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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

May 19, 2022  
Check out my blog, and read some excerpts from the true crime biography WASHED IN THE BLOOD by Shelton L. Williams. If you like what you read, enter the giveaway to win an autographed paperback, an Audible copy, or an eBook copy of the book - three winners total!

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2022/05/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-washed-in.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
The true story behind the Kiss and Kill murder in Texas in 1961. Author Larry King says: Washed in the Blood is a page-turning read about the time--early 1960s--and place--Odessa, Texas--during its rowdy oil boom days when violence often rode the range. It is at once an examination of local mores and foibles, piety and hypocrisy and an inside-look at the famed 'Kiss and Kill' murder of a 17-year-old would-be actress, Betty Jean Williams, whose ghost is said to haunt the Odessa High School campus to this very day.
     
TC
The Counselors
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I am really into YA books where teens are dying. Her previous thriller They Will Never Catch Us had be reading and not stopping because I had to know who the killer was and this read was just the same for me. The cover on this one caught my attention very Baywatch aka #pamcore then I saw it is a Jessica Goodman read and went straight to audible to make my pre-order and it did not disappoint.

The setting of the book is a bougie elite summer camp with a focus on three teens girls. I wouldn't so much call their situation Glamping since a dark secret is looming over a counselor who is waiting to share with her friends. Goldie might be ruining summer with her dark secret and not only that she is risking friendships. She isn't the only one that has been lying and keeping secrets. This becomes apparent when Ava has seen something and there is a death involved. yikes!
  
"Come at once if convenient. If not convenient, come at once all the same - SH"

The final entry in Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes canon, which - again - I experienced through a mixture of reading and listening to the Stephen Fry narrated Audible version, and which is also really once again a collection of short stories rather than a single over-arching narrative.

What is unique in this collection, though, is that some of the stories are presented as Holmes himself delivering the narrative, rather than Watson acting as the biographer.

I also noticed - perhaps reflecting the nature of the time in which they were written, and Doyle's own interests - that there are more of the, shall we say, supernatural elements in the case chosen ("The adventure of the Sussex Vampire" springs to mind, for example) although - in all cases - the supernatural elements are later debunked by Holmes himself.

As a whole? I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the company of Holmes and Watson.
  
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Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated Digging Up Mother: A Love Story in Books

Oct 14, 2017 (Updated Oct 15, 2017)  
Digging Up Mother: A Love Story
Digging Up Mother: A Love Story
Doug Stanhope | 2016 | Biography, Humor & Comedy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Crude, hilarious, and sombre at times
Listened to on Audible.

For all lovers of gonzo, Doug Stanhope reaches the top of the list of crude humour, insane experiences muddled in with bittersweet memories.

This autobiography is hilarious, and the only way to read it, is to listen to it, given there are so many 'director's comments', in which Doug and his friends discuss the incident at hand. Also the fact that he is drunk at times and will loudly burp just adds to the book so much more than skimming through the pages. While the majority is about him, it premises around his mother's life and death which have ultimately shaped him. She's no ordinary mother that's a fact.

From being a pyromaniac as a child, a teen male prostitute to telephone salesman, Stanhope has had an interesting life mixed in with drugs, alcohol, women and stand up comedy. And while you do think he's a bit of a so-and-so, it's still very funny. A great listen.
  
Audible – audio books, original series & podcasts
Book, Entertainment
6
8.3 (48 Ratings)
App Rating
Yay to content, nay to app
I'm torn between giving this a good rating for its content and a bad rating for the app itself, which is the worst on my phone.

Audible itself, is an absolutely brilliant service for those who listen to a lot of audiobooks. For one, the collection is mammoth, much more than Kobo and Scribd. And while one credit doesn't seem like much per month for a book, the daily deals are pretty great and reasonably priced. As a result, I'm able to read two books simultaneously, as well as multitask while listening.

The app on the other hand, is the bane of my existence. While you want to look at your stats as it collects the number of hours you listen to per day, if you pause it for a second, it resets to zero. This is for Android in particular. The bugs are a serious problem, which is why I've complained to Amazon several times about this to no avail. So content yes, app itself no.
  
Audible – audio books, original series & podcasts
Book, Entertainment
10
8.3 (48 Ratings)
App Rating
Wide variety of books available (2 more)
Pairs well with Kindle app
Uses you Amazon account
Outstanding!
I LOVE Audible. I use it all the time to add narraration to books I have purchased for my Kindle/ Kindle app (on my phone) for Amazon, and not just for the really popular books either. Books whose authors I have never heard of before reading often have narraration available, and they cost considerably less than, say, the Harry Potter books.

Personally, I enjoyed their membership options. They have a gold membership (3 credits a month) and a regular membership (1 credit a month); I paid about $15 a month for the basic membership. Some books will cost much more than that to purchase, so it's a steal--the Harry Potter books would have cost me between $30-$40 each if I purchased them alone. Instead I waited and got each one for that $15 membership credit. And supposedly the credits never go bad.

All in all, this is an app I intend to use and that I recommend to everyone!
  
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