Check Out This Week’s New Audio Books!
This week saw a huge number of new releases in the memoir and biography category! Check out these audio books for tales of incredible lives.
There is also a great new audio book for younger listeners! Jeff Kinney is back with the latest in the Diary of Wimpy Kid series: Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Cabin Fever.
What audio book do you plan on spending some of your weekend listening to?
The Language of Flowers – A Review
How do you select the next audio book that you’re going to listen to? Do you search through other reviews, ask your friends for a recommendation, or just grab something from one of your favorite authors? These are great ways to discover a wonderful story, but sometimes I like to try something a little different. I’ll grab an audio book based solely on a great cover illustration or just a spectacular title. That is how I chose Vanessa Diffenbaugh’s The Language of Flowers.
The Language of Flowers has a beautiful image of white flowers on the cover, and so I was expecting a love story. As the saying goes, you shouldn’t judge a book by the cover, and while it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, it is a beautifully told story revolving around the language of flowers.
Victoria Jones was abandoned at birth and grew up in a series of foster and group homes. When she turns 18 she is emancipated and has to start fending for herself. She ends up sleeping in a park (thankfully she lives in San Francisco) and with her knowledge of flowers and their Victorian meanings, she starts a part time job at a florist. While moving forward through the story, Victoria also tells the listeners about her past, focusing on the time she lived with Elizabeth, a woman who was hoping to adopt her. The past and present are woven together beautifully, moving forward at a similar pace and truly adding to the story.
Tara Sands does an exceptional job narrating the audio book. The different voices she uses for 18 and 10 year old Victoria are spot-on and her tone is perfect. She also does a marvellous job with the other characters, including Grant. I can only imagine that this is exactly how Vanessa Diffenbaugh would have wanted it read.
I may start picking more books by their covers from now on! Have you listened to The Language of Flowers? Share your thoughts in the comments and tell me how you select your audio books!
New Audio Book Releases
This has been a great week for audio books! The Steve Jobs Biography is out as well as many other hot new titles. If you’ve finished your audio book and are looking for a new favorite, check out some of these recently released titles.
Halloween is almost here and that means that Christmas is just around the corner. For those of us who just aren’t ready for the sappy tv-specials or all the decorations and cheer, this is probably the best Christmas themed audio book we could pick up. When Elves Attack, written by Tim Dorsey, is a zany tale of a holiday season in Florida featuring Serge Storms the psychopath instead of Santa. Pick up this audio book if you’re in the mood for a laugh!
The latest celebrity biography has hit the shelves, this one featuring the musician, Prince. With three decades of recording Prince is the only artist since the Beatles to have a number one song, movie and single all at the same time. Ronin Ro maps Prince’s life from anonymity to stardom and shows the man behind the mask.
Want to know more about Amazon’s huge leap to success? Check out Richard Brandt’s biography, One Click: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon.com. Brandt interviewed numerous employees, competitors and observers to get his unique perspective. This is an insightful journey which tells readers not only about the huge accomplishments of the company, but the man who founded it and lead the team to success.
John Grisham is back with another legal thriller, The Litigators. The partners at a small law firm have been working together for so long that they squabble like an old married couple. Day in, day out they work on the same types of cases without a lot of drama. Then one day a young burned out attorney coming off a bender lands on their doorstep and turns their world upside down. When opportunity knocks they jump at the chance of a big pay off without much work. They have yet to learn that when something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
What audio book are you listening to this weekend?
Searching for Something Spooky? – A Review of The Night Strangers
Chris Bohjalian’s new audio book, The Night Strangers is sure to send shivers down your spine. Chip and Emily Linton and their twin ten year old girls move into an old Victorian house in northern New Hampshire after double engine failure causes Chip to ditch his plane in Lake Champlain. Unlike the Miracle on the Hudson, 39 of the passengers on board the plane die in the crash. Coincidentally, the Linton’s new house has a strange door in the basement that has been sealed shut with 39 six-inch-long carriage bolts. This is definitely not lost on Chip who is immediately concerned about his unfortunate passengers and curious about what is hiding behind the door.
The door in the basement is not the only creepy thing in this new town, the women are very strange. They are called “The Herbalists” and they are all named after herbs, flowers and other plants. The women take quite an interest in the Linton twins as well as their father. This is rather unsettling as the previous owners of this old house also had a set of twins and one of them committed suicide in his early teens.
