This year I started borrowing more audio books from the library. It's super easy to just add to my iPhone app, then listen while I'm driving, getting ready in the morning or just when I need to give my eyeballs a rest. They're really convenient and have helped me read more in 2016, but a narrators voice can make or break a book. This batch of recent reads, which carried me through spring and early summer, is the perfect example of that.
Fortune Smiles by Adam Johnson
My Rating: *** (3 out of 5)
2016 Book #: 15
I added this to my list when it won the 2015 National Book Award for Fiction. Johnson's book is a collection of interesting short stories... focused on people and the results of their actions. It touches on everything from Hurricane Katrina, to a former warden at a prison in East Germany. Although the book kept my attention, it wasn't one of my favorites this year.
What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast by Laura Vanderkam
My Rating: ** (2 out of 5)
2016 Book #: 16
This was a quick read, which I listened to... in the mornings before breakfast (how fitting). Although it was interesting to hear about how productive and motivated some people can be before they start the work day, I didn't feel like I was really learning anything new.
The Dirty Life: on Farming, Food and Love by Kristin Kimball
My Rating: *** (3 out of 5)
2016 Book #: 17
I am fascinated by the premise of "city girl up and moves to the country to become a farm girl"... and that's what this story is. This is the author's personal account of how working as a writer in NYC led her to interview a young farmer, who she would fall in love with, marry and start a new farm with in upstate New York. My favorite parts of this book were the descriptions of the farm fresh food they would feast on... made even better because of all the hard work they put into it.
The Travelers by Chris Pavone
My Rating: *** (3 out of 5)
2016 Book #: 18
This was my second pick from Blogging for Books. I have really enjoyed Chris Pavone's other books (The Expats & The Accident), so I was excited to get my hands on this one. In this story, Will Rhodes is jet setting writer for Travelers magazine. His world travels lead him to Argentina and into a crazy web when he meets a mystery woman he can't resist. Like Pavone's other books, this was a fast paced journey around the world, but not as interesting to me as the others.
Yes Please by Amy Poehler
My Rating: ***** (5 out of 5)
2016 Book #: 20
Audiobook is the only way to read this gem. Amy narrates the book herself, but also has several guests, including Seth Myers, Patrick Stewart and her parents. I was a little misty eyed when Amy's dad listed off his advice for her, as I felt like I was listening to my own Dad (New England accent & all). And even though there were tears during this book, most often they were from laughing. A hilarious and fun account of Amy's life and path in comedy... just make sure it's audiobook!
Confess by Colleen Hoover
My Rating: *** (3 out of 5)
2016 Book #: 21
When I picked up this book, I was in the mood for a typical girl meets mysterious boy story. In this, Auburn is looking for a job and stumbles upon one at an art studio. This is where she meets and falls for Owen (the artist). Tensions rise, secrets come out and so on. It was a quick read, not terribly sophisticated, but hey, sometimes that's just what you need!
Summer House with Swimming Pool by Herman Koch
My Rating: *** (3 out of 5)
2016 Book #: 22
A book basically about a family vacation gone wrong, Koch (who also wrote The Dinner) creates some twisted and questionable characters who you can't help but be fascinated with. The narrator and father, Dr. Marc, takes his wife and kids on a vacation to the Mediterranean, only to run into another familiar family who invites them to their summer hours... with a swimming pool. In a book like this, I want some serious twists and turns... I mean full on unexpected. So, although I enjoyed the story, I just didn't feel like it met is full "crazy" potential.
Alena by Rachel Pastan
My Rating: *** (3 out of 5)
2016 Book #: 23
The concept of this book pulled me in... a young curator takes over at an art museum on Cape Cod, but her predecessor's disappearance causes constant mystery and tension for her. However, I wish I had read it instead of listening to the audiobook because the narrator did the worst Cape Cod accents I have ever heard. Ever! This fact alone made the book more comical than serious and it kind of ruined things for me. Oh well! I'm still planning to read Rebecca, which this book was apparently an homage to.
Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson
My Rating: **** (4 out of 5)
2016 Book #: 24
This book made me laugh.... A LOT. Although the focus (a lifelong struggle with depression & anxiety) is not meant to be funny, Lawson's personal stories and way of telling them is just hilarious. For example, that raccoon you see on the cover of the book? That's a real (dead) raccoon she had stuffed that way and now keeps in her house. What?! Yes, it's crazy, but so are most of her stories and I promise you will laugh out loud! I know I did... and I probably freaked out a few of my fellow train riders.
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
My Rating: **** (4 out of 5)
2016 Book #: 25
The start of this book was a bit slow, but by the end I just loved it. Ove is a curmudgeon of a man, stuck in his ways and hating the world... and everyone in it. His days consist of the same exact routine... including yelling at anyone who disobeys the neighborhood rules. When a new family moves in across the street he couldn't be unhappier, until they start to push their way into his world and change him in ways he never expected. Such a good story that I would read again!
