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Title: Flynn of the Inland

Author: Ion Idriess

Narrator: David Baldwin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-26-13

Publisher: Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Since the early days of settlement men, women, and children have battled the harshness of outback Australia to survive and in many cases prosper. But the price for settlement was high in the early days. Medical assistance was often thousands of miles away and children were raised without the benefit of education. The Australian Inland Mission, founded and led by the indomitable John Flynn, was the first organisation to recognise the unique needs of outback Australians. Here is Ion Idriess' classic account of Flynn's struggles and achievements as he sought to fulfill his dreams of bringing safety and communication to the outback Australians whom he loved and admired.

Critic Reviews:

"It is impossible to read this book and remain untouched by the greatness of John Flynn's inspiration." (The Morning Post)

Members Reviews:

Great story, well read

should be read by all Australians to get a feel for times past and the hard work and vision that makes this country great.

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Title: Boy Friend?: Go Girl!, Book 23

Author: Meredith Badger

Narrator: Ruby Rees-Wemyss

Format: Unabridged

Length: 48 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-26-13

Publisher: Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

A boy cant be a bestie, can he? Mia and Jack are great friends - they live next door to each other and they like the same things. But what happens when everyone thinks hes her boyfriend?

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Title: A Kid for Two Farthings

Author: Wolf Mankowitz

Narrator: Steve West

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-24-13

Publisher: Audible Studios for Bloomsbury

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

A six-year-old boy in the British immigrant community of Whitechapel believes he has discovered a unicorn for sale at the market. Though it looks to most people like a white goat with a bump on its head, young Joe is certain it will make the dreams of his friends and neighbors come true - a reunion with his father in Africa, a steam press for a tailor shop, a ring for a girlfriend. Others may be skeptical of the unicorns magic, but with enough effort, Joe believes he can make it all real.

Members Reviews:

A Kid for Two Farthings (book)

A Kid for Two Farthings is a charming story about a young boy and his neighbors living in a hard-scrabble neighborhood in London in the 1950s. The boy is told that a unicorn is a magical being that can grant wishes. When he sees a kid (a young goat) that has only one horn, he insists it's a unicorn and buys it for two farthings. Will his wishes come true? This lovely little story was made into an equally lovely film.

Occasionally sending money but more often bad news. Kadinsky dreams of owning a steam presser ...

A slice of life novella set in the Aldgate slum of London in the 1950s, as seen through the eyes of a six year old. Joe and his mother are boarders with elderly Mr Kandinsky, a trouser maker, along with Shmule, an up and coming wrestler. Joe's father is somewhere in Africa, occasionally sending money but more often bad news. Kandinsky dreams of owning a steam presser so he can stay in business. He makes up stories about unicorns and wishes which inspire Joe to purchase a pet goat from the market (convinced it is a unicorn) so that he can wish everyone into a better life.

The book uses a stream of consciousness approach. The book was also also made into a movie which brought Mankowitz into the film business. Mankowitz was also noteworthy for introducing Cubby Broccoli to Harry Saltzman who owned the film rights to Fleming's James Bond and he worked as a screenwriter (unaccredited) on Dr. No.

'He held...a piece of tattered string, and at the end of the string a small unicorn'

Whimsical little story set among the Jewish community of London's East End of the 30s. Vivid descriptions transport you to a very different world- the markets, the struggling clothing manufacturers, the wrestling matches...

The hero of the book, 6 year old Joe, lives with his mother (his father is away in Africa on unspecified business) over Mr Kandinsky's tailor shop. While his mother works at a milliner's, Joe spends most of his time with the tailor, and a bond grows between them.

Mr Kandinsky tells Joe about unicorns, a wonderful description combining magic and pragmatism:

'Every animal when it was made by the Almighty was given one extra-special present...But the unicorn got the most special present of all. He was given a magic horn...It could grant anybody's wish- straight off. And this horn consequently was worth Â10,000 cash on sight'.

So when Joe sees a unicorn (a small deformed goat) going for five bob, he has to have it.

