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Title: The Vancouver Rendezvous

Subtitle: The Deer/Dear Hunt, Book 2

Author: Alan Oberdeck

Narrator: Josh Kilbourne

Format: Abridged

Length: 5 hrs and 49 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-16-10

Publisher: Tate Publishing

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

For the past six months, Peter Waldmann has been looking forward to his meeting with Linda Leigh Swanson, the long-lost love of his life, at the Vancouver airport. He has such a grand vacation planned! The day has finally arrived, but when Linda comes out of customs at the airport, Peter senses something is terribly wrong.

In the second book of The Deer/Dear Hunt series, author Alan M. Oberdeck follows Peter as he tries to be with Linda on a two-week vacation, while at the same time trying to find out just what is going wrong with the relationship he is trying so hard to establish. Can Peter, a competent salesman, find a way to build up her confidence so she trusts him? Or will Linda decide to leave early and return to Edgerton and the new life she is building there? Vacation with Peter and Linda as they learn more and more about each other and try to work out their relationship and answer two important questions: What is this space that separates them? And, more importantly, can they bridge the gulf?

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Title: The Holy City

Author: Patrick McCabe

Narrator: Humphrey Bower

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 1 min

Language: English

Release date: 03-01-10

Publisher: Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Now entering his 67th year, Chris McCool can confidently call himself a member of the Happy Club: he has an attractive and exceedingly accommodating Croatian girlfriend and has been told he bears more than a passing resemblance to Roger Moore. As he looks back on the glory days of his youth, he recalls the swinging 60s of rural Ireland: a decade in which the cool cats sang along to Lulu and drove around in Ford Cortinas, when swinging meant wearing velvet trousers and shirts with frills, and where Dolores McCausland - Dolly Mixtures to those who knew her best - danced on the tops of tables and set the pulses of every man in small-town Cullymore racing.

Chris McCool had it all back then. He had the moves, he had the car, and he had Dolly, a woman who purred suggestive songs and tugged gently at her skin-tight dresses, a Protestant femme fatale who was glamorous, transgressive, and who called him her very own 'Mr Wonderful'.

She was, in short, the answer to this bastard son of a Catholic farmer's prayers. Except that there was another Mr Wonderful in town, a certain Marcus Otoyo - a young Nigerian with glossy curls and a dazzling devoutness that was all but irresistible. Although Chris, of course, was interested in Marcus only because of their shared religious fervour and mutual appreciation of the finer things. That was all. Besides, Mr McCool was always a hopeless romantic - some even described him as excessively so - but is there anything wrong with that?

Editorial Reviews:

Irish novelist Patrick McCabe concocts a fascinating - and unreliable - protagonist in Chris McCool, reminiscing on a wild life back in the swinging '60s, complete with Mod fashions and groovy tunes, and his unhealthy obsessions with a Protestant seductress named Delores and a devoutly Catholic Nigerian named Marcus, which eventually led to his incarceration in a psychiatric ward for an untold crime. McCool is an entertaining antihero whom Humphrey Bower embodies with verve, his brogue alternately suggesting playfulness, anger, and a pleasantly wistful quality as he looks back on a life that may or may not be true.

Critic Reviews:

"McCabe slowly transforms his unreliable narrator from a campy Austin Powers-like figure to a sick creep with a violent streak. A mesmerizing but unsettling read." (Booklist)

Members Reviews:

The audio book is also an excellent listen, superbly read

This is a comical, wicked tale, peppered with nostalgia and dark humour. A thoroughly enjoyable read. The audio book is also an excellent listen, superbly read.

Haunting

Chris McCool is the narrator of Patrick McCabe's new novel, The Holy City. At age 67, McCool is reminiscing about his life, and the narrator zigs and zags across time periods that it can take the reader a while to feel settled. Born as the illegitimate child of a rich Protestant and poor Catholic farmer, McCool's small town formation was packed with prejudice and insularity. In the 1960s McCool embraced a campy lifestyle that offered some promise to release him from the constraints of his upbringing. While he's dating an older woman, McCool can't quite overcome his obsession with a Nigerian Catholic boy. The darkness of religious and sexual confusion seem to converge. McCool becomes institutionalized. Forty years later, while living with a wife who loves him, McCool reflects on his promise and the degree to which his madness was been cured.