This thrilling tale is captivating from the very beginning. From the description I was expecting a tale of a haunted house, but this is much more than that. I listened to the last 6 hours straight through because I needed to know what was going to happen next. The narrators, Alison Fraser and Mark Bramhall do a wonderful job and heighten the suspense.
I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to get in the Halloween spirit with a good ghost story or anyone who enjoys the anticipation and excitement that comes with trying to solve a mystery.
Have you listened to this audio book? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!
What If? – A Review of The Best of Me
This is a special guest post by Pam! Read on to find out what she thought about Nicholas Sparks’ latest audio book.
What if you had the chance to reconnect with your first and one true love 25 years after you said goodbye? Would you still be able to walk away? This is the question at the center of Nicholas Sparks’ new audio book, The Best of Me. In true Sparks fashion he weaves a tender story with twists, turns, ups, downs and as always an ending that will pull at your heart strings.
Long lost loves, Dawson and Amanda, have both moved on in their lives but seem to live a flat existence. Until external circumstances bring them back together for one fateful weekend that will change their lives and the lives of the people in their hometown forever. With characters that range from the overbearing mother, alcoholic husband, strong silent types, and violent back road brutes (the Cole relations left me feeling unsettled and never wanting to meet any of them even on a sunny day), Sparks brings to life a wonderfully troubled world that leaves Dawson and Amanda, always on edge.
The Best of Me is read by Sean Pratt and he does a respectable job. His way of creating different vocal tones for the characters allows the listener to follow the story easily. Told in both the present time and through flashbacks, the narrative unfolds seamlessly. The pacing towards the end of the book is perfection with its quick sections, drawing the listener into the lives and chaos of Dawson and Amanda.
Anyone who has listened to a Nicholas Sparks audio book (or seen one of the movies based on them) will have a sense of how the storyline is laid out. And yet for me this did not detract from the wonderful story that will leave you asking, What if?
Hot New Releases
The weekend is almost here and it’s time to pick out a new audio book to relax and enjoy! Here’s a list of some of the hot new audio books that were released this week.
Are you in the mood for a laugh? Check out Ellen Degeneres’ latest audio book, Seriously…I’m Kidding. If you’re a fan of Ellen’s stand-up comedy you’ll definitely get a kick out of this audio book. There are many chapters which explain the secret of life, the day-to-day life of a celebrity, and other helpful hints. Ellen promises that in this audio book she has “…left no stone unturned, no door unopened, no window unbroken, no rug unvacuumed, no ivories untickled.”
Interested in getting into the Halloween spirit with a ghost story? Pick up Chris Bohjalian’s new audio book, The Night Strangers. Chip and Emily Linton move into a Victorian house in northern New Hampshire after double engine failure causes Chip to ditch his plane in Lake Champlain. Unlike the Miracle on the Hudson, 39 of the passengers die. Coincidentally, the new house has strange door in the basement that has been sealed shut with 39 six-inch-long carriage bolts. This is a poignant and powerful ghost story with all the hallmarks readers have come to expect from Chris Bohjalian.
Michael Ondaatje is back with another Giller Prize shortlisted audio book. The Cat’s Table takes place in the early 1950s, where an eleven-year-old boy in Colombo boards a ship bound for England. At mealtimes he is seated at the “cat’s table”–as far from the Captain’s Table as can be–with a ragtag group of “insignificant” adults and two other boys, Cassius and Ramadhin. As the narrative moves between the decks and holds of the ship and the boy’s adult years, it tells a spellbinding story–by turns poignant and electrifying–about the magical, often forbidden, discoveries of childhood and a lifelong journey that begins unexpectedly with a spectacular sea voyage.
Deemed her most ambitious and mesmerizing work ever, Alice Hoffman has just published The Dovekeepers. In 70 C.D., nine hundred Jews held out for months against armies of Romans on a mountain in the Judean desert, Masada. According to the ancient historian Josephus, two women and five children survived. Based on this tragic historical event, Hoffman weaves a spellbinding tale of four extraordinary, bold, resourceful, and sensuous women, each of whom comes to Masada by a different path. The lives of these four complex and fiercely independent women intersect in the desperate days of the siege, as the Romans draw near. All are dovekeepers, and all are also keeping secrets–about who they are, where they come from, who fathered them, and whom they love.
What audio book are you planning to listen to this weekend?
