Have just finished Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, read by the wonderful Michael York. Unfortunately, he was the only good thing about it - I was very disappointed. Didn't enjoy it at all.

I think I'll move onto Fanny Hillby John Cleland next...

I finished Lisey's Story by Stephen King today. Mare Winningham was the reader, and I thought she did a nice job of it, although I was really hoping the book would be better than it was. I wasn't terribly fond of Lisey, and even her story, when you finally got to it, wasn't about her. Not a bad book, mind you--just not a very good one.

I started How to Be Good by Nick Hornby today. So far I'm engaged.

katylit...you are so correct...the reader is telling a wonderful story in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn...don't know why I waited so long on this one.

Juggling two at the moment ...

Almost finished with Julie and Julia : 365 days, 524 recipes, 1 tiny apartment kitchen by Julie Powell, story of the author's year of making every single recipe in Julia Child's classic: Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Funny, and recommended, but I probably shouldn't have started it so soon after reading Jen Lancaster's books.

Also doing a collection of African-American short stories set in Washington, DC: Lost in the City: stories by Edward P. Jones.

#178, bettyjo, it's just very pleasant to enjoy an audio book that's well read isn't it? I'm glad you're enjoying it as much as I did. I just finished listening to The Time Traveler's Wife again - I LOVE Henry's voice!

I'm listening to Water for Elephants now, so far so good.

Finished To Kill a Mockingbird, an exceptional production! I'm on to the Ladies of Grace Adieu but having a bit of trouble getting into it, I need a long drive...

Hi, Avaland ~ I tried reading The Ladies of Grace Adieu but just couldn't seem to get into it. Then, because I really really enjoyed Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell on audiobook, I tried listening to Grace Adieu. Same problem. Maybe I was just in a mood for something else, or maybe it's because I don't usually like short stories as much as novels.

Anyway, after you've finished it, I'd love your opinion as to whether you think it's worth trying again.

Started No! I Don't Want to Join a Book Club by Virginia Ironside (Audible download) read by Sian Phillips (actress who played Livia on the television production of I, Claudius).
Book has been described as a sort of "senior" Bridget Jones Diary; accurate enough to me.

The Time Traveler's Wife on audio is GREAT!!! Henry is a great character. I will listen to it again one day.

There are two versions of TTW floating around: abridged or unabridged?

#184 & 185 I listen to the unabridged version with a man and a woman reading. As bettyjo says, the fellow who reads Henry is just wonderful. I've listened to it twice now and know I'll be listening to it many more times.

Right now I'm listening to A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter. This is my first download from Librivox. I'm enjoying it, the story is an old favourite, but the different voices for almost every chapter, plus each chapter starting with the reader's identity, where they're from (sometimes), the date, and identifying it as Librivox is a bit irritating. But the price is right (free), so can't complain too much I guess.

I listened to A Girl of the Limberlost free as well - from the public library, and thought it well done. I have no (portable) CD player, so rip CD's to mp3.

Thanks for the clarification on The Time Traveler's Wife - it's very popular. I'm #25 in the hold queue for the unabridged CD's. I could've downloaded the abridged versaion from the library slightly sooner, but decided against it.

I'm about to start listening to Vanity Fair by W M Thackeray tomorrow on my way to work...

Almost halfway through To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis - it's funnier than I expected.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini...I really want to come home and read where I left off in the car. It is soooo good.

I am listening to Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen. What a funny, whacky book! My first by him. I'll read/listen to more...

I just got done listening to Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. It lends itself really well to audio.

I finished How to Be Good by Nick Hornby last week. Eh. I didn't think it was very good.

Now I'm listening to The Secret River by Kate Grenville. Excellent thus far!

Changed my mind and have started listening to Carmilla by J. Sheridan LeFanu instead.

Next up is The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson...

I'm listening to All Creatures Great and Small read by Christopher Timothy who played Herriot in the British TV series of the same name. Excellent so far. It's been ages since I read the books and it's fun to hear them, problem is I laugh out loud at times and my husband wonders....

HI, Can you inform me of where can I obtain an MP3 copy of this book? Thank you very much

Started When We Were Orphans by Ishiguro. It's a little slow, but then that's sort of his style, isn't it. Once I get interested in the story and characters, it'll be okay. I hope. :)

Guns, Germs and Steel; The Fates of Human Society. Pretty informative. I am not thrilled by the somewhat metallic tone of voice of the guy reading the book, but it's easy to get past that and into the narration.

