Good Listens

Do you "read" audiobooks? I do!


I realize that I don't update the blog as often as I should, so I thought I'd throw in a few of my little book review blurbs.  I've been a life-long listener of books--in fact, those read-along books with audio cassettes are how I taught myself to read at age 3 (according to my mother). 


I enjoy listening to books while I sew, drive, and exercise (I'm using that last term liberally, ha!).  In recent years, I've shifted from primarily listening to fiction, to almost exclusively listening to nonfiction.  I've found that I learn so much more from these books than I ever did in history class in school. 


I've also learned not to judge books by their genre.  Those of you who know me in real life know that I have an aversion to fantasy--castles and dragons and magic--no thanks!  Despite this aversion, I found the Harry Potter audiobooks to be simply delightful, thanks to Jim Dale's phenomenal performances in that series.  So, your recommendations for great audiobooks are more than welcome, so comment or email away! 


Here are a few of my recent finishes:


Artemis by Andy Weir
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not bad, but not great. I thought the audiobook was superbly read, but found the protagonist to be utterly unbelievable. A super-hot, overly sardonic, highly technically trained, contraband-smuggling, Saudi woman with a reputation for promiscuity? I just couldn't take her seriously. That being said, it was still a fun story that kept me listening for days on end--just don't expect to be caught up with any of the characters this time.

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Into the Storm: Violent Tornadoes, Killer Hurricanes, and Death-defying Adventures in Extreme Weather by Reed Timmer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So bizarre to have been in the middle of this book when one of its protagonists (should I call him that?) suddenly died in real life. I was raised to have a fascination with natural disasters, so I can relate to Timmer's enthusiasm for chasing these storms. This is a book that I judged by its cover, and it didn't disappoint. It's just one of those, I-wish-I-was-there-and-not-just-reading-about-it kind of books. Overall, worth the listen.

View all my reviews Atomic Adventures: Secret Islands, Forgotten N-Rays, and Isotopic Murder by James Mahaffey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Much more technical than those "brief history" type books, I enjoyed the challenge of trying to keep up with a subject I only have superficial knowledge of. Overall, I thought this book was all over the place. Granted, he kind of sets us up for that in the title, but I kept having to regroup and remember where I was each time I resumed listening, because the subjects varied so widely from chapter to chapter. Despite its wandering, I still found it highly entertaining.

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Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Nice, concise overview. I wish it had gone further in depth, but the title says it all, no? Very quick listen.

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Blue on Blue: An Insider's Story of Good Cops Catching Bad Cops by Charles Campisi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved it. I might be a bit biased in my line of work, but I get tired of cops getting such a bad reputation in the press. Who better to set everyone straight but the guy that ran NYPD Internal Affairs for umpteen years? Just a great read about cops catching bad cops, and the cool investigative work that goes into building cases against crooked cops. I'd love it if all of my friends read this one.

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