audio review – Page 3

Shopaholic To The Rescue by Sophie Kinsella Narrated by Clare Corbett

Published on March 27, 2016March 25, 2016 by Sheila (Book Journey)6 Comments

When Becky’s father disappeared one day without a trace, the family goes a little nutty. Not only is her father gone, but it looks like the he took the husband of her best friend Suze with him as well. Becky’s mom is beside herself with a mixture of worry and anger, Suze is distraught and Becky knows she must pull herself together and figure out what is going on for the sake of her family.

When it is found out that Becky’s father and Suze’s husband are working together on some sort of secret mission in Las Vegas… the answer is obvious…. they must all go to Vegas to figure out what is going on and bring the men back home.

Viva Las Vegas!

I am not a big follower of the Shopaholic books but once in a while, I like to check in on Becky as the books keep coming! Not a lot has changed in Becky’s life except I see now she has been working hard on curbing her spending habits. The audio was a delicious break from reality of just fun listening. Narrator Clare Corbett worked the narrative well with her accent. Without spoiling anything I have to say I loved the Ocean’s 11 references…. it gave me ideas. 🙂

Listening Length: 9 hours and 27 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Random House Audio; Unabridged edition (November 10, 2015)

The Status Of All Things by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke Narrated by Amy McFadden

Published on March 25, 2016 by Sheila (Book Journey)6 Comments

Kate is 35 and is addicted to Social Media. It is no surprise then that when her fiance Max decides to break it off at their rehearsal dinner, Kate turns to Facebook to write all about how hurt she is and how she wishes she could do the last month over. Then something odd happens. It seems that whatever Kate posts on Facebook, comes true. When she wakes up the next morning, it is a month earlier and she and Max and still happily engaged. With her new-found power at her fingertips, Kate goes back in time to change a few things that will make Max hers again. When Kate lets her two best friends in on the secret and tries to improve their “statuses” as well… Kate finds out that things don’t always go as you hope, and perhaps it isn’t possible to really change fate.

What a fun idea for a book! In the day and age of social media I loved the idea of our Facebook Status being a way to represent the status we really wish for. With Amy McFadden as the narrator at the wheel – this was a great listen! The combination of the two authors is interesting but however they do it – it works! I thoroughly enjoyed this book on audio, it was interesting to see how Kate tried to make changes that would in the end be better for her, but some how the wording would miss its mark… a really fun listen!

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 9 hours
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Dreamscape Media, LLC
Audible.com Release Date: July 13, 2015

The Dorito Effect by Mark Schatzker and Narrated by Chris Patton

Published on March 23, 2016March 23, 2016 by Sheila (Book Journey)4 Comments

In a world of fad diets, carb and calorie counting, and food programs like Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig… we still seem to be heading the wrong direction. Record numbers of obesity and diabetes pop up every year.

So what are we doing wrong?

Author Mark Schatzker tells us how since the 1940’s we have slowly been losing the flavor in our foods. Through faster growing procedures, making our fruits, vegetables, and meat larger faster, we have taken away the main thing that makes food satisfying…

Flavor.

Foods that once were considered healthy are now more like junk food having been zapped of the needed nutrition built into the growth process that causes foods to contain what our bodies need to feel full, healthy, and satisfied.

Chris Patton’s narration in The Dorito Effect was engaging and thought provoking. He held a tone that kept me fully engaged in this book.

I found this book to be filled with interesting facts that I had not really thought of. Being a consumer, not a grower, I had not given much thought to the taste of the large visually appealing tomatoes I find in my local super market, or the lack of taste in the grilled chicken breasts I prepare for dinner after I marinate them or cover them in herbs and spices to make them into a tasty meal. When presented with the facts in this book, it was an eye opener when they spoke of chicken that our grandparents would prepare with the yellow fat…

I had forgotten all about the yellow fat.

And as I listened to this book on audio with the well spoken narrator Chris Patton, I became more and more aware of what they were saying was true. Food has lost its flavor. That tomato I buy at the store does not have that delicious taste of the ones I grew up with. While our produce may look larger and more colorful than any in history, they have lost what is important…. the flavor and the nutrients that make us feel full and satisfied. As our food has become blander, flavor technology has stepped up to replace the natural flavor with artificial ones.

I found the Dorito Effect to be very interesting. I had thought for a while now about having a garden like the one I grew up with and after listening to this book, I am even more sure that this spring I want to do just that. As a reader or a listener, I think you will find The Dorito Effect to give you your own “aha” moment when it comes to our food choices and why. I enjoyed the narration of Chris Patton very much, he had an engaging tone that made this an easy listen.

