DreamWeaver’s Vain Attempt to Fend Off Insanity: Part I

Greetings!

I’m a working mom of two (son AJ 5 and daughter E 4) who listens to audiobooks to keep sane at work and whenever else I can manage to get my earbuds in. I read sci-fi, fantasy, romance, and nonfiction mostly. I’m addicted to audible (but don’t get me started on what they did to the app last month) but also get a lot of material from the library.

My goal this year is to get a hattrick: three 75s. I did more than that last year, so the number is doable.










Let’s see how much of my remaining sanity I can save this year.

Books Read In

1. 🎧   The Atrocity Archives: Laundry Files by Charles Stross narrated by Gideon Emery ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★½
2. 🎧   Soul of An Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery narrated by Sy Montgomery ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
3. 🎧   Age of War: The Legends of the First Empire by Michael J. Sullivan narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★★
4. 🎧   The Rose and the Thorn: The Riyria Chronicles by Michael J. Sullivan narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★★
5. 💞   Free Agent: Grimm Agency by J. C. Nelson narrated by C.S.E Cooney ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
6. 🎧📜 Babylon's Ashes: The Expanse by James S. A. Corey narrated by Jefferson Mays ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★½
7. 🎧   The Fall of the Pagans and the Origins of Medieval Christianity by Kenneth W. HarlReview ✤ ★★★½
8. 🎧   Skysworn: Cradle by Will Wight narrated by Travis Baldree ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
9. 🎧   The Murderer's Son: Jackman and Evans by Joy Ellis narrated by Richard Armitage ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★½
10. 🎧   The Spaceship Next Door: Sorrow Falls by Gene Doucette narrated by Steve Carlson ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
11. 💞   Understood: Unbroken by Maya Banks narrated by Elizabeth Livingston ✤ Review ✤ ★★★
12.   A Historian Goes to the Movies: Ancient Rome by Gregory S. Aldrete narrated by Gregory S. Aldrete ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
13.   Understanding the Dark Side of Human Nature by Daniel Breyer narrated by Daniel Breyer ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
14. 🎧   Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974 by Kevin M Kruse and Julian E Zelizer narrated by Fajer Al-Kaisi ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
15. 💞   A Pirate's Heart by Catherine Friend narrated by Catherine Friend ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
16. 🎧   Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations by Dan Ariely narrated by Simon Jones ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★★
17. 🎧   The Trouble with Mirrors: Alix London by Aaron Elkins and Charlotte Elkins narrated by Kate Rudd ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
18. 🎧   Junkyard Cats by Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★★
19. 🎧   Emma: An Audible Original Drama by Jane Austen and Anna Lea - adaptionReview ✤ ★★★
20. 🎧   Furies of Calderon: Codex Alera by Jim Butcher narrated by Kate Reading ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★★
21. 🎧   Pile of Bones: The Legends of the First Empire by Michael J. Sullivan narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★★
22. 💞   Beauty and the Beast: An Erotic Reimagining by Shoshanna Evers narrated by Christine Padovan ✤ Review ✤ ★★
23. 🎧   Call Me God: The Untold Story of the DC Sniper by Jim Clemente, Tim Clemente and Peter McDonnell narrated by Maureen O'Connell ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★

Icons
🎧 - Audible
💞 - Audible Escape
  - Great Courses Plus
📚 - Library Book
📜 - Big Fat Book

Books Read In

24. 🎧📜 The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land by Thomas Asbridge narrated by Derek Perkins ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
25. 🎧   Black Spark: Dark Magic Enforcer by Al K. LineReview ✤ ★★★★
26. 🎧   The Clan Corporate: The Merchant Princes by Charles Stross narrated by Kate Reading ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
27. 🎧   Strange Dogs: The Expanse by James S. A. Corey narrated by Jefferson Mays ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
28. 🎧   Precious Victims: Penguin True Crime by Don W Weber and Charles Bosworth narrated by Kevin Pierce ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
29. 🎧   Dreadnought: Nemesis by April Daniels narrated by Natasha Soudek ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
30. 🎧   Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World by Michael Pollan narrated by Michael Pollan ✤ Review ✤ ★★★
31. 🎧📜 Academ's Fury: Codex Alera by Jim Butcher narrated by Kate Reading ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★★
32. 💞   The Flower Ring by James Del narrated by Visual EFX ✤ Review ✤ ★½
33. 🎧   And Then You're Dead: What Really Happens If You Get Swallowed by a Whale, Are Shot from a Cannon, or Go Barreling over Niagara by Cody Cassidy and Paul Doherty narrated by Dennis Boutsikaris ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
34. 💞   The AI Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole narrated by Regina Hal, Mindy Kaling, Feodor Chin, Therese Plummer, Dina Pearlman, Neil Hellegers, Adenrele Ojo and Kyla Garcia ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
35.   Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth and the Rise of Humanity by David Christian narrated by David Christian ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
36. 💞   The Lawrence Browne Affair: The Turner Series by Cat Sabastian narrated by Gary Furlong ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
37. 🎧   Spell or High Water: Magic 2.0 by Scott Meyer narrated by Luke Daniels ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
38. 🎧   What Could Possibly Go Wrong?: The Chronicles of St Mary's by Jodi Taylor narrated by Zara Ramm ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
39. 💞   The Lion of Kent by Aleksandr Voinov and Kate Cotoner narrated by Sean Crisden ✤ Review ✤ ★★
40.   Forensic History: Crimes, Frauds, and Scandals by Elizabeth A Murray narrated by Elizabeth A Murray ✤ Review ✤ ★★★
41. 💞   Zack: Cold Fury Hockey by Sawyer Bennett narrated by Cris Dunkehart and Graham Halstead ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
42. 🎧   Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future by Paul Krugman narrated by Rob Shapiro and Paul Krugman ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
43. 🎧   Ghostwater: Cradle by Will Wight narrated by Travis Baldree ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
44. 🎧   Iron Lake: Cork O'Connor by William Kent Krueger narrated by David Chandler ✤ Review ✤ ★★★
45. 🎧📜 Apollo by Charles Murray and Catherine Bly Cox narrated by Bob Souer ✤ ★★★★
46. 🎧   Age of Legend: The Legends of the First Empire by Michael J. SullivanReview ✤ ★★★★½

Icons
🎧 - Audible
💞 - Audible Escape
  - Great Courses Plus
📚 - Library Book
📜 - Big Fat Book

