audio review – Page 41

The Art Of Mending by Elizabeth Berg

Published on February 19, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)16 Comments

Laura Baratone is a master with material. She can create masterpieces with her quilting skills. As she looks forward to her annual family reunion with her parents, her brother Steve, and her sister Caroline, the reunion turns out to be more than anyone bargained for.

When Caroline takes her brother and sister aside and tells them that she was abused by their mother as a child, a whole new door is open to the past – and to the future. As Laura tried to piece together all of this she wonders, if Caroline being over dramatic? She does have a flare for drama… or is there truth behind this accusation.

1aaaa — mending - the act of putting something in working order again

As I continue my way through Elizabeth Berg’s works I am continuously impressed with the diversity of her books. The Art Of Mending is indeed a book about mending. What does a family do when a tear in its very fabric of who they thought were is found to be frayed? How does one move on from something that seems to have happened so long ago yet exploring this history could change everything that you were.

Laura was the perfect main character for this read… she was the eldest sibling and the one that had it most together. Elizabeth Berg put much on this characters shoulders as Laura worked to separate the mother she knew and the memories she had of growing up to what was actual fact. As she sorts through her memories she starts to see things differently through these new eyes and what had appeared to be a saddened. melancholy of a sister she had in Caroline- turned out to be something much bigger.

I found the beginning of this read to drag out and take a while to get to the heart of the matter. One there, it sparked into a flame that held throughout the rest of the read. I felt much like Laura myself, trying to sort out what would eventually turn out to be truth or fiction.

A read that is on a very hard subject. Emotional abuse is every bit as damaging as physical abuse. Tearing away at a persons self-worth can damage them for life, and Elizabeth Berg sets an extraordinary example of that here when we have siblings now in their 50’s dealing with something that happened when they were between the ages of 3 -14.

Not my favorite of the Elizabeth Berg books that I have read but a worthy opponent.

Amazon Rating

The 2011 WHERE Are You reading Map has been updated to include The Art Of Mending

Rented this in audio format from my local library

Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston

Published on February 18, 2011February 18, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)13 Comments

“Ok… so here’s the scoop. My name is Kelley, K -E -L -L -E -Y. Yes, I am a girl. Well… actually as it turns out I am more than that but hang on a second to that story line. I am 17 and have moved to New York to be on Broadway.

Seriously. Broadway. And for those of you giving me the eye roll and thinking yeah, that’s why everyone goes to New York, AND before you label me as an EPIC FAIL… know this….

I AM on Broadway. And thanks to the star of the show getting herself hurt, I am also the lead… well, anyway I hope I still am, ’cause let me just say things got über weird around here lately. Like I met this boy in Central Park, and yeah he seemed a bit different but not entirely unfortunate looking if you know what I mean.

And then – well, not sure how long I have to talk here but things really fast became really STRANGE and yeah that is with a capital ‘S’. For instance, I saved a horse from drowning, and it followed me home. It’s true! And then that boy? Turns out his name is Sonny and he keeps turning up everywhere I am, like totally stalker like, but really, I am not sure I mind…

And the last thing I can say before I go is that guess what? Turns out, I am seeing more mystical creatures than on the stage these days…. yup, and I even just learned…

Oh gotta go. Lay- tah!

So…… I listened to this on audio after picking it on from audible.com for their first in the series sale of audio less than $5. I thought this was a good price and a good time to try out a few series I have been curious about but wasn’t sure.

Wondrous Strange was one of those stories that is coming at you from two different directions. On one side you have this background mythical story of creatures and Fairy Kings (they seem to be quite the rage in YA these days!) and ancient porthole like gates that only open once a year in Central Park (of course – I knew that!) and guards of these gates to keep the baddies from entering the world. Then on the other side you have Kelley. She is carefree and fun, she has a high maintenance roommate and she just got the lead in the Broadway Play A Midsummer Night’s Dream and she is beyond thrilled.

Starting out – I much preferred Kelley’s story line as mythical creatures and gates and the narrator’s voice that took on an eerie bubbly tone that took some getting used to, was honestly for me – hard to follow.

