Sheri C

Not really suited for audio

Revisado: 02-05-23

I'm still enjoying the Strike mysteries and characters, and especially pleased that Robin finally gets the spotlight, but I'm getting awfully tired of the Strike/Robin romance melodrama. At least we do get to see some character development as Strike seems to be realizing how lazy it is for him to just be a dick to every romantic partner, while indulging in resentment that they actually expect something from him besides sex.

Although I still love Glenister's performance, this is the first of the Strike novels that I wished I had read in bound format, because listening to him recite endless Twitter and chat and text transcripts is as tedious as it must have been for him to read it.

Audiobook via Audible.

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Poirot Short Stories

Revisado: 02-05-23

This smug little man with his immaculate moustaches is a delight, and I thoroughly enjoyed this collection. The only damper was that the multiple narrators all had a different take on Poirot's voice and story tone, which could be jarring at times - Just as I was settling in with one narrator, another would take over. They were all good in their own way though, and the production quality was excellent.

Audiobook via Audible

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Ordinary Virtues

Revisado: 01-28-23

I found this an interesting addition to the Tolkien (critiques? reviews? literary examinations?) I've read. Certainly it sheds some light on what might have been the author's intent, writing from the foundation of his catholic faith.

Mostly, I enjoyed revisiting the themes, morals, and characters that make up the LotR series that I fell in love with as a child and have carried with me through my adult life.

Audiobook, from the Audible Plus catalog, with an outstanding narration from Simon Vance.

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Jeeves not needed

Revisado: 01-28-23

I was under the impression that the Jeeves books were the only really enjoyable Wodehouse, but I should not make such silly assumptions based on having read a single Jeeves and a single non-Jeeves book.

Something Fresh was a quick fun read, and a pleasant surprise in the two main characters - a truly independent, smart, feisty woman and a young man who thoroughly appreciates her. Not something often found in books from a century ago.

I have no idea how the series will continue as "Blandings Castle" when the most interesting characters aren't even residents, but perhaps each book will feature interesting guests, bouncing off the silliness of the standing cast. I'm looking forward to finding out.

Audiobook via Audible Plus catalog, with an outstanding performance by Jonathan Cecil.

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Patience does not pay off

Revisado: 01-28-23

This is my least favorite of Morton's books, and the most disappointing, because I really love her writing. I really enjoy slow burning, atmospheric stories with complex and mysterious characters, long buried secrets, and moldering castles. But this one needed some editorial intervention to tighten it up and improve the punch at the end. It dragged on interminably and the payoff was seriously underwhelming. I only kept going because it's Kate Morton and I love her writing.

Caroline Lee's performance was excellent as always.

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Patience pays off

Revisado: 01-28-23

I really struggled through the first half, but was eventually rewarded with a fairly gripping story of two young men with supernatural talents. One was given the knowledge and guidance he needed to understand it. The other was exploited and left so ignorant that he was vulnerable to human and inhuman evil influence.

The characters are satisfyingly complex, and some (but not all!) even get a redemption arc. The mysteries are never fully explained, which is right and proper in this horror lover's opinion. I like it when the author leaves things ambiguous enough to give my imagination free reign.

Nick Sullivan's performance was okay, but a little uneven. At times he sounded almost robotic, and it was enough to sometimes take me out of the story.

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Just what I needed

Revisado: 04-10-22

I've seen this book likened to hamburgers instead of fine steak, and that's not entirely wrong. But I'd say it's more like fresh watermelon on a hot day, cut into half-moon slices at your backyard picnic table, served on newspapers so you just bite right into it, with sweet sticky juice running down your face and arms while you spit the black seeds into the lawn, because if you swallow them you might end up with watermelons growing inside your tummy.

It's comfort food, and it's just what I needed right now.

Thank you, Mr. Scalzi. This one is going on my shelf for short fiction to re-read when I need something light and sweet to combat the real world's oppressive heat.

Audiobook, via Audible. As usual Wil Wheaton perfectly nails the narration.

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Good story collection; excellent narration

Revisado: 04-10-22

I've had mixed results with this type of audio collection of classic stories. Not necessarily due to the quality of the individual stories, it's more about the mix and production quality. This collection was a pleasant surprise though. It's a refreshing mix of genre, from Romance to Mystery to Horror. There were some familiar old favorites, like "The Monkey's Paw" and "The Tale-Tell Heart" but most were new to me. The stories are all read by recognizable actors, who all do a fine job - film and TV actors are not necessarily the best at reading audio, and the language in these 100+ year old stories is often stilted to my ears, so these are a particular challenge. The sound quality was excellent, and the start of each short story mostly corresponded to the next chapter, but they were labeled Chapter One, Chapter Two, etc., rather than with the title of the story, requiring me to go back and consult the title description frequently.

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An interesting ride

Revisado: 04-10-22

Seems like I've run into a lot of the unreliable narrator type story lately. It can be done well and give you a massive twisty surprise later, or it can be done poorly so that you can pretty much guess what the not very twisty unsurprise is long before the end.

This one gave me a third, more fun option: The obviously unreliable narrator, but kept me guessing as to *in what way* she is unreliable. Is her house haunted? Sentient? Is the narrator a psychopath who is attributing her own actions to the house? Is the other narrator also unreliable or can we count on him to validate her story?

Add this to a great atmospheric maybe haunted house story, and I was really sucked in. I was a bit frustrated at the end, though, as there is no neat little bow to tie up and resolve all the possibilities. Or maybe it's resolved, depending on who is reliable, and who isn't.

I generally dislike dramatizations, but the format of this one - telling the story through audiotaped sessions with the two narrators - works well for me. Excellent performances by both.

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Plenty of fun and great narration

Revisado: 06-29-19

I’m always happy when I read a book that I thoroughly enjoyed. I’m even happier when it was a book recommended by a friend. I’ve never cared for zombie stories, so I was a little dubious when it was recommended to me for the reading performance as much as for the story itself. But it delivered! The story itself was fun, with a little pathos, a little romance, and a little mystery. But the performance by Allison McLemore pushed it over the five-star threshold for me. The voice she gives the main character is absolutely perfect, and her pacing and emotion are spot on.

Highly recommend. I’ll be looking for other books read by McLemore, for sure.

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