I Am the New Black by Tracy Morgan - review

Tracy Morgan's new memoir, I Am the New Black, is a must-read for fans.  Morgan is best known for his over the top characters, and his audiobook definitely reflects that.  However, much of his life has been extremely difficult, with many lost loved ones, and forays into drugs and alcoholism.  He manages to insert humour into even the darkest situations, though, and when he talks about the time his father told him exactly when, where, and how Tracy was conceived, you squirm along with him.

Morgan's narration is fantastic, although it is sometimes difficult not to picture his 30 Rock character while listening.  This is one case where listening to the audiobook is definitely preferable to reading the paper version.

Making it All Work by David Allen - review

Just in time to help you get organized for the new year, here's a fantastic and in-depth review of David Allen's newest book, Making It All Work:

"What are you really building towards? What’s genuinely important to you and how does that take priority over other things? How do you make sure that your inbox doesn’t become too full, or that you don’t take on too many relatively minor responsibilities that begin to squeeze out your real priorities in life? These are the questions that Making It All Work intends to address."  [read more from The Simple Dollar review]

What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell

For those of you who may have missed it, there's been some controversy in the book world about Malcolm Gladwell's wildly popular new book What the Dog Saw. 

On the critical side, check out the New York Times' review:

"The themes of the collection are a good way to characterize Gladwell himself: a minor genius who unwittingly demonstrates the hazards of statistical reasoning and who occasionally blunders into spectacular failures."

And check out Gladwell's own blog for his rebuttal:

"I wondered about the basis of Pinker’s conclusion, so I e-mailed him, asking if he could tell me where to find the scientific data that would set me straight. He very graciously wrote me back."

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown - review

From the Sentinal Online:

". . . if you were a fan of Brown’s other books, you’ll surely delight in his latest adventure. And if you were a fan of Tom Hanks’ portrayal of Langdon in the movie adaptations. . .you’ll be happy to hear “The Lost Symbol” is in development for release in 2012."

Click here for more.

The Keepsake by Tess Gerritsen - review

Fans of forensic mysteries should appreciate Tess Gerritsen's newest offering, The Keepsake.  When an mummy at a dusty museum turns out to be newer than expected, detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Iles have to try to locate the killer.  Along the way, they find bog bodies, shrunken heads, and all sorts of other strange and gruesome surprises.

The Keepsake includes many of the same characters as the previous books in the series, but jumps around between the characters less than some of the previous books, and that makes it easier to follow when you're driving or otherwise occupied.  The reader is good, and the story is engaging, so overall it's well worth listening to.  Fans of Kathy Reichs should also enjoy this one.

New Fiction Releases

Sue Grafton - "U" is for Undertow

It's April 1988, a month before Kinsey Millhone's thirty-eighth birthday, and she's alone in her office catching up on paperwork when a young man arrives unannounced. Michael Sutton is twenty-seven, an unemployed college dropout. More than two decades ago, a four-year-old girl disappeared, and a recent newspaper story about her kidnapping has triggered a flood of memories.. [more]

Michael Crichton - Pirate Latitudes

The Caribbean, 1665. Port Royal, Jamaica is a cutthroat town of taverns, grog shops, and bawdy houses. For Captain Charles Hunter, there’s a living to be made, and gold in Spanish hands is gold for the taking.  [more]


John Grisham - Ford County

In his first collection of short stories John Grisham takes us back to Ford County, Mississippi, the setting of his first novel, "A Time to Kill."  [more]



Steve Berry - The Paris Vendetta

When Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile in 1821, he took to the grave a powerful secret. As general and emperor, he had stolen immeasurable riches from palaces, national treasuries, and even the Knights of Malta and the Vatican. In his final days, his British captors hoped to learn where the loot lay hidden. But he told them nothing, and in his will he made no mention of the treasure. Or did he?  [more]

Peter Mayle - The Vintage Caper

Set in Hollywood, Paris, Bordeaux, and Marseille, Peter Mayle's newest and most delightful novel is filled with culinary delights, sumptuous wines, and colorful characters. It's also a lot of fun. The story begins high above Los Angeles, at the extravagant home and equally impressive wine cellar of entertainment lawyer Danny Roth.  [more]

James Rollins - Doomsday Key

At Princeton University, a famed geneticist dies inside a biohazard lab. In Rome, a Vatican archaeologist is found dead in St. Peter's Basilica. In Africa, a U.S. senator's son is slain outside a Red Cross camp. The three murders on three continents bear a horrifying connection: all the victims are marked by a Druidic pagan cross burned into their flesh. [more]

