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Howdy and welcome back to 89% Unfiltered. No you did not get here by accident. And I welcome all newcomers, so be sure and share your fav version of this weekly (ish) newsletter, in which yours truly expounds upon my latest audio book adventures, and any other damn thing I can think of.
Right now, I’m doing a bit of “this time last year-ism.” Mainly because this time last year I was pretty miserable, physically speaking. I had a condition that you can read more about. But suffice it to say, I was 1000% miserable 99.9% of every day. The end was in sight, as there was a surgery on the calendar but I recall the sensation of staring at the calendar and willing it to move, you know, faster somehow. It did not. But the surgery was accomplished, and although there was a time around about early October when I wondered if I hadn’t exchanged one kind of pain and Extreme Discomfort for another, I hit the middle of that month and could look around and exclaim that I Felt Better.
It took me to middle of February or so to feel all the way better on all levels, but much rejoicing was on hand when that day came. I’m not a bad patient or a big whiner. If anything, I overdid in late summer, thinking “Ok, the laser robot came at me and had his way so now I should be BETTER, already, dang it” well before I should have. But the pain level post surgery was not what I expected, although it is well in my rear view mirror now. What a difference 365 days makes, am I right?
At bat today for our audio reviewing chat, DEAD SOUND, a romantic medical suspense by Anise Eden, narrated by Lisa Kay. I’m giving this one four total thumbs up, which is rounded up from 3.5 for reasons you’ll see below.
By way of reminder, this is how I rate audio books.
Story: 4 thumbs up! This is an awesome, fast moving, interesting combination of medical and political thriller, complete with a slow burn romance, a Super Villain, and a hostage taking (kinda). Any fan of JD Robb books will totally love this one. It’s a tight narrative with few wasted words. The characters are fully fleshed out and interesting. I especially loved the third act break-up, as it was realistic given the heroine’s established previous trauma and trust issues (nothing on the page). I’m a sucker for a British Isles hero and Con doesn’t disappoint. He’s in turns bossy man doctor type and loving, gooey cinnamon roll hero. All the things we love!
Narrator: 4 thumbs up! Lisa Kay is new to me but I loved the way she handled the nuances of all the characters. She stayed consistent with her cadence and timbre and the few things she said in Con’s Irish accent were well-done. She has a soft voice that really fit Neve (heroine’s) character.
The ending: 3.5 thumbs up! Yo, Anise…..I was sorta hoping for a fun first date for these 2 that would culminate with a tumble in the sack, but otherwise, well done.
In my earholes now:
2 things I’m toggling back and forth between. Non fiction book Shakespeare written and narrated by Bill Bryson and All The Sinners Bleed, by S.A. Cosby, narrated by New To Me Adam Lazarre-White. I am toggling because All the Sinners Bleed is Very Intense with a Capital Very Intense so I take breaks from it by listening to Bill (one of my favorite humor writers) teach me more about Bill: The Bard. More on these soon.
From the Archive: Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten, narrated by Anna Krippa
This audio book is a definite 4 thumbs up for all 3 reasons. When you can meld an incredibly complex, informative but also entertaining historical narrative with a narrator who nails the foreign language (in this case Russian), it’s a class A listening experience. Full disclosure I decided to listen to this AFTER getting hooked on the “sometimes true” version of Catherine the Great on Hulu. The Great is a real feast for the eyes and ears, what with all the period costumes, the vast over-expansive Russian Czar living spaces, food, and vices. It makes me wish someone would adapt Ms. Alpsten’s book since it would be a lot of the same, with perhaps fewer “huzzahs” and orgies. (although….gotta say….those are great and the ending of this season was brutal and incredibly acted by whichever Fanning sister is playing Catherine. Oh, right it’s Elle. Kudos to her).
I have The Tsarina’s Daughter queued up for listening soon!
An audio book I wanted to love but only liked:
TRUST by Hernan Diaz
2.5 thumbs up
Story: 2.5
Narration: 4
Ending: 1
I make a point to consume the books that win big prizes. It’s a learning experience, after all. I want to know what sorts of books are considered worthy of big money and prestige. I adored The Goldfinch, for example and had high hopes for Trust. It’s hard to pinpoint what about it, exactly, that I didn’t like other than to say it didn’t resonate with me like I expected it to. I can tell it was a well-researched and carefully crafted story. The way it was a story within a story with a bit of a Red Herring at the center of it was clever. The narration was excellent. But the ending left me thinking “wait, that’s it?” and not in a good way.
SPOILER ALERT AHEAD DON’T READ THIS PART IF YOU PLAN TO CONSUME THIS BOOK:
It’s a story about a woman who made a ton of money on the nascent stock exchange in New York but her husband takes the credit because it’s the early 1900s and that’s just how things worked then. She was a math savant, a genius, and he appreciated the money she made for him but after a while got tired of her being the smarter person in the room, as some men are wont to do. When the market crashes (multiple times, as it turns out which I didn’t realize), she has tried to get him to listen and take action ahead of time and he does to some extent but in the process their standing is more than a bit ruined because “robber barons” were a thing then and are a thing now. This woman ends up dying of cancer, mostly ignored by the husband, who then dies not long after her because (I think) he can’t make all the money without her help and has become obsessed by a novel that came out that’s a thinly veiled and not at all complimentary biography of them. So he spends a ton of money discrediting the author and trying to push out a “true” (not really) version of their relationship to print, but dies before it’s complete.
And that is a great place to remind everyone that NOT ALL BOOKS ARE FOR ALL PEOPLE. And my opinion is just that. An opinion. Take it or leave it.
More soon!
Liz