addictions blabbery books: audible audio books book reviews david liss fiction forgotten garden kate morton whiskey rebels
by Blabby
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Two audiobook recommendations
I just listened to two excellent audiobooks. Not at the same time, of course :)
First up, The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. A fantastic story about a girl who gets put on a boat in England bound for Australia at age four. The story covers her life, her parents lives, her children and grandchild - who finally solves the mystery of why she was on the boat. It’s a little dark, and feels magical, although there’s no actual magic. It was excellent as an audio book - I know the paperback is on the bestseller list now. I think if you liked The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, you’ll like this one.
Next up is The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss. So funny and interesting - the tale of disgraced 
Revolutionary Army Captain trying to save his first love and save the new nation from financial ruin. SO MANY parallels to today’s stock market and government. It’s a fun, fictional glimpse at Alexander Hamilton as the first Secretary of the Treasury, the men and women of the west that improved the Whiskey trade, the first government in Philadelphia. I loved every bit of it! Historical fiction at it’s most entertaining.
Audible has an awesome sale going on right now - over 200 books at only $4.95. I can’t get enough!
books: audible credit worthy fiction Stephen King under the dome
by Blabby
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the dome is freaking me out
I recently listened to the new Stephen King novel Under the Dome, on audiobook. 34 hours or some such craziness - for ONE credit on audible.com! Awesome. Anyway, I loved it. And I’m not a King fan at all. I was miserable all the way through Misery, made it to part 3 or 4 of The Stand before giving up, but with Shawshank and Stand By Me in mind, I dove into the dome whole-heartedly.
It’s about an invisible dome suddenly surrounding a small town in Maine. I kept imagining a dome coming down as I was driving on the highway. Totally crazy to imagine - and King does it in full detail. This is a long one, but it holds your attention throughout. Narration is superb - distinctive voices for all of the huge cast.
Although King does go for full detail on some gore and depravity, this isn’t a horror novel at all. I’d say it will appeal to anyone who likes a good small-town story, where the characters rule the roost. Human nature under a magnifying glass. With a little science fiction thrown in for good measure. Highly recommended!
Now here’s the crazy part. As you can imagine, when the dome crashes down - or up - it’s not really clear - the power lines are severed. Along with some people and a wood chuck. But I digress. The power lines are cut and the town is powerless except for generators. So, last night, I’m in the drive through at Taco Bell and I hear a loud crash and see big flashes of light above the Taco Bell. THEN THE POWER GOES OUT. On the whole block! I thought, ‘holy crap, the dome just came down around Taco Bell!’
It was an idiot crashing into the power pole. But it scared the crapola out of me. Anyway, read the book. Or listen to the audio book.
books romance novels: Authors books elinor lipman fiction good books inn at lake divine jennifer cruisie jewish fiction nancy gideon romance novels tell me lies warrior for one night
by Blabby
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some good books
I have been absent far too long. I’ve been a little worn out with the internet and it’s fathomless black hole tendencies on my time. So I’ve been steering clear. But I had to share the latest book I just finished: The Inn at Lake Divine by Elinor Lipman, my new favorite author. There’s a good synopsis on her website, so I’ll spare you that, and just say that I laughed out loud and I shed a few tears. I loved the heroine’s voice, wit and irony. I loved the hero (even if he doesn’t show up until half way through the book, maybe because of it), I loved the premise, and I especially loved the first chapter. Basically, I loved the whole thing. Lipman wrote a funny essay about the book here.
I also just read Tell Me Lies by Jennifer Cruisie and Warrior for One Night by Nancy Gideon. Both were great and quickly read, but not touching and real the way Lipman’s book was.
I think all this reading is another reason I haven’t been blogging. So, sorry about that.