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Title: Flanagans Run

Author: Tom McNab

Narrator: Rupert Degas

Format: Abridged

Length: 4 hrs and 42 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-19-10

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

During the Depression the ebullient American entrepreneur Charles Flanagan assembles 2,000 runners from all corners of the earth, to run from Los Angeles to New York for prize-money of $150,000. Flanagans Trans-America runners face 3,000 miles, across the Mojave desert and the frozen Rockies, running a daily average of 50 miles for three months. The American sports establishment, however, is desperate to crush what it sees as a professional challenge to the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. Every day is therefore a struggle for survival, for Flanagan himself as well as the runners. Flanagans Run is an epic tale, and a testimony to the strength of the human spirit.

Editorial Reviews:

In 1931, wheeler-dealer, gambler, and promoter Charles Flanagan offers an enormous jackpot to the winner of the first-ever Trans-America race. Over 2,000 people sign on, including professional and amateur athletes; ordinary, out-of-shape folks hit hard by the Depression; a contingent of Hitler Youth; a burlesque dancer; and many others. The novel chronicles far more than a cross-country footrace, and narrator Rupert Degas keeps the 3,000-mile journey exciting, exhilarating, and exhausting. Degas gives substance to McNab's detailed character snapshots with impeccable accents and energetic personality shifts. His narration of the constantly changing American landscape provides a keen sense of place. Degas's sensitive performance of this epic adventure makes the listener the clear winner.

Members Reviews:

A great read and a fond memory

I remember this book so fondly when it first came out in the 80s and when I spoke with some young marathon runners who had never heard of it, I ordered it and read it again with the same enthusiasm. Then I lent it to the marathon runners. Have not heard their reaction yet.

Prudence in Pennsylvania.

Chariots of Fire's rambunctious little brother.

First, let me say, as an endorsement of this book, I submit that I read a few chapters of it (7 and 8 in fact) serialized and in installments in the bi-monthly magazine "Marathon and Beyond": but I had just that one issue, Jan./Feb. of 2008 I believe and thought, wow! These two chapters are captivating reading, I've got to read this whole book! So I went to amazon and ordered it pronto and I'm glad I did. The serialized version in the magazine also contained illustrations adding to the story. That may have only been something the magazine did.

This is in some ways, the little brother ofChariots of Fire (Two-Disc Special Edition)and it is a very historic novel. As an example, I certainly did not know that in fact, there were Olympics games held in Athens in 1906, yes and that throws the 4 year timing of the normally accepted Olympics off; so in fact, those were not accepted as being Olympics but came to be called the "Intercalated games" (look it up) with the Olympics proper being held in St. Louis in 1904 and then there were the 1908 games held London. It all gets rather interesting, but little historic tidbits the book gives you sets your mind to wondering. Those games held in St. Louis in fact, were originally going to be held in Chicago. The 1904 World's Fair was in St. Louis, so somehow they moved the games there too, as Paris I believe had them both at the same time. Of course, I have pondered the meaning of the historic event mentioned most frequently in the book and that has to do with the 1908 Marathon with Dorando Pietri.

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Title: Transmission

Author: Hari Kunzru

Narrator: Hari Kunzru

Format: Abridged

Length: 5 hrs and 11 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-19-10

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Transmission, Hari Kunzru's new novel of love and lunacy, immigration and immunity, introduces a daydreaming Indian computer geek whose luxurious fantasies about life in America are shaken when he accepts a California job offer.

Lonely and naive, Arjun Mehta spends his days as a lowly assistant virus tester and pining away for his free-spirited colleague Christine. Arjun gets laid-off like so many of his Silicon Valley peers. In an act of desperation to keep his job, he releases a mischievous but destructive virus around the globe that has major unintended consequences. As world order unravels, so does Arjun's sanity, in a rollicking cataclysm that reaches Bollywood and, not so coincidentally, the glamorous star of Arjun's favorite Indian movie.

