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Title: Paper Trail

Author: John Timpson

Narrator: David Thorpe

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs

Language: English

Release date: 04-01-14

Publisher: Soundings

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

When young Charles Benson arrives in Toftham, a sleepy Norfolk market town, on a miserable Sunday afternoon in January 1952, he has only the vaguest idea what Fate has in store for him. It is at the hands of the editor of the Toftham and Wettleford Journal, Mr Juby, that Charles is introduced to local reporting and Norfolk ways.

Charles finds himself steering a perilous course through a minefield of WI meetings, funerals, fêtes, local dramatics, council shenanigans and point-to-points, floundering his way through a succession of debacles on his way to becoming a real journalistand a real man of Norfolk.

Members Reviews:

A Gem! I enjoyed this book so much!

This is one of the best books I've listened to. Too bad there aren't similar books by this author. It's a great story of a young man learning to be a reporter in a small town. He and his boss/mentor have a charming relationship. The book is pretty light except for one part and the narrator produces just the right amount of humor in his tone.

David Thorpe has become one of my very favorite narrators and I am purchasing everything by him that is remotely the type of book I like.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes an engaging story, well constructed and well performed. I look forward to listening to this one again in a year or two.

funny and sad.

Any additional comments?

staring in 1951 and finishing in 1953 this story tells of city boy Charles getting a reporters job in rural Norfolk, even though he knows nothing about being a reporter. Charles learns how to be a reporter, about people, not always sure if they are pulling his leg, and helping where he can.

loved david Thorpe's performance of the book, especially the accents. found myself trying to do the accents too

five stars because I feel I could listen to this again and enjoy it as much even though I know the ending.

A light, amusing and entertaining tale.

If you could sum up Paper Trail in three words, what would they be?

Funny, Elegant and Effective

What did you like best about this story?

The growth of the main character, Charles, from an inexperienced city boy at the start of the book, making embarrassing errors much to amusement of his boss, gradually learning a few life lessons along the way.

What does David Thorpe bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you had only read the book?

A fantastic narration by David Thorpe. Having heard other books read by him, his ability to not only read male and female parts, sometimes in accents, but his comic timing is spot on too.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The book has many ups, a few downs and plenty of silly humour.

Any additional comments?

It's a shame John Timpson didn't write any more books of this ilk. From the very first scene this book gently meanders along with tales aplenty to keep it entertaining.

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Title: Welcome to Paris

Subtitle: Slumming in Paris, with the Children, Part Two

Author: Felipe Adan Lerma

Narrator: Paul Woodson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 30 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-20-14

Publisher: Felipe Adan Lerma

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Six children, cousins, ages nine to almost 18, arrive in the City of Lights, and are overwhelmed by the vastness and beauty of Paris.

Six children, ages nine through "almost" 18, arrive in the City of Lights, Paris.

Arthur and Gricinda, two of the children's parents, already having spent a romantic week alone in Paris, receive their arrival like floodgates at the ready. Their hotel rooms aren't ready, and they must settle in and enjoy the lights and sights of Paris, from three tiny furnished apartments, side by side.

Not ideal.

But the two adult guardians have trips and experiences planned, and gird themselves for the unknown.

Luckily, there's plenty of places to take them all to eat. A universal joy.

Buzz, Zilker, Simone, Tabitha, Cherise, and Antone: Arthur and Gricinda have their hands full.

And it's all worthwhile.

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Title: Lrdag [Saturday]

Author: Ian McEwan

Narrator: Dan Schlosser

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-20-14

Publisher: Viatone

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Lrdag, d. 15. februar 2003 vgner Henry Perowne - en dygtig, veletableret hjernekirurg med trygge familieforhold - ved daggry i sit hjem i London og ser fra vinduet et brndende fly passere tt over sit hus. Dette urovkkende syn giver ham associationer til terrorangrebet i New York og den forestende krig mod Irak. Senere p dagen p vej gennem Londons gader, der vrimler med anti-krigsdemonstranter, involveres han i et mindre trafikuheld, der bringer ham i nrkontakt med den aggressive Baxter. Under familiemiddagen om aftenen delgges hyggen af et heftigt sknderi mellem far og datter om Irak-krigen, og dramatikken spidser yderligere til, da terroren pludselig ndrer sig fra et diskussionsemne til en reel personlig trussel.

Please note: This audiobook is in Danish.

