The Swan Thieves Wednesday, Nov 24 2010

Kostova, Elizabeth.The Swan Thieves.  New York : Hachette Audio, 2010.  ISBN: 9781600247453. Narrated by Treat Williams, Anne Heche,  Erin Cottrell, Sarah Zimmerman,  and John Lee.

To say that I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook would be a huge understatement.  Its complexity, and often mysterious storyline and characters, gave the story a haunting quality.  For the first time in quite a while, I would have to state that I loved the audio version of The Swan Thieves far more than I would have enjoyed the printed text.  The narration was perfect, giving the depiction of pain, confusion, heartbreak, and love throughout each of the various characters’ experiences.

As for the story, it begins with Dr. Andrew Marlow, a psychologist and an occasional painter.  When he  receives a call from a fellow colleague asking for his help with a successful artist, Robert Oliver, after he tried to attack a painting in the National Gallery, Marlow becomes entangled in the silent and mysterious man’s past.   Robert refuses to talk to anyone, including Marlow; he merely sits in his room constantly re-reading antique letters and holding in some type of internal battle within himself.  When Marlow gets him art supplies in the hope that the artist might reveal something about himself, he is instead confronted with Oliver’s endless portraits of a beautiful and mysterious woman.

Marlow then sets out to confront the only people who may be able to give him some insight into the silent and anger artist.  He will find that only two people will be able to shed any light on the artist, Oliver’s ex-wife, Kate,  and someone by the name of Mary.

The Swan Thieves is a beautiful story that portrays love and heartbreak throughout two different spans of time.  Also, as I stated before, the narration for the audio book is perfect.  You can truly experience the wreckage Robert Oliver has left behind and the pain the artist feels because there will never be able to find resolve to attaining the one thing his heart most desires.

Elizabeth Kostovo is also known for penning the best-selling novel,  The Historian.

If you enjoy The Swan Thieves you may also like:

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

The Thirteeth Tale by Diana Setterfield

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Leave a Response »

 

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest Monday, Oct 11 2010

Larsson, Steig.  The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.  New York : Random House Audio, 2010. ISBN: 9780739384190.  Read by Simon Vance.

Like the rest of the world, I have become obsessed with the works of Steig Larsson.  Upon completing his last book in the Lisbeth Salander trilogy (although there are rumors that there is a fourth book), I was equally pleased and disappointed that I will no longer be able to live vicariously through the Swedish heroin. Larsson portrays the most unlikely female who is able to successfully wage a war  against a world that has been against her since her childhood.  She is small and slight physically, but her mind and willpower defy logic.  Lisbeth’s ability to strike back against her enemies through her unbelievable computer hacking abilities leaves her to be a powerful weapon that threatens national security.

Larsson has created one of the most power female protagonists in recent history to hit the shelves of bookstores and libraries alike.  In conjunction depicting strong characters, lest not forget journalist Mikael Blomkvist, Larsson is also able to illustrate a tangled world of corrupted politics, rough and organized gangs that delve into the sex trade, and rogue police forces.  He creates various layers that are at work against Lisbeth and the truth that she threatens to expose–a secret that could topple those that have been secretly working for the Swedish government for the past 40 years.

On top of having one of the most successful trilogies in recent years, Larsson’s works have now carried over to the big screen.  Sweden has turned all three books in the movies, and of course, American versions are in the works.  Noomi Rapace, the Swedish actress portraying Lisbeth, is perfectly cast, and I am afraid no American actress will be able to convey such a strong character as well as Rapace has done.

Of course, this post would not be complete without referring to the audiobook versions of Larsson’s works, which are narrated with perfect precision by Simon Vance.  Effortlessly, he gives each character his or her own voice with inflection and personality.  He made an already wonderful story come to life through the speakers of my Honda Civic.  If only all audiobooks could be so interesting–to the point I would often take the long way home in order to see what was about to happen next.

In all, and I think I am already reiterating the opinion of most people who have read Larsson,  this is truly one of the most original and fascinating body of works that I have read in recent years (Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games would be a close second.)  He is able to combine so many various layers into his story-telling, in combination to characters that are equally flawed, passionate, and striving to get back at all of those how have abused their power.  I am skeptical about what Hollywood will do to the story–turning it into to something that will no longer resemble the original storyline–the main reason why I absolutely love the Swedish versions, I will still see what they will have to offer an American audience.  In the end, I hope that they prove me wrong and give me another way to enjoy the works of Larsson.  Please, visit the Steig Larsson website to learn more about the author, who has an equally interesting personal story: http://www.stieglarsson.com/.

