Tag Archives: audio

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Posted by melydia on November 25, 2008 4 comments

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand: It’s a shame that an opinion about this book is taken as a political statement, because the story’s actually really good. In a nutshell: the government decides that competition is unfair and starts regulating trade and production. In response, the producers disappear one by one, abandoning (or destroying) their mines, factories, and mills. Chaos ensues. Our protagonist is Dagny Taggart, head of Taggart Transcontinental Railroad. Objectivist women are evidently hard to find; she had so many admirers I almost wanted to rename the book “Everybody Loves Dagny.” But that’s neither here nor there (though the sex scenes were a touch disturbing); it is she who struggles to keep her railroad running as increasing government regulation and a decreasing population of competent people bar the way. At times I was reminded of Animal Farm, which is no surprise considering Rand grew up in Bolshevik Russia. What starts with good intentions rapidly devolves into a miasma of bribes, favors, and threats.

My favorite character was Francisco d’Anconia, CEO of d’Anconia Copper and childhood friend of Dagny. I just love his snarkiness. Everything he does seems calculated to piss off the looters (so the enemies of individuality are called) while remaining impeccably polite. As an aside, I also found it telling that so many of the looters had ridiculous names, such as Tinky or Chick.

I found this story fascinating from an intellectual and philosophical viewpoint. A lot of people seem to treat capitalism as a given (or as the enemy); I’ve never read such a detailed defense of it. And while I do not purport to completely understand Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism, these are the nuggets I gleaned from this story:
* Logic and facts are paramount.
* You are entitled to nothing and must earn everything. Needing something – anything – does not entitle you to it. Even food and shelter.
* Government involvement in private enterprise screws everything up.
* The worst thing is to live a life without purpose.
* Every man working in his own self interest ultimately produces the most good for all.

I’m not going to go into my own personal philosophy here, but these views definitely made for some interesting reading. Certainly better than The Fountainhead. (Howard Roark struck me as petty.) Once again, this is a book that made me think, and that is always high praise coming from me.

I listened to this on audiobook, which I think was the only way I would have gotten through it. Not only is the book incredibly long, the characters spend a lot of time making speeches, most notably John Galt’s famous three-hour speech near the end. (Yes, you do learn the answer to “who is John Galt?” in the third section.) These speeches are unquestionably an integral part of the book, both the plot and the philosophical ideals, but they can get a little tiring. On audio they come across much more naturally.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

Posted by melydia on July 15, 2008 None comments

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux: I get the distinct impression that had this book not been made into a fabulously popular musical, it would have been largely forgotten. The writing is largely dreadful, with long passages of dialogue consisting mainly of people repeating themselves and each other. Meh.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

From the Corner of His Eye by Dean Koontz

Posted by melydia on June 15, 2008 None comments

From the Corner of His Eye by Dean Koontz: First and foremost, this was a refreshing change from your Standard Koontz Novel (that is, one long chase scene as the main character desperately tries to figure out what’s going on). The story revolves around three groups of people: Agnes, her amazing son Barty, and her two eccentric brothers; Celestina and the charming child Angel; and the psychotic Junior and his pursuer, Detective Vinadium. The connection between all the characters is not clear at first, but everything does get tied up in the end. Some of the pseudoscience was a touch painful, and the last couple chapters felt really rushed and more than a little bit contrived, but all in all I liked it. The characters were delightful. It’s these sorts of books that keep me coming back to Koontz time after time. I just wish he was a bit more consistent in quality.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Ticktock by Dean Koontz

Posted by melydia on December 28, 2007 None comments

Your typical Dean Koontz story: Ordinary Man finds ordinary life turned upside down out of nowhere by Pure Evil, in an event that is usually inexplicable and/or random. Most of book involves Ordinary Man being chased by Pure Evil. Along the way he finds or confirms his True Love. In the end, Pure Evil is destroyed, Ordinary Man is (re)united with his True Love, and everything ends happily.

In Ticktock, Vietnamese-American Tommy Phan discovers a strange ragdoll on his doorstep which turns into a demon trying to kill him. Most of the book is spent on Tommy and his newfound love Del fleeing from said demon. Del is extremely mysterious in what I suppose was meant to be an amusing way, but I thought she was really obnoxious, and I couldn’t figure out what Tommy saw in her. On the other hand, I loved Tommy’s mother.

Yes, the story is a tad silly (Del’s secrets, when finally revealed, are even sillier), but it’s Koontz. If you like Koontz, you’ll like this one. It’s a fun, light read.

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

Posted by melydia on May 31, 2007 None comments

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (unabridged audiobook read by Paul Hecht): Honestly? Meh. I like Bradbury but this one was a bit boring. The language was flowery to the point of distraction and employed far too many overwrought metaphors. As a woman, I also grew tired of the frequent “just us boys” mentality and references to women not understanding these sorts of things and “living on gossip.” The concept – that of an evil carnival and the method by which they keep their freaks – was pretty cool, but the surrounding story was rather lacking.

1776 by David McCoullough

Posted by melydia on March 25, 2007 None comments

1776 by David McCullough (unabridged audiobook read by the author): I take partial responsibility for my opinion of this book, because I really ought to have known better. I knew it would cover a pivotal year in the American Revolution, but what I did not realize was that it would focus exclusively on the military aspect. The Declaration of Independence is almost an afterthought while each battle, march, and strategy is described in painstaking detail. I did learn a lot about George Washington as a person, which was cool, but overall I was kind of bored. It didn’t help that the author’s voice was a tad dull and droning, making him easy to tune out.

