Books Read
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14
14 by Peter Clines Published: 2012 Narrated by: Ray Porter Length: 12:38 (372 pages) I hadn’t really heard anything about this novel before reading it. It kept popping up on my Audible Recommendations, and I was in the mood for some fun science fiction. The reviews were positive and I liked the cover (yes, I judge books by their covers), so I took a chance. I’m glad I did! This was a lot of fun. It’s a difficult plot to describe without giving anything away, but essentially it’s about a man moving into a new apartment, one with unbelievable rent and included utilities, and he begins to notice a lot…
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The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress
The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein Published: 1966 Narrated by: Lloyd James Length: 14:12 (302 pages) This is one of Heinlein’s most popular novels and the third of his I’ve read. It’s political science fiction that covers the span of a revolution. The year is 2075 and the moon (Luna) is now a penal colony for the criminals of Earth. The inhabitants live in underground cities, and once exiled it’s not just a life sentence for them, but for the generations that follow as well. Once someone’s on Luna for too long, their bodies have too much trouble adapting to earth’s gravity to return for long…
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Disgrace
Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee Published: 1999 Length: 220 This was assigned reading in a literature course I took in my first year of university. I eventually became quite a good student by the time I graduated, but that year I was still in high school mode and as a result never finished this. I’m slowly redeeming myself for the reading sins of my past. This tells the story of an aging university poetry instructor, David Lurie, who falls into disgrace after having an affair with a student. He ends up leaving his life in Cape Town temporarily to live with his daughter at her small farm in the country. He…
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Walking on Glass
Walking on Glass by Iain Banks Published: 1985 Narrated by: Peter Kenny Length: 08:08 (341 pages) This is Iain Banks’ second novel and the second of his I’ve read. He published this under his mainstream name, rather than his science fiction name of Iain M. Banks, which is odd as this is very much in that genre, but maybe he hadn’t adapted that naming scheme yet at this point. This is three seemingly distinct storylines that are linked together at the end of the story. One follows Graham Park, a man in his early twenties who is newly in love. Another follows Steven Grout, a hyper-paranoid man newly fired from…
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The Lost World
The Lost World by Michael Crichton Published: 1995 Series: Jurassic Park #2 Length: 430 pages I just read the first Jurassic Park novel last year and loved it. I watched the original film adaptation in theatre four times and was mildly obsessed with it for years after, and I was reminded of my love for it last year when the 3D edition was released. With all of this, and the new movie in the news (which I still haven’t seen), I’m an easy sell for a dinosaur adventure. I was sad to see Alan Grant excluded from this. I thought someone had told me that this is what differs from…
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The Nerdist Way
The Nerdist Way: How to Reach the Next Level by Chris Hardwick Published: 2011 Narrated by: Chris Hardwick Length: 06:14 (279 pages) I love The Nerdist podcast and Chris Hardwick is great, so I knew I’d eventually have to pick up this up. It’s essentially a nerdy self-help book, more in the ‘life-hack’ sense than the ‘find yourself’ sense, and he narrates the audiobook himself. This is split into three parts – mind, body and time. Mind focuses a lot on anxiety and addiction, something that Hardwick has had to overcome personally. More generally, the section is about mindfulness and focusing obsessive thoughts (that are common to most nerds) on…
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Earth Abides
Earth Abides by George R. Stewart Published: 1949 Narrated by: Jonathan Davis Length: 15:04 (373 pages) I love a good apocalypse story. There’s something about wandering the remnants of civilization as we know it, with everything we think of as permanent out of reach, that is just so eerie and interesting. Obviously I’m not alone in this, as it’s an incredibly popular genre in all forms of media, one that has only gotten more and more popular in recent years. It’s something that we all seem to daydream about, for whatever reason. As an aside, a few years ago I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. It’s something that I’m thankfully…
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The Big Sleep
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler Published: 1939 Series: Philip Marlowe #1 Length: 231 pages With each novel I read, I become more and more a fan of Raymond Chandler. He has such a great way with words, his character descriptions are brilliant, and his novels are a blast to read. I was neat, clean, shaved and sober, and I didn’t care who knew it. I was everything the well-dressed private detective ought to be. I was calling on four million dollars. Writing a synopsis of one of these novels is tough. The plots tend to twist all over and are difficult to keep track of, but this one begins…
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What We See When We Read
What We See When We Read by Peter Mendelsund Published: 2014 Length: 425 pages Peter Mendelsund is a book cover designer, so I imagine he’s someone who’s spent a lot of time considering how to visualize what we see in our mind’s eye while reading a novel. I’ve been a fairly avid reader my entire life, but I never really stopped to consider what I’m actually picturing as I read and how that might differ from what others are seeing. I was really enjoying this at first. It’s a fascinating concept and the book is formatted in a really fun way, with diagrams and illustrations that make it feel like…
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French Lessons
French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew by Peter Mayle Published: 2001 Length: 240 pages I read a couple of Peter Mayle’s books prior to this one, and I really enjoyed them. A life in the south of France as a writer, drinking pastis and eating three-hour lunches, is a life I’d gladly live. He’s a British ex-pat who’s been living in France since the late 80’s, so he’s in the interesting position of being integrated into the culture enough to really understand the day-to-day life, while also having a different enough background that he can pick out what’s interesting to foreigners. He’s also an incredible descriptive writer, and…