Books Read
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A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin Published: 1998 – 2010 (2015 for this collection) Narrated by: Harry Lloyd Series: The Tales of Dunk and Egg #1-3 Length: 10:00 (355 pages) This is a collection of three novellas set a century before the events of A Song of Ice and Fire. House Targaryen are still in power, eventually to be overthrown by Robert Baratheon’s rebellion, and people can still remember the last of the dragons. While these are prequels, and some names will be familiar to those who have read the main novels, the stories are fairly self-contained. The three included novellas are: The Hedge Knight (1998)…
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Consider Phlebas
Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks Published: 1987 Narrated by: Peter Kenny Series: Culture #1 Length: 16:26 (471 pages) This is the first novel in The Culture series, and the first novel published under Iain M. Banks (as opposed to his regular fiction, which is published without the middle initial). I’ve heard from multiple sources that the place to start in the series is with the second novel, The Player of Games, because this one is considered a weaker entry in the series. I guess each novel is set in the same universe but has a different cast of characters, so they can be read out of order. I decided…
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Atonement
Atonement by Ian McEwan Published: 2001 Length: 371 pages This is the story of a young teen Briony Tallis, her older sister Cecilia, the housekeeper’s son Robbie Turner, and how the actions of one day changed the rest of their lives. This is a bit of a hard one to summarize without giving away important plot points. He does some very interesting things with plot structure in this, and a lot of the suspense in the novel is waiting to see what happens and how it plays out. The main crime is telegraphed quite far in advance, but exactly what happens and what the repercussions will be is what’s really…
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The Poison Belt
The Poison Belt by Arthur Conan Doyle Published: 1913 Narrated by: Glen McCready Series: Professor Challenger #2 Length: 03:35 (93 pages) This is the second novel in Doyle’s Professor Challenger series, the first of which being The Lost World, which I really enjoyed. I loved the Professor character, so I figured I’d carry on with the lesser-known sequels. I heard that the quality of this series took a steep drop after the first, and while I do think the plot was a lot weaker than The Lost World, the characters were just as great. The story begins with Professor Challenger having summoned everyone from the previous adventure to his home.…
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To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Published: 1960 Narrated by: Sissy Spacek Series: To Kill a Mockingbird #1 Length: 12:17 (324 pages) It will be news to basically no one that To Kill a Mockingbird is an amazing novel. I’m just learning that now, though, as this wasn’t offered as part of my high school curriculum, and that’s a shame. It would be a great book to read in your early teens. Not only would it have led to some interesting discussion around race issues, but Atticus Finch would be such a great role model to have in one’s life growing up, even if just in fiction. Until I…
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High Fidelity
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby Published: 1996 Length: 334 pages Rob Fleming (which is what my name would be if I were heir to the Bond fortune) has just broken up with his girlfriend. He isn’t where he wants to be in life, a washed-up DJ who owns a failing record store, and he doesn’t know how to change that. This break-up is just enough to send him spiraling into anxious neurosis. He looks back on his life’s romances and lists off his top five worst breakups. They haunt him still to this day, and in a desperate attempt to understand why he can’t hold down a relationship, he decides…
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Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Published: 1958 Narrated by: Peter Francis James Series: The African Trilogy #3 Length: 06:30 (209 pages) I had a few false starts with this one. At first, I found the names very confusingly similar. I think I would have had an easier time with that if this was not an audiobook, but I suppose being unfamiliar with Nigerian names meant I really had to focus at the beginning. I think I bought this last year, and I got about an hour in a few times and felt like I was missing things. This time I went on a walk for the first hour and…
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A Slip of the Keyboard
A Slip of the Keyboard: Collected Non-Fiction by Terry Pratchett Published: 2014 Length: 315 pages This is a collection of essays that Terry Pratchett wrote throughout his career. Topics include his writing process, technology, book tour diaries, advice to graduates, how women are portrayed in fantasy, favourite words, and much more – it spans over a quarter of a decade, so it covers a lot. The last third of the book mainly deals with Alzheimer’s and assisted suicide. I bought this a few days after Terry Pratchett passed away due to Alzheimer’s. I was, without a doubt, going to read this at some point, but I figured that was as…
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The Handmaid’s Tale
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood Published: 1985 Narrated by: Claire Danes Length: 11:00 (311 pages) As a Canadian bookworm, I really should have gotten to Margaret Atwood years ago. I’ve been a naughty reader, but I’ve now made the first step towards redemption. I’d been eyeing this audiobook for quite a while now, and it’s been long enough since watching any Homeland that I thought I could listen to Claire Danes narrate this without my mind drifting to Carrie Mathison’s awful life choices or Mandy Patinkin’s beard. I’m happy I picked up this version, because her narration was terrific. I know why there is no glass, in front of…
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The War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells Published: 1898 Length: 302 pages (huge print, Goodreads lists it as 192 pages) This one felt good to move off the to-read list. It’s such a major work in science fiction, and it always felt a bit wrong that I hadn’t read it. This is the second H.G. Wells novel I’ve read, the first being The Time Machine, and I’m excited to read more. Shortly after the main protagonist observes a few explosions on the surface of Mars, extra-terrestrial machines crash into the countryside of England. At first they didn’t seem a threat and raised more confusion than fear. Humans had obviously…