Award-winning novelist Hari Kunzru was hailed as a "modern-day Kipling," for his bestselling debut, The Impressionist. With this exuberant follow-up, Kunzru takes an ultracontemporary turn in a stylish, playful, and wicked exploration of life at the click of a mouse.

Members Reviews:

Arjun Creates Havoc on the World!

I very much enjoyed Hari Kunzru's more recent books, so I picked up Transmission not knowing at all what it was about. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that its main character was a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) named Arjun who comes from Noida in NCR, India. (All while reading this book while I was sitting in Delhi!). The book is about a young man named Arjun who is a techie in India and signs up with a shady recruiting firm and gets placed into a job in the US that doesn't quite work out. He is out of work and despondent down to his last few dollars and then gets called to work at a security firm in Redmond, WA--very close to Microsoft. He starts work and befriends an alternative-looking and acting girl named Chris who introduces him to many aspects of "free" America including teaching him how to drive. When his company falls on tough times, he is laid off and as a result will be deported back to India. In an last ditch effort to stay, he unleashes a massive virus on the world named for a famous Pakistani actress. I found to be the book quite exciting and quick moving. Kunzru does his typical good work developing the various main and side-show characters including a super interesting and devoid of intelligence marketing consultant. I highly recommend the book to Kunzru readers and to anyone up for a solid well-written read.

Well, it was OK...

I bought a used copy of Transmission because I was thinking of buying Hari Kunzru'sGods Without Menand I wanted to see what sort of writer Mr. Kunzru is. The answer is: he's OK, but not great. After I finished the book (which was in excellent condition) I gave it to the library for resale, since I'm not going to read it again.

The major problem with Transmission, and the reason that I could not give it a better review was plotting. Transmission is one of those novels where characters that seemingly have no connection are separate plot threads. Usually the author brings the threads together as the characters unexpectedly intersect each other's lives. The intersection in Transmission is tangential at best. There is a weak attempt to pull the threads together, but it's tenuous at best.

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Title: The Swan Thieves

Author: Elizabeth Kostova

Narrator: Treat Williams, Anne Heche

Format: Unabridged

Length: 17 hrs and 58 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-10-10

Publisher: Hachette Audio UK

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Psychiatrist Andrew Marlowe has a perfectly ordered life--solitary, perhaps, but full of devotion to his profession and the painting hobby he loves.

This order is destroyed when renowned painter Robert Oliver attacks a canvas in the National Gallery of Art and becomes his patient.

In response, Marlowe finds himself going beyond his own legal and ethical boundaries to understand the secret that torments this genius, a journey that will lead him into the lives of the women closest to Robert Oliver and toward a tragedy at the heart of French Impressionism.

Ranging from American museums to the coast of Normandy, from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth, from young love to last love, The Swan Thieves is a story of obsession, the losses of history, and the power of art to preserve human hope.

Members Reviews:

Good combo of 19th & 21st century love stories.

What did you like best about this story?

I found the simularities and differences between the 19th and 21st century love stories striking.This story spoke to the artist within me - I could smell the paint and it just made me want to pick up a paint brush again. The story also renewed an old interest I had in art history. It made me curious about impressionism and the famous artists like Monet that we've heard about many times before.

What does Treat Williams and Anne Heche bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

The reading was very good, but it was made even better by the good writing.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

After listening this book I immediately went to look for other books from the same author. The writer did excellent research on art history, which made the book interesting (not boring, as I would have thought reading this comment).

***May contain Spoilers ! ***

I bought this as I had really enjoyed Kostova's 'The Historian' and the subject of art is something I am interested in.

Unfortunately I found The Swan Thieves tedious, I had no sympathy towards any of the characters.

