What I read (or listened to) from April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006, organized by category.
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Non-Fiction:
The Art of Travel, Alain de Botton, read by Steven Crossley (A)
The last few chapters of this were the best–the discussion of Van Gogh and the colors and landscape of Provence, room travel, and learning to draw in order to learn to see.
America (The Audiobook), read by Jon Stewart and the cast of The Daily Show (A)
I was sad there were only 3 CDs (it’s abridged) because there are some really funny bits and I wanted more.
Marley and Me, John Grogan
I bought this book in the airport in Atlanta on a whim–I needed reading material and none of the magazines available really interested me and this book had a cute puppy on the cover and an intriguing subtitle (“Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog”). I loved it. I didn’t always love the Grogans as dog owners, but I loved the book and I loved Marley. I had to stop reading it on the planes, though, because I was sure my laughing and crying were going to disturb the other passengers around me.
Travels with Charley, John Steinbeck, read by Ron McLarty (A)
Now this is a good road book. Doesn’t tell all, but the omissions are made gracefully. It was interesting to get a view of what the country was like when I was a baby.
Everything Bad is Good for You, Steven Johnson (BC)
A lot of this makes a lot of sense, but I still think I should read more.
Talk to the Hand, Lynne Truss
I bought this in the airport because I couldn’t get into Christopher Moore’s Lamb and needed something to read on the plane. This was perfect–it made me laugh more than once.
The Distance to the Moon, James Morgan
I picked this up because based on the back cover copy it seemed like it would be a feel-good car story, perfect to pick up my Motown spirit. Except the author does his road trip in a fancy new Porsche, and that made it hard to connect. I liked this book best when the trip went through places I’ve been, least when it referred again and again to the fight the author had with his wife at the beginning of the trip (she spent the first few days with him), which was presented in the “I cant’ really go into the details but I’m going to go on and on about the fallout” style that so annoys me when people do it in their online journals.
Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure, Sarah Macdonald, read by Kate Hosking (A)
The references to Australian pop culture went right over my head (I assume that’s what they were), and the text didn’t much enlighten me on how the author went from hating India to crying when it was time for her to leave.
Paige by Paige, Paige Davis
I got this at the dollar store, which was about the right price. The layout of the pages is odd, with seemingly random font changes and text placed at strange angles; I suspect this was done to make it look more informal and give it a scrapbook feel, but it just annoyed me. This isn’t a tell-all; it’s light and bright and breezy.
Fat Girl, Judith Moore, read by Carol Monda (A)
This is a book about survival. Not thriving, just survival. There’s no sugar-coating.
Soul of a Chef, Michael Ruhlman
I’d enjoyed this author’s earlier book, The Making of a Chef, so when I saw this one in the Friends of the Library sale, I grabbed it. This one doesn’t hang together as well as that one did, being three long essays on different things, but I did like it. My favorite was the first essay on the Certified Master Chef exam–one of the chefs being tested was from Michigan and taught at the college I drive by on the way to work, so it was fun to see those touches of local color mentioned.
I’m a Stranger Here Myself, Bill Bryson
I could have sworn I’d read this before, but it doesn’t show up in my past book logs, so it must have been a while ago if I did. I enjoyed a lot of the pieces included, but knowing that they were written for a British audience about the U.S., I wished that some hadn’t been quite so honest about this country’s shortcomings. It’s the “we can say bad things about our family amongst ourselves but put on a good face to the outside” dynamic I learned early, I guess.
Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress, Susan Jane Gilman, read by Susan Denaker (A)
I really liked this, especially the parts about her girlhood, which gave me a new perspective on growing up different. I did not appreciate her view of Detroit but at least she didn’t dwell on it.
Tales from the Scale, Erin J. Shea (editor)
This felt abridged somehow, as if the stories were culled from various online journals and the bits that didn’t fit the theme of each chapter were chopped out. I felt like something was missing and got no clear sense of who most of these women are.
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, David Sedaris
It felt like I’d seen or heard some of these pieces in other places, so it wasn’t all new to me like I’d hoped; yes, I’m greedy and want more David Sedaris, because some of it is so funny and some is so touching and some of it is both at the same time.
My Life as a 10-Year-Old Boy, Nancy Cartwright, read by the author (A)
I kept listening for (and hearing) hints of Bart in her normal voice, which was a bit distracting. It was also strange to hear her do voices for characters other actors normally do, and the references to L. Ron Hubbard in the afterword were distressing–she’s a Scientologist?