–Melissa the Librarian

Leave a Response »

 

Little Bee Friday, Jul 16 2010

Cleave, Chris.  Little Bee.  Old Saybrook, CT : Tantor Audio, 2009. ISBN: 9781400111718. Read by Anne Flosnik.

When Andrew and Sarah venture to Nigeria on a last minute vacation meant to repair their damaged marriage, they never foresee  an event on a pristine African beach that will change their lives forever.  From the  moment when they meet Little Bee and her sister, the way they feel about life, love, and themselves, are forever changed.

Five years later Little Bee arrives at the O’Rourke’s doorstep.  She’s seeking refuge from the couple that she briefly once knew.  Yet, Little Bee’s timing could not be worse, for she arrives the day of Andrew’s funeral.  Little Bee’s arrival sparks Sarah’s, as well as her own, memories about what happened on that day back in Nigeria.

Little Bee is a tale of how a refugee seeks solace from one of the last people who has shown her any kindness in a world that she only knows as unstable and violent.  It is a tale the shows both how truly cruel and vicious the world can be, as well as how one act of selflessness can change a life.

Chris Cleave weaves a story about how vulnerable Sarah truly is, despite the fact that she has always been confident and successful.  Little Bee is a girl who has witnessed horrific atrocities, and yet, she maintains a girlish voice of innocence throughout the book, even though she possess a mature and scarred outlook on life.  Flosnik narrates Little Bee flawlessly, giving all the characters their own identity with the sound of her voice.

Little Bee has received the following awards and reviews:

ALA Notable Book

#1 New York Times Bestseller

Reviewed in Library Journal, Kirkus, People, and Booklist.

Little Bee is a good match to those who enjoyed:

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Leave a Response »

 

The Lace Reader Friday, Jun 18 2010

Barry, Brunonia.  The Lace Reader.  New York:  Harper Collins, 2008.   ISBN: 9780061661556.  $39.95.  Read by Alyssa Bresnahan.

(Image Credit: Cape May County Library)

There are some who have a gift for being able to read people and there are those who can see the future in crafted pieces of Ipswitch lace.  Towner Whitney comes from a long line of readers, and although reading lace can be taught, there are still those that go beyond simply learning.  Some are just born with the gift of foresight.

Towner left Salem, Massachusetts 15 years ago, when she was 18, and  has vowed to never return to her hometown ever again.  Yet, when she receives a phone call from her younger brother regarding her beloved Aunt Eva, and the fact that the eighty-five year-old woman has disappeared, Towner runs back to find out what has happened.  Back in Salem, Towner is whisked back to the town that thinks she and her family are crazy.  She also has to encounter her own mother, who has never been a really been there.  That was Aunt Eva’s role.

As Towner tries to find her aunt, she also learns that there are more sinister forces circling  her family than she realized.  As the past becomes entangled in the present, Towner will begin to rely on the natural gift she has tried for so long to ignore.

Barry has created a unique story that eloquently portrays a New England family against the background of Salem, Massachusetts.  She weaves fiction in to Salem’s famous past, while also illustrating modern life along New England’s coast.  Alyssa Bresnahan’s voice gives depth and character to The Lace Reader.  She is able to relay the thoughts and feelings of the characters well.  Together, Barry and Bresnahan, have created a wonderful, mysterious, and bewitching tale about New England and complicated family dynamics, in combination with the idea that lace readers can predict the future, although they cannot stop the pain, danger, and the happiness that accompanies life.

The Lace Reader has received the following acclaim:

Publishers Weekly Starred Review

New York Times Best Seller

People Magazine People Pick

Time Magazine

The Washington Post

If you like this book, you may also like Diane Setterfield’s, The Thirteenth Tale

Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

The Third Angel by Alice Hoffman

The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman

–Melissa the Librarian

Leave a Response »

 

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Wednesday, May 26 2010

Grahame-Smith, Seth. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.  North Kingstown, R.I.: BBC Audiobooks America, 2010.  ISBN: 9781607883548.

(Image Credit: Cape May County Library)

Abraham Lincoln may be best known as the16th President who changed the course of America’s government with the onset of the Civil War and the abolishment of slavery, but what if one of the most recognizable American Presidents was also fighting a war against some of the world’s darkest forces, more specifically, vampires?