Books Read In

47. 🎧   Age of Death: The Legends of the First Empire by Michael J. Sullivan narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds, Robin Sullivan and Michael J. Sullivan ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★½
48. 🎧   Courageous: The Lost Fleet by Jack Campbell narrated by Christian Rummel and Jack Campbell ✤ Review ✤ ★★★
49. 💞   Finessing the Contessa: The Fosters by Wendy Soliman narrated by Elizabeth Jasicki ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
50. 🎧   The Art of Conflict Management: Achieving Solutions for Life, Work, and Beyond by Michael Dues narrated by Michael Dues ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
51. 🎧   Iron, Fire and Ice: The Real History That Inspired Game of Thrones by Ed West narrated by Rory Barnett ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
52.   Years That Changed History: 1215 by Dorsey Armstrong narrated by Dorsey Armstrong ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
53.   Great Minds of the Medieval World by Dorsey Armstrong narrated by Dorsey Armstrong ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
54. 💞   The Warrior's Gift by Bonnie Dee narrated by Natasha Soudek ✤ Review ✤ ★★½
55. 💞   The Pretending Plot: Caught Up in Love by Lauren Blakely narrated by Vanessa Edwin and Joe Arden ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
56. 🎧   Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings: The Chronicles of St Mary's by Jodi Taylor narrated by Zara Ramm ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
57. 🎧   The Book of General Ignorance by John Mitchinson and John Lloyd narrated by John Mitchinson and John Lloyd ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
58. 🎧   Lies, Damned Lies and History: The Chronicles of St Mary's by Jodi Taylor narrated by Zara Ramm ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
59. 🎧   Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World by Mackenzi Lee narrated by Lucy James ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
60. 🎧   Blood Territory by Mark Whittaker narrated by Mark Whittaker ✤ Review ✤ ★★★
61. 🎧   The Science of Sci-Fi: From Warp Speed to Interstellar Travel by Erin Macdonald narrated by Erin Macdonald ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
62. 🎧   History's Greatest Voyages of Exploration by Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius narrated by Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
63. 📚   Dr. Mutter's Marvels: A True Tale of Intrigue and Innovation at the Dawn of Modern Medicine by Cristin O'keefe Aptowicz narrated by Erik Singer ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
64. 💞   Taylor's Temptation: Tall, Dark and Dangerous by Suzanne Brockmann narrated by Alexandra Fisher ✤ Review ✤ ★★★
65. 💞   Tempted by a Cowboy: Perfect Man by Vicki Lewis Thompson narrated by Arika Rapson ✤ Review ✤ ★★★
66. 📚📜 Atomic Accidents: A History of Nuclear Meltdowns and Disasters; From the Ozark Mountains to Fukushima by James Mahaffey narrated by Tom Weiner ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
67. 🎧   The Very First Damned Thing: The Chronicles of St Mary's by Jodi Taylor ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★½
68. 🎧   Just One Damned Thing After Another: The Chronicles of St Mary's by Jodi Taylor narrated by Zara Ramm ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★

Icons
🎧 - Audible
💞 - Audible Escape
  - Great Courses Plus
📚 - Library Book
📜 - Big Fat Book

Books Read In

69. 🎧   Beaks, Bones and Bird Songs: How the Struggle for Survival Has Shaped Birds and Their Behavior by Roger Leaderer and Charles ConstantReview ✤ ★★★½
70. 🎧   The Tattooed Duchess: Fire Beneath the Skin by Victor Gischler narrated by Fiona Hardingham ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
71. 💞   How to Date Your Dragon by Molly Harper narrated by Amanda Ronconi and Jonathan Davis ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
72.   A New History of the American South by Edward L Avers narrated by Edward L Avers ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
73. 🎧   Jukebox Joyride by Jacob Stein, Jason Rabinowitz and The Pop UpsReview ✤ ★★★
74. 💞   Love and Other Wild Things: Mystic Bayou by Molly Harper narrated by Jonathan Davis and Amanda Ronconi ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
75. 🎧   Soldiers of Science by Alan Alda narrated by Anthony Fauci and Alan Alda ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
76. 💞   Even Tree Nymphs Get the Blues: Mystic Bayou by Molly Harper narrated by Amanda Ronconi and Jonathan Davis ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
77. 💞   Selkies Are a Girl's Best Friend: Mystic Bayou by Molly Harper narrated by Amanda Ronconi and Jonathan Davis ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
78.   Understanding the Old Testament by Robert D Miller II narrated by Robert D Miller II ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
79. 🎧📜 Skyward: Skyward by Brandon Sanderson narrated by Suzy Jackson ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
80. 💞   Always Be My Banshee: Mystic Bayou by Molly Harper narrated by Amanda Ronconi and Jonathan Davis ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★½
81. 💞   Night at the Opera: American Hairess by Stacy Henrie narrated by Kelly Burke ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
82. 🎧   Songbird: DC Smith/Kings Lake Investigation Series by Peter Grainger narrated by Gildart Jackson ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
83. 🎧   Espionage and Covert Operations: A Global History by Vejas Gabriel LiuleviciusReview ✤ ★★★★
84. 📚   Circe by Madeline Miller narrated by Perdita Weeks ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
85. 📚   The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap by Matt Taibbi narrated by Ray Porter ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
86. 📚   Daughter of Sherlock Holmes: The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes Mysteries by Leonard Golberg narrated by Steve West ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
87. 📚   The Beekeeper's Apprentice: or On the Segregation of the Queen: Mary Russell by Laurie R. King narrated by Jenny Sterlin ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
88. 📚   Notorious Pleasures: Maiden Lane by Elizabeth Hoyt narrated by Ashford McNab ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
89. 📚   Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe by Lisa Randall narrated by Carrington MacDuffie ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
90. 📚   Scandalous Desires: Maiden Lane by Elizabeth Hoyt ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★

Icons
🎧 - Audible
💞 - Audible Escape
  - Great Courses Plus
📚 - Library Book
📜 - Big Fat Book

Books Read In

91. 📚   Thief of Shadows: Maiden Lane by Elizabeth Hoyt narrated by Ashford McNab ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
92. 📚   Lord of Darkness: Maiden Lane by Elizabeth Hoyt narrated by Emma Taylor ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
93. 📚   Duke of Midnight: Maiden Lane by Elizabeth Hoyt narrated by Claudia Harris ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
94. 🎧📜 Katherine of Aragon, the True Queen: Six Tudor Queens by Alison Weir narrated by Rosalyn Landor ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
95. 📚   Dearest Rogue: Maiden Lane by Elizabeth Hoyt narrated by Ashford McNab ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
96. 📚   Darling Beast: Maiden Lane by Elizabeth Hoyt narrated by Ashford McNab ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
97. 📚   Sweetest Scoundrel: Maiden Lane by Elizabeth Hoyt narrated by Ashford McNab ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
98. 📚   Duke of Sin: Maiden Lane by Elizabeth Hoyt narrated by Ashford McNab ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
99. 📚   Duke of Pleasure: Maiden Lane by Elizabeth Hoyt narrated by Ashford McNab ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
100. 📚   Duke of Desire: Maiden Lane by Elizabeth Hoyt narrated by Ashford McNab ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
101. 📚   Voyage Of the Basilisk: Lady Trent's Memoirs by Marie Brennan narrated by Kate Reading ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★½
102.   Lost Christianities: Christian Scriptures and the Battles over Authentication: GC: Religion and Theology by Bart D Ehrman narrated by Bart D Ehrman ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
103.   Introduction to Paleontology: GC: Science and Mathematics by Stuart Sutherland narrated by Stuart Sutherland ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
104. 💞   Sweet Passion's Song: A Tender Hearts Romance by Deborah Camp narrated by Sandra Michelle ✤ Review ✤ ★★
105. 💞   Love on the Ledge: On the Verge by Zoraida Córdova narrated by Annie Green ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
106. 📚   In the Labyrinth of Drakes: Lady Trent's Memoirs by Marie Brennan narrated by Kate Reading ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★½
107. 📚   Within the Sanctuary of Wings: Lady Trent's Memoirs by Marie Brennan narrated by Kate Reading ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★½
108. 📚   The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Creat the World's Great Drinks by Amy Stewart narrated by Coleen Marlo ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
109. 📚   His Ship, Her Fantasy by Emma Lai narrated by Melissa Malone ✤ Review ✤ ★★★
110. 📚   Why is the Penis Shaped Like That?: And Other Reflections on Being Human by Jesse Bering narrated by Jesse Bering ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★