Knitting in Plain English, Maggie Righetti
Denise recommended this to me, and it’s good. I haven’t done enough knitting to understand some of it, but it was interesting and entertaining enough that I read it cover to cover and expect to refer back to it frequently.
What Just Happened, James Gleick, read by Dan Cashman (A)
This collection of essays about the early days of the internet was interesting in a “gee, how much has changed” kind of way.
My Kitchen Wars, Betty Fussell
This memoir made me glad I didn’t live her life. Her husband and son have also written memoirs; I’m now curious to read those and see how the family dynamic shaped them.
Bible Clues for the Clueless, Christopher D. Hudson, et al
I picked this up because I don’t know as much about the bible as I’d like to, and I don’t mind being called “clueless” (unlike being called a “dummy” or an “idiot”). I cannot recommend it, at least not to a skeptic like me, plus I found the humorous touches completely unfunny.
Inside Edge, Christine Brennan
This would have been more interesting if I’d read it when it first came out, before I’d learned so much about figure skating from other sources. Still, it was a good read.
A Boy I Once Knew, Elizabeth Stone
I found this story of what happens when a man wills his diaries to a teacher he hasn’t seen in two decades vaguely unsatisfying. It felt like a companion piece rather than a complete work–a book about the writing of a book that doesn’t seem to actually exist. This is not the story of the man in the diaries–this is the story of the person who read them.
White Men Don’t Have Juju, Pam Ascanio
This really made me not want to go to Africa, at least not the way this couple did. I’m entirely too attached to creature comforts like adequate food. The chapter covering life after their return home to Florida was interesting.
Million Dollar Mermaid, Esther Williams with Digby Diehl
I hoped this would give me a peek into the Hollywood studio system in the 1940s and 50s, and it did, but I found some parts of it unsettling. I sure am glad my mom didn’t do what Esther Williams did to her kids after she divorced her alcoholic husband.
How Not to Live Abroad, Shaun Briley
This was really funny, especially the first two-thirds or so of the book.
The Nia Experience, Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas
I really did read this all the way through–usually a book like this with lots of pictures I’d just skim and read a bit here and a bit there. I’m not sure that Nia really translates well into book form–for me it’s about movement and music and book doesn’t have either of those. But I have referred back to parts of it, especially when my instructor was travelling and I had to be my own teacher for a few weeks, so I’m glad I have it.
Dave Barry Is Not Taking This Sitting Down, Dave Barry, read by Dick Hill (A)
Has Dave gotten less funny, or has my sense of humor changed? I don’t know. I do know I only laughed or chuckled a few times while I listened to this. The narrator on the CD was overly dramatic for my taste–maybe if I’d read it to myself I would have found it funnier.
Whose Panties Are These?, Jennifer Leo (Editor)
I read most of this collection of stories about travel misadventures while on a trip of my own. It’s a good book for reading in short stretches, so it was a good travel companion. Only a few of the stories stood out as funny, but the rest were interesting enough for a diversion while on the road.
Lost in My Own Backyard, Tim Cahill, read by Michael Prichard (A)
This made me want to go backcountry camping in Yellowstone, and I normally don’t think of myself as a backcountry camping kind of person.
The Bitch in the House, Cathi Hanauer (Editor), various authors, read by them (A)
I missed the word “selections” after “unabridged” on the cover of this, or I wouldn’t have checked it out. The introduction refers to stories which were not included on the CD, some of which sounded more interesting than the ones that were on it. I most enjoyed Elissa Schappell’s essay on motherly anger, and Laurie Abraham’s on co-parenting was pretty good as well. Some of the others were too whiny for my taste, and many of the authors are not good readers, so that detracted.
Note: I later got the printed book out of the library and read the essays that weren’t on the tape. There were indeed some interesting ones in that group.
Fiction:
Dirty Work, Stuart Woods, read by Robert Lawrence (A)
This is not a very good book, even judged by the standards of its genre. The plot hinges on a series of coincidences that stretch belief well beyond the breaking point. There was also a fair amount of gratuitous sex, not even redeemed by it being hot. The narrator’s choice of voices for the many of the characters–particularly Bacchetti, who sounded a lot like Andre the Giant–grated on me. I kept hoping I’d get used to the voices and the story would improve, but it didn’t happen.
The Stupidest Angel, Christopher Moore (BC)
This is the first Christopher Moore I’ve read, and I found it great fun, from the subtitle (A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror) on. A good airplane book.