Narrator Chris Patton has been nominated by the APA for the 2016 Audie Awards for this non fiction book.

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 8 hours and 17 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Dreamscape Media, LLC
Audible.com Release Date: May 5, 2015

Nightfall by Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski and Read by Nicholas Guy Smith

Published on March 16, 2016 by Sheila (Book Journey)5 Comments

Bliss Island is a place where daylight lasts for fourteen years, followed by fourteen years of darkness. As the years of darkness approach, the inhabitants of Marin’s Island work diligently to make everything spotless and then leave the island on awaiting ships that will sail south with the tide and they will not return until daylight comes again.

For Marin, her twin brother Kana and their friend Line, this will be the first time they will be leaving the island and they are curious about what strange things will happen while they are away. Their parents seen usually frantic, scrubbing all surfaces, taking locks off the doors, setting tables and arranging furniture. When the teenagers ask about this bizarre preparation they are met with looks but no answers.

On the day the boats are set to launch, Line goes missing. The twins set out to find him knowing they have to get to the boats before they leave the island. Yet night, is upon them…. and the island…. is changing.

Cover, synopsis, what is not to love? This creepy tale caught me up from the start. I had to know more about a place that stays light for 14 years! Nightfall is just as creepy as described in a good spine tingling YA way. Suspending any hopes of realism is a must, this is a read you need to let sink into your bones and marinate. There’s something about things in the woods that always gets my heart beating a little faster.

While I personally found the story line to be good, the best part of this book was the narration. Nicholas Guy Smith has this gravely accented voice that was perfect for this book. Like someone telling a tale of old… I loved it. I wish I could find a way to describe the narration better…. perfect. Delectable.

Overall, I think older MG (Middle Grade) and Younger YA (Young Adults) would find this an enjoyable listen or read.

Listening Length: 10 hours and 15 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Listening Library
Audible.com Release Date: September 22, 2015

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer Narrated by Philip Franklin

Published on March 8, 2016March 9, 2016 by Sheila (Book Journey)15 Comments

In 1996, Jon Krakauer along with a team of climbers including two company climbing leaders and their team, set out to climb Mount Everest. For Jon, this was going to be a first hand story of the appeal to climb for the magazine he worked for at the time, Outside Magazine. Rob Hall was the Guide for Krakauer’s group and knew what a positive story about the climb would do for his business.

On average, from 1920 when groups started climbing Everest, one climber would die for every four who gave the mountain a try. There were no promises made of your success to the top, or even coming back. At the time of Krakauer’s climb, the cost for this experience was a whopping $65,000 per person.

Unfortunately, this climb would become the deadliest in history. After a storm hits on May 10th, 8 of this groups will die on the mountain….

Into Thin Air, is the story of this fateful trip.

Recently, my husband and I rented and watched the movie Everest. It was, fantastic. While watching the details of this event, the name Jon Krakauer kept ringing a bell. I told my husband, I think he is an author. Crazily enough, I had forgotten that Jon Krakauer was not only an author, but the author of Into Thin Air, the book about this event and this movie we were currently watching. I had completely forgotten that this author was actually on this guided climb that took the lives of many.

I know at some point I had read Into Thin Air. Looking through this site, I discovered it was prior to my blogging days. Suddenly I wanted to listen to it on audio, knowing the first time around I had read the book. I am so glad I did.

Obviously the whole story in remarkable and sad. Narrated by Philip Franklin, he was as impressive as a narrator as those I find my favorites for non fiction listens. Fully engrossing, his voice steadily unfolded the story.

While the movie Everest is the loosely inspired by this book, it has its differences and a few that have upset author Jon Krakauer. I wont give anything away, I encourage you to see the movie and of course read or listen to this amazing book.

What drives a person to spend that amount of money? What is within some that makes a goal of reaching the top of a mountain known to take the lives of many so appealing?

Highly recommended – the audio is fantastic and so is the book.

Listening Length: 9 hours and 8 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Books on Tape
Audible.com Release Date: December 15, 1999

Morning Meanderings…. The beginning of a CrAzY Two Weeks

Published on March 7, 2016 by Sheila (Book Journey)11 Comments

Monday.

And here we go.