Icons
🎧 - Audible
💞 - Audible Escape
  - Great Courses Plus
📚 - Library Book
📜 - Big Fat Book

Big Fat Books Read
1. 🎧 Babylon's Ashes: The Expanse by James S. A. Corey narrated by Jefferson Mays ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★½
2. 🎧 The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land by Thomas Asbridge narrated by Derek Perkins ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
3. 🎧 Academ's Fury: Codex Alera by Jim Butcher narrated by Kate Reading ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★★
4. 🎧 Apollo by Charles Murray and Catherine Bly Cox narrated by Bob Souer ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
5. 📚 Atomic Accidents: A History of Nuclear Meltdowns and Disasters; From the Ozark Mountains to Fukushima by James Mahaffey narrated by Tom Weiner ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
6. 🎧 Skyward: Skyward by Brandon Sanderson narrated by Suzy Jackson ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
7. 🎧 Katherine of Aragon, the True Queen: Six Tudor Queens by Alison Weir narrated by Rosalyn Landor ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★


AlphaKIT from Audible Escape
 January
  A
   Free Agent: Grimm Agency by J. C. Nelson narrated by C.S.E Cooney ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
  U
   Understood: Unbroken by Maya Banks narrated by Elizabeth Livingston ✤ Review ✤ ★★★
 February
  B
   The Lawrence Browne Affair: The Turner Series by Cat Sabastian narrated by Gary Furlong ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
  F
   The Flower Ring by James Del narrated by Visual EFX ✤ Review ✤ ★½
 March
  C
   Finessing the Contessa: The Fosters by Wendy Soliman narrated by Elizabeth Jasicki ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
   Tempted by a Cowboy: Perfect Man by Vicki Lewis Thompson narrated by Arika Rapson ✤ Review ✤ ★★★
  G
   The Warrior's Gift by Bonnie Dee narrated by Natasha Soudek ✤ Review ✤ ★★½
 April
  S
   Selkies Are a Girl's Best Friend: Mystic Bayou by Molly Harper narrated by Amanda Ronconi and Jonathan Davis ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
  T
   Love and Other Wild Things: Mystic Bayou by Molly Harper narrated by Jonathan Davis and Amanda Ronconi ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
 May
  L
   Love on the Ledge: On the Verge by Zoraida Córdova narrated by Annie Green ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
  P
   Sweet Passion's Song by Deborah Camp narrated by Sandra Michelle ✤ Review ✤ ★★
 Yearlong
  X
  Z
   Zack: Cold Fury Hockey by Sawyer Bennett narrated by Cris Dunkehart and Graham Halstead ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
D E H I J K M N O Q R V W X Y


AlphaKIT from Audible and the Public Library
 January
  A
   The Atrocity Archives: Laundry Files by Charles Stross narrated by Gideon Emery ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★½
   Age of War: The Legends of the First Empire ‡ The Riyria Universe by Michael J. Sullivan narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★★
   Babylon's Ashes: The Expanse by James S. A. Corey narrated by Jefferson Mays ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★½
  U
   Fault Lines by Kevin M Kruse and Julian E Zelizer narrated by Fajer Al-Kaisi ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
 February
  B
   Black Spark: Dark Magic Enforcer by Al K. Line narrated by Gildart Jackson ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
  F
   Academ's Fury: Codex Alera by Jim Butcher narrated by Kate Reading ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★★
   And Then You're Dead by Cody Cassidy and Paul Doherty narrated by Dennis Boutsikaris ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
 March
  C
   Courageous: The Lost Fleet by Jack Campbell narrated by Christian Rummel and Jack Campbell ✤ Review ✤ ★★★
   The Art of Conflict Management: GC: Professional by Michael Dues narrated by Michael Dues ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
  G
   The Book of General Ignorance by John Mitchinson and John Lloyd narrated by John Mitchinson and John Lloyd ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
   History's Greatest Voyages of Exploration: GC: History by Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius narrated by Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
 April
  S
   Beaks, Bones and Bird Songs by Roger Leaderer narrated by Charles Constant ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
   Soldiers of Science by Alan Alda narrated by Dr.Anthony Fauci and Alan Alda ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
   Skyward: Skyward by Brandon Sanderson narrated by Suzy Jackson ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
   Songbird: DC Smith ‡ Kings Lake Investigation Series by Peter Grainger narrated by Gildart Jackson ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
   Daughter of Sherlock Holmes: The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes Mysteries by Leonard Golberg narrated by Steve West ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
   The Beekeeper's Apprentice: Mary Russell by Laurie R. King narrated by Jenny Sterlin ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
   Scandalous Desires: Maiden Lane by Elizabeth Hoyt and Ashford McNab ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
  T
   The Tattooed Duchess: Fire Beneath the Skin by Victor Gischler narrated by Fiona Hardingham ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
 May
  L
   Lord of Darkness: Maiden Lane by Elizabeth Hoyt narrated by Emma Taylor ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
   In the Labyrinth of Drakes: Lady Trent's Memoirs by Marie Brennan narrated by Kate Reading ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★½
   Why is the Penis Shaped Like That? by Jesse Bering narrated by Jesse Bering ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
  P
   Duke of Pleasure: Maiden Lane by Elizabeth Hoyt narrated by Ashford McNab ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
   Why is the Penis Shaped Like That? by Jesse Bering narrated by Jesse Bering ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
 Yearlong
  X
  Z
   Arguing with Zombies by Paul Krugman narrated by Rob Shapiro and Paul Krugman ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
D E H I J K M N O Q R V W X Y


