Tag Archives: audio

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Posted by melydia on January 21, 2010 1 comments

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini: An incredibly depressing story about two Afghan women living through the numerous regime changes in that country. I will say that this is beautifully written, with compelling characters and rich detail. And I certainly learned a lot about Afghan history and culture. It’s just that the story was a big downer, filled with cruelty and regret. Women are horribly mistreated; people are thoughtlessly mean to each other and then never get a chance to apologize for it; and the “happy” ending feels really contrived. So if you’re looking for a brutally honest look at the lives of women in Afghanistan, this is probably a pretty good start, but don’t go looking for a feel-good story to pass a rainy afternoon. Some of the images will stick with me for a long time.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Posted by melydia on November 6, 2009 None comments

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (unabridged audiobook read by Ilyana Kadushin and Matt Walters): This final book of the Twilight series opens with Bella and Edward’s wedding and subsequent honeymoon, and covers the first six months or so of their life together. There’s a bit of drama here and there, but by and large it’s not nearly as suspenseful as the earlier books – and those were pretty tame. As I’d expected, imprinting was used as a convenient solution to the love triangle. The idea is that when a werewolf meets his soulmate, he “imprints” on them and suddenly has eyes for no one else. Bella can’t be with Edward without breaking Jacob’s heart? Simple: Jacob imprints on somebody else and ceases being interested in Bella all together. Problem solved. Pretty cheap, if you ask me, but hardly unexpected. It’s not like I ever thought Jacob ever had a chance with Bella, even when Edward was out of the picture in New Moon.

And you know, I was okay with the invulnerability to sunlight and the extra-sensory powers and even the sparkling, but vampire pregnancy is something I can’t quite wrap my head around. I mean, they’re supposed to be physically dead – or at least permanently unchanging – right? Your body – male and female alike – has to be doing something inside there if you’re going to be able to make babies. That said, I still have to give props to Meyer for the hilarious dichotomy between the teen romance and the graphic horror. I just could not stop laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. I also enjoyed Jacob as a temporary narrator; even when he’s being angstful he’s amusing. Oh, and for the record: Renesmee is a terrible name, and Nessie is a really unintuitive nickname.

The ending is happy, of course, and thorough to the point of absurdity. Everyone finds love, peace, and joy, untainted by regret or danger or even, in most cases, mortality. It’s also a fanfiction gold mine: loads of new characters (and creatures) introduced with only the barest of backstories. A talented fanfic writer could really go to town here. As for me, I felt a profound and somewhat embarrassing sense of freedom as I finished this book. The Twilight universe has devoured my brain for the past few months, but now it’s done, and I am free at last. It’s a very sudden, very weird sensation. I don’t even feel a desire to reread any of the books. I’ll see the movies, though I’m not in any particular hurry anymore. I enjoyed the story, laughed more than was probably appropriate (oh come on, these books are silly), and now I’m on to the next one. Rock on.

When You are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

Posted by melydia on November 2, 2009 1 comments

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris (unabridged audiobook read by the author): One thing I really appreciate about Sedaris is not only does he share the often unflattering foibles of everyone around him, he never spares himself. Indeed, he often paints himself as the one with the worst intentions and habits. I laughed particularly hard at “In the Waiting Room” and “What I Learned”. The final and longest essay, “The Smoking Section,” goes through his first few months after quitting smoking. It’s made more interesting by the stay in Japan during this time. These essays are sometimes poignant, often funny, and always unexpected. All in all, this is one of Sedaris’s better collections. It doesn’t beat out Me Talk Pretty One Day as my favorite, but it’s probably in second place.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman

Posted by melydia on October 18, 2009 None comments

Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman (unabridged audiobook read by the author): Haunting and atmospheric as usual; whenever I read any of Gaiman’s stories I immediately wish I could visit whatever location he describes. No matter how desolate or bland, he always manages to fill it with a sense of wonder and beauty. I wasn’t, however, quite so impressed with the story-poems, which struck me more like prose with awkwardly placed line breaks. I also wish I’d known so many of the stories would be from collections devoted to authors I’ve never read, such as H.P. Lovecraft. But that’s okay. Maybe someday, after I’ve read some of those stories, I’ll come back and reread these. Speaking of rereading, the final two stories, “Murder Mysteries” and “Snow, Glass, Apples”, I’d heard before on Two Plays for Voices. They’re much easier to follow in prose form. All in all, I think I prefer the other Gaiman I’ve read.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Stranger by Albert Camus

Posted by melydia on October 13, 2009 None comments

The Stranger by Albert Camus: This is not a good choice for audio. First off, it was four discs but only took up about two and a half (the rest was some talk on existentialism I didn’t listen to), meaning that George Guidall said “the end” almost two hours before I was expecting him to. Luckily, I had a paper copy so I reread the last few pivotal pages of the story. I could sum up the story but that’s not really the point. There’s a guy and a murder and lots of absurdity. By and large I think I enjoyed it, though it was quite slow to start. I probably would have appreciated it more as a student, with a teacher there to tell me when to pay attention. Perhaps I’ll read it again someday.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Posted by melydia on September 15, 2009 1 comments

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (unabridged audiobook read by Ilyana Kadushin): Edward wants to get married, but Bella, who is perfectly willing to spend eternity as a vampire with him, is balking at the idea. To complicate things, Jacob’s stepped up to the plate, offering himself as a saner alternative to the living dead. (Which says something, considering he’s a werewolf.) Not that either choice is all that appealing for most of the book: both men act like pretentious assholes and treat Bella like a child incapable of making her own decisions. And for two people who are supposed to be perfect for each other, Edward and Bella sure do spend a lot of time arguing. Yet, they can’t handle spending even a few hours apart. I don’t find obsessive co-dependence to be all that romantic, but then I’m an old married lady – what do I know about love? ;)

