Audiobooks: When the reader makes or breaks a book

I have almost finished listening to This One and Magic Life by Anne Carroll George.

Anne George (c.____ – 2001) was the Agatha Award-winning author of the Southern Sisters mystery series which culminate in Murder Boogies with Elvis, publishing in August 2001. Like Patricia Anne, she was a happily married former school teacher living in Birmingham, Alabama. Ms. George was also a former Alabama State Poet and a regular contributor to literary publications. During her lifetime she was nominated for several awards, including the Pulitzer. Being a true lady of the Old South, her date of birth will forever be a mystery.

Anne was a dear personal friend. She sent this book to me shortly before her death. She told me that she felt that it was her best work and referred to it as her book about forgiveness. It has been a very long time since a book has moved me so deeply. I recommend it highly. Don’t expect to find the wonderful, silly Southern Sisters anywhere in these pages. DO expect to find grace in all its guises– as beauty, as elegance and, yes, Anne, as forgiveness and redemption. It grieves me that we lost this magnificent writer before she could write more books like this one. DO read her poetry, as well. (review from Amazon)

I had never heard of the author. I found the above information after checking out the audiobook. And I found this, too.

http://www.annegeorge.com/anne.htm

The book was among our nearest  library branch’s very limited audio offerings. And I’m sure it is a wonderful read, but as an audiobook? Well. Here’s the beef.

Why can’t anyone nail a southern accent? Or better yet, why are actors and actresses called upon to narrate these works, when a native could do SO MUCH BETTER?

The reader may as well be Vivian Leigh trying to play many parts. Good lord, all southern women do NOT sound alike.  The men in particular sound just plain ridiculous.

Every single character sounds fake – at best, either drunk or half-asleep. I have to struggle to hear the fine writing behind this pathetic rendering. The book has its magical moments, but personally, picturing the dark-skinned, 10-year-old May (Mai?) from South America talking like mealy-mouth Melanie in GWTW is a bit much.

So to all of the audiobook producers out there: Get some readers with authentic accents to deliver these books. My sister has a good speaking voice and just enough of a southern accent to do the job. C’mon! Do justice to these fine works.

Thanks. I feel better already.

 

Sunday Salon

I’ve been reading poetry on this first day of the Celtic New Year, or the Day of the Dead, or whatever it’s called in other cultures. I think I’m safe in saying that it’s a holy day for many people around the world. I’ve duplicated this post on my journal blog., but my reading blog is where it belongs.  I cropped some of my own photos as illustrations.

 

  

Autumn Movement by Carl Sandburg

I cried over beautiful things knowing no beautiful thing lasts.

The field of cornflower yellow is a scarf at the neck of the copper sunburned woman, the mother of the year, the taker of seeds.

The northwest wind comes and the yellow is torn full of holes, new beautiful things come in the first spit of snow on the northwest wind, and the old things go, not one lasts.

 

The Autumn by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

 

Go, sit upon the lofty hill,
And turn your eyes around,
Where waving woods and waters wild
Do hymn an autumn sound.
The summer sun is faint on them –
The summer flowers depart –
Sit still — as all transform’d to stone,
Except your musing heart.

How there you sat in summer-time,
May yet be in your mind;
And how you heard the green woods sing
Beneath the freshening wind.
Though the same wind now blows around,
You would its blast recall;
For every breath that stirs the trees,
Doth cause a leaf to fall.

Oh! like that wind, is all the mirth
That flesh and dust impart:
We cannot bear its visitings,
When change is on the heart.
Gay words and jests may make us smile,
When Sorrow is asleep;
But other things must make us smile,
When Sorrow bids us weep!

The dearest hands that clasp our hands, –
Their presence may be o’er;
The dearest voice that meets our ear,
That tone may come no more!
Youth fades; and then, the joys of youth,
Which once refresh’d our mind,
Shall come — as, on those sighing woods,
The chilling autumn wind.

Hear not the wind — view not the woods;
Look out o’er vale and hill-
In spring, the sky encircled them –
The sky is round them still.
Come autumn’s scathe — come winter’s cold –
Come change — and human fate!
Whatever prospect Heaven doth bound,
Can ne’er be desolate.

 

As Summer into Autumn slips by Emily Dickinson

As Summer into Autumn slips
And yet we sooner say
“The Summer” than “the Autumn,” lest
We turn the sun away,

And almost count it an Affront
The presence to concede
Of one however lovely, not
The one that we have loved –

So we evade the charge of Years
On one attempting shy
The Circumvention of the Shaft
Of Life’s Declivity.

 

 

 

To Autumn by William Blake

O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stain’d
With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit
Beneath my shady roof; there thou may’st rest,
And tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe,
And all the daughters of the year shall dance!
Sing now the lusty song of fruits and flowers.

‘The narrow bud opens her beauties to
The sun, and love runs in her thrilling veins;
Blossoms hang round the brows of Morning, and
Flourish down the bright cheek of modest Eve,
Till clust’ring Summer breaks forth into singing,
And feather’d clouds strew flowers round her head.

