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Audiobooks for Postal Employees! |
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Archives: October 2006 - March 2007 [Audiobooks
Home] |
BOOKS TO READ WHILE WORKING
March 2007 - Audiobooks reviewed by Jonathan Lowe |
 Suppose you're an ex con artist trying to go straight when you're
approached by two people in succession. First, the wife of a
billionaire looking to swindle her abusive hubby, and then your own
son, who tells you he needs big money to make good on a bad bet with
the Russian mafia, or they're going to kill him. That's the setup to
CON ED by Matthew Klein, an enjoyable romp through the life of one
Kip Largo, a luckless yet intelligent sap whose fear of a lonely old
age motivates him to attempt the dangerous repair of failed
relationships. The story is told in the first person by narrator
Norman Dietz, who couldn't be more believable as this wistful and
wise observer of human foibles. Sympathy is earned here, in this
must-hear tale about a con man's swan song to the ironies greed,
betrayal, and fatherhood. (Brilliance Audio/9 hours unabridged)
Tyler Perry is described as a playwright, author, producer, director,
composer, actor, star, reader, writer, and "entrepreneurial force,"
all within one paragraph on the back of his new audiobook DON'T MAKE
A BLACK WOMAN TAKE OFF HER EARRINGS: MADEA'S UNINHIBITED
COMMENTARIES ON LOVE AND LIFE. On the cover Perry (a big young man)
is dressed as an overweight black woman with silver hair, and so, as
you might suspect, this is an offbeat humorous advice book, and is
based on the two movies that Perry created around the character of
this pistol-packing grandmother with an attitude. With subjects
ranging from sex to beauty to religion, Madea dishes out a
comprehensive yet unorganized monologue consisting of snippets of
memory and wisdom. Doesn't seem scripted, but that's the charm. Not
everything here is side splittingly funny, but happily most is at
least amusing. Now if only Madea would tour the airport hotel
conference circuit like those self help seminar nuts do, then maybe
that trend would finally end. (Penguin Audio/4 1/2 hours)
What did Jackson Pollock, Saul Steinberg, Fairfield Porter and Jean
Stafford have in common? Well, these artists and writers all lived
and worked on the east end of Long Island, along with Frank O'Hara
and Willem de Kooning. In DE KOONING'S BICYCLE critic Robert Long
recreates an era prior to the nouveau riche takeover of the Hamptons
by trust fund babies, when art (and not ostentation) was modus
operandi. Read by perhaps the most listenable of narrators, Grover
Gardner, the book "captures the spirit of modernism as filtered
though New York's rural past," according to Publisher's Weekly. It
is available in Mp3 disk format, for download to iPod, which is
definitely modern, or perhaps post-modern. A new canvas, you might
say, for the appropriate inner landscape of the audio documentary.
(Blackstone Audio/5 1/2 hours unabridged)
Garrison Keillor has yet another collection of Lake Wobegon stories
from his Prairie Home Companion radio show titled NEVER BETTER. I'm
not sure if Garrison makes this stuff up off the top of his head, in
ad lib, but whether he does or not, he certainly has a gift for
offbeat characterization. He told me once in interview that Lake
Wobegon is a real place, so one might naturally wonder if he reads
the town newspaper and embellishes more boring stories, or if
everything is made up of whole cloth. Suffice it to say that the
eccentric people of Lake Wobegon are far from average, what with
Flying Elvises on the 4th of July. Although the piece about Father
Wilmer getting a new pair of underwear, or Roger Hedlund trying to
escape his deer hunting pals does contain more than a kernel of
truth. As they say in Lake Wobegon, "it could be worse." But what I
think is that Keillor has never been better. (Highbridge Audio/2
hours unabridged)
Finally, you may remember Tracy Chevalier from the endearing
historical mystery "Girl With the Pearl Earring," which was made into
a somewhat less exciting film. She has been trying to repeat her
success with that book (as have other authors) ever since, and comes
close in BURNING BRIGHT, set in London in 1792. It's all about a
sense of place here, with your stand-ins being the Kellaways,
recently arrived from the countryside, and Maggie Butterfield,
daughter of a local rogue. The circus, the mustard factory,
Westminster Abbey, Cut-Throat Lane, and most of all poet and artist
William Blake, are all influences here on a young girl growing up.