Today we start setting up for the spring book sale. Today as in ummmm…. in about an hour. We are excited to be moving it to the local mall which has a large open space for us use for the sale so our books and our patrons will not be crowded. It is exciting but also a lot of work. 🙂 We will continue to set up through Wednesday and official sale dates are Thursday – Saturday…. Sunday we will offer a free day but “shhhhh” we are keeping that under wraps. 😉 I literally laid in bed last night and thought of signs that I need to make, how to set up our Friends Of The Library info board, the best way to move the books…..

Tomorrow is book club, here at my house. We are reading All The Birds In The Sky by Charlie Jane Anders. As yesterday was beautiful here in Central Minnesota, 50 degrees, I switched to audio on this one so I could listen while I cleaned the garage and the back deck. More on that later this week.

Coming out of the book sale will have me running right towards the Gatsby Gala which is a week from this Friday on the 18th. That too is coming together well and I am hopeful that this weeks sale will assist in promoting the Gala. This event is an idea two years in the making and seeing it come to reality really means more than I can say here. Later today I will look at 20’s style costumes for the event.

In other news, I signed up to take part in the Armchair Audies this year and I am super excited about the audio books I will listening to. I will be judging in the Non-Fiction and in the Humor categories. Check out the website and you too can be a judge if you would like!

Is Spring coming your way? Is this a season that you read more or less? Do you turn to audio more during busy times?

Level Up. Beyond The Turning Of The Page

Published on March 5, 2016March 6, 2016 by Sheila (Book Journey)43 Comments

About once a year, I get on my audio soap box. If you read me here, you already know I LOVE audio books. When I discovered audio books in 2010, I was amazed that I had found a way to enjoy books beyond the turning of the page. If you are into real books or your E-Reader, what I want to share here is that this is another way to EXPERIENCE books that will (I promise) take you to the next level.

One thing we can agree on before we get started….. we all love to read. We enjoy engaging in a well written story. We can close our eyes and picture our favorite reading spot…. a cozy chair, on the porch in the sun, in the evening curled up on the couch, outside on a swing, a park bench, leaning against a tree….

I get that. I am that. Often… I love to be on the back deck in the summer with ice tea and a great read. But for me.. life does not stop so I can read a book. Lets try this visual:

So many books…. so little time right?

So let’s get started.

We just covered the WHY and WHEN you should listen to audio….

HOW To Listen To Audio.

Audio books may give you a visual of old school audio tapes….. and uhhh….. no. Fast forward to something a little more current. Hip and happening…..

Audio books come in CD format. Perfect for your car and in your home. They also can be downloaded off your computer to ITUNES or even directly to your phone (my personal favorite). With an auxiliary cord, you can easily hook your phone up to your vehicles radio and listen to it within your car.

My personal favorite is on my phone because my phone is usually everywhere I am. I picked up an external speaker at Wal-Mart (found at most stores that has electronics). This allows your phone to connect with the speaker and amplify the sound. This way I can set the speaker and phone on my kitchen counter and work my way around the area without having to carry my phone with me to hear it. External speakers range any where from $9.99 to $89.99. I paid $14.98 for mine three years ago and it still works wonderfully. No need to go fancy. 🙂

For traveling purposes, such as walking the dog, traveling on a plane or mowing the lawn, ear buds come into play. These too can be picked up at most stores that carry electronics for fairly reasonable.

WHERE To Find Great Audio Books.

Audiobooks can be purchased in CD format at most stores that carry books. You can also pick them up on line off Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc… For downloading audio to your device of choice, there are several options.

Audible.com: This is the one I use and have used for 5 years. Audible lets you choose up to two audio books a month at a greatly reduced price from what you would purchase audio in the stores. I am on the two credits per month program and pay $22.95 per month. Many audio books, especially new and popular titles go for anywhere between $25 and $50 an audio book so this is a great reduction. As a new customer, you receive your first audio book free – just go on and pick one. Another thing I love about Audible is that if you are listening to a book that you do not find to your liking, go into your account and ask to return it. No questions asked they will give you your credit back! They also have wonderful sales where you can pick titles up for $4.95 each, as well a daily special where one audio book will be $2.95. No contract, quit any time.

Downpour.com is another site much like Audible, however they do not have DRM (which honestly I knew little about until I read the linked article. I have not spent a lot of time on this site yet, but I will. Definitely one worth checking out.