‘The spirits of the air live in the smells
Of fruit; and Joy, with pinions light, roves round
The gardens, or sits singing in the trees.’
Thus sang the jolly Autumn as he sat,
Then rose, girded himself, and o’er the bleak
Hills fled from our sight; but left his golden load.

 

 

Inside their heads

Have you read anything lately that is entirely introspective? You know, all of the action takes place inside the characters’ heads or in their conversations.

I ask because I am listening to such an audiobook, and I want to scream - DO something! GO somewhere! Get in trouble, for crying out loud! Make SOMETHING happen!

I am by no means a fan of action-packed fiction, and I generally love following the thought processes of characters. But when that’s ALL there is, well, I get bored.

Anyone else tired of an author’s navel gazing?

Sunday Salon: Genre Jumping

Fall arrived here in NC sometime yesterday evening, accompanied by the Harvest Moon. She was beautiful. Temperatures dropped about 10 degrees today, and the air was crisp. Just perfect for reading on the front porch – although yesterday was also lovely.

This weekend I read Stardust by Neil Gaiman. What a perfect way to begin the month of October, which ends in a night full of ghosts, goblins, mischief, magic, and mystery, all of which are present in abundance in this so-called fairy tale for adults. The fact that the moon figures prominently in this short read enhanced my experience, I’m sure. I’m not a big fan of the faerie genre by any means, but I loved this little gem. It was the perfect antidote to the Gothic pulp that is The Angel’s Game.

Now I’m reading Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.  Although I have finished only the first three of the thirteen tales, I can already tell that this will be a favorite. I love books that are constructed this way – a series of stories with a linking character or element. Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman remains at the top of my most-loved books. But in Olive Kitteridge, the character, not a house, is the uniting theme, and this character is promising indeed. (Wendy, if you happen to check in, I think you would love this book.)

The year that followed – was it the happiest year of his own life? He often thought so, even knowing that such a thing was foolish to claim about any year of one’s life;  but in his memory, that particular year held no thoughts of an end, and when he drove to the pharmacy in the early morning darkness of winter, then later in the breaking light of spring, the full-throated summer opening before him, it was the samll pleasures of his work that seemed in their simplicities to fill him to the brim.

This year, I’m not mourning the passing of summer as usual. Seasons change, and so will I, as the song goes.

Happy reading by the autumn fire to all.

Changed my blog name

…because it reflects my reading tastes, and also because the former title was lame.

So, lately I read The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, and I do not recommend. But that’s just me, and I don’t review books. I just say if I like them or not.

As a measure of how much I did not like this book, I read the last few pages over about three nights. We’re talking 50 pages to go – an easy one-hour stretch.  In other words, I didn’t care what happened to the protagonist. Never cared for him from the beginning.

On the listening  front, I finished The Floribama Ladies Auxiliary and Sewing Circle. And although the title was never explained in the book – or in any review for that matter – I identified more with the characters. I cared about them, as I did not care about David Martin (of The Angel’s Game).

I do care about this poem. I wanted to read it for a dear friend’s memorial service yesterday, but I lacked the confidence and talent. Here is one of my favorite authors reading the poem I want when it is my day.

Endings

I read many of the book bloggers, but I haven’t seen this question yet:

What book features your favorite ending? Please provide a spoiler-free answer.

Being a Southern gal, I am Gone with the Wind:

After all, tomorrow is another day.

What is your favorite final line?

More beach reading

During the two consecutive long weekends I spent at the beach, I read two books, and although one is old and one new, the two are similar in length and themes.

While we were at Atlantic Beach, I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, which was recently released in paperback.  This is an often LOL-funny and engaging little read – about 275 pages – and one I’ve had my eye on since its hardcover publication. This link summarizes the authors’ intriguing background and the history upon which they based their story.

Island life is always one of my favorite themes, and Guernsey captures life in the Channel Islands well. In some ways, it reminded me of Coastliners, my third-favorite work by JoAnne Harris, author of Chocolat and its sequel, The Girl with No Shadow.

 

 

Last weekend, I read The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas, which I picked up at a used bookshop. At first, I had trouble tracking all of the characters, but it wasn’t long before they became distinct personalities. Set in Kansas during the Depression, the book exceeds its theme of small-town women’s bonds in hardscrabble times by including a page-turning mystery.

Published in 1995, The Persian Pickle Club has motivated me to read other works by the author – I bought used copies The Chili Queen and Tallgrass last week. Here’s a short review of the book, which also weighs in under 300 pages.

I highly recommend both books for light reading that is nonetheless well written – and even informative.

Summer reading

With one notable exception, I am truly engaged in light summer reading  gear.  Here’s what I’ve read and listened to in the past few weeks.

The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood – We’ll begin with the exception.  I’ve read The Handmaid’s Tale and Moral Disorder by this author, and Atwood is certainly not light reading. She’s won or been a finalist for the Booker and other prizes many times, and The Handmaid’s Tale took the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1985. The Robber Bride, written in 1993, is far and away my favorite so far. I plan to read many more of her books. Zenia is an unforgettable character, and the feminist overtone provoked much reflection. I bought it in a used book store – bet you can find it. Highly recommend.