“‘Yes,’ I agreed.” “‘Sorry,’ he apologized.” The writing has marginally improved in this volume but is still distractingly amateurish. The literary allusions were less heavy-handed and repetitive (New Moon’s constant Romeo and Juliet references grew quite tiresome), and I’m now actually somewhat curious to read Wuthering Heights and see what all the fuss is about. Like the previous two books in the series, the action doesn’t really get going until about the last quarter of the book. It felt scatterbrained, tossing around Victoria and the Volturi almost at random to add some actual drama to the romantic shenanigans. That said, I did get a kick out of quite a bit of the craziness. Jacob’s brash arrogance was more funny than annoying, and horny Bella amused the heck out of me. I’m looking forward to seeing how the story wraps up in the next book: if Bella finally takes the plunge into vampiredom, if her father has a coronary when Edward asks for his daughter’s hand, if Jacob imprints on somebody, etc. I’ve read that all the loose ends are tied up far too conveniently, but I’ve come to expect that from this series. In short: better than Twilight, not quite as strong as New Moon, but a decent enough continuation of the story to keep me looking forward to the next book.

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

Posted by melydia on September 2, 2009 1 comments

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (unabridged audiobook read by Ilyana Kadushin): Shortly after Bella’s 18th birthday, her vampire boyfriend Edward abruptly dumps her and leaves with his vampire family for parts unknown. She is, in a word, devastated. However, she finds the pain eased somewhat when she does something stupid or reckless, because she hears Edward’s voice in her head, telling her to stay safe. She becomes addicted to these delusions, and pulls more and more idiotic stunts to get her fix. Meanwhile, childhood friend and would-be paramour Jacob Black is more than willing to step in, and the two become close.

Though the technical issues are still present in this book – Bella’s repetitious stream of consciousness, the overuse of adverbs, the underuse of “said”, etc. – the plot moves much more naturally. Jacob is a very likable guy, and I felt bad for him even though I think Edward and Bella are a better match, what with their angst-ridden, melodramatic tendencies. The constant Romeo and Juliet references got really old. The delusion angle wasn’t wrapped up very well either, but I was able to more or less ignore it. It’s not like I didn’t already know Bella’s crazy and obsessive.

The werewolf treatment is interesting as well. They are as unaffected by the moon as the vampires are by the sun; they more resemble The Incredible Hulk, in that they turn into wolves when they lose their tempers. Vampires and werewolves are sworn enemies, which is nothing new, but the whole vampire-human-werewolf love triangle is kind of fun. The last few chapters are especially good as Bella attempts to convince Edward to turn her into a vampire, despite several unexpected complications.

And here comes the confession: I found myself utterly sucked into this one. I zipped through it in record time, unable to put it down. I’m embarrassed to admit that I’m champing at the bit to start Eclipse. Clearly there is something wrong with me.

P.S. – A new moon and a lunar eclipse are not the same thing. Just sayin’.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Posted by melydia on July 21, 2009 2 comments

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini: This came to me highly recommended. That is, the “OMG THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD” sort of highly recommended. But you know, I wasn’t all that impressed with it. The bits and pieces of Afghan culture that shone through now and then were interesting, but really it was just your standard tale of betrayal, guilt, and redemption. Pretty predictable, all in all. I’m not saying it wasn’t well-written, just that it didn’t really grab me. Part of this problem may be due to listening to it on audiobook, which was read by the author. Some people believe that authors are the ideal choice for narrators, but I disagree. Sure, the author may know best how the characters are supposed to sound, but that doesn’t mean s/he can reproduce them. Not everyone is a good voice actor, and Hosseini, for all his talent as a writer, most certainly is not. I’d say I’d consider reading the printed version at some point to give it a second chance, but I’m sure I’d still only be able to hear his monotone voice in my head. A shame, because with the right narrator I’m sure this could have been a very moving tale.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card

Posted by melydia on July 11, 2009 1 comments

Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card: This final book in the Ender Quartet spends most of its time tying up loose ends from Xenocide than moving the story along. The fleet still threatens the planet Lusitania, Jane still faces imminent destruction, Miro is still angstful about his love life, and Ender’s still going a bit mad. Everything is tied up neatly at the end, but by and large these latter two novels – Xenocide and Children of the Mind – feel superfluous. I admire Card for his amazing SF ideas, especially the development of the Piggies, but there wasn’t much point in putting all the aiua business in the Ender universe. But that’s okay. Now I know how it ends, and if I care to reread the series in the future, I’ll simply stop after Speaker for the Dead.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Xenocide by Orson Scott Card

Posted by melydia on June 29, 2009 2 comments

Xenocide by Orson Scott Card: The third book in the Ender Wiggin saga was not originally intended to involve Ender at all, and it kind of shows. Most of the story revolves around a couple “god-spoken” denizens of the Chinese-ish world of Path, who believe the gods tell them what to do in between demands for absurd and humiliating purification rituals. The characters are generally either uninteresting or unlikeable, but Card’s writing is good enough that it isn’t too tiresome. However, the metaphysical, philosophical, and religious discussions get old, and too often Card falls into the trap that ensnares so many male SF/F writers: making women self-righteous harpies in lieu of actually giving them personalities. Ella alone escapes this fate, though that may be due to her lack of romantic interests. While I enjoyed the more in-depth discussion of the descolada virus and Jane’s origins, I could have done without Ender’s unrealistic marital problems and the deus ex machina of “outside.” (Those who have read the book will know what I mean.) I sincerely hope the next (and once last) book in the series, Children of the Mind, will bring some closure to the ridiculously tangled story going on here. Otherwise I’ll probably wish I’d stopped after Speaker for the Dead.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

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