Death Benefit
by Robin Cook
Read by: George Guidall
Genre: Medical Thriller
Publisher: Penguin Audiobooks
Publish Date: December 27, 2011
Format: Audio CD | 11 hours and 37 minutes
Rating: 3 of 5
Pia Grazdani, a talented medical student, is working with a prestigious scientist, Dr. Rothman, on stem cell research to create human replacement organs. The research, which will revolutionize treatment of many diseases, is only months away from being completed when a disaster strikes the lab. Dr. Rothman and one of his associates become deathly ill while working in the lab and die within hours. Pia does not believe this is an accident and, with the help of her friend George, begins her own investigation much to the distress of school administrators. A potential murder investigation would not be good for the school.
I liked Pia. She is smart, strong-willed and independent. Orphaned at an early age she was raised in the foster system and learned to depend on herself and no one else. She still suffers from nightmares and cannot allow anyone to get close to her even though her friend George would do anything to help her.
Meanwhile, several ex-Wall street hot-shots think they have hit on the investment idea of the century. They formed a company to buy insurance policies from terminally ill people for pennies on the dollar. The future seems bright until someone begins shorting their stock. As soon as other investors find out about this, their company will be worthless.
Scattered throughout the story are a few chapters with some very unlikeable characters from the Albanian mob. It got a little unbelievable and this element of the plot could have been handled differently and still been effective. To avoid spoilers I’ll not say much more other than all three seemingly unconnected storylines come together in the end.
The narration by George Guidall was a pleasure to listen to with a smooth, flowing style. I usually prefer a female main character to be narrated by a woman’s voice but Guidall did a capable job with Pia and I was not distracted by the lack of a female reader. The book was written in the third person so there was more narration than dialog.
I enjoyed this medical thriller that combines the right amount of current research, factual information and an engaging story. Stem cell research and organ replacement are timely and interesting topics and easily held my attention over the eleven hours of the audiobook.
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Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
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For more audiobook reviews visit Sound Bytes at Devourer of Books.
When I saw that Natalie from Coffee and a Book Chick and Kathleen from Boarding in My Forties were hosting the Stephen King Project, I just had to sign up for one more challenge for 2012.
I have read a lot of Stephen King’s earlier books but not so much lately. Recently I read 11/22/63 and absolutely loved it. It reminded me why I enjoyed all those Stephen King books years ago. I just happen to have a few of his books waiting in my TBR pile, so this seemed like a perfect challenge for me, since I’m also trying to read from my shelves.
Overview
• The challenge runs from January – December 2012.
• Audiobooks, E-books and movies count.
• The Project will be hosted at The Stephen King Project review site.
Commitment Levels
• A King Novice: 1 book
• A Lil Bit of King: 3 books
• A King to Balance It All: 6 books
• A King Legend: 9 books
• A King for All Seasons: 12+ books
I’m going to commit to A Lil Bit of King: 3 books.
Tentative list:
• The Gunslinger – Dark Tower I
• Lisey’s Story
• Full Dark, No Stars
Almost Wordless: A cheerful sight to see bright red berries against the stark winter landscape.
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More Wordless Wednesday.
The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger
Genre: Graphic Short Story
Publisher: Abrams ComicArts, September 2010
Format: Hardback | 40 pages
When this book was published last year I put it on my to read list. A Chicago author writing/illustrating a story about a bookmobile that mysteriously appeared on the streets of Chicago appealed to me. I don’t know if bookmobiles are still driving around but when I was a child there was one that came to my grade school every third Thursday. I couldn’t wait for that day because it meant that I was getting new books to read.
Recently I saw The Night Bookmobile at my public library; I checked it out and was surprised to find that it was only 40 pages long. It took me about 10 minutes to read it while I was eating my lunch. I liked it a lot. It had a surreal, fairy tale quality to it and was obviously a dream: While out walking one night a young woman encounters a bookmobile which contains a library of everything she has ever read, and then it disappears. She becomes obsessed with finding it again.