Of course, as many stories tend to do, once you get in a little deeper and things start to mesh a bit…. I started to get it and the narrator didn’t seem to bother me as much, in fact towards the end when they added a few spooky sounds and laughter, I was rather impressed.

My overall thoughts are this book is a good Fantasy YA. The storyline was fun, and as a lot of the action takes place in Central Park in New York, I could picture many of the things mentioned. YA Fantasy lovers will gobble this book up and anxiously head into the rest of the trilogy….

Amazon Rating

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map has been updated to include Wondrous Strange

I purchased this audio from audible.com

Testimony by Anita Shreve

Published on February 15, 2011February 15, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)37 Comments

Avery Academy is a private school for the privileged. Holding its standards high, the school is shaken to its core foundations when a sex tape starts circulating involving three members of the basketball team and a freshman girl. The scandal revolves around one night of poor choices that seems to grow tentacles as it spreads through the school, the homes, the families and lives – much like a disease – infecting all those involved.

As each chapter unfolds a different character speaks – from the boys involved, to the girl, the parents, head master, and the investigator. What slowly comes to the surface is a deep revealing of what is buried deepest within our souls, the darkness that slowly can devour even the strongest of people.

I listened to this on audio and fair warning – the beginning is harsh. Harsh is actually too light of a word. The beginning was… graphic. I was listening to this in my kitchen and immediately turned the volume down as the words rushed out of the speakers, bringing me right into the core of the story line.. the actions of the night that changed so many lives forever.

As each narrator took on a characters voice – from one of the students involved, to the headmaster, to the parents… I started to feel this story shed its layers like an onion… each layer bringing me closer to the center of an underlying truth…

While the events that bring this book to be called Testimony work their way through the characters I am fascinated with the way each chapter overlaps with the last – building the mix of those involved so carefully that you never lose the point. Anita Shreve’s unique telling of a hideous crime is only the tip of the iceberg as families are destroyed in the aftermath. A less talented author would not have been able to pull off such a tale, but Anita Shreve does this in a near flawless way.

I enjoyed the different narrators taking on the characters, it really added to the story as each character shared their side of the story. My only regret is that I felt some of the story lines could have went deeper – I never felt I fully understood the girls story from that night, as she seemed to remain more surface than the boys telling of what happened.

Over all a deeply moving story that demonstrated how one night can change lives forever, lives that you never thought would be even be touched by another persons choices. I applaud Anita Shreve for taking on such a topic and leaving me in the end –

breathless.

Amazon Rating

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map has been updated to include Testimony

I borrowed this from my local Library

suggested by my friend Angie (By Book or By Crook)

Here is a link to Angies review

Unspeakable Journey by Rinda Hahn

Published on February 8, 2011February 8, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)42 Comments

Isabella is happy with her life. She has a loving husband and children she adores. She lives pleasantly enough and has money to buy the things they need. On the eve of her thirtieth birthday as Isabella is grabbing a few groceries at the local grocery store she is abducted in the parking lot.

Despite all Isabella does to escape, Hasam, a human trafficker arranges to have her taken into Saudi Arabia where she is presented to the Prince Latif to be taken as wife. Latif, upon meeting Isabella finds her to be a beauty of long lavish red hair and captivating green eyes.

Isabella arrives in a country foreign to her. Ripped from the love of her family and friends she is forced to live under the laws of this country and live out her Christian faith under the very large and ever-present watchful eye of the Muslim community.

Ok… first off, holy smokes did this audio get me heart racing! While this is a fiction read it felt as though it could be a memoir. Isabella’s abduction seemed very real to me, I think in the times we live in there is so much out in the world happening that I listened to the start of this audio and thought, “Why not? It could happen.”

Isabella’s story is one of a strong faith. While she loses everything that can be taken away from her, there is one thing that can not by taken – and that is God. As Isabella’s captivity goes from days, to weeks to months… she has little hope of ever returning home to her husband and her children, and she literally gives it all to God. If this is His plan for her, then she will abide. A powerful, POWERFUL reflection of being fully committed to whatever will be.

I found the characters to be well written and the story line engaging. As Isabella fully gives herself to this new husband as she is demanded to… I found this to be an incredible topic for a Christian fiction read. There are many questions that came to mind and I felt that author Rinda Hahn wrote a very impressive book.

