Audio Books: Jeanne's Picks

 

Like Christy, I am something of a newcomer to audio books. While I have to say that I still prefer REAL books (i.e., paper!) I have listened to and enjoyed several lately. My taste in audio runs more to non-fiction and to things I have read before so that if I mentally tune out at times (because I think it is a good thing to pay attention while driving) I still know what is going on.  Here are some of my favorites, in no particular order:

 

Cleo by Helen Brown:  I have loved this book for years and given many copies to friends. When I learned that an audio version read by the author was available, I had to give it a listen.  Brown lost her beloved older son to a traffic accident. This is the story of how she grieved and then learned to love and live again.  It’s thoughtful, heartfelt, funny, honest, and most of all beautifully written.  Unlike some authors who read their own works, Brown does an excellent job: her voice is warm and expressive, giving a sense of intimacy.  Her New Zealand accent adds to the charm.  She enunciates so well, there’s no problem understanding her.  (I admit when I watch some British shows I feel I need to turn on the captions until I get used to the accent. Not a problem here.)

 

Bono by Helen Brown: Yes, I really like Brown’s work and hope there will be audios of all her books eventually.  In this one, Helen is feeling a bit restless and wonders if she can create a new, glamorous life in New York.  She approaches her publisher who, much to her surprise, loves the idea of a Big Apple visit. She can promote her books and—as part of the promotion—foster a special needs cat named Bono.  Who, Brown finds, is not inclined to be cooperative about being fostered.  This time the book was read by a professional actress who did a good job, though I confess it took me a bit to get over my disappointment that it wasn’t Helen (after reading her books and listening to audio, I feel we are on a first name basis.)

 

Kitty Cornered by Bob Tarte describes life with a menagerie of ducks, geese, parrots, bunnies, and cats. You know which part caught my attention.  Again, this is a book I have read, gifted, and read again.  This audio is narrated by a professional who does a good job but he doesn’t sound like the Bob I hear in my head so it took awhile for me to get into it.  I wanted to “coach” him into sounding the way I thought he should sound.  Other people who haven’t read the book and formed an opinion shouldn’t have this problem. The feline cast are all scene stealers: sweet Moonbeam (better known as Moobie) who learns to use her Elizabethan collar to her advantage; needy Maynard; free spirit Frannie; grouchy Agnes; pretty Tina; and Lucy the snapping crocodile disguised as a dilute tabby.

 

Mobituaries by Mo Rocca is a browser’s delight but also fun on audio.  For the uninitiated, Rocca likes to take topics and people he feels have not been appropriately appreciated and tells his audience about them.  It’s a fascinating and delightful look at subjects from Sammy Davis Jr., Prussia, Audrey Hepburn, disco, and much more.

 

Calypso by David Sedaris:  I had heard Sedaris on NPR so I was already familiar with his delivery and his humor.  I found myself alternately cringing and laughing as I listened to this.  I had read a previous book so I knew a bit about the family dynamics.  I’m not sure his humor is for everyone but I do enjoy his writing.  He does know how to turn a phrase.

 

Finally, the audio books that started it all, courtesy of a Book Bingo requirement:  the mother/daughter duo of Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella reading their essays about, well, whatever catches their fancy.  With enticing titles such as I’ve Got Sand in All the Wrong Places and I Need a Lifeguard Everywhere but the Beach, I was easily drawn into the lives of these two women.  Most entries are humorous, but serious topics are covered as well.

 

Next up:  I'm listening to Jim Dale read A Christmas Carol.  ‘Tis the season! And though it's a story I've read and seen many times, there are bits I don't remember such as the discussion about "dead as a doornail." I'm not finished but I think I can highly recommend this one as well!

David Sedaris

Reviewed by Jeanne

I first encountered David Sedaris on NPR with his classic story, “The Santaland Diaries.”  I soon heard him on other shows but never picked up a book until this summer.  I started with Me Talk Pretty One Day because I knew part of the book was about living in France.  The first section dealt with Sedaris’ early years, transplanted to North Carolina along with his parents and siblings.  It was a great deal of culture shock for all concerned.  Sedaris’ youth, move to New York, and struggle to simply survive in the city while stuck in a variety of unsatisfying jobs were all covered as well. The second part of the book was more focused on Sedaris’ life in France.  He and his partner, Hugh, bought a house and Sedaris set about learning French, which wasn’t easy as the title of the book implies. 