The whole story seemed to be finding out who the mysterious subject of Robert Oliver's paintings was, to me this was obvious from early on yet the main character a psychiatrist Andrew Marlow, who had all the info the reader had, failed to work it out and just spent all his time talking to people close to Oliver hoping to find the answer. These included Oliver's ex wife Kate and his girlfriend Mary, who although had gone out of her way to meet Marlow and talk to him then only felt able to write episodic letters to him, which unfolded her whole life history to him including a description of using a tampon (!). To be fair the story wasn't helped by the narrating, the only voice I enjoyed listening too was 'Mary', and 'Beatrice' just sounded like someone from 'Ello 'Ello. There were times when the timeline/voice changed and I found myself physically groaning. Maybe if I had read rather than listened to the book I would have enjoyed it more, but I doubt it. In fact I am over half way through and have decided to give up, something I haven't as yet done on an audio book, but have decided life is too short !

Not as good as The Historian

I, too, enjoyed Kostova's early work but found this novel hard going. I persevered to the end hoping it would get better, but it never did.

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Title: Songbird

Author: Josephine Cox

Narrator: Carole Boyd

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-04-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

In the riverside town of Bedford, four students can hear the haunting voice of a woman singing. The beautiful melody is coming from their neighbour a reclusive creature who never opens the door to anyone or leaves her home in daylight.

They have no way of knowing that the woman next door, Madeleine Delaney, is driven by a dangerous memory that for over 20 years has controlled her meagre existence....

Madeleines angelic voice and striking looks capture the hearts of many. But she only has eyes for club owner Steve Drayton, a devastatingly handsome but terrifying man. Then one night she witnesses a horrific crime, and her life is irrevocably changed forever.

Members Reviews:

Good read

Never read J.Cox for years,and this book did not Dissapointed. A very good story and well narrated.Well done.Josephine Cox.

Better than I expected

At first listening to this audio book I thought 'OH NO THIS IS NOT FOR ME!!' how wrong was I, it was a fantastic listen once I got into the story I listened every spare second I had.Certainly recomend to buy this audio book!!

Slow start, but a hard book to put down by the end

I found this book a little hard to get into at first, but I am so glad I persisted with it. This story is very well written and bit by bit unravels the mystery behind Maddie, the Songbird. Her story is both gripping and heartbreaking and I'm glad it works out for her in the end - even though it took the best part of twenty years for it to do so!

I really enjoyed how all the pieces weaved and interconnected throughout, as the story progressed the puzzle pieces clicked into place.

A most enjoyable read, and I'll be looking for more of Josephine's books to listen to soon. :)

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Title: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency 3: The Chief Justice of Beauty & The Confession (Dramatised)

Author: Alexander McCall Smith

Narrator: Claire Benedict, Nadine Marshall

Format: Original Recording

Length: 1 hr and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-01-10

Publisher: BBC Worldwide Limited

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Here are two stand-alone BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramas adapted by Alexander McCall Smith from his much-loved series. Warm, humorous and uplifting, Alexander McCall Smiths hugely popular novels featuring Precious Ramotswe, proprietor of Botswanas only female private detective agency, have become international bestsellers, sold over seven million copies, and been translated into 26 languages. These acclaimed productions, complete with vibrant music, bring the exotic world of the books vividly to life.

The Chief Justice of Beauty finds the ladies hired by a beauty contest judge to check up on the integrity of the finalists in a forthcoming competition, following the embarrassing arrest for shoplifting of a previous winner. Meanwhile, Mma Ramotsweis worried about her fiancé, Mr J. L. B. Matekoni.

The Confession sees Mma Ramotswe consulting her best friend Mma Potokwane, the matron at the orphanage, to ask for help in dealing with Mr J. L. B. Matekoni. She also has a new client Mr Molefelo, a man with a shameful past who wants Mma Ramotswe to find the two women he has wronged and ask them to forgive him.

Starring Claire Benedict as Mma Ramotswe and Nadine Marshall as Mma Makutsi, these dramatisations are guaranteed to appeal to all fans of the engaging lady detective.

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Title: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency 4: The Kalahari Typing School for Men & The Admirer (Dramatised)

Author: Alexander McCall Smith

Narrator: Claire Benedict, Joseph Marcell

Format: Original Recording

Length: 1 hr and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-01-10

Publisher: BBC Worldwide Limited

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Here are two stand-alone BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramas adapted by Alexander McCall Smith from his much-loved series. Warm, humorous and uplifting, Alexander McCall Smiths hugely popular novels featuring Precious Ramotswe, proprietor of Botswanas only female private detective agency, have become international best sellers, sold over seven million copies, and been translated into 26 languages. These acclaimed productions, complete with vibrant music, bring the exotic world of the books vividly to life.