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Title: Crossing the Lines

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Melvyn Bragg

Narrator: Alan Robertson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 16 hrs and 1 min

Language: English

Release date: 02-23-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Set in Britain during the 1950s, this moving and evocative novel follows the intertwined fates of people crossing boundaries in their lives - from growing older to growing up, from first love to leaving home. Vividly conveying the spirit of the mid-century and the profound social changes taking place at the time, this is an enthralling successor to the award-winning The Soldier's Return and A Son of War.

Editorial Reviews:

A prolific and prominent British writer, Melvyn Bragg is known for his introspective eye. The novel Crossing the Lines follows a cast of characters from all different walks of life as they navigate the changing landscape that is mid-century England. In Bragg's interwoven narratives, life and love are lost and found. Alan Robertson's authentic voice performance brings weight to these already dignified tales. Bragg's dynamic portraits of postwar Englishmen and women is an unflinching yet sympathetic treatment of a society in the midst of great transformation.

Critic Reviews:

"Marvellous...richly detailed and extraordinarily poignant" (David Robson, Sunday Telegraph)

"Bragg brilliantly conveys Joe's youthful idealism and the ultimate dislocation from family and community that will be experienced by the working-class lad (or lass) who manages to win a university education ...I, frankly, can't wait to read what happens next." )Val Hennessy, Daily Mail)

"If you want to know what Labour England after 1945 was really like, I cannot recommend [it] too highly...His three novels on the subject put even the historians in the shade." (Michael Foot, Guardian)

Members Reviews:

Disappointing sequel

I read the first one "Son of War" and loved it but found this one disappointing. Too much delving into his school work.

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Title: Ten Guns and a Wheel Chair

Author: Will Bevis

Narrator: Lynn Benson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 16 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-21-13

Publisher: Will Bevis

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

A 12-year-old is depressed. He is confined to his wheelchair for a lifetime. He wants another gun. He has 10 already.

What do you do?

And....

It's Christmas. You love your three-year-old more than anything else in this world. Would you buy him or her...a real gun?

One family did.

About the author: Will Bevis is a writer of short stories, articles, and memoirs. His best-known story is The Killing of Train-Man Brown, which hit the Top-100 Free List for Kindle on Amazon.com.

Members Reviews:

Tough subject: people have very definite, but quite different, opinions as to a solution

Well, it takes strength to stand up for your beliefs - especially when others feel just as strongly as you do about the subject, but you are on opposite sides of the issue. So I have to admire Will for standing up for his beliefs.

However, in the middle of the book, there is a note saying it had been four years since the first half of the story had been written. That part of the story ended with Will writing a story about guns, keeping them away from children, other safety issues, etc. and his making another donation to (the as of that time not yet elected President) Obama. I didn't really see how writing a check to Obama would help, but I guess if it worked for Will, it was okay.

The second half of the book gives more information about gun safety, accidents, etc. The entire gun control issue has been a hot topic for MANY years now - WAY before Obama. It will be a hot topic for many years to come. Both sides of the issue have STRONG feelings, and neither side wants to compromise. Both sides have valid points, but they will not concede to the opposing side. Until they do, nothing will change, and nothing will be accomplished.

If we truly WANT to make this issue safer for our children and families, the two sides are going to HAVE to come together and talk. But even more than that, everyone will have to follow the rules that are set in place. To get people to actually do THAT may truly be asking for a miracle.

However, this book is another fine place to start a discussion. And unlike some other books, it is a short, quick read that is not unpleasant or boring. It holds your interest without being too statistical or morbid or dull.

Take the few minutes it takes to read the book, think about the subject once again, and see what you can contribute to solving the problem. We really need to make this a safe place for our kids, and sometimes we cannot agree on how to do that even within the same family. For the sake of the children, we need to do a better job. Will's nephew is a testament to that.

A Point Well-Made

My review of this title is solely based on the message it contains. Pure and simple, guns and kids don't mix, regardless of their ages - regardless of their experience and training. A teen hunting with his parent or guardian keeping a close eye on him is one thing but leaving loaded guns around a house is not acceptable for anyone, regardless of their station in life. Giving a toddler a real gun for Christmas? Come on! It's time for people to really think about their actions. Reading parts of this short read broke my heart and, worst, all of the tragedies could have been prevented.

Ten guns and a wheelchair

This book is short and to the point.

It talks of death of a tiny child and the fear that people have whether they have guns or not.

