Audible Escape

The Wish Collector by Mia Sheridan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I had such high hopes for this one but unfortunately found it to be completely tedious and lacking in any sort of emotional resonance and/or tension. I even fell asleep while reading it, on 3 separate occasions. In broad daylight. That’s how absolutely bored with it that I was. It just did not work for me, and I couldn’t wait for it to end.

The concept should have been brilliant, but the storytelling didn’t carry it through. So instead, it comes off as long-winded, predictable, and whiney.

Let’s face it, only about 1/3 of this story was necessary. And the rest is just another stereotypical self-hating rich dude who needs some dainty little naive women to love him and change his world. Been there, done that, not even the hint of Beauty and the Beast-ness that this novel has could entice me to enjoy this further.

I think a great starting point to making this book better would have been to edit out 25,000 words worth of excess. Then to go back and give each and every scene movement, emotion, and intentionality. Because it's not the concept that I disliked. It's the execution.


Pages: 504

A Grand Man by Catherine Cookson

"A Grand Man" is what Mary Ann calls her 'Da'. Determined, mischievous,  loving Mary Ann and her father share a special love. 'Da" adores Mary Ann, is usually drunk, and keeps the family in poverty because of his inability to hold down a job. Mary Ann will never admit 'Da' is drunk; she insists he is "sick."  She schemes to keep him in a job and away from the booze.

 I  read the entire Mary Ann series 30 years ago and decided to re-read it since Cookson has a double letter. I still love the irrepressible Mary Ann.

 152 pages

Landry’s Back in Town (Rocky Ridge Romance #1). By Marjery Scott.

Landry’s Back in Town (Rocky Ridge Romance #1). By Marjery Scott. 2016. Margery Scott. ASIN: B01BNNFEXA (Kindle).

The story of Landry Mitchell and Olivia Harding begins when Landry steps in to thwart an attack on Olivia in a dusty alley of Rocky Ridge, a frontier town in Colorado. The two are instantly drawn to each other, but Landry, who has not been warmly welcomed back by the town’s residents after a three-year stint in prison, is hesitant to approach her. Olivia however, who spends her days taking care of children at the orphanage, sees a man who deserves a second chance. As Landry begins to open up to Olivia and the young orphan Daniel, his bank-robbing brother Tobias re-enters his life….and Tobias does not come to Rocky Ridge alone.

Margery Scott tells a hopeful story about three lonely people building a family and a brother’s love and loyalty bringing redemption. This historical western romance is a short, sweet read.

164 pages

The Essential Haiku: Versions of Bashō, Buson, & Issa. Edited and with Verse Translations by Robert Hass.

The Essential Haiku: Versions of Bashō, Buson, & Issa. Edited and with Verse Translations by Robert Hass. 1994. HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN-13 9780880013512 (Paperback).

    A cicada shell;
it sang itself
    utterly away.
- Matsuo Bashō

The Essential Haiku: Versions of Bashō, Buson & Issa presents the essential poems of three masters of the haiku form: Bashō (1644-1694), Buson (1716-1783) and Issa (1763-1827). In addition to haikus (numbering roughly 100 per poet); long poems, diary entries, and Issa’s artwork are also included. American poet and translator, Robert Hass, helps to set the stage for each poet by providing biographical introductions and useful annotated notes to the poems. Whether you are a seasoned reader of haikus or just discovering the form, this book will surely satisfy with its range of inspiring, humorous and somber offerings.

352 pages

MOBIUS

An Event in Autumn (A Kurt Wallander Mystery). By Henning Mankell, English translation by Laurie Thompson.

An Event in Autumn (A Kurt Wallander Mystery). By Henning Mankell, English translation by Laurie Thompson. 2014. Vintage Crime/Black Lizard. ISBN 9780804170642 (paperback).

Yearning for a dog and a place by the sea, the story begins with Ystad police detective Kurt Wallander prospecting a farmhouse in late October, only to stumble upon a skeletal hand protruding from the garden. The discovery turns into a case of two bodies, decades old, and Kurt teams with his colleagues, Lindman and Martinson, to doggedly investigate the property’s history in order to identify the dead.

An Event in Autumn is not a complex mystery plot. Rather, it showcases Kurt’s thoughts on retirement, his relationship with his daughter Linda (now a rookie police officer at the Ystad station), and the societal changes that Kurt has seen over time in southern Sweden.

Translated in 2014, it is the last Wallander mystery to be published in English. Its placement in the series’ timeline however, is as the penultimate, leaving the novel, The Troubled Man, as the bookend for the Swedish police detective. Readers of the series will find this novella a relaxed lead-in for Kurt’s final story.

176 pages.

MOBIUS

A Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons--Cressida Cowell (Read by David Tennant)

 Toothless, as always is hilarious and super snarky.
I may or may not have been mildly concerned when one of the main settings for the book was a library....
Should I be insulted that the villain may or may not be the Hairy Scary Librarian... Because reputations are nice...and I'm not a librarian...
272 Pages

After the Golden Age and Dreams of the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn

After the Golden Age follows Celia West who is an old hat at getting kidnapped. She is the daughter of famous superheroes Captain Olympus and Spark, members of the Olympiad team that protects Commerce City. Having no powers of her own, she has tried to distance herself from her family, only to be dragged back in when a bad decision from her past comes back to haunt her.
This book is a really fun time and I get lost in it every time I read it. Sure, if you start truly analyzing the story, there are some ridiculous points, but I never notice it while reading. This is one that I have read at least 4 times through and will continue to pick it up. 

Dreams of the Golden Age picks up around 14 years after the end of the last book and follows a new generation of supers as they start to band together to fight evil. Celia West is now the head of the West Corporation, but some newcomers to the city are making her suspicious of their intentions.

Not as good as the first, but I loved the characters so much from the first that they keep me interested through this book.


Rating: 3.5/5

Pages
 After The Golden Age: 304
Dreams of the Golden Age: 318

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

I read this book for the first time last year and decided to listen to it to get me in the fall mood. Michael C. Hall (a.k.a. Dexter Morgan) is the perfect narrator and does a great job swinging from sarcastic and funny to menacing tones. Still as creepy as I remember!

Pages: 374

The Fates Divide--Veronica Roth

Y'all I have so many feelings... So many. I loved it! I loved the plot twists (which I guessed were coming, but I loved how they were revealed). I loved playing out all of the possibilities of how certain scenes that I knew were coming. I loved thinking how conversations could play out, and then finding out that what I imagined wasn't close to what actually happened. I loved getting into Cyra and Ako's heads and feeling what they felt. I loved being them while I read it, because I love becoming someone else when I'm reading, completely forgetting about myself for a moment (I swear it's not an unhealthy coping mechanism) It had the rush of the amazing YA, and I loved the ending.

480 Pages

Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth

I love Cyra and how she sees herself, because I understand it so deeply. She is me and I am her. I see myself the way she sees herself, or at least I used to (and I still do sometimes). She is fierce and I love her. I love the chemistry between Akos and Cyra.

Honestly Akos is husband goals... Gentlemen, take notes. I am not kidding. There are passages I want you to repeat back to me.

I didn't expect myself to love this book, and I actually listened to it first in my pile of audiobooks because I wanted to get it out of the way... ha ha. But my heart. I can't even right now. I have so many feelings...And I feel like I can't trust Veronica Roth for reasons which will not be named (as in I'm afraid something is going to happen, not that something has happened--because no spoilers).
I may or may not have texted my Hufflepuff at least twenty text messages detailing my feelings in both word and gif form...

As a side note, Austin Butler's voice is beautiful, and I would marry it.

512 Pages

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

I love fact that these originally were broadcast as talks over the radio, and they were only later compiled into a book. The chapters about chastity and christian marriage were amazing, and I wanted to send them to my best friend right away, because she would relate to them. I might have snapped my fingers at some of his lines and made some mic drop motions while I was driving... I must look so funny.

227 pages

How to Twist A Dragon's Tale by Cressida Cowell

It was even funnier than the previous book, and it had me in stitches while I was driving. I loved being able to guess the plot twists...I wasn't crying at the epilogue... It's September, I have allergies...

272 pages

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Details the lives of the March sisters as they navigate the passage from adolescence to womanhood.

Parts 1 and 2. 777 pages.

How to Cheat A Dragon's Curse by Cressida Cowell (Read by David Tennant)

How To Cheat A Dragon's Curse was hilarious!
I've fallen in love with Toothless and all his cowardice and....obnoxiousness..
David Tennant's performance makes it all the more enjoyable with the nasally stuttering of the dragon.
I still laugh about a scene where Toothless is extra ridiculous, acting like a mixture between a dog and a toddler.

272 pages

Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder

Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Far more depressing than I expected it to be. I guess I hoped for a bit more adventure and the formation of unique family and friends groups, and what I got was harsh reality. That was probably good for me, but I can’t say I exactly enjoyed this read. It’s more like I survived it and worried myself to death in the process.

Pages: 320

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I still love Fredrik Backman, but this offering did not work for me. I tried to ignore the characterization issues and flaws and let the mystical side sweep me away, but it was impossible. The harder I tried, the more frustrated I became.

The MC did not help this by repeatedly reminding the reader that she is 7 years old, even though cognitively and behaviorally, she doesn't behave anything like a 7 year-old, nor do her supposed classmates who are apparently guilty of a level of social bully that is extremely uncommon at this age level and would be more classic for middle grade and older.

If you are an educator, librarian, work with groups of children regularly, or even just are currently parenting a 7 year-old, then I would discourage you from picking this up. It's impossible not to be frustrated by how inauthentic and inaccurate the voice is. Yes, kids can be smart and unique. Many of them are. However, their brain does not developed at quadruple the speed of all the other children around them, regardless of their quirks. Anyone with an education background will find all these situations, the dialogue, and the deep, adult-like level of cognitive thinking that the MC does to ring absolutely false.

I don't do false well in fiction. I understand fiction is full of lies, but some part of it needs to be deeply rooted in truth, especially for a novel like this. Otherwise, it feels dishonest and poorly done. It would have helped if this novel had been sent to a bunch of 1st and 2nd grade teachers to critic and comment on, before editing was finalized.

I still like Backman.

I like his writing.

I like his style.

I like the unusual characters and mystical elements of this story.

I like the creativity.

I like how many great thoughts there are here.

The one thing I don't like is that the MC thinks and speaks in a way that 7 year-olds are incapable of. In fact, a lot of teenagers would be incapable of some of these complex thought processes and conversations. The human brain isn't fully developed until the age of 25, so for a character to behave like a genius 30 year-old, at the supposed age of 7 is just a major characterization flaw and disappointment, in what could have otherwise probably been a very interesting story. Since the voice is so dreadfully off on this one, it just so happens to impact the whole entire story and how I feel about it. Had I been able to overlook that, this would likely be more of a 4 or 5 star read for me.

For those who don't care as much about voice and solid characterization, perhaps you can overlook these issues and find more to enjoy with this story.

Pages: 372

Spaceman: An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe by Mike Massimino

Spaceman: An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe by Mike Massimino
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a stellar read! This was so unexpectedly inspirational and motivational. It's clear Mike Massimino is just a good human, regardless of being an astronaut. I was utterly charmed and captivated by his journey. Some moments were touching, others were terrifying. I was on the verge of tears so many times that I was a complete emotional wreck after finishing this book, but in a good way.

I always say I'm not the world's biggest fan of memoirs, but I think I've changed my mind across the course of the past couple of years. It has to be the right person, and the right story, and then I'm just all the way in. This is one of those absolutely right reads for ever so many reasons.

The added bonus on this one is that I accidentally learned all kinds of fascinating things I didn't know or never thought about, in regards to the journey to becoming an astronaut.

Pages: 320

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

The story of an experienced uncle demon trying to teach his (amateur) nephew how to win souls for hell through letters. We don't get to see what the nephew writes though...
C.S. Lewis made the demon's hatred hilarious and yet undesirable. And I loved how the demons referred to humans as "hairless bipeds," and it made me think of Scar's hatred of Simba in the Lion King..
You almost wonder if the demons are jealous and envious of the humans, even though they're sickened by them.

The last chapter had my eyes watering, and I needed to call my mom and talk about my feelings.


209 pages

Disorder Collection: Amazon Originals

Amazon Original Collection Description: 
"Something disturbing is going on here. From small-town witch hunts to mass incarceration to exploitations of the flesh, this chilling collection of twisted short stories imagines the horrors of a modern world not unlike our own. What have we done?"

Clearly I'm on a short story collection kick, for whatever reason. . . probably just because I can be.

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The Best Girls by Min Jin Lee
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Meh. I'm the odd woman out, because I didn't enjoy this one. The writing was way too flowery for me, and the pacing was slow. That sounds ridiculous, because it's a short story. Basically, I was bored and thought nothing moved forward in a way that was interesting to me, which made it feel tedious.

The gender issues are interesting. But that's about it, and even that isn't presented in the most compelling fashion. I guess it technically ends dark and creepy, but that felt really out of the blue, as there wasn't enough plot or character development going on for that to even feel right in the moment. It felt like it was there more for reaction than because it is what the story called for.

Pages: 18

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Anonymous by Uzodinma Iweala
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Ugh. More 2nd person. Why do they feel they need that in every collection these days? I appreciate some variety, but I'm tired of gimmicks. It's just awkward and uncomfortable. Nothing makes it harder for me to bury myself in a story or world than constantly having to hear the word "you."

Guess what? I don't want to hear about myself in fiction. If I wanted to hear "you," I would be reading some self help, which let's face it, that is never going to happen. I read fiction to escape, and 2nd person POV does not allow for that. It's a constant disruption to the flow of the story, especially when it isn't extremely well done.

Long story short, this was tedious, which isn't great considering the page length. I just wanted it to end already. If it had been a full novel, I would have had to DNF it.

Pages: 18

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Will Williams by Namwali Serpell
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Nope. This collection just isn't doing it for me. I'm 3 deep and haven't really enjoyed any of them so far. I should probably stop, but I keep thinking the next short story might be amazing, if I just hold out.

Pages: 20

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Ungirls by Lauren Beukes
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This one has a lot more voice, which is refreshing, but it jumps around so much that I had no idea who anyone was or what was really going on in the beginning. As a result, it feels a bit spastic, even though the concept sounds like it could be fantastically creepy.

I think this was too much for such a short story, because there wasn’t enough time to do anything well, including character intros. Plus, a lot of the plot/storyline was unclear. I listened to the audiobook, and everything felt jumbled. I could never settle into a character or what was really happening. Transitions must not exist in the writing, because I often couldn’t tell when we were switching scenes, or why, which left me dizzy and confused.

Pages: 20

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I didn't bother to read the last 2 in this collection, because I am just over it.  It wasn't doing it for me.  I started LOAM and already wasn't paying attention after the first 5 minutes, so I called it off. 

The One Collection: Amazon Originals

The Amazon blurb for this original collection of short stories: "In sex and love, loneliness and longing, friendship and companionship, sometimes you find the One. Sometimes you chase the One. Other times, the One just isn't enough. From a roster of bestselling, award-winning, and beloved writers come seven singularly true stories that remind us there's no one path to the perfect match."

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Before Her by Jacqueline Woodson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is a short memoir. It feels honest but seems to be missing heart, or maybe emotion. The topics and content should have been intriguing, but instead it felt like a lot of disconnect thoughts with too little real depth or storytelling. Something about it just didn’t flow for me. I had trouble caring, despite all the brief mentions of potential intrigue. I think it would have been better had it just been one brief moment or story from her life that had a significant impact.

Others are mentioned so quickly, briefly, and casually that it’s hard to understand their potential impact on her life. It has these moments that drew me in, but then it failed to hold me after drawing me in. It flitted from thought to thought so fast that I couldn’t really enjoy or appreciate the thoughts. Then, it ends abruptly, without it feeling like an ending. I don’t love it in this format, but maybe if it were a full memoir, I would like it far better.

Pages: 17

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A Wedding Thing
by Shea Serrano

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this personal story about the author’s life, with segments written by his wife. It starts out funny, but is also real and honest.

Pages: 28

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Parable by Jess Walter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I picked this original collection on Amazon Prime to listen to, I didn't realize this series of short stories were all memoirs. I'm a harsh memoir critic, in general, but I enjoyed the flow of this one.

I was able to relate to all the farm talk, which made it even more interesting and personal for me. There's a lot of chat about animals and pets, particularly a charming dog, and the author is amusing.

This one is my favorite in the collection, so far.

Pages: 27

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Yes, And
by Kristi Coulter

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This tiny memoir is honest, messy, and a bit neurotic. The love portion of the story is sort of a beautiful disaster. I liked that.

Pages: 31

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Lila by Naima Coster
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The content should have been interesting, but I thought the storytelling was boring and disjointed. Overall, I was disappointed with this one.

Reading it felt clinical and tedious, and I just wanted to connect. I could never understand where it was trying to take me or how I should feel about any of it. It’s like there was an emotional void which just left me with random segments and moments that didn’t add up to much for me without that deeper emotional connection.

I mostly thought it was depressing and misguided, although I know it’s memoir, which means I kind of hate saying it that way, since it sounds like a commentary on the author’s life, which is not my intention. I intend only to comment on this particular piece of writing.

Pages: 30

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Speed Grieving by Allison Ellis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a strange approach to discussing and explaining grief. I couldn't really relate to it on that level, because my mind doesn't work even remotely in the same way. I definitely don't grieve in this way. However, that's what probably made this an interesting and compelling read. I wanted to try to understand, and that kept me pressing onward.

Honestly, I felt pretty bad for the author, because her ongoing response to loss seems like it was absolutely exhausting and overwhelming. It stressed me out just reading about it. But I also liked the note of desperate hopefulness.

Pages: 52

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The Visitor by Dodai Stewart

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Leave it to me to love this addition to the collection the most. I won't say why, due to spoilers. I'll just say that there were some things I could really relate to with this one.

Pages: 32

Forward Collection: Amazon Originals

Amazon just released a 6 story collection of Sci-Fi books, called Forward. Each book looks forward, whether it is funny or terrifying.

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Ark by Veronica Roth
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The concept was really interesting. The content was heavy and definitely on the artsy morbid side of things. The character development was incredibly weak, overall, so I think this concept just didn’t fare well in a short story format. I was bored a lot, which probably isn’t good considering I listened on audio, on 3 speed, which means the whole story was only about 27 minutes long for me.

Basically, this story struggled to hold my attention for half an hour. I guess, all this results in that I don’t particularly like this story, and yet I also don’t hate it. I think the bones of something interesting were buried deep here, but not enough bone fragments rose to the surface to capture and hold my attention. It’s almost like it tried to hard to be insightful, and instead bordered on tedious and underdeveloped.

Pages: 39

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Summer Frost
by Blake Crouch

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a fast-paced, suspenseful AI story with an unexpected twist. I enjoyed it.

Pages: 75

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Randomize by Andy Weir
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a technology heist story. It's not bad. I wanted to be more into this than I was. The characters were vibrant, but I could have used a bit more, both from them and the plot. It almost feels like a story leading up to the catalyst. But then it ends at that point. Honestly, I wish it had started precisely where it ended.

Pages: 28

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Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was fascinating and creative, though it took me almost the whole length of the story to really settle into the 2nd person perspective, especially with this approach, where it feels like someone is speaking to me, in response to things I’m supposedly saying (though obviously I’m not saying anything, as I’m not in the story).

I struggled with this on the one hand. It was actually harder for me to sink into the story with this particular perspective, because I couldn’t take myself out of it, with the constant barrage of the word you. However, I do see how this was quite inventive and clever and can appreciate that. It also has some good messages to consider.

It feels a bit gimmicky at times, which is off-putting for me, but in other moments, it’s also highly amusing. I could feel the desperation of the narrator as the story progressed, which brought a lot of emotion to the story. So it’s a trade off. I really like some aspects of it, while at the same time, I had difficulty fully sinking into the world and story. Instead, I felt like I was constantly analyzing and rethinking things, because of the approach.

Pages: 33

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You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Brilliant and captivating. This is my favorite in the collection so far, and I've already read 5/6. It gives you a lot to think about, in terms of directions people take in life, while still having a solid sci-fi vibe about it. I thought the whole concept was quite clever and well-done.

Pages: 46

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The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The ending was good. I found the rest tedious, but I will confess to my frequent difficulties with 2nd person POVs. It really takes me out of the story, rather than puts me in it. The last thing I want to think about while reading, an escape, is myself. So while I've read and liked one book in 2nd person, most of them are a struggle for me.

For this one, I kind of see why 2nd POV was selected, but not entirely. It was a gimmick that almost worked. The story would have been more readable if there had been an actual character to relate to, instead of the mythical "you" narrator.

Pages: 56