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Caffeinated Fae (464 KP) rated Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War in Books

Jul 12, 2018

I own an Advanced Reader Copy of this book but I ended up listening to it on audiobook. The narrator (Abby Elvidge) did an really good job at pulling off the humor and snark that Mary Roach puts into her books. The book was fascinating and it is always fun to see how much research Mary Roach puts into her book. I'm never disappointed and I always leave her novels knowing more than I ever thought I could have learned.

Mary Roach has a way of making you want to gag and laugh at the same time. Her snark and humor is always fun and adds a lot when you start learning about decomposing shark flesh. I love reading/listening to her books because it delivers knowledge with a side of humor.

All in all, this was really fascinating. I would recommend reading this.

Kudos

Tami (7 KP) rated One Summer in Books

Jul 10, 2018

One Summer

David Baldacci | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry

8.0

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

Characters (2 more)

Story development

Musical highlights

I was blown away by this book. Multidimensional, with characters that make you feel for every second of the book. You are so caught up by the emotion you can't wait until the next "page" to come up.

It was nice seeing the growth of this story from heartbreak to miraculous circumstance to healing. Meeting Jack, Micky (Mikkie - whichever way it's spelled - hard to tell from audio book), Corey and little Jakie is such a great family dynamic.

This story covers:

* heartache
* second chances
* change
* betrayal
* forgiveness
* and so much more.

I love that the audiobook has sections of it that have music themes. There are tender moments with sweet music and suspenseful moments with that eerie music you just can't shake. The narrator was easy to listen to and did great in segueing into the next voice without grating on your nerves.

Kudos

Micky Barnard (542 KP) rated How to Walk Away in Books

Jan 26, 2019

How to Walk Away

Katherine Center | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry

8.6

(9 Ratings)

Book Rating

A fresh story

HOW TO WALK AWAY was a fresh story, it felt new and unpredictable. There’s a jerk, actually he’s the jerk of jerks who I wanted to silence forever. There’s a heroine to admire, get behind and cheer, she rocked my reading experience. There’s a physical therapist, a Scot (more on that later) who had the whole strong, silent-type thing going on. Then there’s family, an eclectic family but they brought technicolour to this read. I loved the story, it floated my boat and I just want to read more by this author.

This was an audiobook and the main narration was going great until a Scottish accent was required and frankly it was a disaster. Every time she did Ian’s dialogue my nerves jangled. Those who aren’t UK natives probably won’t struggle as much as I did but it’s worth knowing.

Kudos

Eleanor (1463 KP) rated Dracula in Books

Mar 18, 2020

Dracula

Bram Stoker, Ang Lee | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry

8.1

(46 Ratings)

Book Rating

A classic that didn't disappoint with its gothic feel.

A tale that in one way or another we're all familiar with so I won't bother to go into the storyline but I will say I was pleasantly surprised by the style it was written in. Switching between various diaries, news articles and letters this tale was told in more voices than I had thought and that helped keep what could of been at times a plodding story fresh. Listening to the audiobook narrated by John Lee he did a good job in keeping the various voices distinct and easy to follow.

Mina Harker is a great character, while some of the others failed to impress me it's no wonder Helsing has become a legend. For such a dramatic (and lengthy build-up) I did find the end slightly anticlimactic but very enjoyable none the less.

Kudos

David McK (3562 KP) rated The Wizard of Oz in Books

Apr 28, 2020

"If only we had a song to sing that would help us on our way", said the Scarecrow ...

Or something similar, anyway, in the Audible Audiobook version of this story that I listened to: a bit of a sly dig, maybe, at the famous "We're off the see the wizard …" song from the Judy garland movie?

Talking about differences, in this it's magical silver shows that Dorothy wears (not ruby red), with the story making great play and numerous mentions of her having committed murder and being celebrated for the same (which is surprisingly messed up for a kids story) …

like, I'm sure, most of the rest of the population, I'm more familiar with that movie version than the original, so it's entertaining and informative to see just how close the two versions are, with the movie version (perhaps necessarily) taking in less events than this story does.