My Rating: *** (3 out of 5)
2016 Book #: 15
I added this to my list when it won the 2015 National Book Award for Fiction. Johnson's book is a collection of interesting short stories... focused on people and the results of their actions. It touches on everything from Hurricane Katrina, to a former warden at a prison in East Germany. Although the book kept my attention, it wasn't one of my favorites this year.
What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast by Laura Vanderkam
My Rating: ** (2 out of 5)
2016 Book #: 16
This was a quick read, which I listened to... in the mornings before breakfast (how fitting). Although it was interesting to hear about how productive and motivated some people can be before they start the work day, I didn't feel like I was really learning anything new.
The Dirty Life: on Farming, Food and Love by Kristin Kimball
My Rating: *** (3 out of 5)
2016 Book #: 17
I am fascinated by the premise of "city girl up and moves to the country to become a farm girl"... and that's what this story is. This is the author's personal account of how working as a writer in NYC led her to interview a young farmer, who she would fall in love with, marry and start a new farm with in upstate New York. My favorite parts of this book were the descriptions of the farm fresh food they would feast on... made even better because of all the hard work they put into it.
The Travelers by Chris Pavone
My Rating: *** (3 out of 5)
2016 Book #: 18
This was my second pick from Blogging for Books. I have really enjoyed Chris Pavone's other books (The Expats & The Accident), so I was excited to get my hands on this one. In this story, Will Rhodes is jet setting writer for Travelers magazine. His world travels lead him to Argentina and into a crazy web when he meets a mystery woman he can't resist. Like Pavone's other books, this was a fast paced journey around the world, but not as interesting to me as the others.
Yes Please by Amy Poehler
My Rating: ***** (5 out of 5)
2016 Book #: 20
Audiobook is the only way to read this gem. Amy narrates the book herself, but also has several guests, including Seth Myers, Patrick Stewart and her parents. I was a little misty eyed when Amy's dad listed off his advice for her, as I felt like I was listening to my own Dad (New England accent & all). And even though there were tears during this book, most often they were from laughing. A hilarious and fun account of Amy's life and path in comedy... just make sure it's audiobook!
Confess by Colleen Hoover
My Rating: *** (3 out of 5)
2016 Book #: 21
When I picked up this book, I was in the mood for a typical girl meets mysterious boy story. In this, Auburn is looking for a job and stumbles upon one at an art studio. This is where she meets and falls for Owen (the artist). Tensions rise, secrets come out and so on. It was a quick read, not terribly sophisticated, but hey, sometimes that's just what you need!
Summer House with Swimming Pool by Herman Koch
My Rating: *** (3 out of 5)
2016 Book #: 22
A book basically about a family vacation gone wrong, Koch (who also wrote The Dinner) creates some twisted and questionable characters who you can't help but be fascinated with. The narrator and father, Dr. Marc, takes his wife and kids on a vacation to the Mediterranean, only to run into another familiar family who invites them to their summer hours... with a swimming pool. In a book like this, I want some serious twists and turns... I mean full on unexpected. So, although I enjoyed the story, I just didn't feel like it met is full "crazy" potential.
Alena by Rachel Pastan
My Rating: *** (3 out of 5)
2016 Book #: 23
The concept of this book pulled me in... a young curator takes over at an art museum on Cape Cod, but her predecessor's disappearance causes constant mystery and tension for her. However, I wish I had read it instead of listening to the audiobook because the narrator did the worst Cape Cod accents I have ever heard. Ever! This fact alone made the book more comical than serious and it kind of ruined things for me. Oh well! I'm still planning to read Rebecca, which this book was apparently an homage to.
Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson
My Rating: **** (4 out of 5)
2016 Book #: 24
This book made me laugh.... A LOT. Although the focus (a lifelong struggle with depression & anxiety) is not meant to be funny, Lawson's personal stories and way of telling them is just hilarious. For example, that raccoon you see on the cover of the book? That's a real (dead) raccoon she had stuffed that way and now keeps in her house. What?! Yes, it's crazy, but so are most of her stories and I promise you will laugh out loud! I know I did... and I probably freaked out a few of my fellow train riders.
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
My Rating: **** (4 out of 5)
2016 Book #: 25
The start of this book was a bit slow, but by the end I just loved it. Ove is a curmudgeon of a man, stuck in his ways and hating the world... and everyone in it. His days consist of the same exact routine... including yelling at anyone who disobeys the neighborhood rules. When a new family moves in across the street he couldn't be unhappier, until they start to push their way into his world and change him in ways he never expected. Such a good story that I would read again!
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