Pure listening pleasure

book of a thousand days will be out sometime this fall. I will be doing a very brief tour for it, and bringing along Max, Maggie, and my mom. Ay ya ya. More details on that later.

Lately I've been listening to a lot of audio books. Not only in the car, but I keep them on my ipod and listen for stretches during the night when I'm up with Maggie. It's very comforting to find refuge in a story when I'm awake anyway but too tired to focus on a book. They've all been great, so I thought I'd pass along the recommendations:

Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke - Perhaps my favorite so far. Lynn Redgrave does a phenomenal job at narrating this captivating story. (One interesting note, and this is by no means meant as a criticism of the book, which I thought was outstanding--in the book the characters remark how people assume that authors of the books they read are dead, and yet all the books mentioned were written by writers now deceased. I kept noticing that throughout the story, especially given our ongoing discussion about how older books are often perceived as being better than newer books.)

The Wee Free Men - Krivens! I loved this story. You simply must listen to the audio book because the voices of the wee free men and their accents are so delightful, so funny, I often laughed aloud. I'm listening to the sequel right now, A Hat Full of Sky. The main character, Tiffany Aching, girl witch, is truly great. Terry Pratchett is the unquestioned king of humorous fantasy.

America the Book - I'm a fan of The Daily Show, and this audio book, read by Jon Stewart, Stephen Cobert, and other Daily Show correspondents, is really funny and actually quite interesting to boot. Be warned, they do drop the occassional f-bomb.

Peter and the Starcatchers - Funny, exciting, and quite different than I expected. The narrator is Jim Dale, who also does the Harry Potter books. He's excellent.

I also induldged in reading a three-book series this new year. It's a rare pleasure I don't often allow myself because there are so many books by so many authors I want to read. But I'm so glad I did. The books are The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, and The King of Attolia, by Megan Whalen Turner. The first book was a Newbery Honor (and we all know what fine taste the Newbery Honor people have), and the last book was a top ten in the ALA's Best Books for Young Adults. They read like fantasy novels, though the fantastical elements are very subtle, so that the books almost seem historical novels. I've never read stories like these and am still trying to figure out just how Turner does what she does. She is a cunning plotter. The books have been repackaged in gorgeous covers, the first two in paperback. I'm hoping she'll write another in this series. See?! I've become like one of the fans who write to me, insisting on another Bayern novel or a princess academy sequel. I actually tried to find Turner's email address so I could email her! I hope I get to meet her one day so I can gush.

Comments

[Q]

Did you look at Borders? If B&N does not have it, Borders might.

[Rachel]

I LOVE The Theif books by Megan Whalen Turner. Her book was right next to yours and that is when i started reading your books! Will you come to Arizona on your tour? Pleas do! Or i will be willing to visit Utah to see you! I can't wait! YOu're awesome!!!!

[MAYday]

Just as I was about to start Inkheart on Saturday, I realized it was due and I couldn't renew it! I was so disappionted! Now I have to wait for a few weeks until I can read it. In the meantime, I have started reading Persuasion by Jane Austen. I've gotten through quite a bit, since I've had two snowdays already this week! They're a wonderful opportunity to do some good, hearty reading.

[Enna Isilee]

Hm... I'll try Borders.

If my hometown bookstore was still in business I would have it by now.

Curse you small town!

[Emma]

I just finished listening to The Tale of Despareaux. It's cute, I loved it....But the library in my town doesn't have GG, or any of the Bayern books on tape or CD!! Nooo! And i put River Secrets on hold, and it's been on hold for a month now! Argh!

[Hannah]

Ms Hale, have you ever listened to one of the Redwall novels by Brian Jacques on tape? He narrates most of them and they are wonderful!

[Hannah]

Ms Hale, have you ever listened to one of the Redwall novels by Brian Jacques on tape? He narrates most of them and they are wonderful!

[audio books]

Thank you for the recommendations!

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