Critic Reviews:

Dette er mske rets vigtigste roman. Enhver lser af Ian McEwans Lrdag vil selv kunne forvisse sig om, at vi her mder en forfatter af international topklasse med ekstremt sikkert hndelag og et dybt blik for disse rs politiske og moralske dilemmaer. Med disse 336 sider indfanger Ian McEwan den angst, tvivl og trods, som har prget bde den brede offentlighed og den intellektuelle elite i England og andre vestlige demokratier under krigen mod terror og invasionen i Irak. Det er bger som denne, der viser, hvordan og hvorfor romankunsten er absolut ndvendig, bde som stetiske udtryk og som politisk kommentar. Klaus Rothstein, Weekendavisen

Lrdag er med rette hdret og belnnet i den engelsktalende verden. McEwan er blandt de bedste nulevende romanforfattere, og de mange danske lsere, der satte pris p forgngeren Soning, vil nyde det nyeste udspil. I selskab med McEwan lever man sig ind i andres skbne og Lrdag er p den mde stor moralsk litteratur. Ian McEwan skriver samtidslitteratur p hjeste niveau. Michael Bach Henriksen, Kristeligt Dagblad

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Title: The Enchanted

Author: Rene Denfeld

Narrator: Jim Frangione

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-13-14

Publisher: Orion Publishing Group

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

A powerful and hauntingly beautiful novel set on death row. Even monsters need peace. Even monsters need a person who truly wants to listen - to hear - so that someday we might find the words that are more than boxes. Then maybe we can stop men like me from happening....

A prisoner sits on death row in a high-security prison. His only escape is through the words he dreams about, the world he conjures around him using the power of language. For the reality of his world is brutal and stark. He is not named, nor do we know his crime. But he listens. He listens to the story of York, the prisoner in the cell next to him who has been sentenced to death.

He hears The Lady, a mitigation specialist who is piecing together York's past. He watches as The Lady falls in love with The Priest and wonders if love is still possible in this place. He sees the corruption and the danger as the tensions in the prison build. And he waits. For even monsters have a story....

Read by Jim Frangione.

Critic Reviews:

"The Enchanted wrapped its beautiful and terrible fingers around me from the first page and refused to let go after the last. A wondrous book that finds transcendence in the most unlikely of places, enshrouding horrible things in a gossamer veil of fantasy with a truly unforgettable narrator. So dark yet so exquisite." (Erin Morgenstern, author of The Night Circus)

"The Enchanted is unlike anything I've ever read.... A jubilant celebration that explores human darkness with a profound lyric tenderness and not one jot of sentimentality...contagious and seductive." (Katherine Dunn, author of Geek Love)

"Rene Denfeld is a genius. In The Enchanted, she has imagined one of the grimmest settings in the world - a dank and filthy death row in a corrupt prison - and given us one of the most beautiful, heart-rending, and riveting novels I have ever read/" (Donald Ray Pollock, author of The Devil All the Time)

Members Reviews:

Superb

A beautiful, moving and thought provoking story, performed wonderfully.

I would recommend it to anyone.

I didn't want it to end.

Something of the night

What did you like best about The Enchanted? What did you like least?

There's dark, camp humour in this book. Rene Denfeld dissects human lives in clinical detail as if each were a butterfly thrust into a killing bottle and then then pinned out for display, horrifying in the beauty of demise. Jim Frangione is not quite Vincent Price but he captures the goulish spirit with his feigned deadpan reading, thrilling in the dreadful fate of each inmate who himself becomes another victim.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I would have made the whole book darker. This is death row as imagined not how it is. The enchanted place has an all-white flavour which isn't real. There's also a whimsical subplot around the white-haired boy which stretches credulity.

Do you think The Enchanted needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

It stands on its own.

Real writing, intelligent and enthralling

Very well written, very well read, totally submersive, surreal at points and you have to keep up with it, the sort of book that makes you feel strangely clean afterwards, full of genuine feeling and humanity.

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Title: Nine Lives

Author: Bernice Rubens

Narrator: Di Langford

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-24-14

Publisher: Isis Publishing Ltd

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

The Killers modus operandi was the same in each instance: Strangulation, always with a guitar string pulled tight from behind until life is extinct. And though the murders are taking place up and down the country, there is one other similarity that Inspector Wilkins cant help noticing: Each and every victim is a psychotherapist. Donald Dorricks is on a mission.

Nine psychotherapists to go and his crusade is over. Yet even after giving himself up and confessing to the killings, he still protests his innocence. And just as Inspector Wilkins struggles to catch the killer, Dorricks wife Verine attempts to understand the reasoning behind the murders.

Members Reviews:

Brilliant Bernice as always

I love books with different narrators that give different points of view. This is one of the best. Compelling and chilling, it grips tightly. I wanted to shout at the main female voice, but as the book goes on her strength becomes clear.

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Title: A Hopscotch Summer

Author: Annie Murray

Narrator: Penelope Freeman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-17-14

Publisher: Macmillan Digital Audio

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Emma Brown is a happy-go-lucky child, content to work hard at school, and to play hopscotch with her friends on the pavement outside her house in the run-down Nechells area of Birmingham. As long as everything is all right at home with her Ma and Pa, her little sister Joyce and brother Sid, then life is good.

