Audio Book Review: The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

While The Sense of an Ending really isn't my type of book, I enjoyed it for the most part.

The Sense of an Ending is narrated by Tony, and it's basically his life story you're going to hear. The novel is a character study -- not much of a plot, although there is an entertaining twist at the end.

Tony tells us about his friendship with three other boys, but in particular a boy named Adrian. They each go their own separate ways during college, and Tony starts up a romantic relationship, which eventually ends. And then Adrian and the ex begin a relationship and Tony loses touch with them. And then Adrian commits suicide.

So, Tony has "come of age" and we've heard a lot of details that seem a bit irrelevant. Once we hurry through Tony's progression to middle age, he begins to look back on his youth and try to make sense of some things. It's a short book, which is good, because I don't think I could have listened to much more.

I can see why this book is award winning. The writing is beautiful. If I hadn't been listening to the audio version, I'm sure I would have had to include some philosophical quotes -- of which there are many.

The narrator, Richard Morant, does a great job and lends authenticity to Tony's voice.

Definitely an adult book, but if you enjoy a meandering, philosophical, introspective look at one man's life (and don't' forget about that twist), then you should try The Sense of an Ending.

Published by Borzoi, 2011
Audiobook obtained from the library
176 pages

Rating: 3.5/5

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Stacking the Shelves - A Couple I Couldn't Pass Up

The TBR just keeps growing. But that's OK. Here's what I got this week:

For Review:

Tiny Pretty Things, by Sona Charaipotra & Dhonielle Clayton from Edelweiss

Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between, by Jennifer E. Smith from Edelweiss

That's my haul for the week. How about you? Leave me a link! Please remember to visit our hosts, Team Tynga's Reviews. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your weekend.

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Feature & Follow - Hate or Love?

The questions got a little messed up last week and this week, but I haven't answered this one yet, so that's what I'm going to do:

Have you ever read a book you thought you’d hate but loved? Or vice versa?

With the exception of assigned reading for school, I would never read a book that I think I'm going to hate. But I've been disappointed by a lot of books that I thought I would love. A few come to mind.

I love Ilsa J. Bick, so I was excited to read White Space. Unfortunately I couldn't finish it. It was just too confusing.

I really enjoyed The Darkest Minds, but couldn't finish the second book, Never Fade. It is unusual for me to totally lose interest in a series, but I did. It just seemed to be spinning its wheels.

I'm sure there are some others, but those are the two that come to mind immediately. How about you? Leave me a link so I can visit. Be sure to check out our hosts, Alison  & Parajunkee.

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Book Review: Blood of My Blood by Barry Lyga

Blood of My Blood was no surprise. That is to say, it is just as awesome as the other two books in the series, I Hunt Killers and Game.

You definitely want to read this series in order, so go away and come back after you've done that.

Really, Blood of My Blood is just more of the same. Billy Dent has upped the ante though. Things are getting more dangerous because now they're personal He's coming after Jazz -- and some other loved ones.  There is a lot of violence again. Everyone gets physically hurt.

Howie and Connie are once again great supporting characters and great friends. The tension ramps up through the book and you are never sure if things are going to work out -- or more specifically, what awful things are going to happen before things work out.

And the twist at the end -- well, I sure didn't see that coming. I loved the ending. Pretty much all the loose ends are tied up, but not too perfectly.

I loved this entire series. My only complaint was that Game didn't end. It just stopped -- brutally in the middle of the action. But you don't have to worry about that because the third book, this one, is available immediately so you can read them right in order, one after the other.

If you can handle a little blood and gore, Blood of My Blood is a great ending to an exciting, suspenseful, and unpredictable series. Go get it.

Published by Little, Brown BFYR, 2014
Copy obtained from the library
468 pages

Rating: 5/5

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Audio Book Review: The Martian by Andy Weir

I loved The Martian so much. I don't know where to begin.

Mark Watney gets stranded on Mars after an emergency during which the other five crew members believe Mark was killed, and they make an emergency departure from the planet.

The Martian is science fiction at its finest. Because it isn't really "fiction." I mean, the story is, but the science is real. Mark describes his reasoning and calculations that he uses to survive, and sometimes it's a bit deep. But you don't need to follow all the details. Just use this information to reinforce the fact that this is one sharp dude who is pulling out all the stops to survive.

He is thrown one obstacle after the other. The reader just begins to relax and think that things are going well, and then some other potentially deadly disaster occurs, causing Mark to have to start all over and devise new and creative ways to survive. Nothing is easy and the tension mounts as the reader begins to pull more and more for this lovable character.

I normally listen to audiobooks while driving, but at about two hours left in the book, I just couldn't stand it, and I just listened to the rest of it before I went to bed. I had to know!! I bought the book for my husband to read, and he's almost finished too. I'm recommending The Martian to everyone I talk to these days.

The story is told through diary entries, narrated by Mark. We also (eventually) get the NASA perspective from Earth. The story is definitely enhanced by Mark's sense of humor. His attitude is always positive, and he had me chuckling on many occasions.

The Martian is also going to be a movie, directed by Ridley Scott, and I can't wait to see it when it is released in November. I hope it's true to the story, because that will be an awesome movie!

R. C. Bray, the audio narrator, adds so much to this story, I think The Martian might be my favorite audiobook ever.

As I said, I'm highly recommending The Martian to teens and adults alike. For anyone who enjoys a survival story, this is a must read.

Published by Crown, 2014
Audiobook obtained from the library
384 pages

Rating: 5/5!!

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Book Review: 99 Days by Katie Cotugno

While I found 99 Days to be predictable, the writing is very good and I still enjoyed it.