Read by Jill Tanner, whose affecting rendition is informed by her
time at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, this new historical novel
is an escape from our current, dangerous era via the simpler--albeit
baudy--route. (Penguin Audio/11 1/2 hours unabridged)
(These audiobooks may be rented from Audio Adventures by calling
1-800-551-6692. If you play the Powerball, be sure to ask for the
lotto novel FAME ISLAND, read by Emmy-winning actor Kristoffer Tabori
for BlackstoneAudio.com.)
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BOOKS TO READ WHILE WORKING
February 2007 - Audiobooks reviewed by Jonathan Lowe |
 If you're in the delivery business, be it mail or oil or cattle or
loaves of 12 grain bread, you probably feel under-appreciated at
times. Perhaps you wonder what it might be like to switch from truck
to tanker, or from barge to coal train. John McPhee's idea was just
that in UNCOMMON CARRIERS, a non-fictional account of his job-hopping
observations across the country and back again. Along the way, McPhee rides on an 18 wheeler hauling toxic chemicals to Washington
state, then sits next to a towboat pilot negotiating the Illinois
River, and finally climbs aboard the massive trains carrying coal out
of Wyoming. With eyes and ears open, he portrays the transportation
industry as a machine run by colorful people who are very aware of
being invisible to the average folks on the street. Is it safe to
crisscross your wave runner in front of a churning tugboat with
massive propellers? Or your VW Beetle in front of a gasoline tank
truck or a hauler carrying half a dozen SUVs? As one truck driver
put it, "that guy strays any closer, and it's Beulah Land!" Near the
end, McPhee visits the UPS hub in Kentucky, where "the sort" is
accomplished for every parcel in the system. Thousands of conveyor
belts churn inside a computer controlled building about as big as the
Pentagon, next to a fleet of aircraft. Interestingly, UPS is also in
the business of storing and fulfilling orders for other companies, so
when you place an order for certain brands of shoes or cameras or
printers, they don't come from those companies, but directly from UPS
warehouses, where are placed in the sort, and then shipped that very
evening. Many companies don't want you to know this, either, so the
area is high security! As for the audiobook, it is narrated by
McPhee himself, which is it's only flaw. Grover Gardner or another
professional reader might have better enlivened the text, much like
those commercials where an actor stands in for some ordinary Joe
sitting in his own living room. (Recorded Books/9 1/2 hours unabridged)
According to Pat Benatar, it's a battlefield. Or is it a rose
garden? Either way, love hurts. It also stinks, bleeds, inspires,
confounds, you name it. For Rob Sheffield, a writer for Rolling
Stone, love is the ultimate mystery--one he tries to sort out in LOVE
IS A MIX TAPE, his personal anthem to a girl he met in the 90s named
Renee. Renee loved him for a while, and then he lost her. The
roller coaster ride that was Rob's life for that time (and afterward)
is detailed in this new book about music and pop culture during the
90s. The memoir is arranged around fifteen mix tapes that coincide
with Sheffield's brief relationship, and he reads the memoir himself,
which does manage to bear the offbeat ring of truth. Whatever
insights this young man has are rather shallow compared to his
knowledge about songs, however, along with the 90s pop era when he
grew up. . .not that there's anything wrong with that. As a bonus,
the names of people Rob has met since working for Rolling Stone often
arise, like when he once shared an elevator with Madonna. (Random
House Audio/6 hours unabridged)
Less obsessed with being cool? Even if you are a city slicker, you
may want to step up on the porch of a handyman and expert boat
builder for an afternoon. Robb White is certainly willing to tell
you about his life, too, and it is more than likely to be quite
different than yours. In HOW TO BUILD A TIN CANOE, this Southern
charmer takes his listeners on a wry journey up the creeks and down
the rivers of his back country world, with a few surprises, recipes,
and homespun humor along the way. Sections include "Sheephead Soup,"
and "The Giant Catfish of Mobile," and "Terrible Torque and the
Floorboard Man." In addition to CD format, the audiobook is also
available on Audiofy chip, for direct download onto iPod via iTunes
input, simply by plugging the flash drive chip into your USB
connection while your iPod is connected. This revolutionary chip
medium for audiobooks also fits into standard SD card slots for other
devices, and the technology allows up to 70 hours of audio to be
placed on a wafer not much bigger than your thumbnail. (Blackstone
Audio/6 hours unabridged)
Next, James P. Connolly has THE MASTER PLAN. Or is he just deluding
himself? Either way, it's funny. The standup comic's new album
explores dating, personal fitness, being half Mexican, the American
Dream, and walking on the wrong side of the law. The sections of his
CD tend to blend into one another, without any obvious setup or
rehearsal, so it comes off as more improvisation than act. His humor
is fluid, like a conversation, not raunchy or reliant on one-liners.
