The Brightest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes

Characters and story-lines and shenanigans abound!  What a delightful tale. 

Things I knew before I started listening to this book:  1) There would be lots of intersecting plots as the story followed the tenants of a particular apartment building.  2) The story would be narrated by an observing spirit/presence.

Things I failed to observe:  Keyes' story is set in Dublin, Ireland...and the main character would become the delightful narrator -- who gave a whimsical and pitch perfect performance.  Never in a million years would I have been able to give as much spunk and pizazz to the story as the narrator captures with each breath.  If you've never entered the world of audiobooks, I order you to pick up this recording, kick back (or drive on) and escape.

As to the story itself, I enjoyed it.  (It doesn't hurt that the ending is completely satisfying.  *wink*)  It took me a minute to catch on to what was going on.  But there *are* four floors/sets of players to get to know.  Also, Keyes does something very interesting with the time-line in the story.  Time is moving forward and backward all at once.  But once you get into it, it's easy to fall under Keyes' spell.  I found myself rooting for all the players...even the ones who are a bit rough around the edges. Also, I found it impressive that Keyes could explore some keep and heavy subjects, while keeping the overall tone of the book light and quirky.

I'll be looking to read more from this author.  Maybe I can convince my book club to come along for the ride.

Wings by Aprilynne Pike

Can you judge an audio-book by it's CD-sleeve?  I'm going to answer with a very decisive, "sometimes."  *grin*

The cover art of this book grabbed my eye:

And the story was very satisfying.  It's a coming of age tale, with a bit of love, and a tad of the paranormal.  I really enjoyed it.  The main characters are just at the beginning of high school, and the language and tone of the plot fits them perfectly.  The narrator of the story sounded like she was in high school too, which I wanted to find fault with, but just couldn't bring myself to do it.  Her voice just fit the part.

It's a great summer listen, that looks at the whimsical side of life without delving into vampires and werewolves.  I recommend it!

Reading Update

It's about time for another update...don't you think?

Raw Stats:

39 books read.  (up from 12 in March)
18,072 pages.  (up from 5,601 in March)
28 new (72%).
11 re-reads (28%).

Challenges:

TBR Challenge - Goal:  12 books.  Completed: 5 books.  I'm still on pace to finish by the end of the year.
Audio Book Challenge - Goal: 20 books.  Completed: 11 books.  I can't believe I'm getting ready for the 12th book of the Wheel of Time!  This series has been a constant presence in my car since January. (You haven't seen any reviews/reports yet because I'm waiting to finish the whole series first.)
Support Your Local Library Challenge - Goal: 50 books. Completed: 27 books.  I'm in love with the library! 

Books I'm reading right now:

Star Trek by Alan Dean Foster - Thanks to a tip from my friend Heather, I get to listen to Zachary Quinto perform this book based on the new movie.  It's fantastic!!
Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver - a Bible Study assignment.
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque - Recommended by one of my former students who couldn't believe I hadn't read it when I was in high school.  It's supposedly one of the most loved war novels of all time. 

Coming up:

The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan - then I'll be officially caught up!
The Eleventh Commandment by Jeffrey Archer - a thriller.
A Chance to Die:  The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliot - from my TBR list
In My Hands:  Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Opdyke - a book club assignment


There are seven books I have read but haven't blogged about yet, but that's not too bad.  I'll work on remedying that situation soon.  Is there anything I should add to my list?

Reading Update

I thought I would post an update on my reading so far this year:

Raw Stats:

• 12 books read.
• 8 new (67%).
• 4 re-reads (33%).
• 5,601 pages.  

Challenges:

• TBR Challenge - Goal:  12 books.  Completed: 2 books.  Not bad there.  I'm on pace to finish by the end of the year.
• Audio Book Challenge - Goal: 20 books.  Completed: 4 books.  I'm almost done the 5th, with number 6 waiting in the wings.   You haven't seen any reviews/reports yet because I'm waiting to finish the whole series first.
• Support Your Local Library Challenge - Goal: 50 books. Completed: 8 books.  Almost done the 9th (an audio book), and am in the middle of number 10. 

Books I'm reading right now:

• The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan - part of my quest through the Wheel of Time series
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - a book club assignment.
• Cleaving: A Story of Marraige, Meat and Obsession by Julie Powell - the follow-up to "Julie and Julia."
• The Pursuit of God: A 31-day experience by A.W. Tozer- a Bible Study assignment.
• Decoding the Universe: How the new Science of Information is Explaining Everything in the Cosmos, from our Brains to Black Holes by Charles Seife - surprisingly engaging and really interesting stuff.