There seems to be two diametrically opposing thoughts on how to protect your family in America.

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Title: Sherlock Holmes and the Murder at Lodore Falls

Author: Charlotte Smith

Narrator: Ric Jerrom

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 55 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-19-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

From the well-worn tin dispatch box belonging to Dr J. H. Watson, three untold stories are brought to light.

In Sherlock Holmes and The Murder At Lodore Falls, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are drawn into a case that involves murder, blackmail and robbery. It is a case that leads to danger to both Homes and Watson and brings a confrontation with their old adversary. With Dr Watson facing his own personal nightmares, will Holmes be able to solve the mystery and help his troubled friend? The two other tales are Christmas stories.

In The Adventure Of The Wooden Boat, Dr Watson is haunted by an old tragedy and copes by building a model boat, which is an old family tradition. In The Call of Angels, Dr Watson has an accident while travelling back to Baker Street and is aided by a mysterious stranger. Who is this mysterious stranger?

Members Reviews:

Novelette and two short essays

Sherlock Holmes and the Murder at Lodore Falls by Charlotte Smith

This is the first Holmes book published by Ms Smith, a member of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London and founding member and Liverpool and Wirral Sherlock Holmes Society

The book consists of three stories, the titular novelette and two short stories. If I were to choose one word for the theme that runs through all three it would be âcamaraderie.â The three stories give the reader a sense of just what these two friends mean to each other as they face various dangers.

Sherlock Holmes and the Murder at Lodore Falls

First of all, the book makes no effort to name Watson as the writer. Thus one does not expect it to flow in the same vein as an original story from the canon. This book is written by a third party.

At the start of the story, two cousins and a friend from the Army have gone into business together. Matthew Crowther, Brett Sullivan, and Danny Petersonâs Civil Engineering company has a formula for gelata lignis, given to Matthew by a friend to experiment and ascertain its value as an explosive.

Like many struggling companies, the firm has need of investors, and one company, Sykeâs Holdings, Ltd, has invested an unnamed amount into the research.

Now the three partners are in danger from a criminal organization known as The James Gang. Determined to get the formula at any cost, the gang murders Matthew at Lodore Falls. He had slipped the formula into his watch and had it posted to his cousin.

The cousin, Brett Sullivan and his friend Danny Peterson now come under attack so Sullivan visits Holmes.

The trail leads through deserted docks, another murder, back alleys and odd corners of London before the gang confronts Holmes and Watson. Both wounded and marked for death by an old foe, how will they survive?

Itâs a good story if a bit slow paced and I give it four out of five stars.

âThe Call of Angelsâ is set at Christmastime. Watson has had a long day at his surgery, and missed the last cab home to 221B. Holmes is in a dither as the weather is bad, and Watsonâs leg unable to bear a lot of stress.

Shortcutting through Hyde Park, Watson falls and is knocked unconscious. He awakes helped by a man who says he is the caretaker of the park. Holmes has gone in search of Watson, reasoned that he may be in the park, and is told by the same man where Watson is.

The story dips into the supernatural, which some Holmes readers may chaff at, but the mystical quality isnât all that bad.

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Title: Open Doors

Author: Gloria Goldreich

Narrator: Pam Ward

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-15-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Acclaimed artist Elaine Gordon can't believe her loving husband is gone. After a lifetime spent utterly devoted to her soul mate and their marriage, Elaine is now tetherless, faced with widowhood and all the decisions that come with it - not least of which is what to do with her rambling, now-empty family home.

Anxious to console their mother in her time of grief, Elaine's four grown children urge her to put everything on hold and spend some healing time with them. But visiting each unique and complicated child opens Elaine's eyes to the fact that the children she raised have become adults she hardly knows: Sarah, who abandoned Western life for an orthodox enclave in Jerusalem; Lisa, Sarah's accomplished twin and polar opposite, who will do anything for a child of her own; Peter, trapped in a hollow marriage in California; and Denis, the youngest, who just wants Elaine to accept his gay lifestyle.

As Elaine tries to bridge the physical and emotional miles, her eyes are opened to the startling truths of her own family, and what she must do to come to terms with her kids' lives - and a future that's completely, wonderfullyhers.