New Non-Fiction Releases

Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner - Superfreakonomics

Four years in the making, SuperFreakonomics asks not only the tough questions, but the unexpected ones: What's more dangerous, driving drunk or walking drunk? Why is chemotherapy prescribed so often if it's so ineffective? Can a sex change boost your salary? [more]


Andre Agassi - Open

From Andre Agassi, one of the most beloved athletes in history and one of the most gifted men ever to step onto a tennis court, a beautiful, haunting autobiography.  [more]



Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith

Albom’s first nonfiction book since Tuesdays with Morrie, Have A Little Faith begins with an unusual request: an 82-year-old rabbi from Albom’s old hometown asks him to deliver his eulogy. [more]


Deepak Chopra - Ultimate Happiness Prescription

Happiness is something everyone desires. Yet how to find happiness-or even if we deserve to-remains a mystery. Still more mysterious is the secret to a lasting happiness that cannot be taken away. In "The Ultimate Happiness Prescription," bestselling author Deepak Chopra shows us seven keys to uncover the true secrets of joy in the most difficult times.[more]

Malcolm Gladwell - What the Dog Saw

What is the difference between choking and panicking? Why are there dozens of varieties of mustard-but only one variety of ketchup? What do football players teach us about how to hire teachers? What does hair dye tell us about the history of the 20th century? [more]


Jon Krakauer - Where Men Win Glory

Like the men whose epic stories Jon Krakauer has told in his previous bestsellers, Pat Tillman was an irrepressible individualist and iconoclast. In May 2002, Tillman walked away from his $3.6 million NFL contract to enlist in the United States Army. [more]

Like JD Robb? Try...

So you've read the entire In Death series and can't wait for the next one to come out?  There are plenty of other authors out there to fill the void until Eve Dallas returns.
 
Linda Howard

"In Linda Howard’s gifted hands, second chances, unexpected romance, and unrelenting action combine into a riveting new novel of suspense. In Death Angel, bad girls can wake up and trust their hearts, bad guys can fight for what’s right . . . and dying just might be the only way to change one’s life. . ." [more]

 
 
Catherine Coulter

 "FBI Special Agent Jackson Crowne is flying his Cessna over the Appalachians, with a very important passenger: renowned psychiatrist Dr. Timothy MacLean; their destination is Washington, D.C. Upon their arrival, the FBI will protect the doctor—and ascertain just who wants him dead.  But they don’t make it. . ." [more]


 

Karen Robards

"In the newest novel from New York Times-bestselling author Karen Robards, a feisty female attorney's past comes back to haunt her.

One cold November night when Kat White was fifteen years old, she and some friends held up a convenience store. In the heat of the moment, one of the others shot and killed an off-duty cop moonlighting as a security guard. Kat and her pals fled the scene in a panic, and no one was caught. . ." [more]
 
 Lisa Scottoline

"Mary DiNunzio has become a big-time business-getter at Rosato & Associates. But the last person she expects to walk into her office one morning—in mile-high stilettos—is super-sexy Trish Gambone, her high-school rival. . ." [more]

USA Today interview with Pat Conroy

People have been asking for a new Pat Conroy book for years, and it's finally here!  We found a great interview with the author and thought we'd share:

Pat Conroy Returns to Familiar Turf with 'South of Broad'

Reviews have been excellent so far, and we'd love to hear from you!

Neil Gaiman talks about audiobooks

Here's a great essay by author Neil Gaiman about his love of audiobooks:

Neil Gaiman Asks: Heard Any Good Books Lately?

From the article: "An audiobook is its own thing, a unique medium that goes in through the ear, sometimes leaving you sitting in the driveway to find out how the story is going to end."


Gaiman is the author of the excellent Anansi Boys, Stardust, and Fragile Things, as well as kids' books The Graveyard Book (which recently won the Newbery medal) and Coraline.

LA Times interview with Richard Dawkins

Love him or hate him, Richard Dawkins is one of our best sellers.  Check out this interview with Dawkins at the LA Times, and let us know what you think about his new book, The Greatest Show on Earth!

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sciw-dawkins-qanda4-2009nov04,0,4454290.story

From the interview: "I think the world's always a better place if people are filled with understanding."