AlphaKIT from the Great Courses
 January
  A
   A Historian Goes to the Movies: Ancient Rome by Gregory S. Aldrete narrated by Gregory S. Aldrete ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
  U
   Understanding the Dark Side of Human Nature by Daniel Breyer narrated by Daniel Breyer ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
 February
  B
   Big History: GC: History ‡ GC: Science and Mathematics by David Christian narrated by David Christian ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
  F
   Forensic History: GC: Science and Mathematics by Elizabeth A Murray narrated by Elizabeth A Murray ✤ Review ✤ ★★★
 March
  C
   Years That Changed History: 1215: GC: History by Dorsey Armstrong narrated by Dorsey Armstrong ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
  G
   Great Minds of the Medieval World: GC: Philosophy and Intellectual History by Dorsey Armstrong narrated by Dorsey Armstrong ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
 April
  S
   A New History of the American South: GC: History by Edward L Avers narrated by Edward L Avers ✤ Review ✤ ★★★½
  T
   Understanding the Old Testament: GC: Religion and Theology by ProfessorRobert D Miller II narrated by ProfessorRobert D Miller II ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
 May
  L
   Lost Christianities: GC: Religion and Theology by Bart D Ehrman narrated by Bart D Ehrman ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
  P
   Introduction to Paleontology: GC: Science and Mathematics by Stuart Sutherland narrated by Stuart Sutherland ✤ Review ✤ ★★★★
 Yearlong
  X
  Z
D E H I J K M N O Q R V W X Y Z

Books Read In June

Books Read In July

Books Read In August

Books Read In September

Books Read In October

Books Read In November

Books Read In December

And I’m Back!

Just as I suspected, I lost the thread again last year. I didn’t even make it to February. But, it’s a new year, so here we go again.

A few changes this year, most of which are totally invisible but will make updating much easer, and hopefully, more sustainable.

The big change for me is I’ve paired way back on what I’m tracking (here at least, I will make no promises for any other offline database I may or may not have that slices and dices my reading in a few dozen ways). I’m going to focus only on tracking the number of books I read and any BFBs (big fat books)

So, as I’m already a week behind, let’s get this party started.

Another resolution is to keep up in 2020 with all my friends on LT. Happy New Year!

Title: The Atrocity Archives
Series: Laundry Files
By: Charles Stross
Narrated by: Gideon Emery
Lenght: 10:56 ≈360pgs
Reread
Rating: ★★★★½
Thoughts:
One of the few rereads I've done lately. I like the story and the style. It's a great crazy romp.

Title: Age of War
Series: The Legends of the First Empire
By: Michael J. Sullivan
Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
Lenght: 16:47 ≈424pgs
Owned: 24 days
Rating: ★★★★★
Thoughts:
I love this series. It grips you and doesn’t let you go. I love the characters and the setting. I can't wait to see what will happen next.

Title: Soul of An Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness
By: Sy Montgomery
Narrated by: Sy Montgomery
Lenght: 9:10 ≈273pgs
Owned: 506 days
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
This was an interesting book. I don't normally read biographies, and this was close. I just don't think it was my thing.

Title: The Rose and the Thorn
Series: The Riyria Chronicles
By: Michael J. Sullivan
Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
Lenght: 11:58 ≈372pgs
Owned: 25 days
Rating: ★★★★★
Thoughts:
Another great installment of a great series. I love how the two main characters balance each other.

I look forward to the next book.

Welcome back! I loved Atrocity Archives!

Have a great year of reading!

Title: Babylon's Ashes
Series: The Expanse
By: James S. A. Corey
Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
Lenght: 19:58 ≈544pgs
Owned: 848 days
Rating: ★★★★½
Thoughts:
This is a series that I've been working my way through for a while. I enjoy them, but because I am so invested in the character it's taxing to read. I'm always worried someone I care about it going to die. Again.

Title: Free Agent
Series: Grimm Agency
By: J. C. Nelson
Narrated by: C.S.E Cooney
Lenght: 8:37 ≈304pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
While this book is in Audible's Escape library, it didn't feel like a romance novel to me. If you removed the love interest part, the book would still make sense. I was an interested urban fantasy book though.

Happy reading in 2020, Amanda!

>16 PaulCranswick: Happy New Year and I'm will you for all the mores, except the road trip idea. With two little kids, I'm not sure a car is my favorite place to spend hours this year. Next you though, we may be able to agree on a book or two to listen to as a family.

>21 drneutron: Hubby has read more in the series, and I hope to do the same this year. I love the mix of mind-numbing stupid (civil service bureaucracy) with mind-eating horrors, all handled with such great humor. Have you read the Saturn's Children books? While I like the first one, Neptune's Brood was great!

>25 FAMeulstee: Thanks. I'm hoping to be more active here this year. I tend to start the year strong and fade rather quickly.

Happy New Year, Amanda! You are reading up a storm already.

I like urban fantasy where the romance/sex is not a major factor. For some reason, I have yet to read a Stross book where I really connect. Even though I enjoyed The Atrocity Archives humor, it still never drew me in. I've not read Michael Sullivan's fantasy because I was confusing him with Michael Stackpole, but yours is the second recommendation for his work that I've read recently so will have to seek it out. Where do I start?

>3 dreamweaver529: Not familiar with any of the authors you've read so far this year, Amanda, although Charles Stross is from my home are in Leeds.

Have a lovely weekend.

>27 ronincats: The Saturn's Children books are sci-fi, but very good. I loved the characters and the layering of the story. There are 2 books in the series, granted it's only a series in that they take place in the same universe. Thousands of years apart. Both are independent of each other and I personly think Neptune's Brood is the better book.

>28 PaulCranswick: As we have over 80 books in common (of the ones I've managed to log here. I've gotten rather lazy of late) I think I'll eventually read something you're familiar with. ;)

Title: The Fall of the Pagans and the Origins of Medieval Christianity
Series: GC: History
By: Kenneth W. Harl
Lenght: 12:33
Owned: 203 days
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
I've taken Great Courses that have resonated with me more, but it's always good to fill my knowledge of time periods that interest me (in this case the fall of Rome)

Title: The Murderer's Son
Series: Jackman and Evans
By: Joy Ellis
Narrated by: Richard Armitage
Lenght: 9:30 ≈333pgs
Owned: 285 days
Rating: ★★★★½
Thoughts:
This is the type of mystery novel I love. There's just enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, but the reasoning is still clear when you look back at it after the big reveal. And the clues where just enough to put it together just ahead of the characters.

Title: Skysworn
Series: Cradle
By: Will Wight
Narrated by: Travis Baldree
Lenght: 8:43 ≈292pgs
Owned: 88 days
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
I'm enjoying this series. It's the closest I come to RPGLit, but the story is interesting, the characters are engaging, and the world building is fascinating.

Title: The Spaceship Next Door
Series: Sorrow Falls
By: Gene Doucette
Narrated by: Steve Carlson
Lenght: 11:35 ≈368pgs
Owned: 723 days
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
I didn't know what to expect when I picked up this book, but it was a lot of fun. A great sense of humor. I liked the characters and the plot. I may even pick up the next one.

Title: Understood
Series: Unbroken
By: Maya Banks
Narrated by: Elizabeth Livingston
Lenght: 2:49 ≈99pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★
Thoughts:
A little fluffy book. Not the most believable plot, but plot is not what one reads very short romance books for.

Title: A Historian Goes to the Movies: Ancient Rome
By: Gregory S. Aldrete
Narrated by: Gregory S. Aldrete
Lenght: 6:27
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
An interesting jaunt through the cellulose expended on Ancient Rome. I enjoy looking at movies from an analytical perspective, and this course did a good job.

