September Audiobooks

September wasn't a great reading month for me. I only finished 7 books and, as you will see, I'm using the term "finished" very loosely. Football started this month so some of my reading time has been taken by the television. We also  have friends visiting and it's a bit rude to plug in an audiobook while everyone else chats. 

Of the 7 books I read I didn't finish 3 of them! This is why the Audible Deal of the Day is sometimes a crap shoot. Marine One was my favorite of the group this month with The Easape coming in at a close second.

The Escape
by David Baldacci

This is the 3rd in Baldacci’s John Puller series. In this one we get to spend time with his brother and learn all about how he was framed for espionage. The book opens with his escape from military prison. It’s another reliable Baldacci thriller with our action hero, John Puller and a trove of cliché military officers: men and women. I enjoy this genre and enjoyed this book. It was a little annoying that Baldacci insists on military form to call them by their last names. It’s gets confusing at times with 2 “Pullers”. But, hey there might be times when you would want 2 pullers.
Another note about this book is that it is “enhanced” with periodic music and sound effects. It drives me batty. What I love about books is that I get to define the characters and the scenes in my own imagination. When the music, gunshots or screeching tires are added it’s very jarring and distracting to me. Hachette does this routinely with their books. Every time I read one I send them an email and they used to reply that most of their customers like it. They don’t bother acknowledging me anymore. So, I’m curious. If you listen to audiobooks do you like the new trend of adding sound effects and music? (My ego is prepared to be on the wrong side of this vote.)

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When Gods Die
by CS Harris

​This is the second in the Sebastian St. Cyr series. These books are set in Regency England and the Price Regent is suspected of murder when the unfortunate Marchioness is found in his room. I like this one better than the first so will keep reading the series. I can’t, however, figure out what her book titles have to do with the books except there’s a point in the book where someone is asked if they believe in God. I guess she just likes very clever titles and I’m good with that.
I just discovered that she (Candace Proctor is her real name) has another series under the author CS Graham that is go-written with her husband. I’ll try one of those out soon.
No special sound effects in these books and the narrator, Davena Porter, is one of my all-time favorites.

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Analysis and Critique: How to Engage and Write about Anything
by Professor Dorsey Armstrong

I love The Great Courses books and have learned a lot from them. I've also listened to a previous course by Professor Armstrong on King Arthur and it was one of my favorite of the series. But I can't recommend this one. She is trying to cover too much ground in one course. She addresses poetry, essays, rhetoric, drama, autobiography and I don't know what else because she lost me. It's really just an overview of successful writing concepts. I gave up half way through because it became a chore to listen to it.

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O Jerusalem
By Laurie R King

What did I do to deserve 2 really bad books in a row?

This is another book in the Sherlock Holmes/Mary Russell series that I've been enjoying.  I picked it specifically to follow the Analysis book so I'd have something fun to read. Holy cow. It's been a long time since I've been so bored by a book. I gave up at Chapter 11 (of 29) because we are still wandering the desert trying to figure out what's going on. I decided that I didn't care enough about what was going on so I left them in the desert to find their own way out.

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Paragon Walk
by Anne Perry

This is the 3rd in the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series. This time Thomas is investigating the rape and murder of a young woman in the neighborhood where Charlotte's sister lived. I generally enjoy Anne Perry's books but this one was a bit of a let down. It couldn't have been more obvious from the beginning who did it. The writing just seemed a little lazy to me.

The books in the series are mostly under my 10 hour minimum so I probably won't read any others.

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Marine One
by James W. Huston

It's a dark and stormy night and the President needs to go to Camp David. Marine One is to take him. The helicopter crashes on the way there killing everyone inside, including the President. Now it's time to search for blame. The first target is the French manufacturer. They hire former helicopter pilot and attorney, Mike Nolan to help with their defense.

This book moves at a fast pace and there's a lot going on. It focuses mostly on the courtroom drama and proceedings leading up to the trial. It's very fast paced and a fun read.

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The Egyptian
by Mika Waltari

This is a historical fiction book that is meant to give us a walk through history via the travels of one character. I don't know if it was the narrator or the writing or both, but this book was horrible. The main character is supposedly a brilliant physician but is otherwise a bumbling idiot who just barely gets out of scrapes. it reminds me of a Christopher Moore book so much (the narration contributes to that feeling) that I kept expecting a laugh line. I gave up a little more than half way through.

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