Happy Accidents – A Review of Jane Lynch’s Journey to a Gleeful Life
When I think of Jane Lynch I immediately picture a tall woman in a brightly colored track suit, terrorizing the halls of McKinley High. It’s hard to not think of Sue Sylvester upon hearing Jane Lynch’s voice, although older Jane Lynch fans may also be picturing a very confident Joyce Wischnia.
When I started listening to her memoir, it was hard to believe how shy she was as a teenager. She had lots of determination, but possessed very little self-confidence. Her touching story of longing to fit in and become an actress had me captivated. What teenager didn’t feel shy or didn’t worry about not being liked at one point or another?
You can watch this short video of Jane promoting her memoir to Canada to get a feel for what the audio book is like:
Jane tells the tale of all the Happy Accidents that lead up to her fame as an actress and her loving family. Her struggle with alcohol addiction, coming to terms with her sexuality and finding true love are honestly told in this audio book. While it may not have been the laugh-out-loud funny story I was expecting, I had a smile on my face and couldn’t stop giggling at the small quips and sarcastic wit evident throughout.
Having Jane narrate the novel was wonderful. Hearing the story through her words made me feel like I was experiencing all the ups and down right there with her. Many Glee and The L Word fans will pick up this audio book simply because it features Jane Lynch; but I recommend it for anyone who has longed to be themselves and to be loved for just that.
Who Can You Believe – A Review of Before I Go To Sleep
Imagine waking up and not recognizing the room you fell asleep in. Confused you walk to the bathroom and your reflection is not what you expect either, you’re about 20 years older than you thought you were. Panic starts to sink in, “what’s going on?” you ask yourself. You finally recognize your eyes and realize it is you in the mirror, but you continue to wonder how did this happen?
This is just a typical morning for Christine Lucas who loses her memories every night while she sleeps. Thankfully, her husband Ben is always there waiting for her when she wakes up to explain that she had an accident, over twenty years ago, that caused serious memory loss.
As the day goes on Christine has breakfast, does some cleaning and then receives a call from her doctor. He tells her that they have been meeting for a while working together to improve her memory. But of course, she doesn’t remember him. He directs her to her purse where she pulls out a date book with an appointment written down for today and she begins to believe he’s telling the truth. But her husband didn’t mention that she had a doctor’s appointment, shouldn’t he have reminded her? No, her doctor said they were meeting in secret and her husband had no idea.
Who can you trust when every morning you wake up and can’t remember who you are, where you are or what happened to you? This is the focus for the wonderfully suspenseful audio book, Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson. I was on the edge of my seat from the very first chapter and I could not stop listening. Orlagh Cassidy was a wonderful narrator and I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys trying to solve a mystery.
When Michael Crichton died at 66 of cancer in November 2008, it wasn’t immediately known whether he had left any unpublished work. Three months later, the manuscript of Pirate Latitudes was found in one of his computers.
Released today, Pirate Latitudes is an irresistible adventure of swashbuckling pirates in the New World, a classic story of treasure and betrayal.
Today only, save 30% when you buy Pirate Latitudes on CD. A necessity for all Crichton fans.
October 13th – Harry Bosch is assigned a homicide case in South L.A. and soon identifies a Los Angeles member of a Hong Kong triad as his prime suspect. Before he can close in, he gets word that his young daughter who lives in Hong Kong with her mother, is missing. Bosch drops everything to cross the Pacific and find his daughter. Is her disappearance connected to his case? The stakes are high and Bosch is up against the clock in a new city, where nothing is what it seems.
See all Michael Connelly audio books available for rent or download from Simply Audiobooks.
October 20 - Malcolm Gladwell, the genius behind The Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers, is one of the most gifted and influential journalists in America. Now, the very best and most famous of his New Yorker pieces are collected in this anthology, What The Dog Saw. Among the pieces: his investigation into why there are so many varieties of mustard, but only one kind of ketchup; a surprising assessment of what makes for a safer automobile; a look at how we hire when we can’t tell who’s right for the job; an examination of machine built to predict hit movies; a dissection of Ivy League admissions and who gets in; the saga of the quest to invent the perfect cookie; and a look at hair dye and the hidden history of postwar America.
For the millions of Malcolm Gladwell fans, this anthology is like a greatest hits compilation – a mix tape from America’s alpha mind.
October 6 – Go on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure as the Great War brews in Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan
October 27 – Get your hands on David Baldacci‘s newest, True Blue