My only complaint is the ending was so abrupt. I would have liked to have known more from that point on – however I can see where if there was to be a sequel (hint hint hint!!!) I can see where this story line could pick up and continue into another book.

A book about keeping your faith and knowing God is with you, even in the darkest of days. A wonderful debut for author Rinda Hahn, who I would gladly read again.

**Stay tune – soon I will be interviewing author Rinda Hahn

Amazon Rating

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading map has been updated to include Unspeakable Journey

I purchased this audio from audible.com

True To Form by Elizabeth Berg

Published on January 26, 2011January 28, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)12 Comments

It is 1961 and 13-year-old Katie Nash lives with dad and step mom in Missouri. Katie lived in Texas, but two years ago her mother passed away and life has not been easy. Katie’s over bearing dad finds her summer jobs of helping to take care of an elderly neighborhood woman and babysitting three very rambunctious young boys. She finds that she is losing connection with her best friend from Texas Cherylanne who has become boy crazy to the point of no return and has nothing in common with Katie anymore.

Then there is her new friend Cynthia who likes to do things that Katie does like eating way too much junk food, choosing clothing, and talking about boys at a more “thirteenish” level. yet when Katie is offered a chance to go to an upscale school, she throws Cynthia under the bus to get in good with the popular rich girls.. only to quickly find out – that this group is not really where she longs to be. Not Katie is left with trying to mend a broken friendship and learn some hard lessons as she does so.

Yes. I am on a Berg kick. This is my second adventure into Elizabeth Berg territory and I am once again glad to have experienced the adventure. While I did not find this storyline as powerful as We Are All Welcome Here, Elizabeth Berg stills comes across in her mild manner of making a point from a young girls perspective.

Katie’s voice is captured so well that I could not help but laugh as she tells this story. There is everything in this thirteen year old mind and actions that I would say many of us had experienced at that age:

snooping around at the house you are babysitting at

Turning the radio up really loud to tune out the parental figures

the stomping of feet and the slamming of doors

The inner thoughts about the teachers, the adults, the homework…

Elizabeth Berg captures Katie’s emotions so well you would think that she was thirteen years old as she wrote the book. I do not know enough about Elizabeth’s Berg’s writing to say if this is her signature style yet, but if it is – I will happily read on.

This book has a smorgasbord of covers and I do love covers! Look at these:

Amazon Rating

I have updated the 2011 Reading Map to include True to Form

Nabbed…. errrr… borrowed from my local Library

Finger Lickin’ Fifteen by Janet Evanovich

Published on January 16, 2011January 16, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)18 Comments

Things are pretty much the same in Trenton New Jersey for Stephanie Plum. She is still a bail bondsman at her cousin Vinnie’s place. She is still hanging around with Lulu, the over sized woman in the undersized clothes, and she is still attracted to two men – Morelli the cop, and Ranger the dark and mysterious bounty hunter who runs Rangeman Inc. And of course, cars in her care tend to blow up.

In Finger Lickin’ Fifteen Lulu is witness to a beheading and subsequently becomes the murderer’s targeted witness. As Stephanie does what she can to protect her friend Lulu, even letting her take over her own apartment therefore forcing her to stay at Ranger’s (is it forced? Even Stephanie is unsure…).

When Lulu decides the best way to catch the killers is by drawing them out in the open at a barbecue Competition that the victim was supposed to be promoting – things get spicy and sticky. Lulu with the help of Stephanie’s Granda Muzur decide to try their hand at making a winning barbecue sauce that proves to be more than anyone could have anticipated.

many years ago I discovered Janet Evanovich with One For The Money. The story was funny, quirky and for the most part I liked the characters. I proceeded to follow this series, anxiously awaiting the next book along with a few members of my book club. We devoured these books all the way up to Twelve Sharp. At that point, the story line took a turn for the worse (in my opinion) and at that point I stopped reading the series.

Recently while I was in my local library I found this audio on the shelves and I had a twinge of the things I remember liking about the series. Errr….. mainly Morelli and Ranger.

Ok… Ok…..

Ranger.

I scooped up this audio and brought it home.

The verdict?