By a Spider’s Thread, Laura Lippman, read by Barbara Rosenblatt (A)
Incidents that I assume were covered in a previous book in this series were referred to so often in this one that I really felt like I was coming in in the middle of something. I didn’t quite buy the ending, but maybe that’s because I don’t know enough about guns.
I’m Not the New Me, Wendy McClure
I bought this because of the WW recipe cards, which I saw on the author’s website thanks to a link in a forum way back when. The book has some very funny bits and some touching ones and it was fun to see who I recognized from reading online journals. I only wish it had a stronger ending, but that’s not how real life works most of the time and this is not a novel.
Getting Mother’s Body, Suzan-Lori Parks, read (and sung) by the author (A)
I liked the characters–who all took turns narrating–and the way the songs were handled on this audio and loved the twist near the end. I only wished for a longer epilogue, with more details about what happened after.
Girl Clown, Mary Wise
I read this because I met the author, a.k.a. Bozoette, at last year’s JournalCon. Fortunately, I liked it, so I won’t have to avoid her at this year’s gathering.
Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling
You know I’ve got it bad when I buy a hardcover.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling, read by Jim Dale (A)
This was my least favorite of the series so far. I found it almost painful to listen to at times because I couldn’t stop thinking that so much of the bad stuff that happened could have been avoided if only Harry hadn’t been acting so stupid. I know he’s a teenaged boy, but I expected better of him. Of course, if he hadn’t acted the way he did, the plot wouldn’t have worked out the way it did and I’d like to believe that those events were necessary to set up what’s to come. Time will tell.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling, read by Jim Dale (A)
My favorite of the series so far. I wonder if that’s because this is the first one I’ve read without having seen the movie first.
San Remo Drive, Leslie Epstein
I picked this up because I was intrigued by the “novel from memory” line on the jacket. Reading it made me feel melancholy. The non-chronological order confused me at first, but then I realized that’s how memory works, so I relaxed into it.
Death in Paradise, Robert B. Parker, read by Robert Forster (A)
A light mystery, perfect for the car because it doesn’t demand too much attention to follow.
owling, read by Jim Dale (A)
I’m going to be sad when I run out of Harry Potter books to listen to. They really do make my commute better.
Men at Arms, Terry Pratchett
It was nice to be back on the Discworld for the time it took me to read this. I wish there were a Carrot in my world.
Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling, read by Jim Dale (A)
I got the reader’s name this time; still not on the jacket, but he introduced himself at the end of the book and I was paying attention. Again, an enjoyable listening experience.
The Invisible Man, H.G. Wells, read by Vicki Morgan (A)
This book deserves its status as a classic.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J.K. Rowling, read by Jim Dale (?) (A)
I’m not quite sure about the reader’s name, since it wasn’t on the jacket. This was a good car book, especially since it had been so long since I saw the movie that I’d forgotten key plot points and thus was interested to see how things developed.
Eaters of the Deadrichton, read by George Guidall (A)
Somehow I temporarily got Beowulf confused with The Canterbury Tales and wondered why this retelling of the former was unrecognizable as the latter when I first started listening to it. Once I stopped waiting for the knight and the miller to show up, I enjoyed it more. At some level, though, I was listening for any hints of Crichton’s anti-environmental views.
When the Women Come Out to Dance, Elmore Leonard, read by various narrators (A)
This collection seemed a little random, with a couple of the short stories set in the last century rather interrupting the flow of the more contemporary ones, but I enjoyed it. Includes a prequel to Tishomingo Blues, which stands on its own but resonated more with me because I’d read that book already.
Here’s what I read from April 1, 2004 to March 31, 2005, organized by category. I’ve dropped the “Fluffy Fiction” distinction this year because I’ve decided it doesn’t matter, and I’ve grouped titles by the same author together because I thought it was interesting how much Terry Pratchett I read.
Non-Fiction:
Poker Nation, Andy Bellin
Much as I’ve enjoyed the two times I’ve played poker, my eyes glazed over a time or two when reading this. I don’t want to learn to figure pot odds or count outs, so I guess I’ll never be a great poker player. I can live with that.
Breaking Clean, Judy Blunt
This book definitely needs a “bad things happen to animals” sticker on it. There weren’t many incidents like that, but they were graphic enough to give me bad dreams (I usually read right before bed). The descriptions of isolated ranch life in the 50s and 60s were fascinating. I wished she’d spent more time on how she actually made the break; it almost seemed like one night she was delivering a calf and the next she had a divorce decree in hand. Maybe she had to gloss over those parts for the sake of her family relationships.
