Five Skies, Ron Carlson

I was somewhat disappointed by Five Skies, as I sometimes am when a really excellent short story writer turns his hand to longer formats.  Carlson's story isn't constructed to have the same interest all the way through, so what would have made a very good novella becomes just a so-so novel. 

The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold

The Lovely Bones is one of those books that does better in audiobook format than I think it would do on paper.  The mystery aspect keeps the listener's attention and there are several clever & creative aspects from the beginning that draw you in (that the principal character is talking from after her death is the main one). 

Like other Sebold I have read, the structure doesn't hold up well, and the book turns sappy & predictable for the last half.

I Thought My Father Was God, edited by Paul Auster

I Thought My Father Was God was a relatively forgettable book.  I found the stories quite uneven and Auster's voice sometimes grated on my nerves.  I got the feeling that the pool of entries wasn't always deep enough - that he was searching for barely acceptable behavior based on the organization of the chapters.  I wonder if the audiobook format undermined the book, but since they are individual stories, I kind of doubt it.

A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

Like everyone, I know the story from countless movies and adaptations, but I had never read the original.  When Audible put this up for free I thought I'd try it, in part because I've found myself appreciating the classics more and more -- no matter what I thought of them in high school.  I didn't have a good memory of Dickens, but this story was better than almost all modern adaptations, and I found the writing (well, listening) very enjoyable.  Will put Dickens on that very long to-read-again-someday list...

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Schaffer

This was a great choice for an audiobook, and the multiple narrators saying who they were and who was writing to whom was really helpful, especially as I tend to dip in and out of audiobooks in 15 minute increments. 

The structure of using letters to tell this story was fun & the story itself held my interest.  Characters were uneven in the development and credibility, and I wonder if Juliette came across as more sympathetic in print than her reader in the book conveyed by her tone.  I didn't think the book was a masterpiece, but it was very enjoyable as a story & the audio format worked really well for once. 

Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafisi

I listened to this over about 2 weeks - found some of the description of the Tehran ambiance through the revolution until the author's immigration to be a very good point of view of understanding what that was like to live through, in particular for an educated woman.  Some of the sections of the book were a bit self-indulgent and stories that seemed to have no purpose.  The author comes off as very full of herself and her intellect in multiple sections, yet never communicated any real brilliance to me. 

As an audio recording it was well done - good narrator, decent pace (pace of the book in parts is quite slow however). 

It made me want to listen to other memoirs in audiobook - the format seems well adapted to this kind of material.  I wouldn't seek out more work by Nafisi, but she did give some reading ideas for the future.

Broken Open, Elizabeth Lesser

I listened to Broken Open over the past week or so.  I don't even remember buying it, but it was a good find for this time in my life.  I don't know if there was any particular part that stuck out for me, but the overall message that we have a lot to learn from the tough times in life was an important thing for me to hear right now.  I didn't care much for the author's tone and I thought her stories were weak and self-indulgent next to some of the stories of other people (or things she could have included) but I still got something out of the book.  I wouldn't recommend the book or the audiorecording unless it was to someone else going through challenging times, however. 

Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami

I have been listening to this audiobook for ages it seems. I only listened to it while walking for exercise, and since I stopped doing that for several months the audiobook sat unplayed for quite a while.

The good thing about today was not only did I walk for a long time, but I also reached the end of the book (okay, I admit, I listened to the final 5 minutes upon arriving home!).

I liked the story and the characters, but I think my next audiobook for exercise will need to be more of a page-turner. Long winding novels are not well adapted to my exercise resistance...

The Power of Nice

I finished listening to another audiobook today. This one was not fiction, but rather a mix of self-help and business, "The Power of Nice". Basic good principles saying that nice guys and gals finish first and are happier.

Not earth-shattering, but good reminders and quick.

Curious Case of Benjamin Button apt 3W

I finished listening to a book on tape - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button apt 3W.

It was uneven, and I decided short stories might not be the best way to go for walking motivation, maybe a mystery or other story w compelling plot.