Listening Versus Reading and Deals of The Week

I love reading, and mostly I love reading fiction. I mean, I love movies, too, but it a totally different way. Reading allows me to fall into the story, to create my own vision and picture the characters in my own way. This is why I do and don't like it when they make a book into a movie; sometimes it's great to see my vision come to life, or to change my vision into something even better. Usually I'm disappointed by the movie; they edit out the 'best' parts, they change the characters or they completely decimate a great story to make it a box-office hit.

I often listen to books, too, because I'm home alone all day, or I'm in my car, and I like to keep the fiction going. Sometimes a book is just better when it's read to you. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is such a book. I read it the second time around, but it didn't match the audio version. A story about a future world where everything is done in an online world created by a guy who grew up and LOVED the 80's. The heir to his online creation is to be determined by a contest comprised of a maze of 80's trivia, including music, movies, books, and video games. The story is told in first person, and is wonderfully read by Wil Wheaten-an 80's piece of pop-culture himself. The book was great when I re-read it, but it wasn't as good as the audio version because of Wil Wheaten.

But there are many more books that are better when read, in my humble opinion. Take the book I'm listening to now, The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes. It is the story of a painting told in two parts, from WWI France and present day England, and the passion it instills in people that fall into its spell. It is a wonderful story so far; I have about 1/4 of the book to go. Now, I love the story, but I almost gave up on it because of the beginning of the book. The first part of the story, maybe the first third, is told through the eyes of a woman in a French town occupied by the Germans in WWI. The narrator of the audio book uses an effective French accent, but it is a little off-putting and took me away from the story a bit. I almost gave up on the story, but powered through and I'm glad I did. I find myself loving this story. I have cried for the characters and felt sadness for a time when the characters are sad. I think, for me at least, that this is one that I would have loved more if I were reading it.

But reading is nothing if not arbitrary and very personal. One person's perfect listen is another person's perfect read, and a third person may dislike the story altogether. And that's okay. That's what makes it such a great hobby.
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Amazon Kindle Deals

$6.99. This is the third and final installment of Veronica Roth's great YA series (but we all know that half of the YA readers are adults). Allegiant is a brand new release, and the $6.99 price has been in place since pre-release, but this is cheaper than the second book, so you might want to scoop this deal up before they get wise and raise the price!



$3.99. While I'm on this tangent, This is the first book in the series. Divergent is a good, quick read in the whole Dystopian, I'm-a-teenager-and-I-want-to-control-my-own-destiny genre. Worth the two days it takes to finish it.




$5.99. Yes, it's that James Franco and it's gotten pretty good reviews. Actors Anonymous is the a bunch of stories of members of Actors Anonymous, a 12-step group with a high power known as The Great Director. It's a look into the actor's world from the view of an insider who finds it all a little ridiculous and funny.



$1.99. I reviewed this one awhile ago and it was good.The Neighbors gets off course a few times, but I enjoyed it. A great read for Halloween, especially for $1.99.

The Neighbors by Ania Ahlborn and A Weekend Seemingly Made For Reading

Well, it's Monday, again. I spent the weekend thinking I would have abundant reading time, but family and kids got in the way. If you've ever been to a large-ish swim meet you know that it seems like you will have plenty of time to read (or knit, or play solitaire, or answer e-mails, or write a blog . . .) but then the fact that you're there with children hits you in the face. My nine-year old loves to swim and loves the meets, but gets sidetracked while sitting in camp with her friends. Momma has to make sure she gets to her events, or the purpose of the meet is lost. And at this meet there was the added distraction of her little sister, who usually gets to go to the babysitter's house. She doesn't sit still very well and wants to visit with EVERYONE. And momma has to make sure she's not talking to strangers and not bugging the kids (she is a little sister after all).

That brings us to today and getting back on track. I got to hit our local YMCA and the elliptical for an hour, which is awesome. I love the elliptical because I get to read, and reading gets me through the workout. Two birds, one stone.

I am currently reading the latest installation to the Wool serials by Hugh Howey, Third Shift. I am halfway done with it. This story is broken up into three parts which are then divided and sold as serials--a great concept The first five parts were Wool  Next up is The Name of The Star by Maureen Johnson. I'm excited about this book and can't wait to get on it! I didn't realize it, but I bought it yesterday at $2.99 for my Kindle and today it is back up to $9.99. I will try to keep my readers you informed of the deals I get. 

Okay, onto my review for the day. I finished this book last week. Get it now for $1.99 as part of Kindle's 100 books under $3.99 for February. The book wasn't developed enough for me, but Ania Alhborn has a lot of potential. I really think we all will be reading her in the future.

Buy the Kindle edition of The Neighbors at Amazon

"Pushing a pair of earbuds into his ears, he let Bob Marley assure him that every little thing was going to be all right. Singing along beneath his breath, he trudged down the hall toward the bathroom. He’d used it the evening before but had kept his eyes half-closed, partly out of exhaustion, but mostly because he didn’t want to see just how bad it was. But now, with the morning’s light trickling through the window above the bathtub, the filth was undeniable—so staggering that even Bob couldn’t sing his way around it."

The cover and the marketing for this book really got me. A seemingly perfect neighborhood with a creepy house? Yes please! And perfect neighbors who have a secret? Again, yes!!!

 Andrew, or Drew, or Andy Morrison is a good boy getting away from a horrible situation. He basically gave up his life to look after his agoraphobic, alcoholic mother after his father took off with what he remembers to be another woman. When he sees his mother walking down the street with a sack full of booze, Drew has had enough.

His childhood friend found him through good old Facebook, and Mickey has offered him a room in his house at a VERY reduced price. Drew knows this is the chance he needs. As he drives through the neighborhood he is thrilled with the picture perfect neighborhood, until he realizes Mickey's is the only creepy, dilapidated house on the block. Once inside, his disappointment grows but optimistically jumps right in, trying to clean the filth, hoping that his own life can be cleaned up as well. Meanwhile, Mickey sits on the couch, gaming his life away, watching his old friend Drew from the corner of his eye. Through his dreams, hopes and cleaning, Drew can't keep his eyes off of the perfect house next door. And the lady of the house seems very neighborly, baking him cookies. Giving him a job. Drew's absolute dream. And the neighbor lady is SEXY!

This is where it falls apart. Every creepy scenario shows its head. Ania Ahlborn does okay, but she feels the need to include everything. Murder, mayhem, mind-control. Sex, drugs, rock and roll. The only thing missing is the mystery. You pretty much know what is going to happen as soon as Mickey starts to stir from the couch and Drew's mom apologizes and promises to clean up her act.

I'm not giving up on Ahlborn and I will read more from her. I think she has great potential. She writes well and creates compelling characters. With a couple of tweaks Drew could have been a great character, he just needed a little more depth. Harlowe (the sexy neighbor) also was wonderful, but I think a little more mystery with her would have been nice. The conflict within Drew concerning Harlowe could have been great psychologically; the fact that he's sexually attracted to her but he also sees her as a mother figure, and this all happens after his conflict with his mother.

I will be cheering on Ahlborn. I think she can be a force in the future.