With my kids out of many activities, I had more time to listen to audiobooks in June. I listen to audiobooks on about 3x’s mode (I’ve worked my way up to that speed slowly). I can usually listen to a standard-sized book in a few hours. Listening to audiobooks helps me stay entertained while I do chores and run errands. It helps me through the monotony of housework!
I listened to some awesome books this month and a few duds…
1- Washington by Ron Chernow- I LOVED this book. I already had so much respect and love for George Washington but this book increased that a hundredfold. I could write pages of synopsis (this is a 40 hour audiobook) but suffice to say, Washington was one of the finest men who ever lived. He dedicated his entire life to the cause of honor and independence and when he finally received the recognition and praise he deserved, he did not want it. He relinquished his power as readily as he could. There is a saying, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” I would add to this saying, “—except for the rare few, such as George Washington”.
2- All Things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriot and read by Christopher Timothy- I love this series! James Herriot (the pen name for the real author and veterinarian James Alfred Wight) was not only a great vet, he is a masterful author. He weaves humor, emotion, and depth of character into his novels naturally. In the sequel novels we follow the characters that most of us grown to love in All Creatures Great and Small through the Yorkshire Dales and beyond. I highly recommend listening to all of his books and PLEASE listen to the audiobooks read by Christopher Timothy—he is a master narrator and the scenes come to life with his voice and sound effects.
3- All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot- Five-star book and audiobook performance (see review of All Things Bright and Beautiful above).
4- The Lord God Made Them All by James Herriot- Five-star book and audiobook performance (see review of All Things Bright and Beautiful above).
5- Every Living Thing by James Herriot- Five-star book and audiobook performance (see review of All Things Bright and Beautiful above).
6- James Herriot’s Treasury for Children by James Herriot read by Jim Dale- This is a compilation of many stories shared throughout the series told from a more child-friendly perspective. I will listen to this audiobook with my children soon.
7- When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin– Wow another fantastic book! I loved this book from start to finish. It catches the reader’s attention and never lets go. It’s about a little girl with heart issues and the experiences she and a heart surgeon have. It is one not to be missed!
8- Lady Avery and the False Butler by Sofi Laporte– This is a Victorian romance that had a catchy plot. It made me laugh multiple times. Sofi Laporte’s books in this series are fun!
9- The Wager by David Grann– This is one crazy and incredibly true story about the shipwreck of The Wager off of the coast of Patagonia. This book does get pretty depressing because life at sea in the 1700’s was by and large very dangerous and life threatening. However, there are some hopeful parts. One of my favorite parts was a journal entry of one of the members of The Wager who said that despite the horrors they’d experienced, he saw God’s miraculous hand throughout his journey and would never be able to doubt His existence. I learned about the navy, sailing, Patagonia, and British Maritime law.
10- The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson– Sad, inspiring, memorable, touching, unique plot, and more; this book had it all. I loved it. I was so glad there was a sequel which is almost just as amazing as this book is. The Book Woman, Cussy Mary, is one of the Kentucky blue people who was hired to take part in Roosevelt’s Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project. This project hired women to pack books in the Appalachian mountains and other remote areas. This project both increased literacy and employed women. Cussy’s experience delivering books to families was far from dull.
Note-I did do some research about the Kentucky blue people. From what I read, there is fairly good evidence that the blue people were not as discriminated against as Richardson leads readers to believe. There are reports that they were widely accepted in their area, but regardless, these books are excellent.
11- The Book Woman’s Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson– This is about Cussy Mary’s daughter and was a great book in its own right with its unique plot. I loved it.
12- The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer– A spin-off of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Rohald Dahl (one of my favorite authors) but this one fell a little flat. I would love it if Shaffer wrote the books she refers to having read as a child throughout The Wishing Game—she may have something there. For me, this book it fell flat because it either needed to be more outlandish so that we had another Charlie in the Chocolate Factory, or it needed to be more plausible; either way would have been an improvement. This said, it was entertaining and worth the listen.
13- The Host by Stephenie Meyer– This book is a popular movie. I had already seen the movie, Host when I listened to this; it is an excellent book-to-movie conversion. It was entertaining to listen to and had a unique and engaging plot. I like Stephenie Meyer’s writing style a lot.
14- The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer- This is about a Polish family during WWII. While there were things about this book that were great, it was a hard listen for me. The main characters were just not relatable or even that likeable. The plot was too scattered and spent too much time in the wrong places. Add to some unlikeable characters the horrendous details of the holocaust and I struggled through this one.
15- The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate- This is about a woman who stumbles upon a prayer box with written prayers. As she reads the prayers she becomes a better person and resolves to lead a faith-filled and generous life. She becomes a much better mother for her children. I loved this book—especially how it ended!
16- The Gown by Jennifer Robson- This was about the seamstresses who made Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gown. The embroidery was very labor intensive on her gown and long train and took hours and hours and a full team working on the dress to complete it in time for her wedding. There is a great storyline that goes along with the plot. I enjoyed and recommend it. It would be a fun book club book.
17- I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys- Anytime I read about communism I become even more converted to a Republic-style government. I am so grateful for the freedoms I enjoy. Romanians suffered greatly during the communistic regime. This book was about a man who was black mailed into spying on others and who tried to become a double agent of sorts because he was working to undermine the Communistic regime at the same time he had to actively spy for them. It was well written and entertaining although overall it was pretty depressing.
18- Veins of Gold by Charlie N. Holmberg- Take the story about the seagulls that saved Utah crops by eating the crickets and weave in a mythical man that controls crows, flys, and has to save the entire world from gold miners and you have Veins of Gold. This book was just too odd for me.
19- Valcour by Jack Kelly- This was an awesome book. I had no idea there was a naval battle on Lake Champlain during the Revolutionary War. The battle was called, The Battle of Valcour Bay. Arnold Benedict commanded most of the ships during the battle. While America didn’t quite win, we didn’t fully lose either. We were able to cripple the British navy and we prevented them from entering into the Hudson Bay earlier than they did. Many Americans were captured or killed but most escaped and Benedict commanded that they burn the American fleet so that the British did not gain our resources. This Battle stalled the British invasion from Canada so that American troops could rally. One hundred years later, the great naval theorist Alfred Thayer Mahan observed that “the little American navy was wiped out, but never had any force, big or small, lived to better purpose.” Somehow I missed this in my history classes and it was very interesting to learn about.
20- The Infinity Blade: Awakening by Brandon Sanderson- If you are going to skip a Sanderson series, this is the one skip. It felt really foreign for Sanderson and when I looked up the book on his website I learned that a video game company had paid for/sponsored this series. He said that he had some very rigid requirements and yet had some license in other areas. I do believe Sanderson is at his best when he is free to write however he wants because this was not that great. This first book is much better than its sequel though so yeah, I’d skip this series.
21- The Infinity Blade Redemption by Brandon Sanderson- This was a poorly written sequel. I almost didn’t finish it. It’s quite violent and gruesome and then keeps skipping to an alternate reality. It was just weird. I’d skip it and its predecessor, and listen to Sanderson’s other works—as most of his others are five-star!
For other audiobook recommendations, check out this link here.
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