Grahame-Smith portrays Lincoln not only as one of the United States’ most eloquent speakers and visionaries, he illustrates a man that discovers that there are vampires at work behind the scenes of the American slave trade.  Grahame-Smith begins Lincoln’s discovery of vampires within his childhood, where he embarks on a personal vendetta against the blood-thirsty creatures.  As Lincoln develops into the man who will lead the country into one of the most bloody wars in American history, he inadvertently begins a battle against America’s vampires.  Slaves are their primary food source.  With the abolishment of slavery vampires will no longer be able to live the free-reign lifestyle they are so accustomed to.  The Civil War was never truly about freeing slaves.  Instead, it is a war against vampires who want to enslave all of America, creating a world where their species no longer has to hide on the outskirts of society.  If they win the Civil War, vampires will have an abundance of Americans to feed on.  The United States will not be the land of the free, it will be the land the enslaved.

Grahame-Smith creates a tale intricately weaving Abraham Lincoln’s biographical information, as well as American history, into a macbre tale of vampire hunting.  This is not a story for those with a weak stomach.  He portrays two types of vampires: those who want to live  a quiet existance in the shadows of man and those who want to enslave humans into a never-ending food source.  It is interesting to see how Grahame-Smith turns one of America’s greatest Presidents into an ax-wealding vampire killer, along with creatively weaving historical facts into supporting the existence vampires in America’s past.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter has been reviewed in Library Journal. Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Kirkus.

John Grahame-Smith is also well-known for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

If you are interested in historical or classic fiction with a twist of horror and the macbre, you may also like:

Pride and prejudice and zombies : the graphic novel by Seth Grahame-Green

Sense, Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Ben H. Winters

Dracula in Love : The Private Diary of Mina Harker by Karen Essex

Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter by E. A.Moorat

–Melissa the Librarian

One Response »

 

The Serialist Friday, Apr 23 2010

The Serialist. David Gordon. Ashland, Or.: Blackstone Audio, Inc.,  2010. ISBN: 9781441727855.

Narrated by Bronson Pinchot

Harry Bloch is about as pathetic as a writer could possibly be.  His career, if that is what you would call it,    barley allows him to scrape by.  He writes pulp novels; series with over-sexed vampires, or a sci-fi epic that involves a sexbot made only for the captain of a large phallus-shaped spaceship, and finally a knockoff series that sound a lot like the Shaft .  Harry ends up making a bulk of his income when he meets Claire, a privileged and sassy teenager who offers Harry the chance to write papers for high schoolers.  Their relationship becomes close as Claire soon becomes Harry’s manager because he just can’t seem to manage his life.

Harry’s recent endeavor to hop in the vampire bandwagon has gives him his best success thus far.  However, in order to pull off the charade of a authoress, Harry is forced to dress up as his dead mother, since he uses her name as an alias for his latest series.  It is during one of his cover shoots, Harry receives a letter from Darian Clay, aka The Photo Killer,  to ghostwrite his life story.  What Harry doesn’t foresee is that there is no such thing as the perfect opportunity, and that his life is about to become far more entangled with Darien’s than he could have ever imagined.

Bronson Pinchot does an excellent job narrating this fantastically funny, satirical, and often gory tale. He gives each character their own voice, making the story easy to follow and enjoyable.  This is not a listen for those with a sensitive stomach.   Gordon captures the essence of a prolific serial killer by using prose that describe his “craft” and obsession with killing and sex.  Yet, despite the graphic nature of the tale, Harry Bloch is a lovable character who gets entangled in events that are far beyond his control.  For those that enjoy the works of David Sedaris, Harry Bloch is a perfect match.

Leave a Response »

 

The Girl Who Chased the Moon Sunday, Apr 18 2010

The Girl Who Chased the Moon. Sarah Addison Allen. Westminster, Md. : Books on Tape, 2010. ISBN: 9781415962190

Narrated by Rebecca Lowman

Seventeen-year-old Emily Benedict is thrust into Mullaby, North Carolina to live her grandfather after the death of her mother.  She is exposed to a world and a family she never new existed.  On top of being thrown into her new southern environment, Emily also begins to notice that Mullaby’s residents and town are  unlike anything she has  ever known to exist.  Her Grandpa Vance is an eight-foot-tall giant, there are strange lights outside in the woods behind her house, and her wallpaper in her room changes according to her mood.

Emily also uncovers that there is a lot of Mullaby history that involves her mother.  The type of information no one wants to tell her.  It seems like everyone knows about Emily and her past, that is, except Emily.  When Emily strikes up a casual friendship with Wynn Coffy, her world becomes even more complicated.  Wynn knows her history, as well as the fact they are not to associate with one another.  As Emily begins to learn about the residents of Mullaby she comes closer to uncovering the truth about the town and her mother’s past, but of course, all truths come with unforeseen consequences.

