audiobook

Book Review: Joy in the Morning

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Joy in the Morning
Jeeves #8
 by P.G. Wodehouse
Read by Jonathan Cecil

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Classic British humor

If I could forget a lot of what I had read in previous books in this series, I think I would have enjoyed this installment a lot more. The problem is that the problems that arise around Wooster tend to not be different enough to be interesting. A friend’s engagement is in danger, so Wooster takes it upon himself to help them reconcile. A woman he doesn’t care for randomly decides that he must want to marry her, so he finds himself engaged, despite his utter lack of desire for such. And he’s too much of a gentleman to say, “No, thank you,” so he has to plan some scheme to get out of it or, oops! He might just find himself married! I will say, at least, that the intricacies of how some of these mostly unrelated messes are twined together so that one solution can somehow fix them all is usually clever enough to provide some fun while I’m listening. And Wooster’s trademark humor, combined with Jeeves’s straight-man wit, still makes me laugh, even amongst the feeling that we’ve “been there, done that.” Jonathan Cecil is a great narrator for these books (though I still miss Kevin Theis).

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Book Review: Open and Shut

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Open and Shut
Andy Carpenter #1
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Mystery

When defense attorney Andy Carpenter dad dies and leaves him with a request to appeal the murder conviction of a man whose case his dad prosecuted and an unexpected inheritance of $22 million, Andy suspects that there’s more going on than a wrong conviction. He has to dig into the past to find the truth, and he might not like what he finds.

I have read 2 books from much later in this series, and liked them enough to start back at the beginning. It was interesting to read about where Carpenter’s money came from—money that in those later books allow him to be more discriminate in the cases he chooses to take on. Though this reference will likely be lost on most, this first book reminded me a lot of the pilot of Due South, an underrated Canadian show in the 90s. Though Andy Carpenter is certainly no Benton Fraser. I enjoyed the mystery in this book, the various paths Carpenter treads to build his defense case for the convicted murderer while also following thin threads related to his dad and the money he left. What makes this book stand out a bit from other mystery novels, to me, is the wit and snark of the main character. I often found myself smiling or even chuckling along the way.

I listened to the audiobook, and it didn’t take me as long to warm up to the narrator as it often does. Gardner did a great job bringing Carpenter’s often-sarcastic voice to life. I look forward to making my way through the rest of the series in the same format. Fans of mystery, crime fiction, and courtroom dramas should consider reading this book.

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Book Review: Ramona’s World

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Ramona’s World
Ramona Quimby #8
by Beverly Cleary
Read by Stockard Channing

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic

Now in fourth grade and with a new baby sister at home, Ramona is growing up, but still struggles to fully understand what that means. She still reacts to perceived (or real) injustices a bit extremely, but she’s also a lot calmer than she used to be. It’s nice to watch her get a female best friend (no offense to Howie), and her having a crush is kinda cute and pretty relatable, even at that age. I don’t particularly care for the way her fourth-grade teacher treats her in regards to spelling mistakes, but I also had plenty of teachers who might not have handled imperfect students as well as they should have. Though I think some of the charm of the very young Ramona is gone as she gets older, I still enjoyed this book. I appreciated Stockard Channing’s narration throughout the series, and I recommend it for anyone who might be interested, young or old.

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Book Review: The Code of the Woosters

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The Code of the Woosters
Jeeves #7
 by P.G. Wodehouse
Read by Jonathan Cecil

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Classic British humor

The Jeeves and Wooster dynamic is what makes these stories great, so having a novel-length story (as opposed to the previous short story collections) with Jeeves being largely absent just isn’t quite as good. Plus, the longer single story means prolonging Bertie’s troubles often requires scenarios that are a bit outlandish. How many times can an engaged couple break up and reunite before it becomes ridiculous? And while I realize that Bertie letting his friends and family cajole him into doing things he doesn’t want to do is a common catalyst to the messes he gets himself into, it’s taken a bit far in this story, besides the fact that some of it too much of a repeat of previous stories. Even still, I still enjoyed the book overall and look forward to continuing the series.

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Audiobook Review: Nightmare Academy

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Nightmare Academy
Veritas Project #2
by Frank Peretti
Read by author

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: YA Christian thriller

I’ve read this book many times in the past (see review here), but this was my first time listening to the audiobook. I knew in advance that it was abridged, but while that wasn’t a huge issue for the previous book, I felt like too much information was missing from this one. In particular, a few things that happen in the story are referred to later, but they were missing from the audiobook telling. Though I wholeheartedly recommend this book in general, and I enjoy Peretti narrating his books, I don’t really recommend listening to this abridged version.