Now comes the hard part:  how to describe Sedaris’ writing to someone who has never read him.

First off, they are wonderfully well written.  Sedaris knows how to turn a phrase and has a wide vocabulary to express his meaning, though it never feels as if he is showing off.  More than anything else, though, he knows how to control a narrative.  It’s almost like a symphony: there are cringe-inducing incidents, moments of despair and futility, hilarious interludes, and a good dose of thoughtful observations—followed by something rather appalling.  He plays his audience like a grand piano.

I followed Me Talk Pretty One Day with the audio version of his latest book, Calypso.  Sedaris himself does the narration and does a predictably masterful job.  Some of the subject matter is darker this time, as his sister Tiffany has committed suicide.  This thread runs through the entire book as family members pause at different times to question and to wonder: what drove her to do it?  As always, Sedaris is brutally honest, even quoting a comment left by a non-family member accusing the family of causing Tiffany’s suicide.

Also as always, the stories are entertaining, thoughtful and frequently hilarious.  One reoccurring event is the family gathering at a beach house Sedaris bought in North Carolina.  He recounts childhood visits to the beach and how in the first flush of the visit his father would proclaim that they would buy a house there (to wild acclaim from the children) then walk back the idea as the week progressed. So Sedaris decides to make that notion come true.  He envisions it as a family retreat and as such, refuses to allow a TV in the house, leading to one of my favorite moments in the book. I won’t spoil it for you.

After reading comments on Goodreads, I think now that perhaps I should have started with his first book, Naked, or such was the recommendations by many.  There is more family background presented and might have given me more insight during Me Talk Pretty, though I enjoyed it as was.  However, I am going to make Naked my next Sedaris book, before I pick up any others.

Nevermore: Red Clocks, Calypso, Love and Ruin, Lincoln in the Bardo, Evolution’s Captain

Reported by Jeanne

Red Clocks by Leni Zumas imagines a world in which the United States has banned both abortion and in-vitro fertilization, granting personhood to every embryo.  The book follows the lives of five women who must make choices based on this new reality. Our reader compared it to A Handmaid’s Tale, saying that fertility (or lack thereof) determined class, and that the book seeks to address the concepts of identity, motherhood, and freedom.  The characters are fully developed and the book is alternately compelling and chilling.

A new David Sedaris book is cause for rejoicing among some members of Nevermore, and Calypso met their expectations.   Sedaris is known for his storytelling and wit, spinning satiric gold out of his everyday interactions. While Calypso retells some of his adventures from earlier collections, our reader said that these are from a different perspective so the repetition didn’t bother her at all.

Paula McLain’s first novel, The Paris Wife, was a fictionalized version of Ernest Hemingway marriage to Hadley Richardson.  Her new book, Love and Ruin, explores the relationship between Hemingway and Martha Gelhorn, a young journalist who is trying to break through in what has been a man’s occupation.  Our Nevermore member described it as “fiction based on fact” and noting that Hemingway was not a sympathetic character.

The next reader had not finished Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders but he said that the first 60 pages “will grab you SO hard.”  He explained that a bardo is a Tibetan term for a place after death, and that Lincoln has just suffered the loss of his young son.  The book has had very good reviews, but is not to everyone’s taste.

Evolution’s Captain by Peter Nicolas reveals the man behind Charles Darwin’s expedition which resulted in his theory of evolution: Robert Fitzroy, the captain of The Beagle, who invited Darwin to accompany him on the voyage.  Five years later, the two find themselves with divergent views on the natural world. Our reviewer was particularly intrigued by the descriptions of early weather forecasting which played a vital role in sea travel.

Our last reader was intrigued by Joseph Wambaugh’s The Blooding, a non-fiction account of the first use of DNA to catch a criminal.  The English village of Narborough was the site of two brutal murders and rapes over a three year period.  The police questioned various suspects but were unable to conclude the identity of the murderer.  Then a researcher at the nearby Leicester University devised a way to identify a person from “genetic fingerprinting.” It was a riveting account, and our reviewer recommended it highly.