WHAT To Listen To

Ahhhh….. one of my favorite topics…. what to listen to on audio? Most sites will allow you to listen to a sample of the audio book. I highly recommend you do this. Not all audio is treated alike. Narration is so important and while you can read here or on other sites about favorite narrators…. you really need to hear for yourself and choose what you like. A good narration (IMO) lets you lose yourself in the book. You don’t hear someone reading, instead you become part of the story. You don’t hear a change in character voices, instead you hear a discussion. And when you are really really lucky – you fall in love with the narration and…. you stalk the narrator. You look for books that this narrator has narrated. That’s when you know you have it bad. I have done it.

I can give you a short list here of some of my favorites…. but definitely look around and see what other reviewers are talking about in audio books. I have picked many audio books on my own, but I have picked just as many or perhaps even more on someone elses raving.

A few of my top picks

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline Narrated by Wil Wheaton (soon to be a movie!)

11-22-63 by Stephen King Narrated by Craig Wasson (do not write this off because it is a King book. It is, and it isn’t!)

The Residence by Kate Anderson Brower Narrated by Karen White (This is such a great listen and so informative)

The Martian by Andy Weir Narrated by R.C. Bray (From the very first sentence I was all….. oh yeah. This is going to be fun)

YOU by Caroline Kepnes narrated by Santino Fontana (oh my word! The narration and Joe….. WOW!)

Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain Narrated by Susan Bennett

The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty Narrated by Caroline Lee (Oh I fell in love with this story and this narrator! I also enjoyed Big Little lies with the same narrator! It’s like narrator crack!)

Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes

Published on March 3, 2016 by Sheila (Book Journey)8 Comments

Joe Goldberg is no stranger to the sacrifices one has to make for love. In fact, within the past ten years, he has four bodies that he has buried to prove just how much he is willing to sacrifice. Once a book store manager, Joe thought he had met the love of his life but that turned out to be wrong.

Very wrong.

And now once again, Joe finds himself in love with someone new, someone better… and also someone who hurts him very badly. Joe makes the decision to move and start fresh, perhaps a different view will give him just what he needs to leading a much simpler life. Yet the past has a way of creeping back up and Joe has to wonder how many more bodies is he going to have to hide to keep his secrets safe?

Oh wow oh wow. You know the books that you hate to finish because you don’t want them to end? This would be one of those books. I, sickeningly enough, adore Joe. Like YOU (the first book that brings this creepy funny witty protagonist to life) I listened to Hidden Bodies on audio. Let me say this. If you enjoy audio, I absolutely insist that you listen to both of these books. If you are new to audio, this would be a great way to start. Narrator Santino Fontana literally embodies Joe. This narration is so good, you forget that you are listening to a book. I had moments where I laughed out loud, and believe me, I do not laugh our loud often.

I also absolutely need to give a hats off to author Caroline Kepnes. I am so impressed that this book is written by a female author. She has captured Joe, the essence of GUY in these books. She is an amazing writer, and I love her dry humor. I can not wait to read (or hopefully listen to!) more from her.

As you can probably tell, I find this book gush worthy. I don’t think I loved it as much as YOU, but it was pretty close. YOU is somewhat lighter if I dare say that, and while I believe YOU was more sexually graphic; the book references, the movie references, really made it wonderful. If it wrong to fall in love with a killer I don’t want to be right. If you can handle a book that is a little vulgar at times, I have to tell you this one is so worth it. If you read my reviews, you know I don’t say that lightly. While this book does have sexual content, I would say it is never over the top and never gory. I would say I think the difference is Joe. You have to experience Joe.

Hidden Bodies starts off right where YOU leaves off. While you do not have to read/listen (oh my gosh listen to this one!!!) to You before you move into Hidden Bodies, I highly recommend that you do. YOU really lets you get to know Joe in a way that is not as fully developed in Hidden Bodies. There are also many references (some really funny) that you will miss if you have not experienced YOU first.

Please look at other reviews of this book as well. There are quite a few bloggers out there that I enjoy that are gushing about these two reads as well.

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 13 hours and 3 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Audible.com Release Date: February 23, 2016

YOU by Caroline Kepnes Narrated by Santino Fontana (BEST OF 2016)

Published on February 22, 2016March 6, 2016 by Sheila (Book Journey)9 Comments

Joe Goldberg leads a fairly simple life. He manages a book store in East Village and while he is often in awe that people still choose to read a paper version of a book when they access them so easily from the comforts of their home… he gets it. Even if he is baffled by what books draw people in to the store.

When Guinevere Beck enters the book shop one day, everything for Joe changes.

