What Are You Reading Now?

[LiveCoug]

Let's talk audiobook narrators.

I've really enjoyed listening to any book narrated by Will Patton (from Remember the Titans fame). He has done a few Stephen King books that I have enjoyed (Bill Hodges trilogy) and he was great in The Son. Will Wheaton was actually pretty good in Ready Player One. Jim Dale was great in Harry potter. I enjoy Kate Mulgrew as well (Joe Hill books and The Son). Rene Auberjenois who narrates the Pendergast series is great as well.

Most books narrated by the author have been misses for me. Neil Gaiman being the exception.

Scott Brick narrates more books than any other I have encountered and I really do not like him. He drones on in a silly melodramatic way. All his characters have the same voice. His narrations are pretentious and monotone. I try to avoid him at all costs, but unfortunately, I just started The Passage trilogy. 100 hours of Scott Brick makes me sick to my stomach, but I'm enjoying the story, so onward I plug.

Who do you audiobook guys enjoy listening to?

[Walter Sobchak]

Let's talk audiobook narrators.

I've really enjoyed listening to any book narrated by Will Patton (from Remember the Titans fame). He has done a few Stephen King books that I have enjoyed (Bill Hodges trilogy) and he was great in The Son. Will Wheaton was actually pretty good in Ready Player One. Jim Dale was great in Harry potter. I enjoy Kate Mulgrew as well (Joe Hill books and The Son). Rene Auberjenois who narrates the Pendergast series is great as well.

Most books narrated by the author have been misses for me. Neil Gaiman being the exception.

Scott Brick narrates more books than any other I have encountered and I really do not like him. He drones on in a silly melodramatic way. All his characters have the same voice. His narrations are pretentious and monotone. I try to avoid him at all costs, but unfortunately, I just started The Passage trilogy. 100 hours of Scott Brick makes me sick to my stomach, but I'm enjoying the story, so onward I plug.

Who do you audiobook guys enjoy listening to?

Save your time on The Passage. Terrible stuff... just ask JL. I think he still has my hard copy, the bastard.

(I'm in the middle of The City of Mirrors.)

Sent from my LG-H830 using Tapatalk

[Brian]

Just finished Sapiens by Yuval Harari.
Definitely in my all-time top 5.
I never fully understood how Natural Selection worked (and I still don't), but I have a much better appreciation of it now. One of the biggest takeaways was an understanding that evolution doesn't care about a species happiness, comfort, etc. Just whatever allows more reproduction. His chapter on the agricultural revolution really made this point. Pre-ag, people arguably had easier lives, more free time, and likely happier. But Ag made it possible for more humans to exist, so evolution selected it.

Towards the end he talks about Intelligent Design, and that WE are the gods that engaged in it. Had never looked at it that way, but he makes a good point.

[falafel]

I'm about 10 years late to the game, but I'm reading the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series. Finished the first book and watched the Daniel Craig movie (which was kinda crap), and I'm now on the Girl Who Played With Fire. The books could have used some serious editing before publishing, but overall I have enjoyed them quite a bit.

Speaking of audiobook narrators though, I can't stand the narrator for this series. A Brit named Simon Vance. I can't stand him. Once I'm done with the series, I hope to never hear his voice again.

[falafel]

Let's talk audiobook narrators.

I've really enjoyed listening to any book narrated by Will Patton (from Remember the Titans fame). He has done a few Stephen King books that I have enjoyed (Bill Hodges trilogy) and he was great in The Son. Will Wheaton was actually pretty good in Ready Player One. Jim Dale was great in Harry potter. I enjoy Kate Mulgrew as well (Joe Hill books and The Son). Rene Auberjenois who narrates the Pendergast series is great as well.

Most books narrated by the author have been misses for me. Neil Gaiman being the exception.

Scott Brick narrates more books than any other I have encountered and I really do not like him. He drones on in a silly melodramatic way. All his characters have the same voice. His narrations are pretentious and monotone. I try to avoid him at all costs, but unfortunately, I just started The Passage trilogy. 100 hours of Scott Brick makes me sick to my stomach, but I'm enjoying the story, so onward I plug.

Who do you audiobook guys enjoy listening to?

Titus Welliver reads a lot of the Michael Connelly novels, or at least the Bosch ones. Since he also plays Bosch in the Amazon production, its kinda cool. I think he does a pretty good job. His character voices are very subtle, but give you enough to realize who is talking without really going over the top.

I did not like Whill Wheaton (Whill Wheaton seems like a nice guy) when he read Ready Player One. I had to shut him off.

[creekster]

Just finished Sapiens by Yuval Harari.
Definitely in my all-time top 5.
I never fully understood how Natural Selection worked (and I still don't), but I have a much better appreciation of it now. One of the biggest takeaways was an understanding that evolution doesn't care about a species happiness, comfort, etc. Just whatever allows more reproduction. His chapter on the agricultural revolution really made this point. Pre-ag, people arguably had easier lives, more free time, and likely happier. But Ag made it possible for more humans to exist, so evolution selected it.

Towards the end he talks about Intelligent Design, and that WE are the gods that engaged in it. Had never looked at it that way, but he makes a good point.

I amnot a fan of thinking about it like that. Evolution isnt a thing. It isnt even accurate to say it doesnt care. It is just a description of a process. The process has no direction nor interest nor goal. It is just a way to explain why we have what we have here right now. That's all.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Save your time on The Passage. Terrible stuff... just ask JL. I think he still has my hard copy, the bastard.

(I'm in the middle of The City of Mirrors.)

I gave it back!

[Jeff Lebowski]

Let's talk audiobook narrators.