#197, carlosyter, were you meaning my post about All Creatures Great and Small? If so, I get all my audio books in MP3 format from Audible.com. I have a subscription with them, I'm not sure if you can buy audio books individually without joining. But I just checked and iTunes sells it as well.

In the CD deck of my car Therapy by Jonathan Kellerman...on my MP3 player going to sleep at night and waking up in the morning Titan by Ben Bova.

My brain gets very confused sometimes...

Just started listening to The Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

I just started listening to Saturday by Ian McEwan. I haven't listened to many audio books -- only two before this one. I like being able to do something else while "reading" -- knitting, exercising.

I'm reading the time travelers wife by Audry Niffenegger and I LOVE IT! I knew that I would be traveling to DC for ALA and needed something so I looked thru this very list and saw it and decided to take it and it is Great! The CD's are the perfect length for my drive into the metro station (about 45 mins) and back home so that I listen to one cd a day. Sure it's long but I can't stop listening to it! Excellent work!

I'm listening to Lost Christianities by Bart Ehrman. I just happened to see him on the History Channel last night. Always interesting to put a face to the voice.

Moving onto another classic audio book - Candide by Voltaire.

I listen to audio books only when I walk. If I get a really great book it makes me motivates me to walk when I normally wouldn't. I loved The Girls-A Novel and just finished Water for Elephants. Both just really lent themselves well to the audiobook form more than the average book.

I gave up on two during a recent trip: To See Every Bird on Earth and Can't Wait to Get to Heaven. Good thing I'd brought along Pardonable Lies - #3 of 4 in Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series.

Currently, I'm nearly halfway through Land of Lincoln by Andrew Ferguson, which isn't interesting enough to like, nor quite boring enough to dislike. I paid for the audible download, so I'll stick it out. I gave up on it not long after posting that.

marygeeting, glad you liked Water for Elephants - I enjoyed that over audiobook as well.
Currently listening to animal, vegetable, miracle which is great over audiobook - between chapters there are soundclips of different animals that were discussed or general farm sounds or whatever. normally i often think the introductory music to a book can be overdramatic somewhat, but this sorta feels like listening to a very extended NPR article. plus shes got a great voice and I enjoy the southern twang that comes out every so often.

Started My Sister's Keeper: a Novel by Jodi Picoult.....so far the first CD is great.

Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman. He's about half interesting but not great and half out of this world!

I've started my first Jasper Fforde, The Big Over Easy. I love Simon Prebble so I'm really looking forward to the book!

Edit for the touchstone and my poor grammar...

I'm a couple of hours into Animal, vegetable, miracle : a year of food life by Barbara Kingsolver. I'll stick with it, but this one's an example of where an author should've had a professional narrator read their work - her perky tone really gets to me. Her story is interesting; I strongly suspect I'd enjoy the print version more.

I'm listening to another classic audio book from www.librivox.org - A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain, which is, so far, very enjoyable!

Into the 5th disk, waiting for another family drive:
The Third secret by Steve Berry. Paul Michael is a very good reader.

Barbara Kingsolver's new 14-hour opus deserved a break halfway through, so - for a change of pace - I've switched to a British-oriented book (though the events take place in California) Pointing from the Grave: a true story of murder and DNA by Samantha Weinberg, read by a British narrator, Donada Peters (a/k/a Nadia May), which is holding my interest well.

Listening to Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer and really enjoying it after getting through When We Were Orphans by Ishiguro, which turned out to be very good but confusing in parts. In fact, I'm thinking of getting it in book form and trying to figure out the parts I didn't quite get on audio.

I enjoyed the print version of Animal, vegetable, miracle : a year of food life very much. Doe she read her daughters work too as well as what her husband contributes to the book? I went ahead and bought the book for the recipes even though they are online. I did like for the most part her reading of Prodigal Summer I felt like she didn't quite ever manage Eddie Bondo's voice.

>214 Kell_Smurthwaite: Hi Kell, I'm also listening to a LibriVox recording - Robinson Crusoe.

Have finished Lost Christianities and am now moving on to Story of Human Language by John McWhorter. His voice is nothing like what I imagined while I was reading his Power of Babel.

Seajack, sorry to hear you're not enjoying Animal, Vegetable, Miracle so much.., I found her enthusiasm contagious, whereas I normally listen to books that are somewhat drier - often with accompanying voice (though I do have some fav narrators). Also, another reason I really enjoyed that the author reading her own narrative was that I felt I really heard her intended inflections and sidebar thoughts. Sometimes those can get lost with other narrators.

