Listening is Reading.

I like to listen to books, and have quite a library of them now. Recently I have been making use of some of the series sale at Audible, which means I have more than I can listen to at the moment. I seem also to be gathering cozy mysteries this way. Maybe 2021 is the year of the Cozy Mystery for me.

This is #5 in a series. No I haven’t read any others and I won’t listen to this one until I come to it most likely.  It is set in County Cork.

This isn’t one I bought, part of the Included, which means I can borrow it for as long as I like. So there is time to reach it.

This is #6 in the Royal Spyness series and I have listened to the previous five. They are good fun and generally have a good mystery. Also lighthearted.

Another series I haven’t tried and this is #1 in the Liz Talbot series. Set in South Carolina. 

This is #1 in the Fixer Upper series. A High End Finish by Kate Carlisle. This is the one I will start with.

And this one is #1 in a series by the same title as the book. Nora the owner of a bookshop can prescribe the right book for a person evidently. 

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Five Audiobooks I Plan to Listen to Soon

I love a good audiobook. A well written book in the hands of a really good narrator is the ultimate. I am just looking ahead to what I want to pick up very soon to listen to. I am not sure which will be first, but it will be one from this list.

I already own Born a Crime so this one has to be up there to listen to very soon

I recently listened to #3 in this series and its made me put this one way up the list of TBL books.

Due to be published mid October and this is certainly on my soon to be listened to list. I love this series set on Mure.

I enjoy Sarah Morgan’s books and this is her latest and will be a good listen no doubt near Christmas.

I’d put this one into my TBR after seeing Elizabeth from Silver Reviews recommend. And it looks good and summery and well summer is advancing here in NZ!

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Five Audiobooks Awaiting.

As this is audiobook month I thought I’d share audiobooks I’ve bought but haven’t yet listened to. I am a slow listener!  Looking through my audio library I am ashamed to say I have a few more than five!

A Week in Winter. 11hrs 34 min. Narrated by Caroline Lennon. Added to my library 2019. The Sheedy sisters had lived in Stone House for as long as anyone could remember. Set high on the cliffs on the west coast of Ireland, overlooking the windswept Atlantic ocean, it was falling into disrepair – until one woman, with a past she needed to forget, breathed new life into the place. Now a hotel, with a big, warm kitchen and log fires, it provides a welcome few can resist.

The Idea of You. 10hrs. Narrated by the author. Added to my library in 2017. With her 40th birthday approaching, Lucy Carpenter dares to hope that she finally has it all: a wonderful new husband, Jonah, a successful career and the chance of a precious baby of her own. Life couldn’t be more perfect.

But the reality of becoming parents proves much harder than Lucy and Jonah imagined. Jonah’s love and support is unquestioning, but as Lucy struggles with work and her own failing dreams, the strain on their marriage increases. Suddenly it feels like Lucy is close to losing everything…

 

The Sun Sister. 26 hrs 14 min. Narrated by Weruche Opia, Sophie Roberts. Added 2020. To the outside world, Electra D’Aplièse seems to be the woman with everything: as one of the world’s top models, she is beautiful, rich and famous.

Yet beneath the veneer, Electra’s already tenuous control over her state of mind has been rocked by the death of her father, Pa Salt, the elusive billionaire who adopted his six daughters from across the globe. Struggling to cope, she turns to alcohol and drugs. As those around her fear for her health, Electra receives a letter from a complete stranger who claims to be her grandmother.

Code Name Hélène: The White Mouse. 17hrs 17min. Narrated by Barrie Kreinik and Peter Ganim. Added 2020.  In 1936 Nancy Wake is living in Paris after bluffing her way into a job as a foreign correspondent and witnessing firsthand the terror of Hitler’s rise in Europe, firing her determination to do anything she could to fight the Nazis. When Nancy falls unexpectedly in love with handsome French industrialist and playboy Henri Fiocca in Marseilles, no sooner has she agreed to become Mrs Fiocca than the Germans invade France and Nancy takes yet another name, a code name – the first of many.