Meaning Connolly involves the audience, and isn't averse to making
fun of himself as well. I recommend listening to it, then passing it
along to some gangster rapper. Some of those guys need to lighten
up, and a few laughs and self deprecating insights might just be the
ticket. (Uproar Entertainment/1 hour unabridged)
Yasmin Crowther is a newcomer whose first novel, THE SAFFRON KITCHEN,
portrays Maryam Mazar, an Iranian woman who returns home to Mazareh,
fleeing England in the process, when some secrets about her past are
revealed. Leaving behind her daughter Sara and her orphaned nephew,
Maryam disappears back to the world of her childhood, while her
family tries to piece together the reasons for her unhappiness,
before plotting to bring her back home somehow. As such, the novel
illuminates a different culture, and is told with some eloquence by
actors Mehr Mansuri and Ariana Fraval. The author has an Iranian
mother and a British father, so it also makes sense that, for a first
novel, she would write about what she knows. (Penguin Audio/8 1/2
hours unabridged)
Finally, congratulations are in order for Scott Brick, chosen as
Narrator of the Year by Publisher's Weekly. Scott is an avid book
enthusiast, and one of the busiest performers in the industry today.
I've known him for five years now, and have profiled him for several
national magazines. So congrats to you, Scott! You can sample
Scott's narrative skills in the new novel by Steve Berry titled THE
ALEXANDRIA LINK, which is a kind of DaVinci Code mystery/thriller
involving a rare book dealer whose son is suddenly kidnapped before
his shop is burned to the ground by a cartel of wealthy moguls bent
on discovering the secrets of the lost Library of Alexandria. Only
Cotton Malone may have the key to uncovering the library's secrets,
as a former U.S. State Department operative, but the clock is running
on his son as Malone journeys around the world to secure the answers
he needs. Brick narrates with his usual aplomb, conveying the
protagonist's desperation while slowly revealing the clues to an
ancient library that housed so many lost ideas, and which now lives
only in myth and legend. An exclusive interview with the author
follows Brick's performance. (Random House Audio/17 hours
unabridged, or 6 hours abridged as read by Erik Singer)
(These audiobooks may be rented on CD from Audio Adventures by
calling 1-800-551-6692. Or if you'd like to try the new audiobook
chip technology, go to Audiofy.com and order Jonathan's suspense
novel "Awakening Storm," narrated by Barrett Whitener on flash drive
chip, which connects to your computer's USB port for instant play, or
for download to portable devices like iPod.) |
BOOKS TO READ WHILE WORKING
January 2007 - Audiobooks reviewed by Jonathan Lowe |
 Nelson DeMille is a funny man. That's an odd thing to say,
considering that the author is known for his military suspense
novels, like "The General's Daughter" and "Up Country." In fact,
narrator Scott Brick says that he had to pause in recording DeMille's
latest, WILD FIRE, because the text was so funny he couldn't continue
reading. Not unintentionally funny, either, as would be the case
with a bad novel. Funny, as in a scene where a man surprises his
girlfriend by biting her derrière while swimming in the ocean. . .
like a shark bites. Why the bizarre humor and offbeat romance?
Well, you need that if the plot of your novel is about an elite men's
club comprised of military leaders who have decided to blow up New
York and Los Angeles in order to trigger a secret response known as
project Wild Fire, which would then automatically obliterate the
Muslim world. Call it breathing room, in more ways than one. DeMille is not edging into the kind of blasphemy here that has put
other authors in danger, but is careful to say in an interview that
he hopes his story, based on internet rumors, will never play out in
real life. But you never know. These days, just about anything
goes, both on and off the page. If a mushroom cloud is ever seen
over New York, as a direct result of terrorism, then surely we'll see
bumper stickers all over America reading "Nuke Mecca." Blasphemy or
not. (Hachette Audio/6.5 hours abridged)
Somewhat less likely to happen is the plot of THE DRACO TAVERN by
Larry Niven. This collection of stories and vignettes centers around
a Siberian bar that attracts alien spaceships from all over the
galaxy and beyond. The ships come down along the magnetic field
lines at the North Pole for some reason, and their crews imbibe
alcohol and other elixirs while pondering and discussing life, the
universe, and everything. The setting might partly be thanks to
Douglas Adams and George Lucas, but there's also real science here,
so we'd have to add Carl Sagan too. Tom Weiner narrates the book,
which is available on Mp3-CD for iPod use, and his voice might be
recognizable to video game players as a voiceover talent.