Members Reviews:

Amazing

Excellent story line. Love the ability to read take a break and ability to come back to it without forgetting what you read. Busy life with not a lot of opportunity to sit and read.

Chick Lit for Grandmothers

This book is one step above a harlequin romance. It is filled with trite characters, trite scenes and an unbelievable marriage. The author uses $50 words where a $5 word will do. She loves using the word "sere", for example ,when that will mean nothing to the average reader who selects her book. One saving grace is that the 487 pages are in larger than average print and thus will take half as long to read. She knows her reader is an older woman.

Five Stars

Good vintage Gloria Goldreich.

Open Doors

The book fascinated me from its preview. It is exactly where I seem to be at this stage of my life. In addition, I have spoken to many other widows with very similar situations. Not exactly a problem but yet could become one with the wrong decision. I could feel for her. Made me feel like I'm not alone with a similar problem...what to do. I enjoyed the book and found it very easily to put myself in the character of the widow. Arlene Angel

Easy read

Interesting read! Most entertaining

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Title: Invitation to the Married Life

Author: Angela Huth

Narrator: Matt Wilkinson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-14-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 2 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

The married couples in this book have two things in common: a skill in the duplicity that flourishes even in happy marriages, and an invitation to the Farthingoes ball. In the months preceding the party, we learn something of their double lives: The faces that each one exposes to their spouses and to the world give little hint of their complex and secret tribulations. By the time they arrive at the ball, each clutching his or her different hopes and fears, we have become familiar with their unsmooth paths, and shared many a humorous escapade or private tragedy with Rachel and Thomas, Mary and Bill, Ursula and Martin, Frances and Toby, as well as the alluring R. Cotterman and the only questing bachelor, Ralph.

Sophisticated, sympathetic, witty, and razor-sharp in its observations of the sub-text of married life, this is a wonderfully accomplished and enjoyable novel which develops totally out of the characters it creates.

About the author: Huth is the daughter of the actor Harold Huth. She left school at age 16 in order to paint and to study art in both France and Italy. At 18 she travelled, mostly alone, across the United States before returning to England to work on a variety of newspapers and magazines. She married journalist and travel writer Quentin Crewe and soon became known most for her writing, having written three collections of short stories and 11 novels. She also writes plays for radio, television and stage, and is a well-known freelance journalist, critic, and broadcaster. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Members Reviews:

Narrator should be ashamed of himself

What would have made Invitation to the Married Life better?

A different reader

Would you be willing to try another book from Angela Huth? Why or why not?

Yes - the story is pleasant. Not earth-shakingly great literature, but a good story.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator does a perfectly acceptable job until he voices a female character. For all female voices, he uses a horrible music hall falsetto. It sounds like something out of Monty Python, and it's completely out of place. It's so bad, in fact, that I cannot finish the book. It ruins the listening experience altogether.

You didnt love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

As I said, a pretty good story. What a shame the narrator is more enamored of his drag queen voice than of the author's words.

Any additional comments?

Can I get a refund?

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Title: No Wonder I Take a Drink

Author: Laura Marney

Narrator: Laura Marney

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-14-13

Publisher: Saraband

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Voted one of the 20 best Scottish books of all time in The List magazine. A biting laugh-out-loud satire" (Louise Welsh) Digitally re-mastered with author revision, new edit & BONUS creative writing master class on creating a sense of place.

Trisha, a lonely unsentimental boozer, unexpectedly inherits a home in the Highlands. She leaves her estranged husband, her insolent teenage son and her boring job. Having pictured a rural idyll, she finds rain, sheep, and kamikaze midges. And more rain.

Critic Reviews:

"Laura Marney is one of Scotland's best-kept literary secrets. This is a biting laugh-out-loud satire which is never crueller than life. Marney's unlikely heroine meets life head on and lives on in the reader's imagination long after the book is finished. An energetic, edgy book with wide appeal." (Louise Welsh.)

"Laura Marney writes about strong characters who are utterly believable and all too human. She consistently examines their experiences, relationships and foibles with insight, compassion and a rollicking, earthy humour, which makes for great reading." (Zoe Strachan)

"A gently humorous take on an incomer's life in the West Highlands" (Guardian)

"Biting wit, brilliant characterisation and hilarious antics - whether you are 16 or 60, you'll be rocking in your chair." (Scottish Daily Record)

"Marney's book is consistently engaging and hits all the right notes" (Glasgow Herald)

Members Reviews:

Why so schoolmasterly?