Title: Understanding the Dark Side of Human Nature
By: Daniel Breyer
Narrated by: Daniel Breyer
Lenght: 12:08
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
There was a great deal of information in this class. This is one of the ones that I can see myself revisiting in the future.

Title: Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974
By: Kevin M Kruse and Julian E Zelizer
Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi
Lenght: 14:47 ≈400pgs
Owned: 27 days
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
A very interesting overview of the past several decades. It provides a time line, but left me wanting deeper exportations of the why.

Title: A Pirate's Heart
By: Catherine Friend
Narrated by: Catherine Friend
Lenght: 9:37 ≈231pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
Two romance stories in one. I like how the two stories where interconnected but the characters were distinct.

Title: The Trouble with Mirrors
Series: Alix London
By: Aaron Elkins and Charlotte Elkins
Narrated by: Kate Rudd
Lenght: 8:06 ≈257pgs
Owned: 39 days
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
I enjoyed this series. It's a good mystery with just enough leading info and character knowledge.

Title: Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations
By: Dan Ariely
Narrated by: Simon Jones
Lenght: 2:35 ≈129pgs
Owned: 9 days
Rating: ★★★★★
Thoughts:
I love Dan Ariely's work. It is understandable and science based. I think this is a book everyone should read. Especially my boss. And his boss. And her boss. And even his boss.

Title: Junkyard Cats
By: Faith Hunter
Narrated by: Khristine Hvam
Lenght: 5:02
Owned: 21 days
Rating: ★★★★★
Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book. It had great characters and world building, an engaging and at time surprising plot, a great pacing. I hope they'll be more in this series and will be looking for more books by this author.

Great reading start, Amanda!

Title: Emma: An Audible Original Drama
By: Jane Austen and Anna Lea - adaption
Lenght: 8:21
Owned: 507 days
Rating: ★★★
Thoughts:
For a full cast recording, it was done well. I just prefer a single narrator.

>42 dreamweaver529: Well, DRAT, Amanda, that's only available in that format and from Audible. I'm a print person and will have to watch for it in that format later.

Title: Furies of Calderon
Series: Codex Alera
By: Jim Butcher
Narrated by: Kate Reading
Lenght: 19:54 ≈460pgs
Owned: 820 days
Rating: ★★★★★
Thoughts:
Great, another wonderfully additive series to add to the three dozen other series I'm currently reading. That's just what I need.

The fact is, I love Butcher's work, and while I long for him to publish more Dresden books, this is a great series too. I loved the characters, plot and world building. I can hardly wait to read the next one.

Title: Pile of Bones
Series: The Legends of the First Empire
By: Michael J. Sullivan
Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
Lenght: 1:45 ≈36pgs
Owned: 16 days
Rating: ★★★★★
Thoughts:
I love this series. I really like how this book fit in and fill out the rest of the narrative.

Title: Beauty and the Beast: An Erotic Reimagining
By: Shoshanna Evers
Narrated by: Christine Padovan
Lenght: 4:03 ≈152pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★
Thoughts:
A little bit of fluff. But the narrator really annoyed me. If it had been much longer, I might not have been able to finish it.

Title: Call Me God: The Untold Story of the DC Sniper
By: Jim Clemente, Tim Clemente and Peter McDonnell
Narrated by: Maureen O'Connell
Lenght: 7:04 ≈0pgs
Owned: 3 days
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
A interesting and well rounded look at a DC Sniper case. I appreciate the time the authors took on the victims, making them people instead of statistics and giving their family members a chance to speak.

Title: The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land
By: Thomas Asbridge
Narrated by: Derek Perkins
Lenght: 25:32 ≈804pgs
Owned: 189 days
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
This book has a LOT of information, and my knoladge of the time perior is lighter than I'd like. I'll likely read it again when I have a few other sources under my belt.

Title: 17759580::Black Spark
Series: Dark Magic Enforcer
By: Al K. Line
Lenght: 7:24 ≈299pgs
Owned: 692 days
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
A good begning to a new series. Oh, wait, I don't need any more series to read. Oh well, too late now.

Title: The Clan Corporate
Series: The Merchant Princes
By: Charles Stross
Narrated by: Kate Reading
Lenght: 12:18 ≈321pgs
Owned: 40 days
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
You can tell this book is part of a seires, While it has a complete plot, it woudn't hold up as a stand-alone. That said, I will read the next one.

Title: Strange Dogs
Series: The Expanse
By: James S. A. Corey
Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
Lenght: 2:29 ≈82pgs
Owned: 275 days
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
They do know how to get under your skin and turn you'er expectations upside down.

>52 dreamweaver529: I read the first two of that series but wasn't compelled to continue to this, the third one.

Title: Precious Victims: Penguin True Crime
By: Don W Weber and Charles Bosworth
Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
Lenght: 15:42 ≈431pgs
Owned: 42 days
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
A well told ture crime book. As a mom, the whole story makes me hartsick.

Title: Dreadnought
Series: Nemesis
By: April Daniels
Narrated by: Natasha Soudek
Lenght: 11:28 ≈280pgs
Owned: 245 days
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
A good super-hero story with well handled serious themes (trans identity and parental abuse). I will be reading the next in the series.

>54 ronincats: I'm not very invested in the series myself. And this was definitely the weakest in the series by far. However, I'm reading it with the Hubby, so I'll keep going.

Title: Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World
By: Michael Pollan
Narrated by: Michael Pollan
Lenght: 2:02
Owned: 2 days
Rating: ★★★
Thoughts:
An interesting look at caffeine. It points to a few other sources that I have added to my ever-growing queue of non-fiction reading.

Title: Academ's Fury
Series: Codex Alera
By: Jim Butcher
Narrated by: Kate Reading
Lenght: 21:02 ≈722pgs
Owned: 833 days
Rating: ★★★★★
Thoughts:
And Butcher does it again. Another stay-up-way-to-late-listening book.

Title: The Flower Ring
By: James Del
Narrated by: Visual EFX
Lenght: 1:20 ≈107pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★½
Thoughts:
All tell, no show. And for me totally fails as a romance novel as there is no HEA. All I can say for it is that it wasn't offensive.

Title: And Then You're Dead: What Really Happens If You Get Swallowed by a Whale, Are Shot from a Cannon, or Go Barreling over Niagara
By: Cody Cassidy and Paul Doherty
Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
Lenght: 4:59 ≈250pgs
Owned: 15 days
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
Laugh out loud funny with good science to boot.

Title: The AI Who Loved Me
By: Alyssa Cole
Narrated by: Regina Hal, Mindy Kaling, Feodor Chin, Therese Plummer, Dina Pearlman, Neil Hellegers, Adenrele Ojo and Kyla Garcia
Lenght: 5:18
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
The biggest downside to this book was the number of narrators. I prefer a single narrator and have gotten used to two, but this was pushing my ability to integrate.