(Blackstone Audio/6 hours unabridged)
On of my favorite new books, if you can find it, is SURRENDER by
Sonya Hartnett, an Australian writer with incredible depth of
perception. This is a psychological thriller about a dying young man
telling his story in flashback. A story about a childhood friend who
is a bit loony and dangerous, with whom Gabriel has made a pact, and
who he must stop when a series of arson fires envelops the town where
both he and Finnigan live. The elegiac and inventive descriptions of
a tortured inner landscape reminded me of the prose of Jeff Long, and
in another way it's much like the natural metaphoric usage of the
outer world that mirrors the inner for James Lee Burke. "Surrender"
has here two meanings, and the second comes in the form of Gabriel's
Doberman, who is also appropriately named "Surrender." The book is
read by versatile English actor Humphrey Bower, who endows the
characters with just the right wistfulness or angst. (Bolinda Audio/
6.5 hours unabridged)
Clive Cussler and his son Dirk have a new adventure novel out titled
TREASURE OF KHAN. Together, they roar through the same twisting
turns that have made former Dirk Pitt novels a hit in the past. This
time out it's the lost tomb of Genghis Khan, an oil survey team
encountering a freak wave on a Russian lake, and a modern Mongolian
who seeks to continue the quest for world domination of his ancestor
by supplying oil to the Chinese, all the while making the search for
oil elsewhere difficult, if not impossible. Throw in the mysterious
treasure of Xanadu, and you have the makings of another escapist
adventure with old friends. Richard Ferrone lends his gravelly voice
to the narration, this time, standing in for Scott Brick, with
generous leading and anticipation. (Penguin Audio/6 hours abridged)
Finally, in MYSTERIES OF THE MIDDLE AGES historical non-fiction
author Thomas Cahill has a new book that explores the genesis of
Western civilization after the Dark Ages, when medieval thinkers
began to move toward science, and artists began depicting things
realistically. Rome, Paris, Oxford, and Florence come under scrutiny
in this history lesson that is far from dry, while exposing papal
hypocrisy and greed as a tool for conquest. The subtitle of the
audiobook, well read by the author, is "The Rise of Feminism,
Science, and Art from the Cults of Catholic Europe." Now I wonder
what will arise from our current Dark Age thinking? If not a New
Age, then it may be the End Times. Food for thought. (Random House
Audio/6 hours abridged)
(These audiobooks may be rented from Audio Adventures by calling
1-800-551-6692. Be sure to ask about the coffee related supernatural
suspense AWAKENING STORM, narrated with full sound effects by Barrett
Whitener for BlackstoneAudio.com.)