How I Write by Janet Evanovich and Ina Yalof

Posted by melydia on March 4, 2007 None comments

How I Write by Janet Evanovich and Ina Yalof (unabridged audiobook, multiple readers): I am not very familiar with Evanovich’s work. I read One for the Money and thought it was cute but felt no special desire to read anything else by her. However, I am always curious to hear what bestselling authors have to say about writing since obviously something they are doing is working. I was pleasantly surprised with this one. Evanovich takes us from character development all the way through book tours in a light, funny question-and-answer format. She is realistic about the publication process (she collected rejection slips for ten years before publishing her first book) while remaining optimistic and upbeat about the entire journey. It’s also quite thorough: since the questions come from ten years of reader emails, even minutia like webpage design, paper quality for manuscripts, and transitions are covered, and in the back there is a list of references. This is one of the few books I would recommend all aspiring authors to keep on hand. I borrowed it from the library but I plan on getting my own copy soon. That’s high praise from someone who almost never rereads books.

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

Posted by melydia on February 2, 2007 None comments

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner (unabridged audiobook read by Grover Gardner): This is on several “OMG you must read these books before you die” lists so I decided to try it. I was not prepared for now remarkably difficult it is to follow. It is divided into four sections, the first three narrated in (unreliable) first person and the fourth in third person omniscient. The first section is narrated by Benjy, a man with severe mental retardation; next is Quentin, a neurotic with a tendency to interrupt himself midsentence; and finally we have Jason, an evil man with an apparent distaste for proper nouns, often going entire scenes talking about “her” without letting the reader know who “she” is. The fourth section would be a breath of fresh air, tying everything together, except it’s so strangled with purple prose it’s almost unbearable. To be fair, this should never have been an audiobook. Gardner is an excellent narrator, but with no way to obviously set apart the italicized sections from the rest it all becomes one big jumble, jumping back and forth through time without any indication to the reader of what’s happening when. (Multiple characters sharing the same name doesn’t help either.) Not that I think I would have liked this book had I experienced it in print first. The characters are despicable. The mother especially got under my skin, with her self-centered mewling about what a martyr she is. Now, just because I didn’t like it doesn’t mean you won’t. I can see how this book would appeal to people who enjoy an extra challenge in their reading, who define “classics” as books that require multiple reads to fully understand. I actually gave some thought to rereading it, but I didn’t really want to spend any more time with the Compsons than strictly necessary. In short, if you’re just looking for a good story the first time around, I would strongly suggest skipping this one – or at least having a study guide close at hand while you read.

After finishing this, I read its corresponding Wikipedia entry. Though usually not a fan of spoilers, I wish I’d read this synposis before tackling the actual text. It may have been easier to parse.

Shadow Fires by Dean koontz

Posted by melydia on July 25, 2006 None comments

Shadow Fires by Dean R. Koontz (unabridged audiobook read by Jonathan Marosz): As Rachel and Eric leave the offices of their divorce lawyers, they are arguing viciously about the settlement. Eric gets so angry he storms off directly into oncoming traffic, where he is killed by a garbage truck. After the initial shock wears off, Rachel gets incredibly paranoid and hangs out with her boyfriend Ben, actively not telling him things. When Eric’s body disappears from the morgue, her paranoia becomes a reality: Eric’s not really dead! It gets a little silly from there, blending unlikely genetic theory with bizarre theology on the afterlife. It’s a chase story through and through, with Ben and Rachel spending the bulk of the book not telling each other things while fleeing Eric, the local cops, and the feds. Koontz is usually good for quirky characters having bizarre adventures, but this time he was a little short on the adventure part. It was really nothing more than one big chase scene, that didn’t even tie up the majority of the issues it raised by the end (namely, the consequences of the characters’ actions, the mental waffling over which had been a big part of the plot). So yeah: dig Koontz, not so big on Shadow Fires. (Interestingly, this is the last novel he wrote using a pseudonym. Maybe that should have been a clue.)

The Face by Dean Koontz

Posted by melydia on October 13, 2004 None comments

The Face by Dean Koontz (unabridged audiobook read by Dylan Baker): The two main characters here are Ethan Truman, chief of security for megastar Channing Manheim, and Fric, Manheim’s lonely but surprisingly normal 10-year-old son. Ethan begins the story by investigating some strange packages delivered to his employer, which earns him a fatal shot in the chest…only to wake up back in his truck, unharmed but with his own blood under his fingernails. Also lurking in the wings is Corky Laputa, self-proclaimed anarchist and servant of Chaos, spreading fear and discord however he can.

When it comes right down to it, I enjoyed this book very much, thanks in no small part to Dylan Baker, the reader. His voice acting was convincing, his narration was engaging, and he managed to keep me interested – even rapt in parts – all 19 hours. However, I had a few complaints even Baker’s massive talent could not quell. First, the sappy ending: this being Dean Koontz, I knew that Good would triumph over Evil in the end, but the overly saccharine fate granted a character I didn’t care very much about in the first place was tiresome. Second, the flowery description: most of it was fun and useful in setting the mood, but there’s only so many times you need to describe the rain. Third, there were lots of lengthy details and backstory that weren’t necessary to the story. I have a feeling Reader’s Digest could trim this down to a novella and lose nothing.

Certainly not my favorite Koontz novel, but I may have to track down more audiobooks read by Dylan Baker.

© 2010-2025 kate weber All Rights Reserved -- Copyright notice by Blog Copyright