Title: Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth and the Rise of Humanity
By: David Christian
Narrated by: David Christian
Lenght: 24:26
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
A well organized and interesting tour through all of history. Not only did it contain a lot of good information, the connections made were well though out and supported.

Title: The Lawrence Browne Affair
Series: The Turner Series
By: Cat Sabastian
Narrated by: Gary Furlong
Lenght: 7:30 ≈335pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
I'm a sucker for historic romances. And this was a good one. I wish all of the other books in the series were part of Audible's Escape Package.

Title: Spell or High Water
Series: Magic 2.0
By: Scott Meyer
Narrated by: Luke Daniels
Lenght: 12:09 ≈443pgs
Owned: 200 days
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
I love this series. The only problem with it is the looks I get when I laugh out loud in public.

Title: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
Series: The Chronicles of St Mary's
By: Jodi Taylor
Narrated by: Zara Ramm
Lenght: 9:11 ≈300pgs
Owned: 63 days
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
I love this series, and for the first time we're staring to get serious glimpses of the time in which the main characters live. It's all I can do not to binge.

Title: The Lion of Kent
By: Aleksandr Voinov and Kate Cotoner
Narrated by: Sean Crisden
Lenght: 3:01 ≈128pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★
Thoughts:
More erotica than romance, it was better than some of the books I've read this year.

Title: Forensic History: Crimes, Frauds, and Scandals
By: Elizabeth A Murray
Narrated by: Elizabeth A Murray
Lenght: 12:16
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★
Thoughts:
More history than science, it was an interesting overview of major milestones and changes in forensics.

Title: Zack
Series: Cold Fury Hockey
By: Sawyer Bennett
Narrated by: Cris Dunkehart and Graham Halstead
Lenght: 9:02 ≈286pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
A decent romance novel with resealable plot and main characters I didn't want to hit over the head. I call that a win.

Title: Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future
By: Paul Krugman
Narrated by: Rob Shapiro and Paul Krugman
Lenght: 12:15 ≈464pgs
Owned: 23 days
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
I don't normally read essay collections, which this more or less is, but I've very interested in this topic. It was very enlightening, and even more frightening.

>70 dreamweaver529: I do enjoy Paul Krugman's writing Amanda. He is often very persuasive.

>71 PaulCranswick: I agree. I think that is in no small part because his arguments are well thought out and back to logic and research. He also writes in a way that, even when he's being "wonk"-ie it is clear and understandable. I just wish what he had to say wasn't so disheartening.

Title: Ghostwater
Series: Cradle
By: Will Wight
Narrated by: Travis Baldree
Lenght: 9:16 ≈312pgs
Owned: 126 days
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
I'm enjoying the character growth and world building in this series. This book does a good job in layering an additional connections between the disparate storylines that have existed from the beginning.

Title: Iron Lake
Series: Cork O'Connor
By: William Kent Krueger
Narrated by: David Chandler
Lenght: 11:57 ≈464pgs
Owned: 151 days
Rating: ★★★
Thoughts:
A decent mystery. But I don’t think I'll be reading any more in this series.

"
Title: Apollo
By: Charles Murray and Catherine Bly Cox
Narrated by: Bob Souer
Lenght: 18:15 ≈512pgs
Owned: 111 days
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
There was a lot of good information in this book. It did a good job of making the people involved vivid enough that I could remember them."

Title: Age of Legend
Series: The Legends of the First Empire
By: Michael J. Sullivan
Lenght: 14:34 ≈361pgs
Owned: 77 days
Rating: ★★★★½
Thoughts:
A wonderful emotional roller-coaster. And Death is next.

Title: Age of Death
Series: The Legends of the First Empire
By: Michael J. Sullivan
Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds, Robin Sullivan and Michael J. Sullivan
Lenght: 13:57 ≈342pgs
Owned: 27 days
Rating: ★★★★½
Thoughts:
Okay, you caught me, I binged. And now I have to wait for the next one. For Months! Ug. I hate waiting.

Title: Courageous
Series: The Lost Fleet
By: Jack Campbell
Narrated by: Christian Rummel and Jack Campbell
Lenght: 9:43 ≈325pgs
Owned: 363 days
Rating: ★★★
Thoughts:
It's a good military adventure book. But I'm not really one for military adventures.

Title: Finessing the Contessa
Series: The Fosters
By: Wendy Soliman
Narrated by: Elizabeth Jasicki
Lenght: 9:58 ≈223pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
A good historical romance. The tension was reasonable and not overplayed.

Title: The Art of Conflict Management: Achieving Solutions for Life, Work, and Beyond
By: Michael Dues
Narrated by: Michael Dues
Lenght: 12:21
Owned: 336 days
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
We all should watch and apply this information.

Title: Iron, Fire and Ice: The Real History That Inspired Game of Thrones
By: Ed West
Narrated by: Rory Barnett
Lenght: 20:15 ≈456pgs
Owned: 49 days
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
It does a great job of tacking people's interest in GOT and leveraging that into actual history. The only down side it that it's organized to maximize the similarities, not clarify what is for me a very muddled time in English history.

Title: Years That Changed History: 1215
By: Dorsey Armstrong
Narrated by: Dorsey Armstrong
Lenght: 12:29
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
A good overview of the world around 1215. It does a good job of showing the links between different cultures and how they influenced each other. I really like this professor.

Title: Great Minds of the Medieval World
By: Dorsey Armstrong
Narrated by: Dorsey Armstrong
Lenght: 11:59
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
A different perspective on the Medieval world, but it worked quite well. And I still like this professor.

Title: The Warrior's Gift
By: Bonnie Dee
Narrated by: Natasha Soudek
Lenght: 5:30 ≈178pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★½
Thoughts:
A basic bit of fluf. Strangly enugh, it made me thinkg of some of the points in The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion

Title: The Pretending Plot
Series: Caught Up in Love
By: Lauren Blakely
Narrated by: Vanessa Edwin and Joe Arden
Lenght: 4:33 ≈202pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
I liked this book. The tension was there but reasonable and the characters were both very likable.

Title: Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings
Series: The Chronicles of St Mary's
By: Jodi Taylor
Narrated by: Zara Ramm
Lenght: 1:25 ≈51pgs
Owned: 710 days
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
I do so love this series. The short stories are so well done.

Title: The Book of General Ignorance
By: John Mitchinson and John Lloyd
Narrated by: John Mitchinson and John Lloyd
Lenght: 4:20 ≈290pgs
Owned: 50 days
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
An entertaning collection of facts most people think they know but don't.

Title: Lies, Damned Lies and History
Series: The Chronicles of St Mary's
By: Jodi Taylor
Lenght: 9:31 ≈320pgs
Owned: 97 days
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
Yeap I'm binging. I will not apologies.

Title: Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World
By: Mackenzi Lee
Narrated by: Lucy James
Lenght: 4:54 ≈176pgs
Owned: 10 days
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
A great collection of unjustly obscure women of history. The tone, due to it's Twitter origins, is a little two informal for me.