And if you just can't get enough of Dawkins, check out the Globe and Mail for a review of The Greatest Show on Earth:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/endless-forms-most-beautiful-indeed/article1309860/

206 Bones by Kathy Reichs - review

206 Bones by Kathy Reichs is the latest in her Temperance Brennan series (which is the inspiration for the also excellent TV series Bones). In this installment, forensic anthropologist Tempe is accused of mishandling cases and has to figure out whether someone is deliberately sabotaging her work.

It's a bit of a departure from the earlier entries in the series because the story jumps back and forth in time between the case she's working on and the situation it ends up putting her in. It takes awhile sometimes to realize that you're not in the same time period anymore since you don't have visible chapter markings with an audiobook, but the situations are different enough that it usually clicks pretty quickly.

Other than that, it's a fun listen. Linda Emond returns as the narrator, and she is by far the best of the narrators who have read the Bones books. Like any mystery, it livens up a long, boring commute.

For those not familiar with the series, don't worry. You don't need to read them in order--each book is a separate mystery, and only the character development progresses from book to book. It's a great series for those who enjoy strong female protagonists, like Anna Pigeon in Nevada Barr's books, or Kate Shugak in Dana Stabenow's books.

Death By Black Hole by Neil Degrasse Tyson - review

Of all the audiobooks about science, Neil DeGrasse Tyson's Death by Black Hole is definitely one of the most enjoyable. You may recognize Tyson from NOVA: ScienceNOW on PBS--he brings his characteristic humour and easy to understand explanations of complex topics to his audiobook. Although Tyson does not narrate the audiobook himself, Dion Graham manages to sound eerily like Tyson in his narration.

Death by Black Hole is a collection of essays on topics like what would happen if you were sucked into a black hole, the sort of bacteria that live in extreme environments, and how Hollywood gets their astronomy facts wrong. There is a bit of overlap between some of the essays, but there are enough different topics to make them interesting. Tyson's obvious passion shines through and makes 10 CDs go by very, very quickly. You don't need to know a lot about science to enjoy this one, and even those who do will be entertained by Tyson's fresh perspective.

On the durability of CDs

Here's an interesting article that argues that we'll continue to see CD-format audiobooks for a long time to come:

http://www.emedialive.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=14938

"While the manufacturing community truly worries about how they will afford to get into Blu-ray replication and how they will get business, there is one area of optical discs that is booming: audiobooks."

Who reads these things, anyway?

We get a lot of questions about who reads audiobooks, so here are some answers for you!

Most audiobooks are read by actors, and you'll definitely see the same names popping up over and over. Scott Brick, Frank Muller, and Joyce Bean are all big names in the field, but you'll occasionally see someone like Julia Roberts pop up, too.

For more information on your favorite readers, check out AudioFile magazine's Golden Voices list: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/gvpages/index.shtml.

For biographies and personal growth audiobooks, it's pretty common for the author to read the book. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert is a case where it works really well, but there are also definitely times when it might have been better to delegate the duty to an actor (Stephen King is definitely a love-him-or-hate-him kind of reader).

If you want to get involved in reading audiobooks as a career, you'll usually have to be an actor who does voice work. Local audiobook stores don't actually publish the audiobooks they carry, so check out the Audio Publishers Association at http://audiopub.org/resources-narrator.asp for more information.

If you're interested in volunteering, many local services for blind people need readers. In Canada, you can check out the CNIB for more information.

Like Dan Brown? Try. . .

If you've just finished Dan Brown's newest audiobook (The Lost Symbol) and want more books like it, here are a couple of great choices:

Steve Berry's Cotton Malone series feature a former US Justice Department agent who gets pulled into murder investigations involving the Templars, Alexander the Great, and other historical figures and conspiracies.

Listen to The Templar Legacy first, then The Alexandria Link, The Venetian Betrayal, and The Charlemagne Pursuit. (But don't worry if you read them out of order--you won't miss anything crucial). They're great thrillers for people who want a little international intrigue with their mysteries!

Check out http://www.steveberry.org for more info on the author and his books.

Daniel Silva is another great option for Dan Brown fans--his Gabriel Allon series revolves around an art restorer who is also a retired member of the Israeli Secret Service. His former job comes back to him in the form of Palestinian terrorists and mysteries dating back to World War II, as he travels all over the world.

The order of the series is: Kill Artist (unfortunately out of print on CD), The English Assassin, The Confessor, A Death in Vienna, Prince of Fire, The Messenger, The Secret Servant, Moscow Rules, and The Defector.

New Non-Fiction Releases

Ben Mezrich - Accidental Billionaires

The bestselling author of "Bringing Down the House" pens the incredible true story of the accidental creation of Facebook, and the even more amazing tale of what happened afterward--a real-life adventure filled with unimaginable wealth, sex, exotic locales, six-foot-five identical-twin Olympic rowers, and betrayal. read more...




