If You See My Car, Be Careful

If you see my little black car cruising down the interstate, be on alert. This is my notice to the world. Normally when I listen to audio books, I listen to lame stories. I like to have a story I enjoy but is not soooo good I cannot concentrate on my driving. This is not that book! The story started out slow. Trying to figure out who all the characters are. The names are Swedish so they took time for me to catch on to who was who. Not sure I have a 100% yet. I listened to several CD's before it got to the story. It took forever to build up to the good stuff. I think I am on day 7 of this book! I still have several CD's to go. It is very long, very, very long. Last week at this time I would have said I will probably not read the rest of this series. Now I am not so sure. It has gotten so good. Last night I picked up DQ. When I got home I handed my son his dinner and ate mine in the car, sitting in the garage........just to continue listening to the book. I know, it is ridiculous. I look forward to getting in my car just to hear this story. That almost makes it seem like I am looking forward to going to ride. The reality is, I am looking forward to the drive to work!

The Walk by Richard Paul Evans

When I took the kids to the library the other night, I found a few audio books for me. Last night on my way to the drive-in movie I finished one. The Walk, by Richard Paul Evans. This is the first book I listened to on audio that I would have bought to read. The reason I decided to get it from the library is, I already have too many books to read!!!! Going to be awhile before I get through them. One unique thing about this audio book is it was read by the author. This is the first time a book I bought to listen to was read by the author. I have read a few books by Richard Paul Evans. He writes sweet stories.
This is a story about Alan Christofferson. He was an ad executive in Seattle, owned his own company. In the same time period, he lost the love of his life, his house, and his company. He came to the point he was considering suicide to end his misery. Instead he decides to take a walk. He took only the barest of essentials and heads for the furthest point on the map away from Seattle, Key West, Florida.
While walking he meets people along the way. The stories they tell him, and the lessons they have learned, save his life. It helps him start to heal. It is a life-changing journey.
This was a short book. I was glad I checked it out instead of buying it. I would have read it in an afternoon and be out $15 or more. Wait a minute............is that why people use the library? Interesting concept!
I am rating this book a #4. I am on a trend of rating books higher than usual. Either I am being generous or finding some great books.

Home Safe

I have read a few of Elizabeth Berg's books. Open House and Talk Before Sleep. I have read Talk Before Sleep a few times. I am not sure why I have not read more of Berg's books. They are very good. I picked up the audio of Home Safe at the library. This is a great story. It would be a great story for a book club read. Many things going on in this book. This is about a woman dealing with her husband's death. She finds out before her husband died he withdrew most of the money from their retirement account. What did her husband do with the money? Why would he keep this from her? Helen makes her living writing and has writer's block. On top of everything else she is faced with money problems. If Helen cannot write, she will need to find a job. Since her husband died, Helen has become too dependent on her adult daughter. She is also facing her parent's mortality. I really wish I would have read this book instead of listened to it on audio. I am sure I missed details of the story. Unfortunately, driving can distract me from my books.

The main theme I got from this book was loss. How Helen was able to deal with so many losses. The loss of her husband. The loss of her passion of writing. The loss of her financial security. Her daughter becoming independent from her Mother. There are so many story lines with the continuity of loss. Helen has to come to terms with so many things in her life.

I am going to rate this book a 4. I am going to suggest if you are interested in this story read it. Too good of a story for audio.

Dream Country by Luanne Rice

I finished another audio book today. This is the longest book I have listened to. It was eleven CD's. I did not think I would ever get through it. I am going to say to date this is the best book on audio I have listened to date. I am going to rate it a 4. Not sure I would go that high if it was a book.
This was a great story. Here is part of the description from the back of the book:
Daisy had gone to the Wyoming wilderness in search of inspiration for her art. She found rancher James Tucker, a man with the wilderness inside him. Their life together was close to paradise - until their three-year-old son Jake disappeared and was never found. Her marriage in tatters, Daisy returned home to Connecticut, taking with her from Wyoming two things: her daughter, Jake's twin, and her livelihood, the jewelry she etches with symbols of Indian legend.
The description does not do it justice. There were times I was on the edge of my seat. To be honest, there were times I sat in my car listening to the story and ran into work at the last minute. There were also times I sat in my garage when I got home because I was caught up in the story. The story has great twists and turns. There are a few story lines going on at once.
Great way to pass the time in the car. I would also suggest it is a good summer book to pick up.

Not The Same As Reading

I am fully committed to Books on Audio. Already addicted. So into it, I no longer listen to Bob & Tom in the morning. So into it, I do not make a phone call the minute I get in my car after work. I just completed two stories today. Part of a series by Debbie Macomber. I have read quite of few of Debbie Macomber's books. They are predictable. Sweet, little love stories. Her books are fun to read. You can read them with one hand tied behind your back. They are perfect for the car. I can keep one part of my mind on the road, the other on the story. These two stories are about a small town in Alaska. They offer jobs to women and free land if they will stay for one year. The books are about the romances that come from the women moving to Alaska. It sounds lame even writing about it. It is like when you want a romantic movie. It is obvious it is going to be lame, but sometimes I need lame. Lame movies, lame music, lame books. I find lame reassuring and relaxing.

I am absolutely surprised at how much I enjoy audio books. I look forward to getting in my car to drive to work. Makes the drive home from work way more enjoyable. How great is this, over the hill and still finding new joy from books.

Tell Me A Story

I am listening to this book on CD. I am in my car two hours a day and trying to make better use of the time. Not that talking on the phone with friends and family is wasting my time. I have been listening to this book for three days. It is entertaining. It is not the same thing as reading a book. I might be able to get used to listening to a book, it is not the same as reading a book. I read an earlier book from this series quite awhile ago. I did not realize it was a series. I cannot remember if I enjoyed the book. I did like the story. There is a big difference between reading and listening.

It does not feel like the story flows smoothly. It jumps too much from present to past. There are quite a few characters in this story. Hard for me to keep track of the jump between characters when it is being read to me. When I read a book the characters are developed in my mind as I read. I can imagine the people, their homes, work places. If I was sitting in a chair listening to a book with no distractions, it might be easy for me to do this. Listening while I drive, obviously, I cannot give the book all my concentration. It could be that the story flows, and distractions cause me to miss small parts of the story.

The positive is I look forward to getting back in my car to listen to the story. I will probably continue to check out audio books. I need to get better at picking the books. First person stories would be the best. The last book I listened to by a comedian talking about her life was perfect. Easy to follow while I was driving.

Do not worry my Arizona friend. I am not a believer in Audio books. Audio books are not the same as reading a book. I pledge to not listen to important books. I will try to find books that I would rather not waste my time reading. I will always differentiate between reading and listening to a story. I will only pay for audio books in an extreme situation. I would consider it to be extreme if I am on a buying binge in Barnes and an audio book gets thrown in the stack. I cannot be held responsible for what I buy during binges. First I go into a zone, then I lose touch with reality. At that point, it would be easy for me to buy an audio book. Audio books will be my shameful secret. I will sneak into the library and "borrow" them. They will be kept in my car. Except for when I take them into work. Under no circumstances will they enter my home.

I can also promise I will not be buying the Nook for at least another few months.