Audio Reading

 "It's chance and nuances that separate the hero from the villain." Truth.

The Redeemer - Jo Nesbo

I have certainly read books that I couldn't put down. Just one more page, and maybe another, but I have never listened to an audiobook that I couldn't turn off. Just one more minute here or there. I'm home this summer with my son and have been listening to books instead of watching tv - win/win!  I loved this book and can't wait to hear more.

I will admit that the names are a bit confusing in the beginning but it comes together, as do all of the strings of the mystery. About half way through I felt rather discombobulated about all the details but man it tied up beautifully!  And I love nothing more than a mystery where the good guy/bad guy lines get blurred. Harry Hole is still a horrible name but he is a great character!  Full of issues and yet so smart.

(Four Weeks Later)

I also listened to The Snowman by Nesbo. I didn't like the reader as much in this version - but truly that is neither here nor there. This was a much creeper mystery. Not as much of a tangled plot but the set up of women waking to a snowman built in their yard overnight had me totally immersed and dying to find out who would do such a thing.

I will certainly be back for more Nesbo but I think next time I will do the reading.

(Never Just) Me, (Reading For) Myself, and I (Am Annoyed)

When I had a baby everyone said that would be the end of reading for pleasure. Nope. Feeding with a kindle and all through nap time - It. Was. Awesome. Having an infant led to my best reading year yet. 

But now that infant is six, and has learned to read, and all my reading time has become his reading time.  It is delightful. And awful.  I try to fit in some personal reading before bed, I average about 42 seconds. However, I have read a lot of Cleary, and Dahl, and found Fortunately The Milk to be a most delightful treasure (but could I ask that the mother be the fun one just once. Please.)

I also decided to join a bookclub, and I must say I'm fortunate that they are a pretty laid back group of ladies, but enough with the craptastic romances. I'm the kind of person who feels like if I'm going to be there I have to read the book no matter how painful, and thus the majority of my minority's free reading is being sucked up by things I know I'm going to hate before I even start.  This is a serious self-induced mojo wrecker.  And what kills me is that there are great romances out there but this group tends to like stuff on the cheap.  On the cheap lit isn't really my thing apparently.

So where have I been?  Here. Always here. But decidedly uninspired and not self-directed in my reading selections, and thus not writing. Which is just a big pile of ugh.

Jealousy

“Be scared you’re fat, be scared your boobs are too big and be scared they’re too small. Be scared to walk on your own, specially anywhere quiet enough that you can hear yourself think. Be scared of wearing the wrong stuff, saying the wrong thing, having a stupid laugh, being uncool. Be scared of guys not fancying you; be scared of guys, they’re animals, rabid, can’t stop themselves. Be scared of girls, they’re all vicious, they’ll cut you down before you can cut them. Be scared of strangers. Be scared you won’t do well enough in your exams, be scared of getting in trouble. Be scared terrified petrified that everything you are is every kind of wrong. Good girl.”  Truth.

18.14 The Secret Place

I love Tana French’s books, I've read them all and preorder them as soon as they have a release date.  I set aside everything else to read them as soon as they hit my hands, but this was not great. In fact, my husband is now reading her first and I wish I could trade places.

I liked the detectives as always, seeing Moran and Mackey (or whomever) returns again is always a thrill in her books, but the mystery was totally lacking. Maybe it was the fact that the entire book happens in the course of one day - minus flashbacks - but it all seemed too easy. Too dumb really. Usually I love the private school setting. I think taking kids away from their parents to see how the truly act is generally a great writing device but here it just seemed odd. The girls friendship was odd, the reasoning of both the girls and the detectives was odd, the big reveal was a let down, and the ending was unnecessary.  The questioning by police of these minors seemed like it shouldn’t be happening, and the flashbacks were more tedious than insightful. And was that magic going on or were they all delusional... I don’t even know.

I’ll certainly be back for her next but I’m starting to wonder whether her formula is being counted on for success more than it should be.

Burrrrrr

“We all do what we think is best. Sometimes we make terrible mistakes, sometimes we do the right thing.” Truth.

17.14 The Winter People

It has been so hot here, and for so long, I’m dying for cooler temps.  I want to wear jeans, use blankets, wrap up in sweaters, and this book brought me some of those much needed chills. It is creepy in a way that makes you want to be in a very large, open space. No woods or caves to be seen, or to be seen in.

