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I am listening to Alter Ego, I liked the first book Secret Identity on audio quite a bit so I've been looking forward to this one since it was announced.


The (doubly) fictitious '70s street level heroine at the centre of Segura's comics insider saga

Robert: I just finished Alter Ego - it was great!

I just finished Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice. My review

I'm looking forward to starting Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave tomorrow.

Doug wrote: "I am 32 hours into James Clavell's Noble House with 23 hours to go. It is loooong. I am enjoying it though. I am 7 books ahead on my Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ challenge at this point so I thought I w..."

With longer books, say more than 15 hours, I usually have to set them aside to return later.

Hi everyone, hope you’re well?. I’ve started a new book called Spellslinger by Sebastian de Castell I’ve been really looking forward to listening to this. I’ve had it on my shelf for a while. 🌷

John wrote: "With longer books, say more than 15 hours, I usually have to set them aside to return later."

I read like the wind and finished that great book in a week. I just finished it last night, really late.

Now I am enjoying a very short (13 hour) sci-fi novel by Jack Campbell, Tarnished Knight. I had to wait until today to begin because of a book hangover. James Clavell is super and I had to get over the end of a long story that I was so immersed in.

My review of Red Clay by Charles B. Fancher

/review/show...

L J wrote: "Sara wrote: "I am just curious to know why I am not receiving any more notifications from this groups and others from good reads. Has anything changed since New Year?"

Your profile shows last acti..."

Thank you 😊

Sara wrote: "L J wrote: "Sara wrote: "I am just curious to know why I am not receiving any more notifications from this groups and others from good reads. Has anything changed since New Year?"

Your profile sho..."

You're welcome.

Last active not updating seems to be an ongoing issue that can continue to happen each month. Not a bad idea to keep an eye on it even if so far it seems to take a couple of months for notifications to quit working.

I'm about to finish The Day Wall Street Exploded: A Story of America in Its First Age of Terror by Beverly Gage and move to The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore

I'm wrapping up Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave today and starting The Wedding People.

Over the weekend I finished listening to Onyx Storm. This was a book that had a solid frame that the reader could build an imaginary world around.

Robin P wrote: "I just listened to Luck and Judgement, 3rd in a series of modern police procedurals set in a small town in England. They are just that, procedural, no superhuman heroics - in fact, ..."

Ah, thank you! This sounded nice and #1 of this series is an Audible Plus (UK). I'm enjoying it now, I may continue this series.

Yesterday I finished The Crazy Kill, which proved one of the best uses of a credit I've run across since joining Audible!

John wrote: "Yesterday I finished The Crazy Kill, which proved one of the best uses of a credit I've run across since joining Audible!"

Thanks, John, I always enjoy your recommendations!

I am listening to Here One Moment, which requires a lot of different characters' voices. It's well done but I'm still not sure about the creepy subject - a woman foretells the death circumstance of people on a plane (not a spoiler, that happens at the beginning).

Finished The Dollhouse Academy by Margarita Montimore Narrated by Brittany Pressley; Xe Sands I enjoyed this one Stepford Wives meets Fame meets Eileen Ford.

Now starting a non-fiction The Mother Next Door: Medicine, Deception, and Munchausen by Proxy by Andrea Dunlop

Absolutely love this book. I cannot wait to read the rest of them. I have five of them left Spellslinger by Sebastian de Castell the gentleman that read it is amazing I love the way he tries to do peoples different voices 🌷

I finished up The Best American Essays 2024 edited by Wesley Morris the other day. I enjoyed most of the essays, just a handful were mediocre for me.

Then listened to the short audio The Enduring Genius of Frederick Law Olmsted by Adam Rome. This was offered free through the Audible Plus catalog. It is also part of The Great Courses, first one of those I've listened to. This was too short for me, discovered there is much more to Olmsted than I realized. Now I want to read a longer biography. Olmsted may be best known for creating New York's Central Park.


Now I'm in the middle of three different audios. Trying something new this year. When my focus and attention starts flagging I switch books. Working so far, but I've only been doing this for a few days. :)


Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Underrated Organ by Giulia Enders
The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr
The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies? by Jared Diamond

Starting James. Well done so far.

Pamela wrote: "I finished up The Best American Essays 2024 edited by Wesley Morris the other day. I enjoyed most of the essays, just a handful were mediocre for me.

Then listened to the short a..."

I always have two, usually three, audios going at the same time.

If you want a lite, entertaining mystery to listen to; I suggest Seven-Year Witch

I started Ward D.