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BOOKS TO READ WHILE WORKING
December 2006 - Audiobooks reviewed by Jonathan Lowe |
 Douglas Adams is MOSTLY HARMLESS. Especially now that he's gone. Or
is he? The author of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" never
made it to age 50, but he's certainly going to be around 50 years
from now. Particularly if his character Arthur Dent suddenly
materializes under the power of an Infinite Probability Drive in 50
years, it's a given that Adams will be with him. Let's wait and
see. But in the meantime, be sure to listen to actor Martin Freeman
narrate another classic--and zany--tome about Arthur's misadventures
as he discovers he's the father of a wayward teenage daughter named
"Random," and that he must save the Earth from obliteration. What's
more difficult to deal with? Flip a coin. Freeman is clearly the
best reader for this, being a free man himself, in more ways than
one. Imagine Robin Williams reading a cross between Woody Allen and
Carl Sagan, and you'll get the sonic picture. Oh, and in "Mostly
Harmless" bad news travels faster than the speed of light, but it's
difficult to use bad news as a rocket fuel, although many have
tried. (Random House Audio/6.5 hours abridged)
A master of the offbeat and eccentric, Mark Baer is a former
screenwriter who now pens the kind of novels that the major
publishers find hard to categorize or sell. Baer's new book is
KOOKS, about a would-be actor who's working as a telemarketer when
angst forces him to flee his dead end life for parts unknown. Trent
Noble then stumbles upon the odd and isolated town of Dadaville,
which he must soon save from the clutches of an encroaching corporate
octopus named World Corp, perhaps fashioned after Wal Mart. Well
written, with quirkily drawn characters, the book is narrated by
Jamie Cohen, whose versatile delivery and nicotine timbre accentuate
a tale that's about as non-formula as real life. If you're looking
for "different," as with Douglas Adams, you've come to the right
place. Although the majors might not care about anything other then
vampires, serial killers, ancient secret orders, and airhead
fashionistas, it doesn't mean you must. (Blackstone Audio/6 hours
unabridged)
Next? Well, here we go again. In what must be the 100th DaVinci
Code clone so far, Raymond Khoury takes us back to 1291 in THE LAST
TEMPLAR, when a young Templar Knight escapes the Holy Land with a
mysterious chest that will turn up centuries later when a raid on the
Vatican exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is
pulled off by four masked horsemen dressed as--you guessed it--
knights. Ready for the chase? Throw in an archaeologist and an FBI
agent, and we're off and running. As a novelist, Khoury is a great
screenwriter. He certainly knows how to set up scenes, but his
melodramatic ending is a bit much for me. This would make exciting
cinema, and is surely an interesting escape from formula romance or
television, but some of the originality is missing, along with that
Codex. Certainly an "A" for effort, though, while narrator Richard
Ferrone can't be faulted for keeping the story moving and
believable. See what you think. (Penguin Audio/14 hours unabridged)
Do you own your possessions, or do your possessions own you? It's a
fair question for Matthew Kelly in his new audiobook PERFECTLY
YOURSELF--NINE LESSONS FOR ENDURING HAPPINESS. Getting into this
self help book with some reservations, I was nonetheless surprised to
find a cogent examination of personal transformation. Who are you?
What are you capable of becoming? Can you forgive yourself for not
being perfect? Should it matter what other people's expectations for
you are? These are some of the questions tackled here, because you
can't be yourself if you don't know who you are. Narrated by the
author, who is a young man enjoying great success on the lecture
circuit, this audiobook does resonate truth. And bravo for pointing
out a few of those truths, which we seem to ignore in our rush for
fame and fashion. A companion to this book would be the Kahlil
Gibran masterpiece "The Prophet," also just re-released by the same
publisher on CD. Recorded in 1985 by narrator Paul Sparer, that
short book is a must-listen for anyone seeking truth in the age of
Botox. (Random House Audio/5 hours abridged)
Finally, Elizabeth Lowell has a new mystery novel out titled THE
WRONG HOSTAGE, about a Federal judge whose son is kidnapped, and the
kidnap specialist who is hired by her out of early retirement. Joe
Faroe is cynical about politicians, as is just about everyone these
days, but now he must walk on the edge of the laws set up by those
who bend the rules themselves whenever it's convenient or necessary
to stay in office at any cost. Maria Tucci narrates this romantic
suspense, which is a cut above the usual escapist woman-in-trouble
fare. The cut isn't high enough to take off the head, which is
sometimes the case with more graphic thrillers. (Harper Audio/11
hours unabridged)
(These audiobooks may be rented from Audio Adventures by calling
1-800-551-6692. Be sure to ask about the "high caffeine" coffee-
related suspense AWAKENING STORM, narrated with sound effects by
Barrett Whitener for BlackstoneAudio.com.) |
BOOKS TO READ WHILE WORKING
November 2006 - Audiobooks reviewed by Jonathan Lowe |
 Comically original,
WOBEGON BOY by Garrison Keillor is a novel more
appropriate for movie adaptation than the one which actually did get
made, namely "A Prairie Home Companion." The story follows John
Tollefson, one of those small town kids from Lake Wobegon, MN, as he
sets off on a career in New York in search of, as he soon discovers,