The Hideaway. 15hrs 45 min. Narrated by January LaVoy. Added 2020. Caitlyn Sullivan is just nine years old when a game of hide-and-seek at a family party will change her life forever.

The betrayal she experienced that night will shape Caitlyn’s life – and for years she runs and runs, hiding from the aftermath of the trauma. But Caitlyn comes to realise that if she wants to not just survive but thrive, she must return to the family home to face up to her past.

What happened that night may always haunt Caitlyn, but she must decide if it’s what you’re running from that matters. Or who finds you.

And… for my next listen I am just as likely to buy something else! It depends on the mood. A couple of them are really long and sometimes a slightly shorter one draws me. About 9 – 13 hours are about my favourite. The Sun Sisters is about 26hours so not sure when I’ll get to that! I don’t listen to it fast so actual time!

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My Year in Books 2019

Cover Love

I think I like those blues and summer feel!

 

Most Surprising

Why? It’s a male author and I rarely read them. The cover is uninviting. The book is such fun and the heroine, a seventy something, is amazing. The writing is wonderful and while the story moves reasonably slowly it is still totally engaging.

New to me Author to Love and Read More

Australian author Fiona Lowe.

Her next one comes out soon and I intend buying it. Eyes on you bookshop in February!

Some Favourite Reads of 2019

There are a few more but I can’t go on and on.

First book in a Series I want to read more

Best Book From A Series

To be honest all the books from my loved series were great, however I have a special love for the pay/changeling series so I will choose this one that came out in 2019.

Top Audiobooks

 

Diverse Book I Loved

Middle Grade Love

I just have to do a reread of Okay for Now by the same author. I left that book in my classroom when I retired from teaching. Now I need it again!

 

YA I Need to Read More From

Not For Me

 

Audiobook Mid Year Check In

So time to take on an audiobook challenge update for 2019.

Read all the details over at Caffeinated Reviewer or Hot Listens.

My aim is for 30 books for 2019. So far at this point I am 15/30, so on track. This is what I have listened to so far. I enjoyed them all.

Audiobooks

1. Tides of Honour Genevieve Graham. 4 stars. Narration – Fajar Al- Kaisi. 4 stars. Length: 12hrs 23 min
2. The Dream Daughter  Diane Chamberlian 5 stars. Narration – Susan Bennett  5 stars.  Length 13 hrs 32 min
3. Cowboy Seal Homecoming Nicole Helm. 3 stars Narration – Romy Nordinger. 3 stars. Length 10hrs 24min
4. True Places  Sonja Yoerg – 4.5 star. Narration – Lisa Flanagan 5 stars  Length 12hrs 15 min
5. Royal Blood.  Rhys Bowen 3.5 stars. Narration – Katherine Kellgren 5 stars. Length 9hrs 20 min
6. The Moon Sister.   Lucinda Riley 4 stars. Narration – Imogen Wilde 4.5 stars. Length 19 hrs 53 min
7. The Woman at 72 Derry Lane.  Carmel Harrington 5 stars. Narration – Aoife McMahon 4.5 stars
8. Come From Away by Genevieve Graham. 4 stars. Narrator -Michelle Ferguson 4 stars. Length 8 hrs 2min
9. The Goodbye Cafe by Mariah Stewart 4.5 stars.  Narrator – Joy Osmanski 5 stars. Length 13hrs 42 min
10. The Rosie Result   Graeme Simsion 5 stars.  Narrator – Graeme Simsion 5 stars.  Length 8 hrs 17 min
11. No Place I’d Rather Be.  Cathy Lamb 5 stars. Narrators – Lisa Flanagan , Kate Reading 5 stars. 14hrs 55min
12. Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe. Jenny Colgan 4 stars. Narrator -Penelope Rawlins 5 stars. 9 hours 8 min.
13. Southern Side of Paradise  Kirsty Woodson Harvey  4 stars Narrators – Janet Metzger, Rebekkah  Ross  5 stars.  Length 10 hrs 19 min
14. The Bookshop Penelope Fitzgerald.   4 stars.  Narrator – Eve Karpf  5 stars. Length: 4hrs 6min
15. The Mother-in-Law  Sally Hepworth 4 stars. Narrator – Casey Withoos 5 stars. Length:  8hrs 3min

Audiobook Challenge 2019.