Pamela wrote: "Then listened to the short audio The Enduring Genius of Frederick Law Olmsted by Adam Rome. ... Now I want to read a longer biography...."

Pamela, thanks for the tip on the shorter Audible listen! I have had the following book on my TBR mountain and in my Audible library for a while: Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted by Justin Martin. Maybe this is a good time to move it to the top of my list!

Jan Mc wrote: "Pamela, thanks for the tip on the shorter Audible listen! I have had the following book on my TBR mountain and in my Audible library for a while: Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted by Justin Martin. Maybe this is a good time to move it to the top of my list!"

Jan, this is the longer biography that I was looking at, currently on my wish list with audible. If you do read this, I would be interested to know your thoughts!

I listened to two excellent Historical Nonfiction books recently. Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America and Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space Both were interesting and had great audioproductions.

I'm now listening to Death on the Nile.

Ann wrote: "Robert: I just finished Alter Ego - it was great!"

Glad you liked it! I was a bit more lukewarm, though overall glad I read it.

My Review - /review/show...

I just started listening to Chuck Klosterman's anthology Raised in Captivity: Fictional Nonfiction. It's droll!

I finished James and liked it much more than I expected. I'm not a fan of prequels and sequels such as those adding to Jane Austen's novels or even Wicked. I know I'm in the minority. Anyway, James deals with a protagonist, who is a slave, trying to reclaim his humanity and dignity. It's well written and well narrated. 4.5*

Now I'm listening to a classic - The Return of the Native. It's been on the TBL pile for years. Imagine my surprise when I heard Alan Rickman as the narrator. As with some of the classics, I'm resorting to Cliff Notes for some clarity and analysis.

I'm also listening to The Spire by Richard North Patterson when I don't feel like being an academic listener and reading Thomas Hardy!

I finished up A Council of Dolls - it liked the story told through a couple of different generations, but the last section (modern day) felt a bit awkward; the chapters/sections were also really long (2-3hrs each)

almost done with The Guncle Abroad

then i'll work on Last Twilight in Paris

my current goal is to narrow down some of the audiobooks that i've had on my libby hold list for a while

Fran wrote: "I finished James and liked it much more than I expected. I'm not a fan of prequels and sequels such as those adding to Jane Austen's novels or even Wicked. I know I'm in the minori..."

Audio is the way to go with James, I think, because language is so important to the story, and the narration is terrific.

About halfway through the rather long The Tin Flute in French. It takes place among the poor and working class in Montreal in 1942. It is still largely the Depression and people are struggling to feed their (often large) families. I am listening in French and the narrator is excellent at giving various amounts of the Quebec accent to the characters. Those in town have more standard pronunciation but the rural characters are almost unintelligible sometimes. It cracks me up because in my job for 11 years I worked over the phone with people in Quebec and the farmers were often a challenge to understand, even though I speak fluent French.

Finished The Mother Next Door: Medicine, Deception, and Munchausen by Proxy by Andrea Dunlop this was an interesting look at a couple different cases of Munchhausens by proxy.

Now starting A Long Time Gone by, Joshua Moehling narrated by, Linda Jones

Robin P wrote: "It cracks me up because in my job for 11 years I worked over the phone with people in Quebec and the farmers were often a challenge to understand, even though I speak fluent French."

Sacre bleu!

Raised in Captivity: Fictional Nonfiction is proving to be a frustrating listen. Although it is less than 8 hours long there are 36 separate short stories and, while a short length for self-contained story is not necessarily a problem for me, the author has the tendency to end his stories very abruptly, sometimes with a twist and sometimes open-endedly. More often than not I find myself "rewinding" the next time my hands are free to revisit what the heck just happened whereas in a more traditional book I'd be aware the end of the story is coming and pay more attention to the last sentences.
Anyone else ever experience something like this?

Fran wrote: "Now I'm listening to a classic - The Return of the Native. It's been on the TBL pile for years. Imagine my surprise when I heard Alan Rickman as the narrator."

That would be a shock to the system!

Currently halfway through listening to Here One Moment and let me say, great premise but kinda slow so far... Ya girl is used to Freida McFadden style books so I just need to give it time.

Heather wrote: "Currently halfway through listening to Here One Moment and let me say, great premise but kinda slow so far... Ya girl is used to Freida McFadden style books so I just need to give ..."

I felt the same way about this. I thought it was ok, but it is a long book too.

Currently listening to Play Dead and enjoying it.

Kristie wrote: "Heather wrote: "Currently halfway through listening to Here One Moment and let me say, great premise but kinda slow so far... Ya girl is used to Freida McFadden style books so I ju..."

I felt the same about this book.