"grandeur." The American Dream of sitting home by the pool and doing
nothing is no kind of life, after all. Although the novel is more of
a collection of vignettes, stories, and commentary on radio and
Lutherans than a cohesive drama-driven tale of exploits, it
nonetheless has enough charm and lyrical wistfulness to carry it
along, especially under the unassuming observational skill of its
narrator, who is also the author. Written in 1997, the book has been
recently released on CD. and is a wry addition to any collection of
Americana, certainly recommended to anyone who has never heard
Garrison before. (Highbridge Audio/5.75 hours unabridged)
Ever since Janet Evanovich conceived the character of Stephanie Plum,
a ditzy bounty hunter with a wise cracking sidekick, she has been
raking in more gold coin than any treasure hunter. Combine the
offbeat antics of oddball people with a traditional mystery narrative
to arrive at a funny and satisfying conclusion: that's the formula,
once again, in TWELVE SHARP, the 12th outing in the Plum series,
engineered to keep you reading. The plot hardly matters, as the
series is definitely character-driven, but this time a wacko is
stalking Stephanie, requiring defense to turn to offense with the
help of her sometimes boyfriend, vice cop Joe Morelli. The
situations that follow are always lively with banter and comic
promise. You don't pick up a Plum novel to find new insights into
the human dilemma or to explore original ideas, you make the purchase
to discover what mischief Stephanie has gotten herself into this
time. Narrator here is Lorelei King, Janet's personal favorite
reader, who has managed to inhabit the persona of Plum so well and so
often that she has probably developed a split personality in real
life! (Audio Renaissance/7.5 hours unabridged)
Andrew Klavan's DAMNATION STREET is a noir mystery twist on the love
triangle. Not only don't the principals really love the girl, one is
a professional killer with a twisted sense of entitlement, and the
other is an obsessed detective hoping to lure the killer to justice.
Both are looking for Julie, although Detective Scott Weiss sees her a
means to an end. Julie herself is a hooker with the face of an
angel. Can you see where this is going, following several usual and
unusual twists? Yup. A showdown on Damnation Street. The author
narrates, which is usually a bad decision, but Klavan is good enough
to be a narrator of other author's stories as well. It's
particularly appropriate here, too, since the author intervenes in
the plot to claim he once worked for Weiss in real life, and he needs
to deliver a final twist on that subject himself, at the climax. One
of the better mysteries to come out this year, with both quirky,
believable characters and an original wrap-up. (Blackstone Audio/10
hours unabridged)
For new ideas and an insightful look at society that may surprise you
with its range, turn to THROUGH THE CHILDREN'S GATE by Adam Gopnik,
an essayist with enough curiosity and openness to explore not only
the minds of wary adults on the subway, but also children at play.
The gate here refers to one of the named entrances to Central Park,
where Adam's son and daughter often went to escape in their
imaginations around the time of 9/11. Gopnik is a writer for the New
Yorker, and narrates the audiobook version himself with an attentive
fascination for why people act or think so much alike, despite the
differences that they try to project. Why do we believe our
schedules and obligations are more important than actually
communicating with friends? We send short emails, leave brief
messages on answering machines, wave in passing, on our frantic way
to this and that. Gopnik sees in microcosm our modern dilemma in his
daughter's imaginary friend Charlie Ravioli, whom she can't even play
with because he's always busy. In fact, Charlie also has an ominous
imaginary "assistant," so now he doesn't even have time to tell her
that he's too busy to play! (Highbridge Audio/8 hours unabridged)
Ah, Dennis Miller. He's got a mouth on him, for sure. Not the loud
and obnoxious kind, though. Dennis is into slicing and dicing his
targets with metaphors instead of mere insults. His fourth satirical
audiobook, which he reads like a standup act, is THE RANT ZONE, a
three hour tirade against bureaucracy, child stars, reality TV,
baseball, and all the bullies who beat him up for being more
intelligent than they are. Cynical and gifted, Miller is unafraid to
say whatever comes to mind, and that's quite a bit, considering his
self-conscious obsession with comparative judgment. This particular
audiobook is like a roundup of the Rant series, but you may have
heard some of these segments before on HBO, so be warned. Laughs are
never as good the second time around, although if you weren't
listening closely, you may not have gotten it the first time. Or
maybe just not all of it. (Harper Audio/3 hours unabridged)
An interesting history that will appeal to chess buffs is THE
IMMORTAL GAME--A HISTORY OF CHESS by David Shenk, narrated by Rick
Adamson. It links the board game with science, the military,
literature and the arts. From its origin in India around 500 A.D.,
chess has been a teaching tool, and has had a calming effect upon
civilizations, while also altering the very structure of the brains
of its players. Besides tracing history through the development of
chess, this audiobook also describes the greatest single game ever
played. That happened in 1851, and was dubbed "the immortal game"
because of its breathtaking and unusual moves. Not even a match
game, it was to be a practice game leading up to competition, yet it
drew more attention after the fact than any match game ever played.