I've really enjoyed listening to any book narrated by Will Patton (from Remember the Titans fame). He has done a few Stephen King books that I have enjoyed (Bill Hodges trilogy) and he was great in The Son. Will Wheaton was actually pretty good in Ready Player One. Jim Dale was great in Harry potter. I enjoy Kate Mulgrew as well (Joe Hill books and The Son). Rene Auberjenois who narrates the Pendergast series is great as well.

Most books narrated by the author have been misses for me. Neil Gaiman being the exception.

Scott Brick narrates more books than any other I have encountered and I really do not like him. He drones on in a silly melodramatic way. All his characters have the same voice. His narrations are pretentious and monotone. I try to avoid him at all costs, but unfortunately, I just started The Passage trilogy. 100 hours of Scott Brick makes me sick to my stomach, but I'm enjoying the story, so onward I plug.

Who do you audiobook guys enjoy listening to?

I am pretty flexible with narrators. I get a little tired of Scott Brick because he is so ubiquitous, but it doesn't ruin the book for me.

My favorite narrator is Edward Herrmann (did Boys in the Boat). So good.

Favorite author/narrator is David McCullough.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Just finished Matterhorn by Karl Marlantis. It is a novel about company in the vietnam war. The author walked away from a Rhodes scholarship to enlist in the vietnam war because he couldn't bear the fact of living an easy life while others were dying. Ended up having a hellish experience; lots of jungle combat. He wrote the novel in the late 70's and spent the next 30 years trying to convince someone to publish it. Finally succeeded in 2010 and it was a huge success. Lots of awards and critical acclaim. It is a phenomenal book. Rumors are that there is a movie contract.

[happyone]

Just finished Matterhorn by Karl Marlantis. It is a novel about company in the vietnam war. The author walked away from a Rhodes scholarship to enlist in the vietnam war because he couldn't bear the fact of living an easy life while others were dying. Ended up having a hellish experience; lots of jungle combat. He wrote the novel in the late 70's and spent the next 30 years trying to convince someone to publish it. Finally succeeded in 2010 and it was a huge success. Lots of awards and critical acclaim. It is a phenomenal book. Rumors are that there is a movie contract.

I think this is probably the best Viet Nam novel I've ever read!

A couple of book I've read lately that might be of interest

Fleet at Flood Tide
Excellent look at the campaign to take the Marianna Islands and the subsquent bombing campaign including the Atomic bombs - I thought it was a 5/5 star read

my thoughts, if anyone is interested

https://www.goodreads.com/review/sho..._review_page=1

His Final Battle: The Last Months of Franklin Roosevelt

A very good look at the last 15 months or so of FRDs life. Some of the revelations are surprising

My thoughts

https://www.goodreads.com/review/sho...review_page=1\

American Warlords: How Roosevelts High Command Let America to Victory in World War II

My thoughts

https://www.goodreads.com/review/sho..._review_page=1

The next few I haven't gotten around to typing up my thoughts

1666: Plague, War, and Hellfire

A look at London in 1665/66 - covers the worst outbreak of plague since in 1350s, a naval war with Holland and end with the Great Fire of London. It's a little disjointed, but still an interesting read

Herbert Hoover in the White House: The Ordeal of th Presidency

I thought it was a fairly even handed look at Hoovers Presidency. He came to the White House hailed as the Great Humanetarian, but was ill equipped to fight the Great Depression. He did not have the political or PR skills to make his programs work.

Valiant Ambition

JL remarked on this one a couple of pages ago - great read!

[Jeff Lebowski]

What Are You Reading Now?

Valiant Ambition

JL remarked on this one a couple of pages ago - great read!

I don't recall posting on this one, but I am reading it right now! About 70% done.

For the rest of you, this is a book by Nathaniel Philbrick (one of my favorite authors) about George Washington and Benedict Arnold. Excellent history of the revolutionary war. Amazing to learn how much intrigue and politics there were during the war. Several groups tried to oust Washington in favor of other aspiring military leaders.

You also get some insights on Frank Jackson by studying the life of Arnold.

[SCcoug]

I don't recall posting on this one, but I am reading it right now! About 70% done.

For the rest of you, this is a book by Nathaniel Philbrick (one of my favorite authors) about George Washington and Benedict Arnold. Excellent history of the revolutionary war. Amazing to learn how much intrigue and politics there were during the war. Several groups tried to oust Washington in favor of other aspiring military leaders.

You also get some insights in Frank Jackson by studying the life of Arnold.

So that's why he went to Duke.

[Jeff Lebowski]

So that's why he went to Duke.

You can totally see why Benedict Arnold picked England over the US. At that time they had the most successful country in the world. America was just a little backwater in the west. England had won a ton of Europe/World championships at that point. He had to do what was best for him! Not only that, it was a great opportunity for him to be a missionary for freedom and liberty.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I am halfway through The Nix. I saw this on so many "Best of 2016" lists that I had to check it out and it lives up to the hype. What a great novel. Just really great writing. For example, there is a section near the beginning involving a long exchange in the office of a prof with a student caught plagiarizing that is brilliant. It had me rolling. In the context of a fascinating story, there is some nice skewering of a variety of things in popular culture, including combat driving, video gamers, safe spaces, and outrage culture. Caught this gem last night:

"It's no secret that the great American pastime is no longer baseball. Now it's sanctimony."

[BigPiney]

I am halfway through The Nix. I saw this on so many "Best of 2016" lists that I had to check it out and it lives up to the hype. What a great novel. Just really great writing. For example, there is a section near the beginning involving a long exchange in the office of a prof with a student caught plagiarizing that is brilliant. It had me rolling. In the context of a fascinating story, there is some nice skewering of a variety of things in popular culture, including combat driving, video gamers, safe spaces, and outrage culture. Caught this gem last night:

There was a funny quote 46% of the way through.

There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable.