Thursday, June 02, 2011

Listen Up!

I've been on an Audible.com rampage; I've already spent well over $175.00. The following are some of the audio books I've listened to in just the last few weeks; there are more waiting and the rest are made up of all things Gervais. I'm not at all good at book reviews, so I've included the link for you to go read the synopsis for each book yourself. My thoughts are in italics. I might not be good at book reviews, but I'm pretty good at telling you what I think.


Water For Elephants

Did not like this book at all. TOO much circus detail. Not an interesting storyline in my opinion. Too much about the animals. Not a strong enough love story. Too much gratuitous sex and/or sexual content. Might consider seeing the movie, but would not recommend the book to anyone.






The English American

The author actually read this book herself. I loved her British accent, her attempt at a Southern accent and the other voices she did for characters. It was funny, or as the English might say, cheeky. It was just okay. Funny in many places, good characters, but I just didn't like the way it ended. I might recommend it, if the person were to find it on a sale rack.





A Rule Against Murder

I loved the way this was written. The detail. The description of the characters. Investigator Gamache - apparently, he's a character in several of her books. I would definitely read something else written by Louise Penny. And I love that that story was set in Canada, as I love love love my neighbor to the north.






A Thousand Splendid Suns
Interesting. Well written. But not my favorite. I liked the Kite Runner story better - even though I only saw the movie. I do love the Afghan setting and the story about the people of that region.









Inside The Kingdom: My Life In Saudi Arabia

I bought this before Bin Laden was killed, and it was interesting to read/listen to after the fact. It seems they were not very close to him at all, but her husband (bin Laden's brother) seemed to be a very difficult man to live with. And the Saudi Arabian lifestyle is a bit oppressive for the women. No big surprise to anyone there. I probably wouldn't recommend it, but I would say it had some interesting tidbits.





The Blood of Flowers
I loved this book. LOVED. I loved the author and I loved the woman who read the book - Iranian-American actress Shohreh Aghdashloo. As I said in a prior post, her voice is hypnotically gorgeous. I loved the subject matter. I loved the vivid descriptions. I felt as if I were there. And I'm very intrigued by the culture in Iran and other Middle Eastern countries. There were many Arabic words and phrases I learned from this book, my favorite being
In šāʾ Allāh - pronounced Insha' Allah - in my head, I keep trying to figure out ways to work it into conversation. I find much of the language to be beautiful. It's definitely a book I would recommend and I'd read anything else written by her.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1 YEAR AGO:
Spread Sunshine All Over The Place
2 YEARS AGO:
Cows, Coffee And BJ’s
3 YEARS AGO:
Lining Up For Lobster Season
4 YEARS AGO:
Worth Every Penny
5 YEARS AGO:
Everybody Is Everything
6 YEARS AGO: Stuck In A Southern Vortex

1 comment:

RingBali said...

New idea of learning..I just find idea of audiobooks