The Kalahari Typing School for Men opens with bad news for Mma Ramotswe her agency has competition in the form of the Satisfaction Guaranteed Detective Agency, run by a man. Mma Makutsi has entrepreneurial ambitions too, and has conceived the idea of teaching an evening class where men could learn to type.

The Admirer sees Mma Ramotswe commissioned by a physiotherapist to find out what her errant husband is up to. There are also problems at home: one of her foster children, Motheleli, is unhappy, and Mr J. L. B. Matekoni is still reluctant to talk about marriage. Mma Makutsi, however, has found a boyfriend...

Starring Claire Benedict as Mma Ramotswe and Joseph Marcell as Mr J. L. B. Matekoni, these dramatisations are guaranteed to appeal to all fans of the engaging lady detective.

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Title: Becca by the Book

Subtitle: A Getaway Girls Novel

Author: Laura Jensen Walker

Narrator: Laura Derocher

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-01-10

Publisher: Zondervan

Ratings: 2 of 5 out of 8 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Adventurous, off-beat Becca Daniels will try almost anything - purple hair, skydiving, even her book club's crazy challenge. To prove she's not commitment-phobic, Becca agrees to 25 dates with whoever asks her out next. When "churchy" Ben - definitely not Becca's type - calls, the hilarious and eye-opening dates could lead to Becca's greatest adventure yet.

©2010 Laura Jensen Walker (P)2010 Zondervan

Members Reviews:

Plot-less and Pointless...

I read this book expecting a simple romantic Christian fiction that would entertain me on a road trip I was taking. But the more I listened, the more annoyed I got.

Not just because it preached the new extremely liberal view of Christianity, or that the main character was incredibly selfish and quite possibly had no redeeming qualities, or as the other reviewer mentions there are far too many characters. There was absolutely no story, no point to the book. I kept expecting something to happen, a spark to fly with her "love interest" or for her to actually open up to someone, but no... It was flat, insulting to my intelligence as well as my character, and immensely frustrating. You could tell that the author had an agenda, but it was laughable because even she couldn't make her agenda work! Far too many characters and plot points that branched out into a sea of nothingness. Something interesting would start to happen and suddenly there would be 30 minutes of something happening with people who hardly matter in the book at all... if any of them did. And I sat through the whole thing hoping it would get better, that there would be an end of some sort, but nope. Nothing happened. I've never been so annoyed with a book in my life!

Quite sad that I wasted my credit on this one. This is the first book I wish I could return for a refund. I recommend Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers instead. A much better tale on the love of God than this vapid self absorbed nothingness was.

Disappointment beginning to end.

I finished this book, as I kept hoping it would get better. But the end was even more disappointing than the rest of the tedious book. It was VERY Christian-centric, which a lot of times seemed forced. There were lots of extra charracters that didn't add to the story but distracted from the main plotlines. And the end felt like another 5 chapters were condenced into an epilogue. Very disappointed.

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Title: Hummingbirds

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Joshua Gaylord

Narrator: Cynthia Holloway

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-14-09

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

A wonderfully compelling novel about the intertwining - and darkly surprising - relationships between the teachers and students at an all-girl prep school, Hummingbirds marks the debut of author Joshua Gaylord, a prep school teacher himself on New York City's Upper East Side.

Spanning a year at the Carmine-Casey School for Girls, this intimate private-school community becomes tempestuous and dangerously incestuous as the rivalries and secrets of teachers and students interact, intersect, and eventually collide. Ultimately, Hummingbirds poses a fascinating question: who are the adults and who are the children?

Critic Reviews:

"Gaylord's tale of overeducated men and the teenage students who exhibit the finesse and understanding their teachers lack hits all the right notes." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

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excellent vocabulary. good book to choose words for a spelling bee. so far, not much of a story