Title: Blood Territory
By: Mark Whittaker
Narrated by: Mark Whittaker
Lenght: 3:49
Owned: 18 days
Rating: ★★★
Thoughts:
Simple truth: real life and real people are messy.

Title: The Science of Sci-Fi: From Warp Speed to Interstellar Travel
By: Erin Macdonald
Narrated by: Erin Macdonald
Lenght: 3:59
Owned: 18 days
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
A great geekout with good sceince.

Title: History's Greatest Voyages of Exploration
By: Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius
Narrated by: Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius
Lenght: 11:59
Owned: 274 days
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
A different perspective on history.

Title: Dr. Mutter's Marvels: A True Tale of Intrigue and Innovation at the Dawn of Modern Medicine
By: Cristin O'keefe Aptowicz
Narrated by: Erik Singer
Lenght: 8:54 ≈370pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
An intrsteing history of a medical figure I'd never heard of.

Title: Taylor's Temptation
Series: Tall, Dark and Dangerous
By: Suzanne Brockmann
Narrated by: Alexandra Fisher
Lenght: 7:28 ≈256pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★
Thoughts:
A double sided "I've always loved/wanted you but couldn’t tell you" story. Narration was a little off, but not a bad story.

Title: Tempted by a Cowboy
Series: Perfect Man
By: Vicki Lewis Thompson
Narrated by: Arika Rapson
Lenght: 2:24 ≈115pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★
Thoughts:
About what you'd except from a 2.5h romance story. Very media res, but you can't do slow burn in 100pgs.

Title: Atomic Accidents: A History of Nuclear Meltdowns and Disasters; From the Ozark Mountains to Fukushima
By: James Mahaffey
Narrated by: Tom Weiner
Lenght: 15:54 ≈619pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
The author obviously knew what he was talking about. Everything was well organized and understandable.

Very impressive reading over here, Amanda!

Stay safe. xx

Title: The Very First Damned Thing
Series: The Chronicles of St Mary's
By: Jodi Taylor
Lenght: 2:31 ≈74pgs
Reread
Rating: ★★★★½
Thoughts:
Yes: I do have unread books that I really should read. No: I don't really need to reread the whole series. Yes: I will anyway.

Title: Just One Damned Thing After Another
Series: The Chronicles of St Mary's
By: Jodi Taylor
Narrated by: Zara Ramm
Lenght: 9:30 ≈348pgs
Reread
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
Still a great series. A little headlong, and can be confusing. But still very good.

A very good first quarter with 68 books and a hundred posts!

Have a lovely, peaceful, safe and healthy weekend, Amanda

Title: Beaks, Bones and Bird Songs: How the Struggle for Survival Has Shaped Birds and Their Behavior
By: Roger Leaderer and Charles Constant
Lenght: 7:22 ≈281pgs
Owned: 29 days
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
A lot of information, well orgniised. I just didn't find myself getting hooked.

Title: The Tattooed Duchess
Series: Fire Beneath the Skin
By: Victor Gischler
Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham
Lenght: 10:32 ≈370pgs
Owned: 235 days
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
A good story, but it didn't really have an ending. It just ended. I dislike it when books do that.

Title: How to Date Your Dragon
By: Molly Harper
Narrated by: Amanda Ronconi and Jonathan Davis
Lenght: 6:24 ≈216pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
A lot of great characters. I'm glad that at least some of them will get their own stories.

Title: A New History of the American South
By: Edward L Avers
Narrated by: Edward L Avers
Lenght: 10:45
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
A good overview of the South from precolonization to the turn of the 20th century.

Title: Jukebox Joyride
By: Jacob Stein, Jason Rabinowitz and The Pop Ups
Lenght: 3:31
Owned: 307 days
Rating: ★★★
Thoughts:
A good YA audio drama, with jazz, time travel and pre-teens.

Title: Love and Other Wild Things
Series: Mystic Bayou
By: Molly Harper
Narrated by: Jonathan Davis and Amanda Ronconi
Lenght: 6:41 ≈299pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
I enjoyed the feel of this book. The relationship one of respect. And yes, I'm binging this series.

Title: Soldiers of Science
By: Alan Alda
Narrated by: Anthony Fauci and Alan Alda
Lenght: 0:30
Owned: 2 days
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
We are so luck to have this man working for us right now.

Title: Even Tree Nymphs Get the Blues
Series: Mystic Bayou
By: Molly Harper
Narrated by: Amanda Ronconi and Jonathan Davis
Lenght: 3:03 ≈103pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
A very good short story.

>108 dreamweaver529: Congratulations on reaching 75, Amanda!

Yes well done, Amanda on 75 books.

Congrats!

I wanted my message this year to be fairly universal in a time we all should be pulling together, whatever our beliefs. Happy Celebration, Happy Sunday, Amanda.

Title: Selkies Are a Girl's Best Friend
Series: Mystic Bayou
By: Molly Harper
Narrated by: Amanda Ronconi and Jonathan Davis
Lenght: 6:33 ≈214pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
This is the forts of the book in this seis that isn't a reread for me. The world continues to get crazier, but so far the over-arching plot hasn't taken over the romance.

Title: Understanding the Old Testament
By: Robert D Miller II
Narrated by: Robert D Miller II
Lenght: 11:05
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
I highly recommend this course for anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the Old Testament. It was clear and well organized.

Title: Skyward
Series: Skyward
By: Brandon Sanderson
Narrated by: Suzy Jackson
Lenght: 15:28 ≈546pgs
Owned: 348 days
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
An interesting plot, but the characterizations are a little lacking.

Title: Always Be My Banshee
Series: Mystic Bayou
By: Molly Harper
Narrated by: Amanda Ronconi and Jonathan Davis
Lenght: 7:11
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★½
Thoughts:
I do so love a self-saving princess.

Is everyone staying home now? Lots of family time right now, I'll bet. 80 books already--AMAZING!!

Title: Night at the Opera
Series: American Hairess
By: Stacy Henrie
Narrated by: Kelly Burke
Lenght: 8:45 ≈277pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
A sweet romance with well rounded characters.

Title: Songbird
Series: DC Smith/Kings Lake Investigation Series
By: Peter Grainger
Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
Lenght: 15:56 ≈488pgs
Owned: 60 days
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
I like British police procedurals. And I like how this one ended. And at some point, I'll figure out what all the acronyms mean.

Title: Espionage and Covert Operations: A Global History
By: Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius
Lenght: 12:19
Owned: 175 days
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
An interesting overview of the history of espionage.

Title: Circe
By: Madeline Miller
Narrated by: Perdita Weeks
Lenght: 12:08 ≈433pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
This book has strong parallels with Katherine of Aragon, the True Queen, which I paused reading to read this. Both flush out historic or mythical characters. I was struck by how similar the two kings, Odysseus and Henry, where portrayed.

Title: The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap
By: Matt Taibbi
Narrated by: Ray Porter
Lenght: 14:01 ≈450pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
Very, very disturbing. And a book everyone should read.

>118 ronincats: Home yes, but working from home keeps me away from the kiddos more than I'd like. How about you?

