Audio Book Briefs

I’m a huge fan of downloadable audio, available through my public library. I download titles to my MP3 player and listen in my car or when I walk.

Although I prefer reading to listening, audio books give me an opportunity to listen to things I might not otherwise read – sometimes light and popular titles, sometimes nonfiction I might not take the time to read, and sometimes classics that I might never get around to rereading. My regular commute keeps me on the road quite a bit, so I work my way through a couple of audio books each month.

Here are some books I’ve listened to this summer:

Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout

Olive, a retired high school math teacher, is not a very sympathetic character. She is often rough in her interactions with others, and she appears especially unpleasant in contrast to her husband, loved by everyone in their Maine town. Particularly heartbreaking is her inability to communicate her powerful love for her grown son, as they grow more and more estranged. We learn about Olive through the eyes of her husband and son, her neighbors, and her students, as the author tells stories about their lives. Read by Sandra Burr.

T Is for Trespass, by Sue Grafton

The latest in the alphabetical series about Private Investigator Kinsey Millhone, this book takes on identity theft as its central premise. Even though the plot is rather predictable, Grafton’s main character is always fun to spend some time with. Judy Kaye is the narrator.

Rage, by Jonathan Kellerman

Kellerman’s books are definitely not for the faint of heart. The crimes are always gruesome, and the dialogue between Dr. Alex Delaware and Lt. Milo Sturges can be pretty graphic. John Rubinstein does an excellent job of narration, bringing the two main characters to life.

Middlemarch, by George Eliot

An extraordinary book, beautifully written, funny, and filled with insights about people and relationships, is brought to auditory life by the fine narrator Kate Reading. It takes more than 31 hours to listen to this classic, but it is time enjoyably spent.