Dr. Zhi Gang Sha - The Power of Soul

The Power of Soul reveals divine soul secrets, wisdom, knowledge, and practices to transform the consciousness of humanity and all souls, and enlighten them in order to create love, peace, and harmony for humanity, Mother Earth, and all universes. The Power of Soul teaches soul healing, soul prevention of sickness, soul rejuvenation, soul transformation of every aspect of life (including relationships and finances), and soul enlightenment. It offers you practical soul treasures to empower you to apply all of these teachings. read more...



David A. Kessler - The End of Overeating

Most of us know what it feels like to fall under the spell of food -- when one slice of pizza turns into half a pie, or a handful of chips leads to an empty bag. But it's harder to understand why we can't seem to stop eating -- even when we know better. When we want so badly to say "no," why do we continue to reach for food? read more...




Stephen Covey - How to Develop Your Personal Mission Statement

Dr. Stephen R. Covey teaches you how and why to develop a Personal Mission Statement. Lead and govern your life according to you deepest priorities and meet life's day-to-day challenges by focusing on your long term vision. Avoid diversion and distractions that don't contribute to your life's mission, vision and goals. Become the powerful creative force of your life and influence for good in the lives of others. read more...

Brian Tracy - The New Psychology of Achievement

Brian felt it was time to update this incredible program. You'll learn how to:
- Develop a rock-solid self-concept based on the latest research in Positive Psychology.
- Get on the fast track to achieving your goals faster than you've ever dreamed possible
- Discover how to set "flex" goals which are adaptable to a fast-changing economy
- Eliminate the time and productivity wasters caused by e-mail, instant messaging, and other electronic communication devices read more...

Zig Ziglar - See You at the Top

Never before on CD! This live recording of Zig Ziglar's groundbreaking seminar now includes an introduction by Brian Tracy! 25 years ago, the great Zig Ziglar presented a seminar that stunned audiences, broke new ground, and forever cemented his reputation as one of the most exciting, inspiring, and authentic motivators ever to take the stage. Since then, millions of people have forged a path to tremendous personal, professional and financial success using the principles presented in this seminar as their guide. read more...

New Fiction Releases

Kathy Reichs - 206 Bones

There are 206 bones in the human body. Forensic anthropologists know them intimately, can read in them stories of brief or long lives and use them to reconstruct every kind of violent end. "206 Bones" opens with Tempe regaining consciousness and discovering that she is in some kind of very small, very dark, very cold enclosed space. She is bound, hands to feet. Who wants Tempe dead, or at least out of the way, and why? Tempe begins slowly to reconstruct... read more...



Carlos Ruiz Zafon - Angel's Game

In an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man, David Martin, makes his living by writing sensationalist novels under a pseudonym. The survivor of a troubled childhood, he has taken refuge in the world of books and spends his nights spinning baroque tales about the city's underworld. But perhaps his dark imaginings are not as strange as they seem, for in a locked room deep within the house lie photographs and letters hinting at the mysterious death of the previous owner. read more...



Dean Koontz - Frankenstein Book 3: Dead and Alive

As a devastating hurricane approaches, as the benighted creations of Victor Helios begin to spin out of control, as New Orleans descends into chaos and the future of humanity hangs in the balance, the only hope rests with Victor's first, failed attempt to build the perfect human. Deucalion's centuries-old history began as the original manifestation of a soulless vision-and it is fated to end in the ultimate confrontation between a damned creature and his mad creator. read more...



Sandra Brown - Smash Cut

The murder of Paul Wheeler has all the elements of a blockbuster: family rivalries, incalculable wealth, and a prominent man dying in the arms of his beautiful mistress. It's a case that could earn Derek Mitchell even greater star power. When the Wheeler family approaches him about defending Creighton for his uncle's murder -- even before he's charged -- he jumps at the chance. read more...




Sophie Kinsella - Twenties Girl

When the spirit of Lara's great-aunt Sadie-a feisty, demanding girl with firm ideas about fashion, love, and the right way to dance-mysteriously appears, she has one last request: Lara must find a missing necklace that had been in Sadie's possession for more than seventy-five years, and Sadie cannot rest without it. Lara, on the other hand, has a number of ongoing distractions. Her best friend and business partner has run off to Goa, her start-up company is floundering, and she's just been dumped by the "perfect" man. read more...