Very sarcastic, very funny.

Pretty good until the last chapter where the book turns into a "don't drink so much alcohol" lesson. According to the author because of her history but hey: there is no real need for such a book. At least not when in 98% in it is pretty funny. Partly because of the the alcohol consumption.

Beside that: very well written, definitely liked it.

Three Stars

Good read had a good chuckle

No wonder I liked this book

Having lived in Scotland in the early 90s and having an adventurous personality, I loved this book as it took me straight back to all my travels through Scotland to quirky towns and even quirkier people. When Trisha, the main character is 'forced' to leave her home and move to a new house, new town, and new life, I couldn't stop turning the pages to see what was next for this believable character. For all those girls who may not make the best decisions or find that they have the perfect life, Trisha is someone to resonate with on so many levels. You can't help but laugh, cry and be anxious with her, as well as enjoying a drink or two with her as well.

Laura's ability to capture the language, culture and special quirks of a small Scottish town kept me smiling from the first page to the last. This book (as I have read three of the author's) also has a nice mysterious edge to it as well.

Well worth a read.

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Title: The Writing on the Wall

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: W. D. Wetherell

Narrator: Gwen Hughes

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-12-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

When Vera decides to travel to an old house in the New England countryside for a month-long escape from some devastating news about her daughter, Cassie, she has no idea her life is about to change forever. It begins innocently enoughpeeling the old wallpaper from the walls as a favor to the houses owner. What she discovers underneathwritten in India ink on the very walls of the house by a woman named Beth, in 1919is the beginning of the readers unsettling crossing into the unknown world underneath the paper.

The Writing on the Wall is a brilliantly realized journey into the connected lives of three women whose stories span a century, linked by the house they all briefly inhabit, and by the tragedies they've had to endure. And it's not just their own stories that reveal themselves. A brilliant schoolteacher, back from the war in the trenches, finds the pupils of his dreams. A young Vietnam draftee makes a stubbornly quirky separate peace. The moody, dangerously charismatic leader of a commune becomes the unlikeliest of heroes. An ordinary housewife's lonely battle propels her onto the national stage. A girl sent to Iraq tries making sense of the chaos and the pain. The Writing on the Wall is about stories that can't be told, but must be toldabout secrets that can't be shared, but must be sharedand the surprising ways people find to confront the truth.

Editorial Reviews:

W. D. Wetherell's absorbing conceptual narrative begins with a woman named Vera attempting to escape her troubles in an abandoned old house in the country. When she peels back the wallpaper, however, she notices that the home's previous owners have written the stories of their lives on the walls. Gwen Hughes depicts the unfolding surprises in The Writing on the Wall with precision, which gives the connecting tales of each of these women an appropriate power, showing how the unity of tragedy and heartbreak knows no temporal boundary.

Members Reviews:

What a Story!

When the story began with what seemed endless paper peeling, I wondered why a friend had recommended The Writing on the Wall. But as soon as Beth's tale began, I was hooked. Along with the two accounts uncovered on the walls of an old house, the main character Vera adds hers. She is helping to fix up her sister's summer house by stripping wall paper and adding new and is herself trying to understand the unrest in her own life. Wetherell wraps these stories in a deep sense of place, the remote woods of New England. Included are subtle references to the importance of the written word, the ugliness of bigotry, and the futility and shame of war.

THE BEST FROM THE BEST

Oh, my. WD Wetherell has written some of my favorite non-fiction books (Vermont River and Upland Stream); my all-time favorite short stories (The Man Who Loved Levittown; The Bass, The River and Sheila Mant) and now has produced what promises to be one of my favorite novels. The Writing on The Wall is cleverly designed -- no -- let's make that brilliantly structured -- to tell the story of three women who are seeking to make sense of their untenable lives. The setting, rural Vermont, is depicted in the precise and poetic language we have come to expect from Wetherell. We come to know the characters as well as we know ourselves --and care about them as we care about our friends. I can't recommend this book highly enough.