But after Em's mother, Cynthia, has her baby she just doesn't seem to be able to cope. Her lifelong friend and neighbour Dot helps as much as she can, but she has children of her own, and no man to hand; Cynthia's husband Bob, too, does his best, but begins to feel that he's losing the wife he has loved so much; and little Em just can't find enough hours in the day to do all the washing and cleaning.

Soon, it seems, the only thing is for Cynthia to go and stay across the city with her tyrannical older sister. With Cynthia away, life only gets harder for Em. Her best friend, Kate, ostracizes her, leaving only poor, stinky Molly Fox at her side, and when the Board Man comes to call, wanting to know why she's not at school, things are really bad.

When Bob stays out later and later in the evenings, always the worse for wear, and spending too much time with a local very merry widow, Em decides to travel across Birmingham to fetch her mother home, but the mother she discovers is a far cry from the proud, upright, and loving figure she has known so well....

Members Reviews:

easy listen

A lovely story. The narrator made it so much more interesting. One of the best.

This grows on you. A great listen, sad at times!

I've e joyed all the Ann Murray stories that I have read and this one was just as good!

The voice of the children was hard to listen to at first but I got used to it so don't be put off by it. It really is worth sticking with.

Very sad at times. A realistic account of life at that time. It did have me in tears on many occasions.

I'm about to listen to the next book in this series and can't wait to see what happens next! Well wort the listen!!!

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Title: Transit Girl

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Jamie Shupak

Narrator: Vanessa Johansson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-14-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Guiliana Layne seemingly has the perfect life. She lives in the city that never sleeps, has a fantastic job as the traffic reporter for New York City news station NYNN, and shes engaged to be married to J.R., her college sweetheart. Then everything gets derailed when Guiliana intercepts a text message meant for her fiance.

Soon Guiliana finds herself single and nearly unemployed after a tequila-infused bender ends with an embarrassing viral video and a night in the slammer. Armed with only sassy texts and tweets, Guiliana navigates the tumultuous dating waters of Manhattan for the first time in a decade, and is soon offered a dating column by Level Magazine to chronicle her romantic exploits. As two men vie for her affection.

Ben, lead reporter for Banter, and Banter's caddish boss Jake Spears. Guiliana must put the hurt behind her, rely on her best friend Gemma, and realize that in order to fall in love again she must fall in love with herself.

A witty, fresh and fun debut novel from Emmy-nominated Jamie Shupak, Transit Girl is relatable to anyone who's ever loved, lost, and ended up in prison after a little too much Patron.

Members Reviews:

Love!

4 to 4.5 stars

I really liked this book. I loved Guils, she was a great character! While the plot isn't crazy original, it's still a great one. Guils is a traffic reports for a local NYC new channel. She suddenly discovers that her fiance of 10 years is having an affair with his assistant. She makes the very wise decision to leave him and move on with her life. But first, a drunken night out that leads to a karaoke hot mess of Blurred Lines at Tortilla Flats that is splashed on the gossip blogs.

The misadventures of her dating life are pretty hilarious. I love that this book feels like a NYC travel dating guide. She dates different types of men while writing an article for a NY blog. I knew from the second she met Bantering Ben that he would be the ultimate love interest of this book and I was okay with that. The hilarious scenes in between made it worth it. Overall, LOVE.

My heart shattered for her when she had to give up her dog Zelda to that jerkface! He didn't even give a crap about that dog and it was her baby. I was really hoping that at some point, she would have some interaction with her and he would give her dog back. She had to move out of her home and he was the one in the wrong. I hate that he never admitted after 10 years that he really f-ed her over. Oh well, I guess she had to start over completely.

I missed my bus stop... because my nose was buried in Transit Girl!

Once I picked up Transit Girl, I couldn't put it down! In fact, I stopped reading my book club book to read Transit Girl, and (for the first time ever) I went to book club without having finished the book. And then I ended up telling the book club ladies about Transit Girl. Now they're reading it and loving it, too!

Transit Girl is a fun, steamy read that will have you hooked if you are (or ever were) a young professional navigating your city's dating scene, if you ever hit rock bottom in your love life, or if you simply love New York City.

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Title: A Faithful Man

Author: Robert Elkin

Narrator: Simon Brooks

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 21 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-14-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

What if everything you believe in suddenly turned its back on you? Set in a cattle car on a train bound for a death camp during the Holocaust, A Faithful Man chronicles the journey of Gershon, poet and religious Jew, who knows all too well what awaits him. As the train trudges closer and closer to its destination, Gershons prayers turn into soliloquies against a seemingly indifferent God, while the antagonistic Angel of Death licks his chops and tries to convince the poet that life is but a joke played on the living. Despite his disillusionment, Gershon must fight to keep his faith from dissolving in the face of unspeakable horror.