Emily is also not the only resident who is lost in the complications of Mullaby, there is also Julia Winterson.  She has inherited her father’s old BBQ Restaurant, and plans to run the operation just long enough to save enough money to get out of her old hometown.  Mullaby reminds Julia too much of the past. Julia tries to escape by avoiding the locals and baking cakes, with the strange intention that the smell of her sweet concoctions will resurrect someone from her past to come and find her.   The Girl Who Chased the Moon is a tale about no matter how hard one tries to avoid and forget the past, it will always catch up and find you.

Rebecca Lawson gives life to the tale of the The Girl Who Chased the Moon.  She is able to narrate with ease and give each character its own personality and distinction.  She tells the tale with thought and compassion, bringing the residents and magic of Mullaby, North Carolina to life.

Sarah Addison Allen is a New York Times bestselling author was also penned The Sugar Queen and Garden Spells.

–Melissa the Librarian

Leave a Response »

 

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Monday, Mar 29 2010

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Junot Diaz
Westminster, Md. : Books on Tape, 2007.
$100.00  ISBN 9781415941942.

(Image Credit: cape May County Library, Cape May Court House, NJ)

Oscar is an overweight, nerdy, girl-obsessed Dominican teenager growing up in Patterson, New Jersey.  His lonely existence is dominate by writing his own fantasy tales, combined with a desperate longing to find a girlfriend and overall acceptance by those around him. However, Oscar and his family seem to be cursed by the illusive fuku, a curse that has been haunting Oscar’s family for generations.

Jonathan Davis narrates this tale with ease, shifting between English and Spanish.   If you are like me, you will probably wish you knew more Espanol, because there were times when I felt that I was losing subtle pieces of information and the richness of the tale.  (On a personal note, I would have liked to see Diaz reiterate the words of the characters when they spoke in their native tongue, as opposed to carrying on with the story.  Again, I just felt like I was missing out on some important facts.) Yet, the narrator was able to convey the thoughts and feelings of Oscar and his family with effortless simplicity, even when the story turned dark and violent.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is a tragic tale of how a family seems to be destined for inescapable failure.  They try to flee from their past and heritage, only to be confronted with time and time again.  Although the tale of Oscar and his family spans over several generations, they all fall victim to the fuku while they desperately search for love and acceptance.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao has received the following awards.

2008 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
National Book Critics Circle Award for Best Fiction of 2007.
Mercantile Library Center’s John Sargent Prize for First Novel in 2007.
Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards.

It was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award.
New York Times Notable Book of 2007.
Time magazine’s Book of the Year.
Starred review in Library Journal.

Leave a Response »

 

Her Fearful Symmetry Sunday, Mar 28 2010

Her Fearful Symmetry. Audrey Niffeneggar. New York, NY : Audioworks, Simon & Schuster Audio, 2009.

This story begins with a death. Elspeth Noblin dies from leukemia with her lover, Robert, at her side. In her will Elspeth leaves her London flat and assets to her two American nieces, Julia and Valentina. In order to claim their inheritance, the sisters must live in the flat for one year, and never allow their parents to enter the apartment. Julia and Valentina have never had much ambition to do anything with their lives, and since they do not have anything, or anyone, to lose, they decide to move to London for the year.

As the girls begin to explore the city and the neighboring Highgate Cemetery, they also discover the residents in Elspeth’s building:  Martin, who suffers from obsessive-compulsive-disorder, is a lone prisoner of his flat, since his wife recently left him. Robert, Elspeth’s former lover, lives above the girls. Julia and Valentina are a grim reminder of Robert’s loss, since they bear a striking resemblance to Elspeth. Yet, Julia and Valentina are not initially aware of all the building’s tenants. Elspeth herself is haunting her flat. The deeply attached twins do not realize that their seemingly simple stay in London will alter their lives, and all of those around them, forever. By searching for excitement and escape from their mundane American lives, Julia and Valentina will end up finding and losing far more than they could have ever predicted.

Audrey Niffenegger has also penned The Time Traveler’s Wife, which was recently released as a major motion picture.  

Leave a Response »

 

eReaders: Through the Eyes of a Public Librarian Wednesday, Jan 13 2010

I dream a lot.  Most people will tell you that they wish they had the long, episodic dreams that I have that are always filled with adventurous, strange, scary, beautiful images, because they are, in fact, dreams. The other night I dreamt of a tidal wave.  Its large, threatening wall of water was heading my way as I tried to move as fast as I could to escape its inevitable crash.  Although this was just a dream, it somehow led my thoughts to eReaders this afternoon and how their forceful presence is cropping up in so many various aspects of my life this time of year, in particular, everyone I know, as well as strangers,  asking what to buy and how they work.  From my perspective, the tidal wave of my dreams seems to also be made from eReaders.

