Sarah

This is a fun series with an excellent narrator for the audiobooks. The children's howls and yips translate well to audio :) Highly recommend.

I polished this off in two days - it really is exactly as the subtitle states, although I didn't anticipate the amount of Mormonism in the book, which was something of an unwelcome distraction for me. I loved the library bits and the fascinating ways that we can affect our physical health through mental and physical training.

Great for kids who love books and games.

Mary Roach is my hero, so of course I loved this book. The reader for the audiobook is good with Roach's brand of humor but I may have to read the book to make sure I learned everything there is to know about the alimentary canal!

Funny but completely schizophrenic. Poundstone uses famous historical figures to (I think) illuminate aspects of her own life. It's basically like listening to a history book and a comedy album simultaneously. An unsuccessful literary device, sadly.

This is really a story about families and blood ties with a dash of psychic powers thrown in for flavor. I'm not even sure the sisters' powers were necessary - they functioned as a tool to demonstrate the things we share and those we cannot fathom about our families. This book certainly wasn't bad, but I feel rather indifferent about it.

Sides does an excellent job of writing a book about the hunt for MLK's killer instead of a glorification of James Earl Ray. Much of this I attribute to the fact that Sides refers to Ray by whatever alias the criminal was using at the time. Using mostly memoirs, newspapers, and police and FBI files, Sides paints a vivid portrait of a man on the run and a country in crisis. A well structured and compelling book.

I just re-listened to this book while working on endless home improvement projects. It's amazing, given my nonexistent knowledge of horse racing and complete disinterest in that subject, that Hillenbrand can weave a tale so compelling and moving as to utterly capture my attention.

Funny and a good audiobook for car trips or gardening (in my case) :) It's all parenting humor, but entertaining for the non-parents out there. I found Gaffigan's awe of motherhood a little annoying, especially as it leaves out non-biological moms, but this is a book about being a dad, so oh well.

As soon as I started this book I realized that I've read it before. Oh well, it's an excellent novel and worth re-reading. Jordan presents complex characters (excepting Pappy, perhaps) and some fresh perspective on a troubled time.

I do so enjoy this mystery series! Grabenstein continues in the dark vein of his previous mystery, but there is plenty of amusement (haha, no pun intended) to be found in this fictionalized Jersey Shore town.

I read this to my elementary students at the library last week and we all loved it. I did a little Googling and discovered that elephants can see two colors, so they likely view the world as a color-blind person does. This is a great non-fiction attention-grabbing read-a-loud.

I quite like this mystery series, and this book was a bit darker than the earlier two. Not quite Agatha Christie, but a literary leap from Diane Mott Davidson.

Looking forward to reading others by Barnes. This was also an excellent audiobook.

I picked this up on a lark, just to have an audiobook in the car, and quickly became wrapped up in the story. Lowe grew up in an average, middle-class Ohio neighborhood so his early life and journey to Hollywood are engaging and relatable. I especially enjoyed his experience as a novice actor making The Outsiders. Halfway through the book, however, Lowe emerges from rehab and becomes far more conceited and less interesting.

Holy cow, this is depressing. Russo's mother is loony and her dependence on her son infuriating and nonstop. I couldn't finish the book - it was like reading the same chapter over and over again.

I found myself quickly wrapped up in this book, but boy, it's depressing! Still, the characters were interesting and the philosophy almost too frighteningly real.

Remarkable that Aebi could undertake such a voyage by teaching herself to use a compass and sextant along the way! I thought this book was well done - a good balance of technical terminology and layman's understanding of sailing - but at some point it sounded like more of the same journey over and over. Sail, storm, meet people, enjoy/endure solitude, get to port, mechanical trouble, etc.

I love love love this book. Look for it in your Christmas stockings, all you dog lovers!

Tragic (if you liked The Glass Castle, you might enjoy this) and beautifully told.

Some really funny parts, others just so-so. I didn't find the “cat in the office” humor quite as amusing.

Both funny and poignant, this was a good book and a quick quality read.

This was slow going for me. I got confused by the vast army of characters and plotlines.

I read this years ago and remember liking it but now, reading it for my book club, it is a struggle to get through. I'm finding Gelman arrogant and incredibly condescending, mostly to the reader but also to the people she meets along her travels. Gelman also harps on about this wonderful “sisterhood of women” that screams 70s feminism and annoys me. Gelman referring to herself a nomad also annoys me.
Once she was living in Bali, Gelman's writing changed to a more peaceful and less harping travel memoir, so I was able to finish the book :)
Still, if you're in search of a good female adventure book, try The Singular Pilgrim.

Some funny moments, but overall I was disappointed. Sedaris sounds like a cranky old man in this collection, and he concludes with a few short fiction pieces that I never enjoy as much as his memoirs. Oh well.