Posts tagged audiobook

AUDIOBOOK read by Colin McPhillamy & Craig Baldwin

Ok, I’m behind on posting some of my latest books as I’ve been travelling.  I thoroughly enjoyed A Fraction of the Whole.  Toltz’s book follows an Australian father and son pair as the son recounts their adventures through life.  It’s a long read, but it’s very well written and quite funny at times.  The book is “written” by Jasper Dean whose father Martin is referred to as “the most hated man in Australia” and whose uncle Terry is referred to as “the most loved man in Australia”.  Martin is a remarkable character who is always trying to do things to make life better for everyone, but fails spectacularly in most efforts.  Terry is a murderer and criminal who captures the heart of the people by targeting athletes who cheat.  They are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to crazy and interesting characters in Toltz’s first novel and I look forward to additional works from him.  I also recommend the audiobook if you like Australian accents as both McPhillamy and Baldwin do a great job in reading the characters.

AUDIOBOOK read by Michael York

I enjoyed Chabon’s The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, so I picked this book up to see if that was an anomaly, or if I enjoy his writing in general.  I’m not sure that I’ve decided that definitively, but I did generally enjoy this book.  I think The Final Solution is targeted to young adults as the mystery is not real complex, but it was a quick read the was entertaining.  The main character in the book is an old retired English detective that helps a refugee boy who has had his parrot stolen.  The detective’s name is never given, but it can be read that he is Sherlock Holmes and I think that Chabon intended this story as a homage to Arthur Conan Doyle’s series.  The audiobook was read and produced well and is only about 3 hours, so a good one to pick up for a short trip.

AUDIOBOOK read by Sean Runnette

This book is perfect if you’re a science geek like me.  A look at the periodic table and the fascinating stories around the elements, the book flows nicely and held my attention throughout.  Some of the stories are about how some of the elements were discovered, some about the properties of elements, and some just about the odd assortment of people that have made an impact in Chemistry and Physics.  The audiobook was well read by Sean Runnette and I didn’t find myself losing focus as I often do with non-fiction books.  I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys non-fiction and has a love of Chemistry and/or Physics. 

AUDIOBOOK read by Tony Hsieh

I love Zappos.  If you’ve never bought anything from them, you really should give it a shot.  They offer free shipping both ways, typically upgrade your shipping to 2-day, and go above and beyond to make sure you are satisfied.  A couple of weeks ago, I order two different pairs of hiking boots, was upgraded to 2-day shipping, tried both on, selected the pair I really wanted, and returned the second pair with a prepaid label from Zappos.  Super easy and I didn’t have to slog through the mall or a shoe store.  I’m hooked.  All of that is to say that if you have interest in business culture or how a company can best focus on customer service, you should read this book.  Part autobiography and part discussion of the Zappos culture, Hseih (the CEO of Zappos) crafts an easy to read and enjoyable book.  I highly recommend it.

AUDIOBOOK read by Simon Prebble

This was a pleasant surprise.  I can’t remember how I stumbled across this book, but I’m glad I picked it up as I very much enjoyed it.  The story takes place in Paris right after the final capture and exile of Napoleon.  There is an interesting historical feel to the book as it follows a young medical student who gets caught up with a gang of thieves.  The story moves well as he balances who he is supposed to be with who he is becoming.  For the audiobook, Simon Prebble does a great job with the narration.  A fairly quick read and worth the time. 

AUDIOBOOK read by multiple readers

I love David Sedaris.  I, however, do not much care for his short story choices, apparently.  I found this collection to be pretty dull.  I listened to this audiobook a month or two ago and can’t remember a single story from it.  Avoid this one and grab yourself an actual David Sedaris book.  Your life will be better for it.

AUDIOBOOK read by Tina Fey

I’m falling behind on my updates and need to get the remaining ones crammed in before the end of the year, so the rest will be short and sweet.  30 Rock is one of my favorite shows and I picked up Tina Fey’s book because of that fact.  I wasn’t disappointed as her book was hilarious as well.  Somewhat of an autobiography, Fey recounts stories from her past and displays much of the same humor that she does on 30 Rock.  Highly recommended.

AUDIOBOOK read by Mark Bramhall

Ugh.  I grabbed this book because I very much enjoyed Martel’s Life of Pi, but that wound up being a mistake.  I could give you a synopsis of this book, but you can find that elsewhere.  Just know that I found the book to be tedious and really didn’t enjoy any part of it.  The audiobook was well read by Bramhall, but the content left much to be desired.  There are a lot of good books out there, skip this one.

AUDIOBOOK read by George Guidall

There’s a lot going on in this book.  At it’s core, American Gods is a road-trip story that follows Shadow, a man recently released from prison whose wife died the day before he got out.  Shadow meets Mr. Wednesday on his way home and accepts a job as Mr. Wednesday’s driver and bodyguard.  In the adventures that follow, Shadow learns that Mr. Wednesday and a cast of others that they meet are all gods who came to America in the minds of immigrants and are now eking out an existence without the worship and sacrifices that they used to receive.  The story itself is quite good, but combined with the themes of religion, culture change, and sacrifice, it winds up being a great novel.  I enjoyed this book and the audiobook is expertly read by Guidall.

AUDIOBOOK read by Carolyn McCormick AND ACTUAL BOOK

Wow.  I will start by saying that I was wrong.  Sometimes books get so much hype that I instinctively assume that they are not as good as people are claiming.  When the books are designated as “Young Adult”, my apprehension is even greater.  This trilogy was recommended to me some time ago and I’ve had the audiobooks on my iPod for what seems like forever.  My wife read The Hunger Games a few months ago and demanded that I read it, so I finally gave in and started the first book.  A week later, I had finished all three via a combination of audiobooks and the hard copies that we have at home.  I started all three on audiobook via my usual listening method (in the car during my commute), but found myself ditching the audiobook for each of them with about 100 pages remaining and just reading the rest in one sitting at home.  This is by no means a critique on the audiobooks, which were expertly read by McCormick, but a function of the quality and intensity of the story which I couldn’t wait on or drag out.  By now, I expect everyone has a pretty good idea of what these books are about, so I’ll skip the synopsis and just tell you to read them now and enjoy.