Sammimag, her husband and daughter read their own contributions of essays, respectively, which I felt also adds personality and personal-ness for what they add. The recipes and seasonal weekly menus are also read aloud.

I'll be starting "The Good Guy" by Dean Koontz soon. I've never ready anything by him and I look forward to the experience.

bfertig221:

The second half of Kingsolver's book is going better.

Am listening to Camus' The Stranger and not enjoying it much but have been encouraged by LTers in another group/thread to keep at it. It's not really difficult or confusing, but it seems kind of simplistic and pointless. I've been assured, though, that this is only an apparency and that a good thorough reading will reveal hidden depths.

I just finished listening to Blood Canticle by Anne Rice.

I've been out of the loop for a while listening mostly to music or nothing. But finally got back into the book groove and have been through a few in the last few months:

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid - Bill Bryson (laugh out loud fun, brought back many memories of growing up in the 50s)
Plum Lovin' - Janet Evanovich
The Spellman Files - Lisa Lutz (good but slightly abridged)
Sackett's Land - Louis L'Amour (a "re-read" but still good)
Thunderstruck - Eric Larson (Alterrnated Marconi's development of "wireless" telegraphy with the story of Dr. Crippen and how the new technology helped to capture him. Found the Marconi parts extremely dry and repetitive so wound up skipping over parts to get to the Crippen story towards the end.)

Just started Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.

And eagerly awaiting the 8-10 audios I ordered online last week...

I am listening to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

I finished The Stranger, which wasn't terrible so much as painful to go through; the ending was so abrupt and unexpected that I protested out loud when it came. Anyway, a little later, I was doing stuff around the house and started listening to The Thirteenth Tale. OMgosh! It was so compelling ~ grabbed me from the first word and I only managed to stop listening at 4 a.m. (!) because my iPod ran out of juice! :)

(edited for typo)

"The Good Guy" by Dean Koontz is one of the best books I've ever read in my life. I can't believe it's taken me this long to discover him. The reader was excellent.

I'm partway through The Wish List by Eoin Colfer which seems like an interesting story but the reader (James Wilbey) is hard to understand. He uses different voices for the characters (a girl with an Irish accent, a Irish boy that is part dog with an accent to match, an American Beelzebub, an oriental demon, an oriental demon with a robotic voice...) and they just detract from the story. It's just not working for me although I've listened to other readers do the same thing and enjoyed it.

# 219 digifish_books - I have Robinson Crusoe downloaded from Librivox too, and plan on listening to it soon. :)

I working on "The Kid Stays In The Picture" by Bob Evans. He's quite the raconteur. I saw the film some years ago but never got around to the audiobook until now. It's a classic. Evans used to be an actor before he became a producer and he invests his anecdotes with a lot of style and color.

I'm listening to Busman's Honeymoon and enjoying it very much. I decided that this summer would be a good time to revisit my Lord Peter books, so I'm reading Whose Body (the first in the series) and listening to Honeymoon. It's fun.

I downloaded The Inimitable Jeeves, The Treasure Box by Orson Scott Card (touchstone not working) and Regeneration from audible last week, so I've got lots to keep me going when I finish with Lord Peter. I like variety in my audio books. :-)

I picked up a handful of Elmore Leonard westerns at http://www.bookcloseouts.com and have been listening to those. I dig them, and it's great to hear them on the tail-end of 3:10 to Yuma's theatrical release.

Right now, I'm plugging through Locke's Of Civil Government: Second Treatise. In a post elsewhere, I mentioned that audio is often better than reading. Comprehension is often increased. Not so in this case. I need all the help I can get and am supplementing my listening with (groan) SparkNotes. Hey, whatever works in order to tease out the key concepts. Besides, I'm listening to this strictly for "plesh-ah".

A Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Ts???

My next one will be Eragon unless I can get The Thirteenth Tale from the library before I start it. I finished Pillars of the Earth and really enjoyed it. I'm listening to an Anne Perry Christmas murder mystery story now, but don't remember the name (only four cd's). It is pretty good so far (half way through).

Thanks for the tip on book closeouts!

What are listeners enjoying this year? Most of my books are in audio form. Only
scholarly books are in traditional form - for me audio fic. is great and most audio non fic. as well. All best for the new year!

I'm listening to a Teaching Company Book, "The Greek and Persian Wars". I don't have the eons it would take to find the touchstone, sorry. It is outstanding. I've been reading Herodotus on and off for about a year now, and these lectures are a great supplement.