The Stephanie Plum books could be compared to a soap opera. You could miss a few years of episodes (in this case books) and see a new one and fall right back in where you left off. Stephanie is as I remember her. Lulu and Grandma Muzur too. Her parents? The same. Her office? The same. Even the two leading men have not changed nor has their relationship with Stephanie.

While I did enjoy a few chuckles throughout this audio, and a few scowls as well as sometimes the language annoys me…. I did not get the felling I was missing much by letting this series go. This book was much like all the others just a different crime to solve.

It was a nice series to revisit, I enjoyed catching up… but now I am ready to move on.

Amazon rating

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map has been updated to include Finger Lickin’ Fifteen

This is an audio borrowed from my local library

We Are All Welcome Here By Elizabeth Berg

Published on January 15, 2011January 15, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)20 Comments

Paige Dunn is a stunning looking woman. Everyone is always commenting on her beauty and her gentle soul. She once even took care of Elvis Presley’s mother when she was a student nurse.

The really amazing thing however about Paige is that thirteen years ago while pregnant with her daughter she contacted polio and is paralyzed from the neck down. Her husband, realizing that she was never going to get better, abandoned her and their baby girl, Diana. Now at the age of thirteen, Diana lives with her mom on welfare and they rely on their African-American daytime nurse Peacie, and although they tell social services they have night help too, they can not afford it so Diana takes care of her mom at night.

As Diana becomes a young woman she becomes more and more unsettled about how she can now do the things other girls her age do. She is unable to have sleepovers, or run and play all day in the summer. She carries a huge responsibility with her mother and struggles with how poor they are. When Peacie’s boyfriend Larue is badly beaten after trying to help African-Americans be able to vote, Diana starts to learn a lot about compassion, as well as race and class in the 1960’s.

What amazed me the most is what a strong and well written character Paige Dunn is. She is confined to a wheelchair, has no use of anything from below the neck, yet she can command a household as thought she functioned like any other woman. Where most women would drown in self-pity or be eaten up by anger, Paige had made up her mind to live life to the fullest and that is what she did.

I loved the relationship between Paige and her daughter Diana. While Diana grumbled about how much she had to do to help, these two characters were so well written and in tune to one another it was enough to bring tears to my eyes. Even when Paige is angry with her daughter (there is a particularity fantastic scene where they have a long mother daughter talk well into the night and the early morning hours that made me really appreciate this writing. Not every author could pull off such a scene and make it feel believable.

In the end, I found there were times I felt for Paige, and there were times I felt for Diana. What Elizabeth Berg ends up with is a story that will go right to your core, fill you with compassion, and finally…. make you look at the outside world in a whole new way.

I think I have just become a fan of Elizabeth Berg’s and have already checked out 4 more of her writings.

Amazon Rating

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map has been updated to include We Are All Welcome Here

I borrowed this in audio version from my local library

Audio Suggestions for 2011… Recommended Listening

Published on January 12, 2011January 12, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)59 Comments

It is no surprise to my regular readers that I am a BIG audio book fan. I wasn’t always this way but about a year and a half ago I discovered that there are so many different ways to listen to them that they actually help me make time for books I wish I could get to. I know many of you have said that you have trouble concentrating on audio but here is how I do it:

In the mornings while I get ready I have a book going in my IPOD in the speakers and I listen while I prep for the day

In the kitchen cd player while I cook or while I clean

In my IPOD with ear buds while I mow the lawn in the summer

In my car while I drive…. it really passes the time and I find I enjoy car rides so much more and when I have to travel alone – it is ideal!

My biggest audio dilemma is choosing them. I can be a real audio snob. I am a firm believer that the narrator can make or break a perfectly good book. I never knew this would be the case until I experienced bad narration.

This is where you come in – those of you who have experienced great audio – I am asking for your assistance. What I am currently experiencing is that I am need of good audio – and I do not know what to choose for fear of the “bad experience”. I would like to make a 2011 audio play list based on your recommendations. If I listen to that audio I will mention that you recommended the audio in my review.