So time to take on an audiobook challenge for 2019.

Read all the details over at Caffeinated Reviewer or Hot Listens.

Read all about the challenge on either of the links above.

I am going for the Binge Listener level again. 20 -30.

My aim is for 30 books for 2019. But anything close to 30 is good and as I always listen at a slow speed as I like to thoroughly enjoy each book.

Audiobooks

1. Tides of Honour narration – Fajar Al- Kaisi. 4 stars. Length: 12hrs 23 min
2. The Dream Daughter – narration Susan Bennett.  5 stars.  Length 13 hrs 32 min
3. Cowboy Seal Homecoming – narration Romy Nordinger. 3 stars. Length 10hrs 24min
4. True Places  Sonja Yoerg – 4.5 star. Narration Lisa Flanagan 5 stars  Length 12hrs 15 min
5. Royal Blood.  Rhys Bowen 3.5 stars. Narration Katherine Kellgren 5 stars. Length 9hrs 20 min
6. The Moon Sister.   Lucinda Riley 4 stars. Narration Imogen Wilde 4.5 stars. Length 19 hrs 53 min
7. The Woman at 72 Derry Lane.  Carmel Harrington. 5 stars. Narration Aoife McMahon 4.5 stars
8. Come From Away by Genevieve Graham. 4 stars. Narrator Michelle Ferguson 4 stars. Length 8 hrs 2min
9. The Goodbye Cafe by Mariah Stewart 5 stars.  Narrator Joy Osmanski 5 stars. Length 13hrs 42 min
10. The Rosie Result   Graeme Simsion 5 stars.  Narrator Graeme Simsion 5 stars.  Length 8 hrs 17 min
11. No Place I’d Rather Be.  Cathy Lamb 5 stars. Narrators Lisa Flanagan , Kate Reading 5 stars. 14hrs 55min
12. Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe. Jenny Colgan 4 stars. Narrator Penelope Rawlins 5 stars. 9 hours 8 min.
13. Southern Side of Paradise  Kirsty Woodson Harvey  4 stars Narrators:Janet Metzger. Rebekkah  Ross 5 stars.  Length 10 hrs 19 min
14. The Bookshop Penelope Fitzgerald.   4 stars.  Narrator :Eve Karpf  5 stars. Length: 4hrs 6min
15. The Mother-in-Law  Sally Hepworth 4 stars. Narrator: Casey Withoos 5 stars. Length:  8hrs 3min

Second Half of Year.

1. Between Georgia.  Joshilyn Jackson 4 stars Narration Joshilyn Jackson 5 stars. Length 9hrs 11min
2. The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters. Balli Kaur Jaswal.  4 stars. Narrator Ayasha Kala 4 stars.   Length 12 hours 44 min
3. Evvie Drake Starts Over.  Linda Holmes.  5 stars.  Narration Julia Whelan 5 stars. Length 9hrs 6 min
4. The Bookish Life of Nina Hill. Abbi Waxman 3.5 stars. Narration Jessica Preddy. 3 stars.  Length 9hrs 21 min.
5. The Shell Seekers.  Rosamunde Pilcher   5 stars. Narration Hayley Atwell 5 stars. Length 19hrs 26min
6. Connections in Death  J. D. Robb. 4 stars Narration Susan Ericksen 5 stars. Length 12hrs 19min
7. The House on Tradd St.   Karen White. 4 stars. Narration: Aimée Bruneau. 13hrs 10min
8. The Giver of Stars.  Jojo Moyes. 4.5 stars.  Narration Julia Whelan. 5 stars.  13hrs 52min
9. Once a Marquess.  Courtenary Milan 4 stars. Narration Rosalyn Landor 4.5 stars. 8hr 58 min
10. Words Get in the Way. Nan Rossitor 4 stars Narration Holly Cate 3 stars 6 hrs 29min
11. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek 5 stars. Narration Katie Schorr 9 hrs 26 min

I am listening to Regretting You by Colleen Hoover and hope to have that to my tally my the end of 2019.  So that will be 27 which is a very good total for me! Happy with it.