Coming up:

• The Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan - the quest continues
• The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis - both for the TBR challenge and for book club.
• The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) by Rick Riodan - After enjoying the movie, I'm looking forward to diving into the books.

Anything I should add to the list? *grin*

The Art of War for Women

By Chin-Ning Chu

This was a great audio-book find. The full title is: "The Art of War for Women: Sun Tzu's Ancient Strategies and Wisdom for Winning at Work." I found it to be simple, insightful, respectful, and refreshing. I would definitely recommend it to any one of my female friends. It's not very long, but you'll find yourself mulling over Chu's insights for long after the CDs are done playing.

One thing I really enjoyed: Chu encourages women to be honest with themselves. What makes you happy? What do you want out of life? What are your strengths and weaknesses? ... There are no right or wrong answers. I really the analogy Chu used here. What kind of shoes do you want to wear: combat boots or glass slippers? Either answer is fine. Some women want glass slippers. Their perfect world includes prince charming, a castle, and a home life. Some women want combat boots. They want to enter the battle and conquer the business world. Each option is fine and good. But where we run into conflict is this: wearing a combat clothes with glass slippers, or trying to coordinate boots with a ball gown. Neither works. Because deep down, you're not being honest with what makes you happy. Such a simple idea. But one that needs to be remembered from time to time.

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There's a lot of practical ideas and relevant advice. So if you're looking for something to play during your normal commute....give "The Art of War for Women" a try!

The Audacity of Hope

By Barack Obama

It was enjoyable to experience this book in audio version, especially since it was read by the author: President Obama. I think when books are read by the author, you get to hear their words the way they intend. They can capture emphasis, inflection, and other things much better than a performer could. It just gives that extra glimpse into the author’s message. Plus, President Obama has a great voice.

Amazon says: With his second book The Audacity of Hope, Obama engages themes raised in his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, shares personal views on faith and values and offers a vision of the future that involves repairing a "political process that is broken" and restoring a government that has fallen out of touch with the people.

I say: I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I think Barack Obama is a nice, sincere man…but I don’t always agree with his ideas and solutions. But this book affirmed a truth that I believe: there’s fault to find on both sides of the political aisle. Obama writes with passion and sincerity, and I appreciated the tone and flow of this book. My cynical side wonders if he just wrote what people may want to hear. But then again, his memoir is very honest with the fact that we face a lot of complex problems in our country (and in our world).

An interviewer asked Obama: If readers are to come away from The Audacity of Hope with one action item (a New Year's Resolution for 2007, perhaps?), what should it be?
He answered: Get involved in an issue that you're passionate about. It almost doesn’t matter what it is--improving the school system, developing strategies to wean ourselves off foreign oil, expanding health care for kids. We give too much of our power away, to the professional politicians, to the lobbyists, to cynicism. And our democracy suffers as a result.

I can fully agree with that.

Audio Adventures

I recently listened to two familiar stories: Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, and Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden.

I first read Redeeming Love a year or two ago, and loved it. I enjoy when authors can take a short passage of scripture and weave it into a larger tale. I think it gives us a chance to really dive in and understand the characters, their situations, and their choices. Looking at them sideways as Kate would say. Redeeming Love takes the story of Hosea and sets it in the Old West during the gold rush. Rivers brought the familiar Biblical story to life in a whole new way. The audio book was able to do the same thing: it allowed me to experience this story “new” again. It’s interesting to listen to another person giving a voice to characters. Sometimes the narrator emphasizes a sentence or thought differently than I would have read it…be it by the timing or the emotion they use etc. And that difference helped me to pay attention and enjoy the story anew, for a second time.

I had watched the movie, Memoirs of a Geisha, but had not read the book. But I saw it as an audio book on the library shelf and decided to give it a shot. When I got to the checkout counter, my favorite librarian told me that he loved the book. “It’s so much better than the movie. And the movie was good,” he told me. After that praise, I’m happy to say that I concur. I really enjoyed how the book was recorded. The narrator talks slowly and deliberately, the way you might imagine an older, dignified, oriental woman telling a story. The book is full of similies and flowery descriptions. And since it *is* the book, it’s different than the movie. Parts of the plot are different, some of the characters have different facets, etc. Up until the last few chapters, I didn’t know if I was going to like how it all turned out. Nobu is a much greater part of Sayuri’s life in the book than in the move, and I found myself really liking him. The Chairman in Memoirs of a Geisha is kind of like Arwen in LoTR. They are portrayed a bit differently in the movies because the director wants you to connect more strongly with their characters. But having said all that, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would happily recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the movie.