>121 dreamweaver529: That course sounds like fun!

Title: Daughter of Sherlock Holmes
Series: The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes Mysteries
By: Leonard Golberg
Narrated by: Steve West
Lenght: 9:36 ≈320pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
A tad forced in it's permice, but a good story all the same.

> 125 It was. I like the professor, having "taken" another one of his courses, History's Greatest Voyages of Exploration, before.

Title: The Beekeeper's Apprentice: or On the Segregation of the Queen
Series: Mary Russell
By: Laurie R. King
Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
Lenght: 13:26 ≈370pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
An interesting comparison to my previous book. This one felt more literary and well done to me. It took into account the changing times, including mention of the first world war. I think I'll be picking up the next one.

Title: Notorious Pleasures
Series: Maiden Lane
By: Elizabeth Hoyt
Narrated by: Ashford McNab
Lenght: 11:23 ≈401pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
One of the things I like about Elizabeth Hoyt's books are snipits of fairy tales at the beginning of each chapter.

Title: Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe
By: Lisa Randall
Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie
Lenght: 12:32 ≈417pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
I liked the overview of the science that took up the begin of the book.

Title: Scandalous Desires
Series: Maiden Lane
By: Elizabeth Hoyt
Lenght: 11:28 ≈400pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
I like how the author handles her characters. Both female and male leads are strong and well defined. Even when they are agreeing to things they don't like there isn’t weakness.

Title: Thief of Shadows
Series: Maiden Lane
By: Elizabeth Hoyt
Narrated by: Ashford McNab
Lenght: 11:01 ≈385pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
Another good story in the series.

Title: Lord of Darkness
Series: Maiden Lane
By: Elizabeth Hoyt
Narrated by: Emma Taylor
Lenght: 12:00 ≈385pgs
Owned: 3 days
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
I found the motivation of the main male lead in this one a little harder to accept.

Title: Duke of Midnight
Series: Maiden Lane
By: Elizabeth Hoyt
Narrated by: Claudia Harris
Lenght: 11:17 ≈400pgs
Owned: 4 days
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
Not my favorate male lead.

Title: Katherine of Aragon, the True Queen
Series: Six Tudor Queens
By: Alison Weir
Lenght: 22:31 ≈625pgs
Owned: 804 days
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
From my knowledge of English history, the book seems to be a very faithful reenactment as it were. And a great reminder of the damage that can be done to the powerless when power is unchecked.

Title: Darling Beast
Series: Maiden Lane
By: Elizabeth Hoyt
Narrated by: Ashford McNab
Lenght: 9:41 ≈337pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
I dislike how the narrator decided to give the blind secondary character a lisp out of no where. Thankfully it just as suddenly goes away next book when she's the lead.

Title: Dearest Rogue
Series: Maiden Lane
By: Elizabeth Hoyt
Narrated by: Ashford McNab
Lenght: 10:21 ≈353pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
A good couple.

Title: Sweetest Scoundrel
Series: Maiden Lane
By: Elizabeth Hoyt
Narrated by: Ashford McNab
Lenght: 10:29 ≈368pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
One of the better books I've read that takes on the trama of sexual assalt.

Title: Duke of Sin
Series: Maiden Lane
By: Elizabeth Hoyt
Narrated by: Ashford McNab
Lenght: 11:32 ≈369pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
I enjoy a good bad-boy. Especially the tortured soul variety. That completely love their mates.

Title: Duke of Pleasure
Series: Maiden Lane
By: Elizabeth Hoyt
Narrated by: Ashford McNab
Lenght: 10:35 ≈337pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
A little too much "necessary" change for the female lead for me for this book to be as good as some of the others.

Title: Duke of Desire
Series: Maiden Lane
By: Elizabeth Hoyt
Narrated by: Ashford McNab
Lenght: 10:56 ≈352pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
I'm impressed again how the author handles sexual assault.

Title: Voyage Of the Basilisk
Series: Lady Trent's Memoirs
By: Marie Brennan
Narrated by: Kate Reading
Lenght: 11:45 ≈370pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★½
Thoughts:
I enjoy the way this series is written, assuming we have knowledge of a fantasy world and the other books published in it.

Title: Lost Christianities: Christian Scriptures and the Battles over Authentication
Series: GC: Religion and Theology
By: Bart D Ehrman
Narrated by: Bart D Ehrman
Lenght: 12:23
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
A very interesting and well executed look at what we know of the plethora of though in early Christianity. The biggest thing I learned, which makes since but I never though of before, is that the Bible as we know it is not just translations, but also a lot of interpretation and transcription. And so a lot of errors/changes.

Title: Introduction to Paleontology
Series: GC: Science and Mathematics
By: Stuart Sutherland
Narrated by: Stuart Sutherland
Lenght: 12:37
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
Each lecture was well themed and a complete "story". I look forward to watching his other course.

Title: Sweet Passion's Song: A Tender Hearts Romance
By: Deborah Camp
Narrated by: Sandra Michelle
Lenght: 5:17 ≈133pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★
Thoughts:
Warning signs of a not very good romance novel: (1) less than 150 pgs. (2) has no LibraryThing page (3) originally published in the 80s (4) included in Amazon's KindilUnlimited. Check, check, check and check.

No character development, no real plot. At least it wasn't offensive.

Title: Love on the Ledge
Series: On the Verge
By: Zoraida Córdova
Narrated by: Annie Green
Lenght: 7:18 ≈226pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
The difference a hundred pages can make. This book had a good story, with interesting main and secondary characters. They felt real to me, and I only wanted to strangle them a little.

Wishing you a lovely long weekend.

Title: In the Labyrinth of Drakes
Series: Lady Trent's Memoirs
By: Marie Brennan
Narrated by: Kate Reading
Lenght: 10:31 ≈351pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★½
Thoughts:
As good as the previous books were, this one really took off. I love the narration style and the way it plays with our expectations. And there may be a chapter I've read over. More than once.

Title: Within the Sanctuary of Wings
Series: Lady Trent's Memoirs
By: Marie Brennan
Narrated by: Kate Reading
Lenght: 10:59 ≈337pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★½
Thoughts:
A great conclusion to a great series. The author did a great job building the overall movement to the heights this book reached.

Title: The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Creat the World's Great Drinks
By: Amy Stewart
Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
Lenght: 10:16 ≈400pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★½
Thoughts:
While audiobook probably isn't the best format for this book (the recopies would be nice to have in a printed format for easy reference), it was very informative and entertaining.

Title: His Ship, Her Fantasy
By: Emma Lai
Narrated by: Melissa Malone
Lenght: 0:45 ≈31pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★
Thoughts:
A cute little storylet.

Title: Why is the Penis Shaped Like That?: And Other Reflections on Being Human
By: Jesse Bering
Narrated by: Jesse Bering
Lenght: 0:00 ≈417pgs
Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts:
A laughs-out-loud information treasure trove. It would also be a good indicator for conversably: if you enjoy this book, you and I can have some very good conversations.