Don’t Know Much About Geography, Kenneth C. Davis, read by Dick Estell (A)
I have an aversion to Dummies and Idiots books, but Don’t Know Much–yeah, I can go with that. The narrator of this one used to be (still is maybe) on WKAR as The Radio Reader, so listening took me back to my little apartment in Lansing, where I’d listen to him read a half a hour a day.
Confessions of a Window Dresser, Simon Doonan
This made window dressing sound like great fun. Too bad there aren’t many windows around to dress these days. Maybe I could glass in our front porch and set up my own displays when I’m retired and have some free time.
The Olive Farm, Carol Drinkwater, read by the author (A)
This reminded me of the Tuscany and Provence books–person buys a home in a foreign country and hijinks ensue. It wasn’t all hijinks, of course, and the story in this book seemed better told than similar ones I’ve read.
Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, Alexandra Fuller, read by Lisette Lecat (A)
This story of a white girl growing up in Africa gave me some perspective on own childhood. Sure, my parents fought and my dad drank too much, but at least my wading pool didn’t have to be checked for scorpions before I got in, for instance. There were some tragic parts in this and some really funny parts and I’m glad I read it.
Round Ireland with a Fridge, Tony Hawk (BC)
A quick, fun read about a guy who hitchhiked around Ireland with a dorm-sized refrigerator on a bet.
Enough to Make a Cat Laugh, Deric Longden, read by the author (A)
I liked this little book and the talking cats who populated it.
Travels in the white man’s grave, Donald Macintosh, read by Samuel Gillies (A)
The repetition of the phrase “white man’s grave” got a little tiresome, and I got a mixed impression of the author’s views on women, but it was entertaining to hear stories of a time and place I’ll never get to experience myself.
In Tuscany, Frances Mayes & Edward Mayes, read by the authors (A)
This was a bad choice to listen to in the car. It doesn’t have a plot or a compelling narrative, and the main reader has a voice that’s soft and soothing, so the overall effect is rather soporific.
The Blank Slate, Steven Pinker (BC)
It took me for-freakin-ever to finish this. I absolutely, positively cannot recommend it. The subject matter– nature versus nurture– is interesting, yet the way it’s presented here made me want to scream a lot of the time. “Get to the point!”, I’d think, or “How arrogant can you get?” My annoyance at the author kept me from learning much from this, which is unfortunate.
Who’s Your Caddy?, Rick Reilly, read by Grover Gardner (A)
This was interesting even though I don’t golf. I found a few of the jokes tasteless and wonder if some of the subjects will ever talk to Mr. Reilly again but also laughed out loud more than once and even got a little teary a couple times.
Walking My Dog, Jane, Ned Rozell
I bought this story by a man who walked the length of the trans-Alaska pipeline accompanied by his chocolate Lab in a little gift kiosk next to the pipeline in Fairbanks (which is one section where he couldn’t walk right next to the pipe due to land rights issues). I enjoyed reading about the trip but I wish there were more pictures–Jane looks like she was a nice dog who enjoyed the walk.
Touching the Void, Joe Simpson
If I didn’t know this was a true story, I’d have been shaking my head at how unbelievable so much of it was. Of course, I never would have even been in Peru, much less attempting a first ascent (is that the right term?) of an ice and snow covered mountain, so there’s a huge gap I have to cross right there.
Jarhead: A Marine’s Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles, Anthony Swafford, read by the author (A)
Most of the audio books I listen to say “performed by” before the reader’s name on the cover. This one does, too, but it really sounds like reading. At first, I thought they should have gotten someone else to do it, someone who knew how to make it sound like telling a story, but as I listened I appreciated more and more that this was the guy who’d experienced the things he was reading about and maybe he wrote about them and then read the words because he needed that layer of distance. This book felt very honest to me and helped me understand just a little bit about what some of the soldiers now in Iraq might be feeling.
Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Lynne Truss
This is not a style manual, but it is funny, which is rare in a book about punctuation.
Stuffed: Adventures of a Restaurant Family, Patricia Volk, read by Barbara Rosenblat (A)
The restaurant is only a minor part of this book, which was a little disappointing since I like restaurant stories, but I still was interested to hear about a family so different from my own. I can’t imagine being as close to a sibling as the author is to her sister, for instance.
