Books in my ears

I love reading books, but now I prefer to listen to them instead. Since joining Audible, the "reading" of books has jumped a lot. I love that I can listen and do other things.

Briefly I want share some of my recent titles/authors with you. I won't share the story but I will provide links to Amazon where there are wonderful summaries and other reviewers. This listing is just my impressions and may point you to other authors you haven't read.

Also, I read a lot of different things. This list trends toward "escape" literature - no deep thinking stuff. Scare me, make me laugh, make me anticipate, make me care - you don't have to educate me. Right now - that is where I am in my life. Next year? Who knows.

Stephen King

Sadly, I am no longer a fan. Carrie, It, Needful Things, Pet Cemetery - just to name a few of his past titles that I thoroughly enjoyed. But now, his new titles ... not so much.

I bought the audio version of The Dome and listened to it completely. If I had borrowed this book from the library I would have stopped about 80 pages in and returned it. I just didn't care enough about the story or the characters. I guess I was just bored! Great idea though - a town that is covered by a clear dome - and what happens. But what happened didn't move me enough.

A recent release of Mr. King's was 11-22-63. This is a time travel book and was hugely hyped by Audible and Amazon. I know that other King fans were also excited by its release. I listened to about 8 hours - and stopped. I think I got bored. I know I didn't care about the characters. That is the death nell for me. After 8 hours of listening, I feel I gave this book a fair shot. I also know that I am in the minority in panning this book. You might enjoy it. I didn't.

I think that my Stephen King days are over. His writing doesn't seem to capture my imagination any more, it is dark in its focus without the icing of the "scare" factor, just depressing rather than interesting. So bye-bye Stephen King. You and I must part company for now. If you ever write something in the style of your earlier novels - I'll come back - eagerly.

(Note: if there is a King novel in the similar vein of his earlier works, please let me know. I miss the old-King.)

Diana Gabaldon - Outlander Series

I have blogged about the author and the series in a previous post (January 4, 2012). So I won't spend much time on it here - except to say I am a huge fan. I love big books, big stories, big characters - I care greatly about this pair - Jamie and Claire - and I will be sorry when this series finally end (hopefully not in my life time. LOL) I am up to the forth book - The Fiery Cross. This is a yummy series. Jamie and Claire are now my "friends." If you like adventure, love story, steamy love scenes, historical bits that slip easily into the history of the time ... this book is for you. I look forward to the next books.

How to Knit a Love Story - Rachael Herron

A Cypress Hollow Yarn

This book, as well as 2 others, was given to me as a Christmas gift by my daughter and this is an actual book rather than an audio book. (Yes, I still do love to read an actual book, to hold it in my hands and feel its weight, to turn the pages, to use a real book mark or to dog ear the page to keep my place ... yes, I love real books, too.) How to Knit a Love Story is the first in the series of 3 books - stories that have only the town of Cypress Hollow as the common denominator. This series is definitely light fun reading, fast, and themed for those who are interested in fiber arts. And when I say themed ... I don't mean that causally - fiber arts is a major part of the story, at least in this first book. It is a love story that reads fast, I care about the characters and how they turn out, and I always look forward to returning to the story.

These are the stories that are filling my days. There are others sitting queued up in my night stand or in my Audible Library. As they rise to the surface, I will share them with you.