 

Audiobooks I listened to in 2018

The Challenge Details can be found at Caffeinated Reviewer   and Hot Listens.

This year I was going  for the Binge Listener Level which is the 20 -30 level,  28 was my aim.

1. The Sea of Tranquillity   Katja Millay. 5 stars. Narrated:Kirby Heyborne and Candace Thaxton.  5 stars
2. A Grown Up Kind of Pretty   Joshilyn Jackson   Narrated: Joshilyn Jackson     4 stars
3. The Secret Hour  Luanne Rice.  Narrated: Christine Traister  4.5 stars
4. The Pearl Sister.  Lucinda Riley. Narrated: Stephanie Racine & Rehanna MacDonald  5 stars.
5. Sweet Tea and Sympathy.  Molly Harper.  Narrated by Amanda Ronconi.  4 stars.
6. Still Me   Jojo Moyes.  Narrated by Anna Acton  4.5 stars
7. The Denim Blue Sea   Joanne Demaio   4 stars  Narrated by Nick Cracknell 3 stars
8. The Endless Beach  Jenny Colgan  5 stars   Narrated by Sarah Barron   5 stars
9. Meet Me at The Cupcake Cafe   Jenny Colgan 4.5 stars   Narrated by Penelope Rawlins 5 stars
10. Beard Science Penny Reid 4 stars. 4 stars for narration by Joy Nash, Chris Brinkley
11. Promise Me Dad.  Joe Biden (Memoir) Narrated by Joe Biden.  5 stars
12. Beach Blues Joanne DeMaio  3.5 stars   Nick Crackness narrator 3.5 stars
13. The Rogue Not Taken Sarah Maclean  3.5 stars story 3.5 stars narration by Justine Eyre
14. The Sugar House Blues   Mariah Stewart. 4 stars story 4.5 stars narration by Joy Osmanski
15. Her Royal Spyness    Rhys Bowen  4 stars story 5 stars narration by Katherine Kellgren
16. A Royal Pain   Rhys Bowen  4 stars story   5 stars narration by Katherine Kellgren
17. Crimes Against A Book Club 4 stars story  5 stars narration by Katherine Kellgren
18. Persuasion  Jane Austen 4 stars story 5 stars narration by Juliet Stevenson
19. Leverage in Death J. D. Robb 5 stars   5 stars narration Susan Eriksen
20. The Lilac Bouquet    Caroline Brown 4 stars. 5 stars narration  Brittany Pressley
21. Royal Flush Rhys Bowen  4 stars. Narration Katherine Kellgren 5 stars
22. How to Find Love in a Bookshop   4 stars. Veronica Henry Narration Julia Barrie 4 stars
23. An Island Christmas.  Jenny Colgan  5 stars.  Narrator Sarah Baron 5 stars
24. The One You Really Want  Jill Mansell 4.5 stars  Narrator Sarah Baron 4.5 stars
25. Brothers and Sisters Fiona Palmer  4.5 stars   Narrator Anna Steen 4.0 stars
26. Lake Silence   Anne Bishop  4.5  stars  Narrator Alexandra Harris 4.5 stars
27. Little Fires Everywhere  Celeste Ng. 5 stars. Narrator Jennifer Lim 5 stars
28. Shelter in Place Nora Roberts   4.5 stars Narrated by January LaVoy 5 stars

I listened to some wonderful books, all of them I enjoyed. I think my favourite and most memorable was

Others that I loved were

And this year I also discovered I enjoyed the Rhys Bowen series and will certainly continue with those next year.