I wasn’t going to review or write about this book on the blog, but when I went to log a few impressions on my goodreads page I noticed that there were people that absolutely hated the book. Why, I wondered? Well, not everyone interpreted the story the same way. Some saw it as a slam against reading and that if you read too much you are wasting your life. I saw it more as a cautionary tale to the love of reading.
In the After Words the author herself asks:
“What would you sacrifice to sit in that comfy chair with perfect light for an afternoon in eternity, reading the perfect book, forever?”
When I finished the story my first thought was, “Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it, but not in the way you expect”. Like the Greek Myth where Eos asked Zeus to make Tithonus immortal but forgetting to ask for eternal youth.
Anyone else read this this? Your impressions? Love it or hate it? I’m curious.
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 January host is Alyce of
At Home With Books.
Audiobook for review from the publisher:
Home Front
by Kristin Hannah
From a distance, Michael and Joleen Zarkades seem to have it all: a solid marriage, two exciting careers, and children they adore. But after twelve years together, the couple has lost their way; they are unhappy and edging toward divorce. Then the Iraq war starts. An unexpected deployment will tear their already fragile family apart, sending one of them deep into harm’s way and leaving the other at home…
A win from the publisher:
You Better Not Cry
by Augusten Burroughs
At eight years old, Augusten Burroughs profoundly misunderstood the meaning of Christmas. Now proving himself once more “a master of making tragedy funny” (The Miami Herald), he shows how the holidays can bring out the worst in us and sometimes, just sometimes, the very best. From the author described in USA Today as “one of the most compelling and screamingly funny voices of the new century” comes a book about surviving the holiday we love to hate, and hate to love.
For review from the publisher:
Switched
by Amanda Hocking
When Wendy Everly was six-years-old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. It isn’t until eleven years later that Wendy discovers her mother might have been right. With the help of Finn Holmes, Wendy finds herself in a world she never knew existed – a world both beautiful and frightening, and Wendy’s not sure she wants to be a part of it.
How was your week?
Another year has come to a close. That went by fast!
I read 68 books this year exceeding my personal goal of 50. Twenty-five of my books were audiobooks. I participated in five reading challenges and completed four of them. I wrote 236 posts, an average of 4½ per week. I also shared a lot of my photography, one or two posts a week, and over half of them were birds.
Favorite books
Below are my top 10 books for 2011 listed in alphabetical order. I could not choose an order, I enjoyed all of them.
11/23/66 by Stephen King
The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen
Doc: A Novel by Mary Doria Russell
Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Seeing Trees by Nancy Ross Hugo, Robert Llewellyn
The Upright Piano Player by David Abbott
You Know When The Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon
Challenges
I participated in five challenges and completed four of them. I came up one book short in the What’s in a Name Challenge, a book with a size in the title. I found a book on my shelf with a size in the title and will be reading it to complete the challenge. I don’t like to lose, even if it’s only to myself.
What’s in a Name 4
Time Travel Challenge
Audiobook Challenge
Amy Einhorn Perpetual Challenge
Reagan Arthur Books Perpetual Challenge
Photography
One of my hobbies is photography and it often spills over onto the blog. This year I posted one or two photos a week. My most viewed post of 2011 was Mr. Cardinal. He had 1,768 views and I am very proud of him. My Weekend Birding feature has been successful and I plan to continue it in 2012.
Happy New Year
Thanks to everyone who stopped by to read and comment. I appreciate every one of you. I wish everyone a Happy and Prosperous New Year. See you in 2012.
Last week I posted a photo of Mr. Cardinal. Today I’m posting Mrs. Cardinal who was sitting several branches above him.
I took both of the photos on the same day during the 2009 Christmas Bird Count. It was a chilly morning and it had just stopped snowing. Once the sun came out it was perfect for photos.
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
Under My Apple Tree 