Please share hear the audio books you have LOVED. A few of you left me suggestions on the Monday What Are You reading Post and I thank you for that. Due to your recommendations, I am now listening to The Art of Racing in The Rain (thank you Margaret of Just One More Chapter, Please)

I plan to make a list of your recommendations and put them up on my sidebar so others can look at what has been recommended for audio as well. I will also include audio that I have particularly enjoyed too.

Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson

Published on January 8, 2011January 8, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)15 Comments

After a house fire that takes the lives of their parents, Lonnie (12) and his sister Lili (9) are placed in different foster homes. Lonnie, who likes to be called”Locomotion” writes letters to his sister who he misses terribly. He updates her on what is happening at his school, his friends, his poetry, and about the war that is going on and the son that his foster mom has in it. When the war hits close to home…. Lonnie starts writing about peace.

As time passes and Lonnie continues to write to his sister, his writing changes s he grows and matures in to his surroundings. Lonnie starts to really understand the meaning of family, understanding that it can go beyond his sister as he learns to let others in.

If you have never read or listened to a Jacqueline Woodson book I highly recommend that you do. I first read her last year with I Hadn’t Meant To Tell You This, and found her writing to be a steady smooth gathering of words that made it hard to put her book down. In this instance, I listened on audio and I am so glad I chose this format.

This audio was read by Dion Graham and he was the perfect voice for Lonnie (Locomotion). I really enjoyed how Dion gave the 12-year-old feel to Lonnie’s voice, the excitement, the sorrow, even when he was angry.

Within this short story you really get the feel for how important teachers are to kids. When teacher tells Lonnie what a great writer he is, he blooms, and not only improves in his already great writing, but in his other classes as well. When we is told that is not a poet, he crumbles…. and both sides of this is reflected well.

Written as a series of letters, I found this short audio to be a perfect listen and a new dimension to experience with Woodson. If this book would have been large I can see where it may have drug out and become too much, yet in a short amount of time Woodson bundled up a young foster boys life into a careful package of hope, love, and peace.

Amazon Rating

Book 3 on my WHERE are you reading map

I purchased this from audible.com

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

Published on January 2, 2011January 2, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)21 Comments

____________________ is a pretty young wife. She stays at home taking care of things for her husband Kevin, making sure she looks nice for him and that dinner is always on the table when he arrives home. ______________ has no friends, mainly because Kevin doesn’t want her to. And when things do not go Kevin’s way… that’s when the hitting begins.

Yet ______________ has an escape plan and after many months of taking small amounts of money from her husbands wallet, she cuts off her hair, dies it dark, and with a new name, she walks away from the home she knew – and never looks back.

Now, known as Katie, she lives in Southport North Carolina and works as a waitress. As she dives into her new life she makes a friend in a new neighbor named Jo, and meets a wonderful store owner named Alex who is kind-hearted and warm and everything Katie has ever dreamed of finding in someone to love.

Far away, in another state, Kevin is still brooding over the disappearance of his wife. As his drinking becomes worse, he is positive that she is somewhere laughing at him,having made a fool of him he believes his co workers are also talking and laughing behind his back and as Kevin begins to obsess over where his wife may be and who she is with… his dark moods become scarier and then – he finds a clue… a clue that will lead him right to her.

: Listened to on my IPOD in the house

Realistically, Nicholas Sparks is not an author I pursue. Mainly I have found his reads in past years to be light and fluffy and a bit too sugary sweet for my liking…. I used to tell my bookish friends that Sparks books always started out with a guy and girl and the book was mostly about how they wind up together.

Oofta…. somebody call me a dentist.

Yet… I may have to quit saying that. As of the past year I have tried Sparks (Dear John, for one) and found that he has changed his style to a more meatier story that I like. I have enjoyed that the book was not as predictable as I would have thought, and neither was this one.

Safe Haven first attracted me by the cover. Seriously, I tried to avoid it. When I did decide to read it, I was expecting the Sparks I knew and I was pleasantly surprised to find an upgraded version. Safe Haven is smart and witty. The characters are likable and Kevin is downright creepy and I actually liked that too.

If you have seen the movie ‘Sleeping With The Enemy’ and enjoyed it, you will enjoy this book. While the story lines are close to the same – Sparks brought in a different twist that sat me bolt upright in my chair with a “WHA???” (and that was in a good way).