All the moves of that astonishing game are given, plus commentary on
the outcomes of supercomputers vs. chess masters. As narrated by
Adamson, this audiobook reminded me of a PBS series that aired once
about connections between seemingly unrelated subjects. Now if only
we could get world leaders to play the game instead of firing
missiles at each other! (Random House Audio/6 hours unabridged)
Next, with the trans-fat scare now making headlines, french fries and
processed snacks are discouraged, so what's safe to eat anymore? An
overview of the answers are available in a "new and expanded" edition
of Dr. Andrew Weil's bestseller EIGHT WEEKS TO OPTIMUM HEALTH, now
out on audio, narrated by the author. I put the words "new" and
"expanded" in quotes, because not much is new here, and instead of
"expanded" I'd recommend the words "simplified" and "abridged."
Still, it's a good book for those who've never heard Weil, an expert
on alternative medicine, which means natural remedies instead of
pharmaceutical drugs. (For instance, did you know that raw garlic is
as good as some cholesterol lowering drugs?) Best thing about Weil
is that he doesn't talk down to you, or load up his delivery with
dubious promises or sugary hype. For more scientific information,
try his book "Healthy Aging." This one, in its abridged format,
might better be titled "Eating and Walking For Dummies." (Random
House Audio/3 hours abridged)
Finally, when an Indian shaman arrives in south Florida with a bag of
totems, various Cuban-American businessmen begin dying gruesome and
inexplicable deaths. Could this have something to do with the Jaguar
god that Jimmy Paz, Miami's resident "sleuth of the weird," has
nightmares about? To preserve the rain forest of Colombia,
sacrifices are sometimes required. And so is Jimmy's daughter being
targeted by a jungle cat, as he suspects? If the plot of NIGHT OF
THE JAGUAR sounds preposterous, know that most of Clive Cussler's
plots do too. Or Michael Crighton's. What makes them plausible is
the quality of the writing, or the ability to suspend disbelief, even
for the supernatural. Match this with the superb narration of
Jonathan Davis, and you have an intriguing production, with added
dimension beyond the usual cops and terrorists escapist puzzle. Or,
as Dennis Miller might put it, "if you don't like the idea of Osama
and Jack Nicholson in their underwear in a freezing garden maze at
night, equipped with hatchets and Bic lighters, well, then, my
friend, you're either dead or you're a Price Is Right fan." (Sound
Library/15 hours unabridged)
(These audiobooks may be rented from Audio Adventures by calling
1-800-551-6692. Be sure to ask about the "high caffeine"
supernatural suspense AWAKENING STORM.) |
BOOKS TO READ WHILE WORKING
October 2006 - Audiobooks reviewed by Jonathan Lowe |
 For an exhaustive examination of faith and science, try listening to
THE LANGUAGE OF GOD, a bombshell new book written and read by Francis
S. Collins, a leading geneticist and head of the Human Genome
Project. Here, a scientist attempts to answer the question of belief
in a Creator by delving into biology, chemistry and physics.
Following his own bio path from atheism to faith, Collins first
employs the writings of C.S. Lewis in understanding the puzzle of
morality. Later, he dismisses agnosticism as simplistic, and
Intelligent Design as illogical. He also refutes "young earth"
creationism, pointing instead to irrefutable evidence that the
universe began at the Big Bang some 14.5 billion years ago. So
what's left? Evolution, of course. Charles Darwin, and natural
selection. But not "atheistic evolution." And that's the
bombshell. Collins says that atheists adopted evolution, but God was
there first. Evolution is God's language--the language He invented.
It is just as much God's, in fact, as the Big Bang itself, which
science cannot explain. So not only can you believe in evolution and
still be a Christian, there is really no other choice, since science
has proven that the earth is not young, and that evolution is no more
a theory than gravity is a theory. Points in fact: the long held
view that there are no transitional species is now dying, since new
fossils have been found which ARE transitional. To believe that the
universe was created in seven LITERAL days--improperly interpreted
from Genesis--necessitates dismissing all of biology, physics and
chemistry. And so to believe creation happened a mere 10,000 years
ago (as 45% of Christians do) is to believe that there are no
galaxies, and that cosmology is all a trick. But God did not employ
subterfuge in creation, says Collins, and so there IS a harmony
between science and faith. In short, Christians do not need to
defend themselves from evolution, because it was God's way from the
beginning, from beyond time. Exactly how much faith does it take for
a leading geneticist (or for Einstein or for Darwin) to believe in a
Creator now, in this new light? Listen, and decide for yourself.