What I loved most was how it spun a ghost story as well as a mystery; both well developed and well plotted. Plus, we shift between an old diary and present day action, which is my favorite.  There are some similarities to other stories that have come before but it is a quick and easy read that made me want to look for the author’s other work immediately. Not sure the last time that happened but it is certainly a welcome feeling. I just hope I can read the next one curled up on the couch with a hot cup of coffee instead of sweltering by the pool being splashed by wild children.

Ummm

“I’m the kind of person who would rather get my hopes up really high and watch them get dashed to pieces than wisely keep my expectations at bay and hope they are exceeded.” Truth.

16.14 Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

I am not a big fan of memoirs, - and if I do give you my reading time you better have done something pretty nasty to the Nazis – in general I’m not big on non-fiction, but this is why I joined a book club - forced expanding of my horizons.

I was excited for this book, it has been a long, hot summer and I was looking forward to some laughs. Unfortunately, I didn’t find them. While I’m truly trying to expand, I am a bit of a stickler about one thing in my reading: It should have purpose. Simply put, I didn’t find any here. There was barely a structure. A few of the essays were cute and might have gone somewhere but most seemed like starts without ends, and honestly seemed a bit like first drafts.

Mindy is most famous for her work on The Office, a show I enjoy, yet all that I learned from her writing of her experience was that she liked her co-writers and stole office supplies from set - these seem like no brainers as opposed to revelations to me. I don't work in show business, nor am I a comedy writer, so maybe the insight was lost on me... And as for the rest, I think I may just be too old.  In high school I worried what people were doing without me as well, but 20 years after the fact, not so much.

My Summer Of Re-Reading

It seems that I didn’t accomplish much this summer, and my brain was not in the reading (or any other) game anyway.  I read a few throw away books that I can’t even remember enough to write about, and then I did some rereading.

I read Gone Girl again for book club and have to say it was much more fascinating to watch Nick get set up knowing what was going to come next.  Our club discussion was interesting too, we all knew Amy was crazy but most people kind of felt like he had it coming, having read it twice I didn’t totally agree.  I feel like he was just scared to confront anything (his mom, his dad, Amy), like so many people are nowadays. I’m really looking forward to seeing this movie in October, which is funny because…

I also started to read the Harry Potter books over in preparation for reading them to my son soon, and a bit of the magic was lost in reading the story because I could see the movie so clearly in my mind.  It is one of the only cases I know where the stories and characters are just as widely known by nonreaders as by readers.  Now I have to work on my plan to keep my son from seeing them first…  Good luck, right?

So I feel very out of the reading loop and it makes me sad.  I’m hoping that the cooler weather and the joining of the book club can get me somewhere.

Until then, I present My Summer Reads:

“ ‘A bad beginning may still be a beginning.’”  Truth.

9.14 Dreams of Gods and Monsters

10.14 The Lincoln Lawyer

11.14 The Brass Verdict - Audiobook

12.14 The Leftovers – I read this before the show came out and found the show to be total rubbish.

13.14 Harry Potter 1

14.14 Gone Girl

15.14 Harry Potter 2

Mysterious Ladies

“There weren’t many people in this world who would let you be vulnerable and still believe you were strong.” Truth.

8.14 The Thousand Dollar Tan Line

I’m a Veronica Mars fan, I backed the Kickstarter movie, and I read this book in two days.  Clearly, we have a history and I honestly have no idea how people would react to the book without the background I already had going in, but I enjoyed the book a lot as a fan, a lot more than the movie actually.  The mystery here is much more solid, as is the detective work, and thus the Veronica character.  The movie was so busy getting every cameo possible squeezed in that the entire plot failed a bit. 

The book takes up exactly where the movie leaves off, Keith is still recovering and Veronica is still struggling with the decision to do what she feels like she needs to versus what she feels like she should, and, as fans of the show know, a conflicted Veronica is a snarky and sassy Veronica.  She is great when she is a little angry.  The mystery is a bit darker which fits with her more grown up world and there is even a twist I never saw coming.  Overall, it left me excited about where this possible avenue of continuing Veronica’s story can go.

Plus, brilliant move to initially print in paperback.  Why are not all publishers doing this now?  With all the distractions available to people now, are many still willing to pay more now for what you can get for less later?  Maybe it’s just me.

“Look.  There is only one of me, and it’s all I’ve got.” Truth.

6.14 The Haunting of Hill House

I read this book a while ago and decided to include it here because what I really took away from reading this horror story was the female characters.  I was kind of distracted from the plot because I kept remembering the movie version that came out a few years ago, but I was impressed with the quite modern relationships and lifestyles being portrayed without apology being that the book was first printed in 1959.