Dashing Through The Snow
by Mary Higgins Clark
and Carol Higgins Clark
Narrated by Carol Higgins Clark
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Publish Date: November 18, 2008
Format: Audio, 5 hours | 12 minutes
Audio Listening Level: Easy
Rating: 4 of 5
Publisher’s Synopsis:
In the picturesque village of Branscombe, New Hampshire, the townsfolk are all pitching in to prepare for the first (and many hope, annual) Festival of Joy. The night before the festival begins, a group of employees at the local market learn that they have won $160 million in the lottery. One of their co-workers, Duncan, decided at the last minute, on the advice of a pair of crooks masquerading as financial advisers, not to play. Then he goes missing. A second winning lottery ticket was purchased in the next town, but the winner hasn’t come forward. Could Duncan have secretly bought it?
Quick Review:
A fast-paced, fun Regan Reilly mystery and just the right type of tale to listen to while working around the house preparing for the holidays. There is nothing mind-bending here, no deep plot or heavy mystery. The bad guys aren’t the smartest folks around and the townspeople are mostly kind and likeable.
Even though there were quite a few characters it wasn’t difficult keeping track of them. Carol Higgins Clark did the narration with a voice just pleasant enough to listen to for the five hours. Mystery lovers and fans of this series will be pleased with this light, entertaining tale.
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Source: I own a copy.
© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Charlie is a 5-year old Peach Faced Lovebird that has joined my household. His previously owner could no longer care for him and he was left at a rescue facility.
For now, Charlie will have his photo taken while in his cage, or ‘home’ as I refer to it. It appears he has never been trained, or if he was he has been neglected and no longer has good social skills. He won’t perch on my hand and bites when I try to take him out of his cage. Hopefully I can change this behavior but with an older bird it will take time and patience. I suspect the biting may have something to do with why he was given up for adoption.
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
The Yard
by Alex Grecian
Narrated by Toby Leonard Moore
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Publish Date: May 29, 2012
Format: Audio, 14 hours | 42 minutes
Audio Listening Level: Intermediate
Rating: 3 of 5
Publisher’s synopsis:
Victorian London is a cesspool of crime, and Scotland Yard has only twelve detectives, known as “The Murder Squad”, to investigate thousands of murders every month. Created after the Metropolitan Police’s spectacular failure to capture Jack the Ripper, The Murder Squad suffers rampant public contempt. They have failed their citizens. But no one can anticipate the brutal murder of one of their own . . . one of the twelve. When Walter Day, the squad’s newest hire, is assigned the case of the murdered detective, he finds a strange ally in the Yard’s first forensic pathologist, Dr. Bernard Kingsley. Together they track the killer, who clearly is not finished with The Murder Squad . . . but why?
Quick Review:
I liked the storyline and the Victorian setting shortly after the Ripper murders, the use of a ‘why’ rather than a ‘who done it’ mystery element and a coroner that used advanced (for the Victorian era) forensics, as if he were part of the team on an episode of CSI.
I got a good feel for London and the Victorian era, and the audio production was nicely performed with a variety of voices and accents. As much as I liked the story and all its elements, I wasn’t thrilled with the execution. I’m not sure if it was the way the book was constructed or the dialog itself, but at times I’d drift away, or lose focus on which character was speaking, which rarely happens to me in audiobooks.
This is the first book in a new series about Scotland Yard’s Murder Squad. These were likeable, well-drawn characters that deserve a second look in the next book.
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Source: Review copy.
© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Almost wordless: A single feather floated past while I was watching a group of Mallards.
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More Wordless Wednesday. © 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. It is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their home last week.
Mailbox Monday is currently on tour, hosted by a different blog each month. The December host is Susan at Suko’s Notebook .
It’s hard to believe the year is almost over and the Christmas Holidays are right around the corner. We are having unusually warm, spring-like weather and I’m feeling more like gardening, not putting out holiday decorations. In fact, I did work in the garden today washing flower pots, organizing the garden shed and pulling up dead plants for the compost pile.
I received a couple of review books last week plus one extra copy for a giveaway which I will be hosting later this month.
For review from the publisher and Vine:
The Aviator’s Wife
by Melanie Benjamin
For much of her life, Anne Morrow, the shy daughter of the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, has stood in the shadows of those around her, including her millionaire father and vibrant older sister, who often steals the spotlight. Then Anne, a college senior with hidden literary aspirations, travels to Mexico City to spend Christmas with her family. There she meets Colonel Charles Lindbergh, fresh off his celebrated 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic. Enthralled by Charles’s assurance and fame, Anne is certain the celebrated aviator has scarcely noticed her. But she is wrong.
For review and giveaway from the publicist:
7 Years Younger
by The Editors of Good Housekeeping
This revolutionary new book kicks off with a 7-day Jumpstart plan offering you all the tools you need to start your total rejuvenation. Then you’ll follow the 7-week, science-based program with a holistic approach to looking and feeling younger. Its 7 age erasers cover every base with special regimens for skin care, makeup, hair care, nutrition and diet, fitness, brain fitness, and emotional health. With this program you can “de-age” your skin, use makeup and hair smarts to get a youthful look, rehab your diet and exercise habits in a way that lowers your risk of age-related diseases and to lose weight, learn to sharpen your mind, and nurture your emotional health.