(Simon & Schuster Audio/6 hours unabridged)
A magician of original wordplay, appropriately interpreted, is John
Banville, an Englishman who won the Booker Prize for THE SEA, an
astonishingly insightful look at a middle aged Irishman who has gone
back to the seaside town where he grew up in order to make peace with
his tortured soul following the death of his wife. It is the same
place where he learned his first lessons about life and love, and
even death. What he learned then will now help him cope with his
recent loss. Narrator is John Lee, who has the Irish accent down pat
for this introspective, wise, and remarkably real telling of a man's
story in a way that most men often find themselves incapable of
relating. You will definitely want to keep this one, and replay it
to marvel at the depth and quirky precision that can be evoked by a
reader with the right voice and delicacy of nuance. (Random House
Audio/6 hours unabridged)
For more from the British Isles, Karleen Koen's historical novel
"Through A Glass Darkly" now has a sequel in DARK ANGELS, set in the
time of King Charles II in England. The story follows Alice Verney,
maid of honor to the Queen, who intends to marry the most celebrated
duke of the Restoration in order to obtain--what else--power over the
minions below her station. It's naturally a time of betrayal, as the
King is rumored to be about to divorce his wife, and war is looming
too, either with the Dutch or the French. One thing's for certain:
human nature hasn't changed much since the 17th Century. They had
greed, vanity, lust, and murderous intent in spades, just as we do
now. Actress Rosalyn Landor narrates the text as though telling
secrets to a confidant, since many of the characters here are doing
the same. (Random House Audio/9 hours abridged)
Next, Lou Dobbs has a beef with government and industry in WAR ON THE
MIDDLE CLASS. Dobbs outlines the causes of our problems, mainly the
subversion of the legal system by corporate special interest groups,
the outsourcing of manufacturing and service jobs overseas, the
crippling cost of medical insurance due to multi-million dollar
lawsuits, and the propaganda attack by those supporting illegal
immigration's assault on social services. What can be done to
recapture the threatened American Dream? Well, that's outlined too,
although it's mostly relegated to the back end of the final CD, which
Dobbs also narrates. By the time he gets to the fighting back part,
though, you've more or less given up hope that our schools,
hospitals, courts, borders, and big companies can ever be fixed.
Because it's pretty obvious that the war being waged by both the rich
and the poor against those who are paying most of the bills is
definitely not being won by those who are also doing most of the
work. As the gap widens, the middle class is ever more inevitably to
be left holding the empty, bullet-ridden bag. After all, in any
battle, aren't the people standing in the middle more likely to be
hit by flying lead, since they're being fired upon by both sides?
(Penguin Audio/4 hours abridged)
Finally, enter THE DISCOMFORT ZONE with Jonathan Franzen, winner of
the National Book Award for the Oprah title "The Corrections." This
is an autobiographical book, read by the author, as he remembers
growing up with repressive parents, a fear of girls and spiders, and
a loathing for sports (unless you call bird watching a sport). All
the basic subjects are covered here, including school dances, church
socials and taboos, global warming, writers like Kafka, and
marriage. Why you should care about Franzen's thoughts on these
subjects is a good question, but the answer to that is for the
entertainment value, and for sheer insight into what makes people
tick. That includes himself, of course, since any good writer
develops a sense of the larger picture beyond what is seen in a
mirror, and so invariably attempts to gauge his position within that
frame of reference. As a narrator, Franzen succeeds in conveying
much of the angst of his youth, while at the same time not
embarrassing himself with tales of overindulgence. Always aware of
his audience, he nonetheless doesn't read as though he is turning
pages, and thereby adds resonance to credibility. (Highbridge Audio/
6 hours unabridged)
(These audiobooks may be rented from Audio Adventures by calling
1-800-551-6692. Jonathan Lowe is a judge in the Audie awards, and
author of the longevity mystery GEEZER, and the high caffeine audio
suspense AWAKENING STORM from BlackstoneAudio.com)
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