This is, of course, is do to my work.  I’m a librarian.  I order all our downloadable audiobooks, and now eBooks, for the Southern New Jersey region. This a  great aspect of some of the many things I do at work, but lately its consuming almost every daily conversation.  In the end, I don’t mind, but trying to relay all the ins and outs of eReaders is overwhelming, for me and patrons.  By the end of my long-winded explanation, I’m in dire need of a glass of water, but I digress.  Here’s the world of eReaders through the eyes of a librarian who works in a public library:

Overdrive, the service that provides my library with downloadable eBooks and audiobooks, has finally bridged the gap between Apple and eBooks.  Hooray!! Finally! As of December 7th, they have released an app for the iPhone and the Android to finally allow patrons to read eBooks on their mobile devices. (Plans for the iPad are in the near future).  You can read about this advancement on the Overdrive blog: http://overdriveblogs.com/library/2010/12/07/overdrive-apps-for-iphone-and-android-now-support-ebooks/.  Although this is great news, I have also discovered that all our old .pdf files will not be included in the new app’s capability for Apple products; it’s only for the new ePub files. Thank goodness this is what we have purchased for our collection.

So with that said, the ePub will work on iPhones, Androids, Sony’s eReaders, Barnes & Noble’s Nooks, etc., etc., etc.  Yet with all the flexibility of the ePub format, different devices do not always make the process of downloading a digital format as easy as they portray.  For instance, if I want to use an iPad to get an audiobook I have to watch what I’m doing.  If I’m using wireless, I can only download MP3 formats.  If I want a title that is in a WMA format, I first have to download Overdrive’s Media Console; however, if it’s your first time downloading the Media Console, you usually have to automatically update it.  Why?  I don’t know, but you do.  This sometimes works by updating the program through the “update” button, but more often than not, you will have to go to a separate website.  Once that is done, I can plug-in my Apple device.  Wait!  It still won’t transfer.  I then have to right-click my device and check off the box to manually enable it to accept transfered materials.  Once this is completed, I can finally get my audiobook and breathe!  With using my iPad for eBooks, I can only load ePub formats.  The pdfs of the past will not work.

Don’t get me wrong.  This is not strictly an Apple or an Overdrive issue.  My Sony eReader also took many steps to set up, between obtaining an Adobe Digital ID, downloading Adobe Digital Editions, registering my eReader to my computer, and then, finally obtaining an eBook.  Once I got through all the steps, the process works relatively flawlessly.  For some reason, every once in a while, my eBook will not load into Adobe Digital Editions, but go right into my Sony eReader.  I can’t say I mind either.  Once less click for me and I still have my eBook.

Next week, I will hopefully have the Barnes & Noble Nook Color.  The reviews have been great, but then again, there is always seems to be something: an update, verification, format incompatibility, and the list goes on.  I will say that I love being able to answer patron questions about eReaders, even though, it most often pertains to Amazon’s Kindle and how you need to acquire eBooks through Amazon alone.  Their device will not work with the library.  I hate disappointing patrons, but when it comes to the Kindle, it’s unavoidable.

All and all, the eReader is a fast-growing and expanding part of the book market and its presence does not appear to be dwindling. In fact, libraries and librarians need to make it a point to understand how eReaders work, as well as offering their patrons a format that is accessible through the web, whether or not a patron is using a laptop or a mobile device, or if they are connecting at home through broadband or wirelessly. (As part of my dedication to patrons with eReaders, I am planning to teach a class about how to use them).  As a public librarian, it is our duty to be familiar with eReaders, despite the fact that there are those of us who love printed books.  I don’t think that love will ever go away, but in order to be an important and valuable asset to the community, we have to go with the flow of technology.  I don’t think that means that printed books are going to stop being a large presence in our collection anytime soon.  Yet, we must recognize that there is another generation and group of patrons that love this format.  Just look at the continuing growth of eReader sales.

So with all that said, the tidal wave of eReaders is coming your way.  Make sure that you are familiar with whats out there and how it works.  A knowledgable librarian is the best kind a public, or any type of library, can possibly have at their community’s disposal.  Questions about eReaders are coming your way, whether you like them or not.

Melissa the Librarian-Cape May County Library

One Response »