What are you reading?
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© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Only two years after rediscovering audiobooks (I had tried, failed to enjoy and abandoned the format back in the books-on-tape days), I’m closing in on 60 books listened to in 2012. Listening to audio on my mp3 player and in the car has doubled the amount of books I read. Choosing the right books and the right narrator make all the difference, but I won’t get on the audiobook soapbox and leave that for another time.
I’ve written about most of the audiobooks I’ve listened to this year but there are still a few waiting to be reviewed. I would like to be caught up on reviews at the end of the year so I’ve decided to do some quick reviews on the remaining books. Here are three I listened to from HarperAudio and a few thoughts:
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The Uninvited Guests
by Sadie Jones
Narrated by Kate Reading
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: HarperAudio
Publish Date: October 2, 2012
Format: Audio, 8 hours | 47 minutes
Audio Listening Level: Intermediate
Rating: 3½ of 5
From the publisher:
One late spring evening in 1912, in the kitchens at Sterne, preparations begin for an elegant supper party in honor of Emerald Torrington’s twentieth birthday. But only a few miles away, a dreadful accident propels a crowd of mysterious and not altogether savory survivors to seek shelter at the ramshackle manor — and the household is thrown into confusion and mischief.
A quirky, clever tale about an odd group of mostly unpleasant but well-developed characters, the story takes place over several days at the family’s manor house. This is a mystery as well as historical fiction and a bit of a ghost story too. I found it a little slow at the start but after the uninvited guests from the train crash arrived, the pace picked up. Towards the end there was a twist to the story and a finish I enjoyed. The audio was challenging at times because of the number of characters to keep track of but Kate Readings’ narration was pleasant and easy to listen to.
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Some Remarks
by Neal Stephenson
Narrated by Jeff Cummings
Genre: Non-Fiction
Publisher: HarperAudio
Publish Date: August 7, 2012
Format: Audio, 11 hours | 36 minutes
Audio Listening Level: Easy – Intermediate
Rating: 4 of 5
From the publisher:
This remarkable collection brings together previously published short writings, both fiction and nonfiction, as well as a new essay (and an extremely short story) created specifically for this volume. Stephenson ponders a wealth of subjects, from movies and politics to David Foster Wallace and the Midwestern American College Town; video games to classics-based sci-fi; how geekdom has become cool and how science fiction has become mainstream (whether people admit it or not); the future of publishing and the origins of his novels.
Although not a huge follower of Neal Stephenson, I have read some of his work and am a big fan of science fiction. There is no question though that this book is directed at Stephenson’s fans. However, his writing is entertaining enough that some of the selections would appeal to a general audience and I did find most of the essays interesting.
The essay chronicling the hacker tourist and the laying of the longest fiber optic cable on earth was, at three and a half hours, a little too long, but techy folks will find it fascinating. A question and answer session was my favorite and I especially liked hearing his stories about other well known science fiction authors. Each essay is an independent topic or story, so jumping around works fine. The audio is easy to follow once you figure out what you are listening to, ie, lecture, essay, short story, etc.
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The House of Velvet and Glass
by Katherine Howe
Narrated by Heather Corrigan
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Hyperion AudioBooks
Publish Date: April 10, 2012
Format: Audio, 16 hours | 26 minutes
Audio Listening Level: Intermediate – Difficult
Rating: 3½ of 5
From the publisher:
Boston, 1915: Still reeling from the deaths of her mother and sister on the Titanic, Sibyl Allston is living a life of quiet desperation with her taciturn father and scandal-plagued brother in a town house in Boston’s Back Bay. Trapped in a world over which she has no control, Sibyl seeks answers in the depths of a medium’s crystal ball.
I enjoyed the story which was richly layered with a mystical atmosphere and a connection to the Titanic. However, the execution could have been better as the plot was, at times, difficult to follow and felt a little too long. Audio was probably not the best choice for me because the plot jumps around a lot and shifts to several different time periods. I like to multitask when I listen and it was necessary to concentrate a little more than usual to know where we were when a chapter started. For listeners who find it easy to concentrate on the audio, this would be a viable choice; others might be better off with print. There is a twist at the end that I never saw coming making me glad I stuck with the book to the finish.
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Source: Review copy.
© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Although migration season is now over, I have another bird to highlight that is a visitor in the Chicago area during the autumn months and that is the Hermit Thrush. I saw this bird back in October and hopefully he (or she) has made his way safely south by now.
The Hermit Thrush can often be found in open areas at the forest edge or along trails, which is where I saw this little guy. They rarely visit backyards but occasionally can be found foraging on the ground in the leaves or in berry trees. Only once has one stopped by my yard.
In the first photo the bird was nice enough to pose for me and a few minutes later he turned around to show off his long reddish tail.
They have a chunky shape similar to an American Robin, but are slightly smaller. They have a spotted breast, a brown back and a reddish tail. The robin is also a member of the thrush family and baby robins have the same spotting on their breast which is lost when they grow their adult feathers.
The Hermit Thrush has a fairly large range and can be seen at different times of the year throughout much of North America. They spend their summers in the northern forests and migrate south for the winter.
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Under My Apple Tree 