Books Books Books
 

I had a previous thread but it was long and full enough. From the books in there, the last one I had committed to read and still unread was The Girls in the Stilt House. That should arrive in the next two weeks.

I have terrible chronic insomnia and I have vision issues so I listen to audio books. One of the nice things about audio books is I can combine quilting with reading! One of the bad sides of audio is the narrator or production can hurt an otherwise good story. I definitely have some favorite narrators. Typically I go through about 2-3 books a week. I listen to pretty much all genres, fiction and non-fiction, short stories to multiple long novels. Too much adult content in audio I find icky... whether the narrator just says groans or makes sounds, not so much for me. Occasional episodes are ok and can be necessary for plot progression. I tend to like Action/Adventure that may include spies (think Clive Cussler), a lot of legal/procedural/cop/crime stories. Mysteries in general are good, from old school to cozy. I do listen to a lot of Fantasy, but have grown a real distaste for long complicated character names... after the 1,000 repetition of Leliwillian or what ever and I'm longing for a simple Will... still for a good story that is easily overcome.

I am sadly rather caught up on most major series of books but there are still new ones for me to discover -- so I'm asking you all for help and to share what has caught your reading attention.

My most recent book that really involved me was Murderland, by Caroline Fraser. It is on a number of Best of 2025 lists. It is a fascinating non-fiction on the various clusters of serial killers in (primarily) the Seattle area, and is the author's belief that there were in part from environmental toxins (lead and cadmium) from the Arsaco smelter in Tacoma. For me it was doubly interesting because my real first name is Caroline, the author and I are only a year apart in age, and we spent large periods of our life in close proximity but never meeting. In addition she discusses things like the traffic corridor (I worked for traffic engineers) and the CSZ -- the Cascadia Subduction Zone or earthquake fault, that people who know me have heard about!
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-r...er/murderland/

It takes me a long time to get through an audio book. I listen for about ten minutes and the next thing I know I'll start thinking of something and not remember hearing the last fifteen minutes of the book. I have to rewind and start over from where I remember. I like science fiction and mystery for fiction and theology for nonfiction.

I'm currently reading Along a Storied Trail by Ann H. Gabhart. I'm enjoying it so much I'm going to read every other book of hers that I can find. Unfortunately, my library only has two audio books by her.

I like to listen to audio books while sewing as well. Not when it's "thinking" sewing like measuring or making sure block components are sewed together correctly, but when it's more routine sewing :-)

I just discovered the Jeeves and Wooster books by P.G. Wodehouse. Luckily my (British) BIL had several I could borrow. I have the same problem with audiobooks that OneByOne has, too easy to let my mind wander! Also I tend to forget who all the characters are, and you can't easily go back like you can with a paper book.

I like rita mae brown's mystery boks.
I loved the first fifteen or so janet evanovich's stephanie plum series.

I used to read a lot, but my attentionn span has gotten much shorter. Havent tried audio books yet.

I would highly recommend the Harry Potter Full cast production on Audible. It’s fantastic! The cast is spectacular and I never find myself bored with it! They are releasing a new book every month, so far they have books 1-3!

I have a hard time with audiobooks. The speaker(s) do not read like I do. They accent words that I might not accent or they pause where I would not. There are various other differences. I only read ebooks now. I have absolutely no desire to hold a book in my hand. Our library has a huge ebook selection. My husband enjoys both ebooks and physical books.

Audio books are not for everyone! But I just can't read for pleasure. I had been a reader all my life and did not realize what a loss stories would be to my life. When I had my first sudden vision change period (around 2008??), I had already not been pleasure reading since about 2000 my therapist suggested audio books to me and it really changed my life.

But yeah, I do/did read fast and an audio book takes longer for me. I used to make myself finish everything I started but now If I'm just not at all happy or intrigued in the first 10 minutes I allow myself to not continue. In that Murderland book, there were a few pronunciations that were dubious. There was one book I listened to set in Seattle where Alki was a major place and it is not Al-key...

I do not like condensed books, back in the days of Cassette tapes they tried to make things in hour long segments and condensing books, I want the written word and not the story of the book. There is a whole era from about 1980-2000 where it can be really hard to find non-abridged books.

On the other hand, settling down to a 30-hour book is a commitment! I think it was Kalama in the previous thread who suggested the Author Robin Hobb -- I've enjoyed everything I've read so far, but sometimes I'd rather go the 12-16 hours of a "normal" book or the 7-10 of a short one :)

Don't know if these are on audio books or not, but Charles Martin has a 4-book series out that I'm hooked on, thanks to my daughter. Listening in order will be beneficial. They are: The Water Keeper, The Letter Keeper, The Record Keeper and The Keeper. I'm on # 3 and haven't been dissatisfied.