Members Reviews:

Powerful and unique approach. Read this book!

This book should be part of mainstream Holocaust literature. The author's approach is unique as he considers the musings of a faithful man on a train toward his doom. While it is a short book, it should be read slowly and carefully to fully grasp the references that are so skillfully inserted throughout the text. Through the eyes of one "poet", the reader is challenged to alter thoughts and perceptions. Powerful read.

I liked it.

I picked it because my nephew wrote it and was pleased with his blend of poetry and prose to illustrate the battle for a man's faith as he faced the holocaust. How could he continue to have faith that the Messiah will come? For he may have already come and been selected for special treatment by the Nazis....and yet?

Five Stars

It was a deep and unique view of a dark subject. The poetry was what touched me.

... reading it on a kindle adds a dimension both good and bad

It is a curious read and reading it on a kindle adds a dimension both good and bad. Set to a large font, I would sometimes take in pages in a speed reading like fashion. Sometimes it felt like a was watching a movie. The poetry and "Interludes" along with a running and often rambling narrative make for a not your typical read kind of book. The "Interlude 3- Two Old Women" I found intense and compelling. There is great sadness, depth and occasional quirky humor and insights to this reading.

Huge in scope

Elkin could have written a straight faced account of a jewish man on a train heading to a death camp, but instead we are caught in a roaming free float of thought of faith in the face of no hope and death.

This is no light read but far from a depressing read. I'll keep an eye if this author brings out anything else

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Title: Marriage Material

Author: Sathnam Sanghera

Narrator: Asif Khan

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-06-14

Publisher: Whole Story Audiobooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

To Arjan Banga, returning to the Black Country after the unexpected death of his father, his family's corner shop represents everything he has tried to leave behind. But when his mother insists on keeping the shop open, he finds himself being dragged back, forced into big decisions about his imminent marriage back in London, and uncovering the history of his broken family.

Critic Reviews:

"A stunning novel...touching and funny and feels so fresh...it just leaps off the page. I adored it" (Deborah Moggach)

Members Reviews:

Try 'The old wives tale' instead

Any additional comments?

I feel that this is a pale copy of Arnold Bennett's 'The Old Wives' Tale' without the depth or realism of that classic and with a frankly ludicrous ending. Read the original, skip this.

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Title: Born Burning

Author: Thomas Sullivan

Narrator: John Feather

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-21-14

Publisher: Crossroad Press

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

It's a chair that has been passed down from generation to generation. But ten-year-old Joey refuses to go near it - even though it seems terribly important to Joey's father and uncle. Because the chair is part of a family tradition. A tradition in which Joey must take his place-no matter how terrifying...

Members Reviews:

A good story, terrible narration.

Any additional comments?

While I enjoyed the story, the quality of narration was awful! The narrator messed us words, repeated himself, hit the microphone and pretty much ruined the book though I think that's more to do with the need for an editor because he did do a great job with the voices and bringing the atmosphere to life. I just couldn't get past the many mistakes.

The book itself was good. The idea of the chair and what it made the little boy feel was incredibly creepy. The author has created an intriguing and scary read and I will definitely check out more by him! His descriptive writing and attention to detail was amazing and he drew me in from the start, it's just a pity the quality was so bad.

*I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Born Burning

This was a difficult book to get through.The narration was so so and there was a LOT of repetition of lines.The story of a cursed chair being passed down to the oldest boy in the next generation was a good one.The characters and the chair story could have been fleshed out more.This audiobook was provided to me at no cost for a fair and honest review

Modern Day Gothic Terror

What made the experience of listening to Born Burning the most enjoyable?

I wouldn't exactly call listening to the book "enjoyable". It was a modern day Gothic horror tale. It was well developed, written and original.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Joey, he was brave, intelligent, resourceful and insightful.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Joey's manipulative, maleficent, sinister, sadistic uncle met his fate.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Joey received his epiphany about his uncle's intent and motive.

Any additional comments?

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot come

The story wasn't really my cup of tea, however it was a very good original tale. It was well written and developed. Both Joey and his mother were both concurrently going through a similar personal battle as Joey's mom had her own uncle Luse to deal with at work. Joey's mom realized something was amiss with Joey, however was completely out of tunes as to what the problem was. After Joey's father's death Joey's mother enlisted Joey's uncle Luse to help mentor Joey. Little does she know uncle Luses true sadistic nature.

Very well written psychological horror tale.

Would you try another book from Thomas Sullivan and/or John Feather?

Definitely. This book was very well written, with many layers and subtle twists. The author did a great job in consealing if the chair was supernatural or not, left people guessing and thinking.