Now, onto the beach reads – and audiobooks that get me to and from the coast.

Bull’s Island by Dorothea Benton Frank, one of the three, three-name Lowcountry writers, as I call them, along with Mary Alice Monroe and Ann Rivers Siddon (whom I haven’t read much). I listened to the audiobook of Bull’s Island, and it provided a light contrast to the darker Atwood book I was reading – although the southern accents of the readers were appalling.

Monroe, who is active in coastal environmental issues, often works her interests into her books, and I’ve learned a few things while enjoying a good romance. Many of Monroe’s and Frank’s books involve characters who move away and distance themselves from family, only to be drawn home to reunite.

Frank follows that formula in Bull’s Island. The author had moved to New York by the time she wrote this book, though, and she made sure readers knew that she is now city savvy – the many dining experiences became a bit tedious for this reader, as did the stereotypical gangsta boyfriend. But I couldn’t help but love the manipulative MIL, a southern version of Phoebe whats-her-name, that wonderfully devious character on The Young and the Restless soap opera I watched decades ago.

Now I’m reading Comfort Food, Kate Jacobs’ follow-up to The Friday Night Knitting Club, which I heard on audio. The book is good enough to keep me going – has all of the elements for a decent chick-lit read. The main character, a food-show hostess, falls way flat, but some of the supporting characters are keeping it interesting enough.

And finally, I’m listening to Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher, and I am loving it. This audiobook is an excellent example of how much the reader can affect the audiobook listening experience. Perhaps if I were from England or Scotland, I would have as much of a problem as I did with the reader of Bull’s Island. But I’m not, so it all sounds right to me. This is another older book that my sister read last year and enjoyed. I thought it would be too fluffy, but I’m enjoying it very much indeed. I highly recommend reading this book around Christmas, which is when the book takes place.

So I’ve gone from Margaret Atwood to Rosamunde Pilcher. Diversity is the spice of life, right?

Happy page-turning with your toes in the sand!

Reading Update

I’ve neglected this blog for far too long. Since I last posted, I’ve read many books and listened to a few as well. I’ll go from most recent and track backwards. I’m including links to Amazon, not because I think you should buy all of your books from there, but because it’s easy. I’m a bad book blogger!

The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman - I read this at the beach last week and thought it quite wonderful. The book has received mixed reviews – polarized is really a better word – from Hoffman fans. This reader couldn’t put it down. It is my fave since Blackbird House, which no reviewers ever mention. Is it an oxymoron to be an eccentric Alice Hoffman fan?

The Soul Thief by Charles Baxter

This audiobook served as my introduction to the author’s work. He was nominated for the National Book Award for The Feast of Love. Soul Thief could be categorized as metafiction, which I enjoy. I was captivated by the story until the end. Hmmm. I’m glad that I’ve read his work, though, and will probably check out The Feast of Love.

Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan - a debut novel that won’t be officially published until August. I found an Advance Reader’s Copy online and bought it. The concept intrigued me, and the book didn’t disappoint until the very end. Eva will remain one of my favorite love-to-hate villains and MILs. Wow! I enjoyed this book and recommend.

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson - What an interesting but gory bit of American history. If you don’t know the story, check it out – especailly if you have a Chicago connection.

The Bookseller of Kabul - I finally made my way to this so-relevant tale of life for women in Afghanistan. The author, a journalist, lived with the family and told it like it is. The bookseller sued her after publication. It’s a great read or listen.

I’ve read or listened to others, but these are the ones that come to mind. I need to keep up with this blog.

Sunday Salon

I finished listening to My Invented Country by Isabel Allende. It wasn’t nearly as good as The Sum of Our Days. Too many side roads, and I did NOT like the reader nearly as much. Allende went from sounding like a lively, spirited South American to a matron. The long pauses were especially annoying. The history of Chile was great, though, and made it worthwhile.

I tend to go on binges with authors and subject matter, and right now Allende is my author and Afghanistan/Pakistan is my subject. So in that vein, I’m beginning to read Paula by Allende (her first memoir) and listen to The Bookseller of Kabul. I’ll let you know what I think.

Many people tell me they don’t like audio books, but I am really enjoying the format, now that I’ve learned to discern. I especially like books read by their authors – for example, The Bee Season by Myla Goldberg, who also read it. Were she not such an accomplished reader, I would have likely lost interest in the book. I’m considering listening to something by Stephen King for that reason.

In the world of books becoming movies, I’m loving the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series on HBO. Last week’s episode was wonderful, and I look forward to tonight’s. I wish I could find out how many episodes were filmed. The next book in the series will be released this month – perhaps it’s already out. I should go check!

With summer ahead, I look forward to beach trips and long days spent enjoying a good read. And some good listens, because the trip to the beach takes almost three hours.