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Book Review: Ramona Forever

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Ramona Forever
Ramona Quimby #7
by Beverly Cleary
Read by Stockard Channing

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic

Ramona’s life goes through a lot of upheaval in this book, but with the help of her family, including her bossy older sister Beezus, she handles it all pretty well. Though she definitely still handles some things in a way only a child could, she suffers less from misunderstandings than she did when she was younger. I’ve enjoyed watching this little girl grow up throughout this series, yet not lose her spunk or love of messes or loud noises. She learns some hard lessons and has sweet bonding moments with Beezus. Though I think some of the charm of the very young Ramona is gone as she gets older, I still enjoyed this book. I also again appreciated Stockard Channing’s narration, and I recommend it for anyone who might be interested, young or old.

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Book Review: Right Ho, Jeeves

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Right Ho, Jeeves
Jeeves #6
 by P.G. Wodehouse
Read by Kevin Theis

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Classic British humor

This is another great addition to the series! Bertie Wooster is in fine form, attempting many schemes of his own to show that Jeeves isn’t the only one with brains. How Wooster keeps getting himself “accidentally” engaged is beyond me. Misunderstandings, outlandish scenarios, and “psychology of the mind” all come together into a fun, engaging story. Like in the previous book, which was the first novel after short stories up until that point, a few of the situations went on a little longer than I would prefer in this book, and Jeeves’s brilliant plans don’t feature nearly as much as they do in the short stories. Still, though, I really enjoyed this book, and I always love Kevin Theis’s narration. I’ll miss it during the rest of the series.

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Audiobook Review: Hangman’s Curse

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Hangman’s Curse
Veritas Project #1
by Frank Peretti
Read by author

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: YA Christian thriller

I’ve read this book many times in the past (see review here), but this was my first time listening to the audiobook. I wish there were an unabridged version, but it was worth listening to the abridged to be able to listen to Peretti’s own narration, which I very much enjoyed. I think the majority of what was cut out was character-building of the Springfields, whereas the main story seemed intact to me. While I certainly feel that the entire book is worth reading, if you’re considering the audiobook version of Hangman’s Curse, I still recommend it.

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Book Review: Talking as Fast as I Can

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Talking as Fast as I Can
by Lauren Graham
Read by the author

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Memoir

Published around the time that the Gilmore Girls mini-series, A Year in the Life, came out, Lauren Graham talks briefly about what it was like the first time around and in depth about what it was like the second time around, as well as touching on other major projects and influences in her life.

I enjoyed listening to this collection of various stories and essays in Graham’s own voice (since I listened to the audiobook). As a fan and frequent binge-watcher of Gilmore Girls, I appreciated learning a little about Graham’s life and her thoughts about her time on the original show as well as her return for the mini-series. I wish I had liked the mini-series more, but that didn’t dampen my appreciation of that section of the book. It was a little sad, though, to hear about her relationship with Peter Krause (whose last name I have mispronounced for years now), knowing that that relationship has ended in more recent years.

I will say (with some sadness) that this is the kind of celebrity memoir that many people probably read and say that the author didn’t give us the true picture, because it didn’t talk about people she’s worked with in a bad light or go into deep detail on most subjects. I prefer not to expect more from anyone’s memoirs (celebrity or otherwise) than they are willing and able to share. The only detraction from the book, for me, was the recurring joke where Graham says “Hi” to various talk show or news show personalities, assuming they will eventually read this book. It was kinda amusing at first, but it started to feel way too much like unnecessary name-dropping, especially when there were 4-5 all clumped together. But outside of that, I’m really glad I read this book and recommend it for fans of Gilmore Girls, Parenthood, or Lauren Graham in general.

(There are a few pictures throughout the book, so if you borrow a digital audiobook that doesn’t include the pictures, like I did, you’ll have to borrow the actual book if you want to see the pictures.)

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Book Review: Ramona Quimby, Age 8

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Ramona Quimby, Age 8
Ramona Quimby #6
by Beverly Cleary
Read by Stockard Channing

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic

I really felt for Ramona in this book. When her teacher calls her a show-off and uses the word “nuisance,” I literally gasped out loud and just felt so bad for the poor girl! Though, as an adult, I immediately began thinking through why the teacher would say that, but I can imagine kids reading this and thinking that is just a terrible teacher. Adding to that, it was almost too painful to see Ramona having so much responsibility put on her to make things work at the Kemps’ so her dad can keep going to school and her mom can keep working. That’s not even something Ramona  blows up in her mind—it’s basically what her parents tell her. But the indignity of Mrs. Kemp being paid while Ramona entertains her granddaughter gets under my skin a bit. That really just shows how connected I’ve gotten to this little girl, though. I’ve been enjoying Stockard Channing’s narration throughout the series, too, and I recommend it for anyone who might be interested, young or old.

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