Molly Barlow has just returned from boarding school, where she spent her senior year after being literally chased out of her home town by haters. Molly's mother is a famous author and wrote a book about a girl cheating on her long time boyfriend with his brother. Then she tells everyone it is based on her daughter. So everyone knows that Molly cheated on Patrick with his brother, Gabe. And, Julia, the boys' sister who used to be Molly's best friend, is the worst at dishing out punishment.

Molly returns to spend the summer (99 Days) until she goes to Boston to college. No one has forgotten. No one has forgiven. Then Molly begins a relationship with Gabe, after everything she's been through. And to top it all off, she goes behind Gabe's back and starts up with Patrick again. Can anyone see what's coming? Pretty sure everyone can.

Teens are stupid, but how can you be that stupid. Molly finally gets to be friends with a new girl who doesn't know her past, and then finds out that girl is dating Patrick. UUggghhh. She weasels her way back into that family, all the while setting herself and them up for a huge explosion. She doesn't mature or grow at all. Well, maybe a little in the last 5 pages....

And WHY would her mother tell the whole world that the book about cheating is based on her daughter. No one could be that clueless, could they? Molly is adopted. I'm not sure why this is even mentioned, since we only get a few scenes with Molly and her mom. I wish this relationship were explored more.

I adored How to Love, Cotugno's other book. One of the high points for me in that one was how the characters matured and grew emotionally and how the characterizations were so well done. I didn't get that in 99 Days.

But as I said, I enjoyed reading 99 Days. From a teen perspective, it's probably a lot more entertaining. The writing is good. There are nice descriptions and the dialog is authentic. There are some interesting side characters (Penn) but none of the characters are really explored fully. The pace moves quickly enough that it was an easy book to get through, but maybe too fast for me to really sink my teeth into. I'll still be recommending this one to teens (after I recommend How to Love.)

Published by Balzer + Bray, April 21, 2015
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
384 pages

Rating: 3/5

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Stacking the Shelves - Keeping it Low

Time to share with all of you the books I received this week. Once again, not too many. Still trying to pace myself....

For Review:

Mechanica, by Betsy Cornwell from Edelweiss

From the Library:

Blood of My Blood, by Barry Lyga

That's it for me. What did you get? Leave me a link so I can check out your haul. Please visit our hosts, Team Tynga's Reviews. Thanks for visiting!

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Feature & Follow Friday - Dreaming

Happy Weekend! It's a holiday for me, so I have a long one. Hoping to get a lot of reading done! Here's what Alison & Parajunkee have come up with for us this week:

Have you ever had a reoccurring dream? What was it? - Suggested by Second Run Reviews.

My recurring dream is a classic, at least among some people. I dream some horrible thing about school or tests or being unprepared. Something like, I realize it's time for the exam and I have forgotten about a class and haven't been attending. Or I'm going to my exam and I can't find the room. Or I realize I forgot to study for an exam. Terrifying.

Mind you, I have been out of undergrad for almost 30 years. And I finished my graduate degree almost 15 years ago. And I still have these dreams once in a while!

I think if you were a conscientious student, you are likely to have a similar type of dream. A lot of my college friends do, and my daughter and husband. But my son, who is not a "school" kind of kid, never dreams this. It's just not something he would ever stress about!

How about you? Do you dream anything like this? Can't wait to see the answers to this one. Thanks for stopping by!

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Book Review: A Better World, by Marcus Sakey

I enjoyed A Better World, but it has a much different tone than the first book, Brilliance.

It may help to read my review of Brilliance, and I'm going to include the explanatory paragraph from that review here:

About 30 years ago a phenomenon began. A much larger percent of the population started to be born with savant-like abilities. The abilities are very specialized and the people are normal in all other ways. No one has been able to figure out why this is happening, but it has changed the complexion of society. Children are tested at age 8 to see if they are an "abnorm." Some of them are sent to special academies.

Nick Cooper is back, still trying to save the world. This time, he's serving as an adviser to the new president of the United States. An "abnorm" terrorist group has literally taken siege of three U. S. cities, cutting off their supplies by killing truck drivers and eventually cutting the power. Things are chaotic. Everything deteriorates from that point as Nick tries to figure out what the terrorists want, and how to negotiate with them.  

Ethan has been working with another doctor on what makes these people special. They've made a breakthrough, but no one knows. Ethan lives in Cleveland, one of the cities that has been cut off. He and his wife and baby try to escape and run into a lot of difficulties, not the least of which is that someone is looking for Ethan because the other doctor has been kidnapped and they know Ethan worked with him. But Ethan doesn't trust anyone, so he keeps running.

A Better World ramps up the action to a frenetic pace, and the ending is stunning. And it's also a giant cliffhanger! Let's just say, there may be a happy ending in the third book, but life will never be the same for these characters. A Better World is much more apocalyptic than Brilliance. We're not just talking about lives lost in an isolated terrorist attack. This time it's serious and the consequences are much more weighty.

I still like the way the slight paranormal aspect is woven into the story. It reads like a straight-up thriller, but it all happened because of this weird genetic defect in some people. A fascinating premise, once again. And of course, it's all pretty far-fetched. But I can't resist the pacing and exciting plot of these books.

If you haven't read Brilliance yet, you should. (It's also been optioned for a movie.) But just be warned, if you read Brilliance, you will most definitely want to read A Better World and the third novel (which I can find no information about) when it comes out.

Published by Thomas & Mercer, 2014
Purchased eBook
390 pages

Rating: 4/5

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2015 EBook Challenge - Post Your April Reviews

Here's the sign up page for the 2015 EBook Challenge, if you're interested.

You can see my progress for the entire year on my 2015 Challenges Page.

Here's a place to link up your reviews for March, if you haven't yet.

You can link up your APRIL Reviews below:

Hope you are enjoying the EBook Challenge!

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