ATC Sunday

Posted by melydia on July 1, 2012 1 comment

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

Posted by melydia on June 29, 2012 No comment

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger (unabridged audiobook read by Bianca Amato; 14 hours on 12 discs): This is more or less the tale of a small apartment building overlooking an old London cemetery. On the top floor is Martin, a man with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder dealing with being housebound by his illness and the recent departure of his wife who moved away because she could no longer deal with living that way. On the bottom floor is Robert, a thirtysomething academic working on a definitive history of the cemetery for his thesis. In the middle was Robert’s lover Elspeth, who dies at the beginning of the book and leaves everything to her American twin nieces Julia and Valentina. Elspeth has never met the girls, and it’s worth noting that they are the daughters of Edie, Elspeth’s long-estranged twin sister. Shortly after her death, Elspeth is surprised to discover herself haunting her own flat, unable to leave. Most of the characters feel trapped in some fashion or another, and the ways they deal with it make up for the bulk of the story. I did not like the ending; I feel pretty unclear on what happened to Robert and I wish a little more had been said about Elspeth’s future. All the same, it was a reasonably interesting book, if not exactly what one might call exciting or even engrossing.

A note on the audio: Amato was fine, though sometimes her American accent came across a little strange to my native ears. Also, having a chapter titled “the end” on the last disc can be a little disconcerting to the listener, since many audiobook companies use those words to let you know the book has indeed ended!

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Merciful Flush by Lane Manion

Posted by melydia on June 26, 2012 No comment

Merciful Flush by Lance Manion: A rambling collection of essays, anecdotes, and assorted madness. The punctuation leaves a lot to be desired, but despite that it’s still quite readable. The humor often borders on the demented, sort of a cross between David Sedaris and Happy Tree Friends. There were parts where I laughed, parts where I cringed, and even a few parts where I was tempted to skim – but most of it was quite unforgettable either way. I may think of one story in particular every time I take a shower for the rest of my life. If you’re looking for something well outside the mainstream, this will probably amuse you. I’d like to read more of Manion’s blather because much of it is really quite funny, but I think I’ll wait until it’s visited a proofreader first.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

ATC Sunday

Posted by melydia on June 24, 2012 2 comments

The Worthing Saga by Orson Scott Card

Posted by melydia on June 22, 2012 1 comment

The Worthing Saga by Orson Scott Card (unabridged audiobook read by Scott Brick and a full cast; 18.5 hrs on 15 discs): The first half or so of this book is a novella about the life of Jason Worthing, a telepath born thousands of years before. Jason’s world revolves around Somec, a drug that basically puts people into suspended animation and is distributed out based on merit, not money, to preserve the “most valuable” individuals for future generations. The greater the value of the person, the greater the ratio of time asleep to time awake, with the Empress at the highest Somec levels: awake one day for every five years asleep. Like a pebble skipping across a pond, these people skip across time, and ultimately the human race stagnates, as the most innovative minds are never awake long enough to accomplish anything. This is also the story of Jason’s colony started from scratch, the colonists adults with the minds of infants. This part got a little preachy – one of the examples of how degenerate life in the capital city had become was how the citizens found defecation more offensive than fornication – but most of the rest of it was pretty good. The latter half was a bunch of short stories, some retelling tales from earlier in the book, others new stories of Somec. Though some of them were kind of interesting, the addition felt unnecessary. All in all, well, this book passed the time. It wasn’t especially engaging. I find Card to be hit or miss; this wasn’t a complete miss, but it wasn’t a hit either.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Daily Telegraph Book of Obituaries edited by Hugh Massingberg

Posted by melydia on June 19, 2012 No comment

The Daily Telegraph Book of Obituaries edited by Hugh Massingberd: This collection of the lives of memorable individuals was often entertaining and never morbid. As an American I didn’t understand all of the terminology and abbreviations, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment. And while I wished more than a few times that I’d known some of these characters personally, all in all it felt too long, like too many obits were included. It took me a very long time to finish. I’d recommended reading it in small doses, or picking ones to read at random, rather than reading straight through like I did.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

ATC Sunday

Posted by melydia on June 17, 2012 2 comments

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Posted by melydia on June 15, 2012 1 comment

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (unabridged audiobook read by Kate Rudd; 7hr 19min on 6 discs): I never expected to laugh so much during a story about teens with cancer. Our narrator, Hazel, is on oxygen all the time due to the fluid in her lungs, and her condition is undeniably terminal. One day at support group she meets the charming Augustus Waters; this is the tale of their relationship. And it is absolutely amazing, a story I treasured every instant of. Did I cry? Of course I cried. But I also left feeling so grateful to have known these characters for that brief time. This is also one of those books with a lot of reread value: lots of foreshadowing and symbolism that I look forward to spotting the second time around. Highly recommended.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Posted by melydia on June 12, 2012 2 comments

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne (unabridged audiobook read by Michael Maloney; 5 hrs on 4 discs): Usually I like to have a sentence or two of synopsis to start off with, but the only thing I knew going into this was that it had something to do with the Holocaust. And honestly I think that was probably the best way. Bruno captured my heart, and frankly the end was a little traumatizing. While I can’t say that I necessarily liked this story, it was incredibly moving and a very important story. Definitely one to read by all, and a very good way to open the door to a conversation with children about the Holocaust. Definitely something that will stick with me for a long time.

A note on the audio: Maloney was quite good, being funny or sensitive as the situation required. This particular version also had a brief conversation between Boyne and his publisher, which was interesting but not strictly necessary. That is, I liked hearing about the book’s reception but I didn’t feel it added anything to my overall experience.

ATC Sunday

Posted by melydia on June 10, 2012 No comment

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