Where Memories Lie, by Deborah Crombie

This 12th Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid mystery, by Texan and Anglophile Crombie, reveals the links between Jewish war refugees from 1930’s Berlin, a murder in post World War II Britain and crimes in present day London. I enjoyed the audio book version narrated by Jenny Sterlin who uses her vocal skills to create each individual character.

RATING: * * * * Very, very good
Reviewed by: kh

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Dry, by Augusten Burroughs

This second memoir by the author of Running with Scissors chronicles his efforts to overcome alcoholism at a Minnesota rehab clinic ’s 30 day inpatient program and afterwards back in Manhattan. Who would have thought this could be a funny topic? Witty and entertaining on this very serious issue, Burroughs comes across as “sympathetic even when he is neither likeable nor admirable.” I listened to the audio version narrated by the author.

RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: kh

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West of Kabul, East of New York: An Afghan American Story, by Mir Tamim Ansary

This book grew out of an email composed by the author that was widely forwarded after Sept. 11th. Ansary is an Afghan-American who paints a picture of life in Afghanistan in the 1950’s and 1960’s and what it has meant to him to have a foot in two worlds, American and Afghani. I found his meditation on his late father especially moving. The author himself reads the book on cd version.

RATING: * * * * Very, very good
Reviewed by: kh

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Company of Liars, by Karen Maitland

I listened to the book on CD. The narrator was very good, the book not my favorite. One reviewer mentioned “unremitting realism.” It is set during the plague year of 1348, well written and held my interest but with too many characters knocked off for my taste.

RATING: * * OK
Reviewed by:  KH

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Do you like audiobooks?

If you enjoy listening to audiobooks–whether checked out of the library on tape or CD, or downloaded–you might be interested in the Audiobooker blog.  Written by a “teacher, librarian, and audiobook addict,” the blog has listening suggestions, links to free downloadable audiobooks, information on MP3 players, and more.  Happy listening!

Brother, I’m Dying, by Edwidge Danticat

Edwidge Danticat was four years old when her parents immigrated to America, leaving her in Haiti for eight years in the care of her aunt and uncle Joseph, her “second father.”  This memoir–which weaves the history of Danticat’s family with the political history of Haiti–is a loving tribute to these two “fathers,” and their lives in the troubled times of Haiti that led one to leave and another, until the tragic end of his life, to stay.  And as one reviewer commented on Amazon.com, although her uncle Joseph–a Baptist minister and speaker–lost his voice to cancer and his life in U.S. custody, in writing this book Danticat does her part to give both back.

Robin Miles is the reader for the audiobook version (which won several awards), and beautifully captures the accents, the love, the sadness, and the harrowing nature of the story.  Despite the dramatic nature of the events, and her closeness to the people involved, I found Danticat’s prose here to feel more detached than in some of her fiction.  Hearing the book, the emotions came through loud and clear.

An interview with Edwidge Danticat about her uncle’s detention is here, and a “60 Minutes” interview on the same subject is here.

RATING: **** Very, very good
Reviewed by: stc

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Death of a Travelling Man, by M. C. Beaton

Policeman Hamish Macbeth solves another murder in the tiny Scottish town of Lochdub. I especially enjoyed the variety of Scottish accents by narrator Davina Porter in the audio edition of this cozy mystery.

RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: kh

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Ines of My Soul, by Isabel Allende

This is the story of Ines Suarez (1507-1580), the brave, spirited conquistadora who helped found the nation of Chile with her lover, Pedro de Valdivia. I listened to the book on CD and enjoyed the presentation by the narrator, Blair Brown.

RATING: * * * * Very, very good
Reviewed by: kh

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A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson

This was a great book for commuter listening. Bryson tackles the history of the universe, the solar system, life on earth, early man, physics and how scientists found out about all these topics in his usual entertaining style.

Also available on CD, cassette, in large print, and in a special illustrated edition.

RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: kh

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A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens

Book on Tape version (Nine 1.5 hour cassettes, unabridged, read by Stuart Langton; also available in the Minuteman Library Network on CD)

An excellent rendition of this chilling tale of the French Revolution and the Terrors that followed.  Narrator Stuart Langton  enhances Dickens’ already dramatic scenes and rich characterizations with wit and style.  

RATING: * * * * * One of the best books I’ve read
Reviewed by: bp

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