Fiction:
Never Change, Elizabeth Berg, read by Suzanne Toren (A)
This got a little too twee in places, such as when the main character says she likes to read books where people talk in the kitchen– hey, this is a book where people talk in the kitchen, what a coincidence– and the plot was a little hard to believe, yet I got drawn in enough to cry in the sad places. Near the conclusion, it seemed to be heading in a direction I didn’t like but it ended up surprising me.
The Burglar in the Rye, Lawrence Block, read by Richard Ferrone (A)
It wasn’t until I was several chapters into this that I realized I’d already listened to another book with the same main character. Reading last year’s book log, I found I didn’t like that other one much, finding the pace too slow. This one started out better, but got slow at the end during a very lengthy scene when nothing happened but all the major characters sitting in a room and listening to one guy talk–too much telling, not enough showing. There were also coincidences galore, which I had trouble accepting. Still, it had some nice moments.
The Cat Who Talked Turkey, Lillian Jackson Braun, read by George Guidall (A)
This latest installment in the series clearly shows that Ms. Braun has lost interest and is writing these just to meet a contractual obligation or make her mortgage payments or something. She made no effort to even try to flesh out the crime plot in this one; it’s all charming small town background stuff and the crimes solve themselves without Qwill doing diddly to investigate them. I’m glad I got this from the library, because if I’d paid for it I’d be asking for half my money back because it’s only half a book compared to the others in the series.
Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte, read by Michael Page and Laural Merlington (A)
Somehow I managed to get this far into life without reading this classic. I had, of course, seen the Monty Python semaphore version, which was not nearly as dreary.
Seduction by Design, Sandra Brown, read by Jenna Stern (A)
I somehow missed the fact that this is a romance novel until it was too late. There was no long-haired bare-chested pretty boy on the CD cover, for one thing. In reading the synopsis, I focused on the theme park job the heroine had (“hey, I like theme parks”, I thought) and didn’t notice that the author has written more than 40 books. You can’t write 40 good books in a normal lifetime, I don’t think, and this one proves it. The main character is infuriatingly stupid for a woman with a successful career, and the plot stretches credulity almost as much as a time-traveling Viking. Why I finished it I do not know. Just stubborn, I guess.
Cause of Death, Patricia Cornwell, read by C.J. Critt (A)
I didn’t enjoy this Kay Scarpetta mystery as much as I have some of the others I’ve read. I was particularly disappointed in how the story wrapped up–I was hoping for a more personal motive behind the crimes and instead got an extremely implausible series of events. I was also disappointed in the “we just couldn’t help ourselves” excuse for adultery.
Being Dead, Jim Crace, read by Virginia Leishman (A)
I’ve been meaning to read this for a long time. For a book about death, it wasn’t as gloomy as I expected. It definitely passed my “I want to know more about what happened to these characters” test.
Savushun, Simin Danshivar, translated by M.R. Ganoonparvar (BC)
It took me a while to get the characters sorted out (fortunately there’s a cast list provided for reference), but it was a good story. I’m sure I missed many of the cultural references, even though I had the book club to help, but I still liked it.
The Quality of Life Report, Meghan Daum, read by Johanna Parker (A)
I liked the premise of this novel– a New Yorker who moves to the prairie– but never really connected with the main character and found some of the characterizations of the the Midwesterners insulting.
Deadline, John Dunning, read by Ed Sala (A)
This started pretty strong– I was interested in the situation and the characters– but got weaker as the book progressed. An incident near the end that should have had a lot of emotional content was just glossed over, and the final resolution left me underwhelmed.
Tishomingo Blues, Elmore Leonard, read by Frank Muller (A)
I didn’t find this as funny as the person who wrote the comments on the book jacket, but I enjoyed it. It was sometimes hard to know whom to root for.
Spin Cycle, Sue Margolis
This was not a good book, yet I had to finish it. The characters were caricatures, the situations were unbelievable, the jokes were not funny even though it was a book about a stand up comic, yet I had to finish it. I think it’s the hangover effect from reading those Viking romances.
This Is Not a Novel, David Markson
I really liked this book. It’s not a typical novel, for sure, and I thought it might frustrate me since flipping through it seemed a bit bloggy, but it really grew on me as I read it. Parts of it were funny, too, even though death was a dominant theme.