You walk into the bookstore and you keep your hand on the door to make sure it doesn’t slam. You smile, embarrassed to be a nice girl, and your nails are bare and your V-neck sweater is beige and it’s impossible to know if you’re wearing a bra but I don’t think that you are. You’re so clean that you’re dirty and you murmur your first word to me – hello.

Joe knows instantly that they were meant to be together and he will stop at nothing to make sure that she will be his. Soon Joe has found his way into Beck’s life. He watches her from the street outside her apartment. He hacks his way into her phone, her texts, her emails. He learns all about her through her conversations with friends, where she goes, and what she watches on TV. He turns himself into the perfect guy for Beck knowing what she will appreciate and what she would find irritating. He is smooth and he is charismatic, and it all works; Beck finds Joe to be almost to good to be true.

And you know what they say when things are too good to be true….

How did I not know about this book before now? Seriously? How did I miss out on this? The synopsis would have had me at book store…. but there was so much more. Joe appears to be a normal guy (think Dahmer) who have over the top stalker qualities and he stops at nothing. No one… not a love interest, not a friend, will get in his way of getting what he has already decided what was rightfully his; and that is Beck.

I listened to this one on audio and I have to say that audio is the way to go. Santino Fontana is PERFECT. He makes our protagonist both witty, funny, snarky and creepy all rolled into one. Santino (may I call him Santino?) narrates in a way that you can tell he is having a good time doing it. I smiled and laughed out loud while listening. The narration is a brilliant mix and I have found another amazing narrator!

I need to describe this audio book in words I have never used to describe a book before… sexually graphic. What Joe thinks about doing to Beck, what he does do to Beck, what Beck does alone and later with Joe…. it is all here, open, and DETAILED. Often in books I complain about this finding it unnecessary and vulgar. That is not the case in this book. Occasionally I will find a book where that level of intimate detail is necessary to the story line – this would be such a book. Appropriately sexual to the story line. Do however consider yourself warned, this is definitely an adult content book.

I highly recommend this read/listen. I enjoyed this story so much that I immediately pre-ordered the sequel on audio Hidden Bodies (which releases tomorrow and oh wow – MORE SANTINO FONTANA!!!!) I am so hopeful that it is just as good and if not, well at least I will get to sink into this great narration again.

Squueeeee worthy? You bet. This one is even worthy of….

yes. You got it. The SPOILER PAGE. Oh yes.

Written by: Caroline Kepnes
Narrated by: Santino Fontana
Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Series: You, Book 1
Unabridged Audiobook

Release Date:09-30-14
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Gretel and The Case Of The Missing Frog Prints by PJ Brackston and read by Kate Reading

Published on February 17, 2016March 31, 2016 by Sheila (Book Journey)1 Comment

No, not my typical read/listen… but a story based off Hansel and Gretel,

a play on words in the title and that cover… how could I pass the temptation? ~Sheila

Many years have passed since Hansel and Gretel had that fateful day the witch lured them to her house made of cake and candy. Sadly, not a whole lot has changed.

Since that sugary encounter, neither Hans (yes he goes by Hans now) and Gretel (now 35) have had a hard time with their eating habits….both of them craving sweets constantly and always up for a bite to eat.

When Albrecht Dürer the Much Much Younger’s valuable frog prints go missing, he does not hesitate to call the best Private Investigator money can buy, Gretel. Yes, THAT Gretel. Gretel leaps at the chance to take on such a case, bribing her hefty brother to go with her with the fact that the city’s Annual Sausage Festival will be taking place around the area she will be investigating.

Having grown up on stories like Hansel and Gretel (which now come to think of it is a HORRIFYING story of attempted cannibalism) I was interested in exploring an adult version of the siblings. I listened to this on audio with narration by Kate Reading which was a big plus for the story.

I initially thought I would be listening to a middle grade (MG) story but please note, depending on the child, this may not be for them. There is a part of the story where Gretel is undercover in a Brothel for a time. I have to add, completely unnecessary to the story line and without that the book would have been wonderful for middle grade children as there are encounters with talking mice, and solving the crime itself would be something I would think children would have fun figuring out.

For the reasons I mention above, I was disappointed. I looked on-line and did not see on the sites I looked at any age suggestions for this book. While nothing is really said to make this book inappropriate, an inquiring child may inquire what a brothel is. This is entirely my opinion as all my reviews. What initially I thought I could promote as a family listen on a car trip, in the end I cannot say that.