The Girl Who Married a Lion, Alexander McCall Smith, read by various (A)
The African folk tales in this collection seemed strange to me at first, probably as strange as fairy tales about princesses would seem to someone living in a traditional African village, but I soon got into the spirit.
If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, John McGregor, read by Jilly Bond (A)
This confused me. I sometimes couldn’t tell whether events were happening in the present or the past, and I’m still not sure exactly what happened at the end. I thought I’d guessed what the terrible thing was that was being alluded to but not revealed until the conclusion, but I didn’t get it quite right. I think it’s a good book, but also think it would have been better to read in print than listen to.
Alaska, James Michener
It probably would have been better if I’d read this before we went to Alaska, as Mr. Karen intended when he bought it for me for my birthday six months before our trip. However, it wasn’t until after we came back that I managed to work up the enthusiasm for such a long book with such tiny print. When I finally read it, I found it educational but not overly entertaining. There’s just too much crammed into one book, and there’s no coherent thread that runs through it to follow. I didn’t particularly care about any of the sets of characters; they seemed flat to me.
While Other People Sleep, Marcia Muller, read by Bernadette Dunne (A)
I had some trouble believing some of the things that went on in this book and disagreed with a few of the choices the main character, a female detective, made– if those choices had been explained better, that problem could have gone away. Still, I liked it enough that I would read others in the series (maybe they’d explain the character better).
Shrink Rap, Robert B. Parker, read by Deborah Raffin (A)
I cannot recommend this, even as a fluffy book. The most believable and likeable character is Rosie the dog; unfortunately the story is not about her. The climactic scene is a major letdown.
The Flanders Panel, Arturo Perez-Reverte, translated by Margaret Jull Costa (BC)
This was better than the last two books I read (In Tuscany and The Blank Slate, which I realize is faint praise. I was put off from the start by the art restorer who chain smoked as she worked and never quite connected with the characters or the plot after that. Still, it did have some interesting aspects so I don’t regret reading it.
Moving Pictures, Terry Pratchett
Like the rock n’ roll one, I didn’t like the movies theme because the subject matter was too ordinary. There were some amusing bits, though, so I kept reading.
Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
This was the perfect book to read between Christmas and New Year’s–holiday-themed and entertaining.
Soul Music, Terry Pratchett
I didn’t like the rock ‘n roll theme in this one at all–it seemed too ordinary and didn’t take me out of reality enough.
Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett
What I’m going to do when I run out of Discworld novels to read, I do not know. I especially will miss the ones that feature Death, like this one does.
Mort, Terry Pratchett
Eric, Terry Pratchett
A six hour plus flight to Alaska and the trains and buses after we arrived gave me plenty of time to read these.
Sourcery, Terry Pratchett
These Discworld books are like candy. Good candy.
The Light Fantastic, Terry Pratchett
Hey, I think I actually read two Discworld books in order. Go me. I like them, obviously.
The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
I finally got around to reading to the first Discworld book. Better late than never–at last I know about The Luggage!
Equal Rites, Terry Pratchett
Another entertaining installment in the Discworld series, which I am reading in no particular order.
Pyramids, Terry Pratchett
I had to take this on my trip to Las Vegas; pyramids– Luxor– get it? It was pretty good, too, besides fitting the theme of the weekend.
Nostradamus Ate My Hamster, Robert Rankin, read by the author (A)
I had to check out this one just based on the title. It took me a little while to get into it, maybe because I’m not much for time travel plots, but I’m glad I stuck with it because there were several laugh out loud funny parts later on.
The Man Who Ate the 747, Ben Sherwood, read by David Schramm (A)
I liked the premise, but really could not buy the world record aspects. Do they really get that much attention? I don’t think so, but I get most of my news from NPR.
Number 10, Sue Townsend, read by Barbara Rosenblat (A)
I laughed out loud more than once during this tale of a cross dressing prime minister, which makes it a worthwhile book as far as I’m concerned. It likely would have been even funnier if I knew more about British pop culture.
The Funeral Party, Ludmila Ulitskaya (BC)
I didn’t manage to read this in the same month as the book club, but that’s the way things go sometimes. I couldn’t find a way in to the world described here, maybe because it was such a short book that there wasn’t time to explore the characters in any great detail.
Life Studies, Susan Vreeland, read by Karen White (A)
I liked this collection of stories about people interacting with artists and art. I did find myself wishing that this audio came with a printed booklet so I could see the artwork referenced in the stories. The famous pieces I could make mental pictures of, but the others, not so much.
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